Now that you have reviewed the endangered local species and are knowledgeable of their importance, you will choose 1 out of the five species you want to save. You will construct an argument as to why your species should continue to receive funding and you will then get to see if others decided on the same species as you or not.

Post Requirements

This assignment requires two posts, each completed individually. You will not be able to see the replies of other people in your group until after you have posted your response. Before you write your first post, you will need to identify

First Post – Due Tuesday

1. Title your post with the name of the species you prioritize in saving. As a reminder, these are the five species from the SoftChalk that you can choose from:
   • Southern sea otter
   • Monterey pine
   • Mountain lion
   • Southwestern willow flycatcher
   • Delta smelt
2. Write a paragraph stating your argument for saving your selected species and explaining why it should be prioritized over the other species.
   • Based on the information from the SoftChalk, what is the single most compelling reason to save this species? You can pick one of the following factors to argue priority for your species: biological characteristics, urgency of threat, ecosystem roles, economic considerations, and/or socio-cultural values. Be as specific as possible when you describe the top reason and explain how it supports your argument that this species should be prioritized.
   • Identify one outside source of information (website or article, not the Softchalk) Links to an external site.about your selected species. What additional information did you learn from this source that supports your argument for why this species should be prioritized? 
   • Be sure to paraphrase all information from the SoftChalk/outside source and cite the sources fully, including in-text citations and a full reference list (with a link to the original source) at the end for full credit. (We will be learning about how to cite sources next week, so for this week do your best —  you won’t be penalized if your citations are not formatted properly.)