Conservancy in Missouri Provides Major Funding For Land Acquisition in Brazil

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI—July 26, 2007—The Nature Conservancy in Missouri has provided a major portion of the funding for the acquisition of 22,500 acres in the Cerrado, Brazil’s vast savanna. The Serra do Tombador tract is a critical portion of the landscape surrounding Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, about a two hour drive north of Brasilia. The Boticario Foundation will own and manage the tract as a nature preserve and conservation education center.

This property is on the edge of the Tocantinzinho River and is a critical part of a corridor linking Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park to the Tocantinzinho River valley. The region is threatened by development pressure and proposed hydroelectric development in the lower portion of the river. Conservation of this corridor will sustain globally rare natural habitats and provide essential habitat for animals, such as jaguars.

“Missouri and Brazil Conservancy staff and the staff from the Boticario Foundation have been working on this complex project for more than three years,” said the Conservancy’s Missouri State Director Susan Heisel. “Now we have taken an important step towards ensuring that the unique resources of this portion of the Brazilian Cerrado will be here for future generations”.

The Cerrado, often called Brazil’s Great Plains, covers nearly 25 percent of the country and is a mix of savannas, grasslands, gallery forests and veredas – dense, riparian palm communities. The Cerrado contains more than 10,000 plant species, nearly half of which are found nowhere else on earth. The region is also rich in animal life, with 935 bird species, 298 mammal species and 268 reptile species. At-risk animals include the jaguar, maned wolf, Cerrado fox, giant anteater, blue and yellow macaw and crowned eagle. Additionally, the Cerrrado region is the primary watershed for the world’s largest wetland system, the Pantanal. The area is also a world leader in soybean production, and in recent years large swaths of the Cerrado have been lost to unplanned farm development.

In keeping with the conservation of habitat and abundant animal life, the Snetsinger family of Webster Groves, Missouri, made a generous contribution to purchase this land in the Cerrado in memory of Phoebe Snetsinger, wife, mother and world-renowned birder. The donation was partially matched and also provided funding to the Current River and Lower Ozarks.

“As a family, we enjoyed canoeing along the Current River in Missouri. We also recognize the connectivity of the grasslands to the bird populations in South America and to the migrating bird populations here in North America. We are pleased with the purchase and feel that it is a most appropriate gift in memory of Phoebe,” said Dave Snetsinger, husband to the late Phoebe Snetsinger. Phoebe Snetsinger acquired the world record for bird species seen in the wild, approaching 85 percent of the world total of 10,000 species.

To protect the array of biological riches in Brazil, the Conservancy and its partners are working around national parks to increase the amount of properly managed and conserved habitat. This large landscape approach is a hallmark to the Conservancy’s conservation efforts at home and abroad. A key conservation partner in the Cerrado region is the Boticario Foundation, a leading conservation and education organization. In addition to this project, Conservancy and the Boticario Foundation have partnered to conserve Brazil’s endangered Atlantic Forest systems.

Like the North American prairie, the grasslands of the Cerrado and other regions in South America are one of the Earth's most threatened habitats. On a global scale, the world’s grasslands and prairies are home to nearly 800 million people and provide food, medicine and economic opportunities to countless millions more. Less than five percent of all grasslands on earth have been protected for conservation. These landscapes face ever increasing threats like invasive species, suppression of naturally occurring fires and the conversion of landscapes for agriculture and urbanization.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

Together with our members and conservation partners, The Nature Conservancy in Missouri has protected more than 138,000 acres of critical natural lands since 1956. Visit us on the Web at nature.org/missouri.