Habitat+debate+rubric+page

__Debate rubric:__ [|Debate Rubric.mht]


 * __Suggested post-debate discussion topic - lessons learned:__**

As students finished the unit on the future of the Puritan tiger beetle, they encountered a lesson on a model of successful conservation efforts, in which local residents play a more active role in its implementation. For this to happen, a spirit of partnership must be forged by the various stakeholders in the community.

During the debate, each team focused on the merits of their own position. After the completion of the debate, using 15 minutes for discussion can be a good opportunity for continued learning. Specifically, having each team discuss the strong points of the opposing side's position will give them an opportunity to view the contentious issue of prioritizing habitat use from a different perspective.

After each team has had a chance to look at the issue from the other perspective, can they, and the class, find common ground? In reality, the Steering Committee formed in 2010 has found areas where compromise is possible (33). You may wish to share this with the class. The committee proposed that:


 * Owners of residences located above cliffs with slow rates of erosion should be able to act more aggressively to protect their property. The committe suggested that these property holders be given latitude to build retaining walls even if doing so causes the loss of life of some of the endangered Puritan tiger beetles. Government officials would expedite the process, assisting the individuals in this category to halt preventable erosion;
 * There are other properties that are located on cliffs that will continue to erode regardless of the action taken to stem erosion. Retaining walls will do little if any good in these cases. For these properties, county, state and federal governmental agencies will combine with a significant monetary sum to buy the land, and get the residents out of harms way. In these areas it would be possible to provide critical habitat to the Puritan tiger beetle.

By finding ways to compromise and find common ground, defenders of biodiversity like your students become empowered to employ a powerful tool - overcoming objections from local populations. The importance of this approach is increasingly appreciated by conservationists, in both large and small recovery plans.