AMAZON, JUST INCREDIBLE
After years of secret negotiations with the government of Brazil, the
Nature Conservancy announced on Saturday that it would be acquiring
six-sevenths of the remaining Amazon rainforest in Brazil over the
next three years.  The project will be financed in part through
donations from corporations and wealthy individuals, and in part
through land swaps for wildlife refuges already owned by the
conservancy.  Two million acres of land now managed by the
conservancy in the U.S. will become the property of the Brazilian
government, which plans to use the land for limited ecotourism, real
estate development, and mining.  Conservancy officials said they felt
some regret over parting with North American reserves, but were
confident that preserving the astonishing biological diversity of the
Amazon was well worth the tradeoff.  April Sunbalm, who helped
oversee the deal for the group, asked, "Would you rather see a toucan
or another sparrow?"

straight to the source:  San Jose Mercury News, Michelle Campi, 31 Mar 2001
<http://www.greeting-cards.com/card_recipient.jsp?gId=EVEgUR6mqcxq>

straight to the source:  BBC News, Paul Hamm, 1 Apr 2001
<http://www2.ohmygoodness.com/cgi-bin/g-card.pl?010329JWGRLDPKBBF2>

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