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COMMUNITY  The Habitat Trust for Wildlife Interview with SongbirdCloneWriter by Pollywog Gardenvale 
COMMONWEALTH—The Habitat Trust for Wildlife is a nonprofit charity that is dedicated to protecting the imperiled habitats of rare, threatened, and endangered species. They currently own and manage 500 acres of land in Southern California, much of which is recognized by the scientific community as a global biodiversity hotspot. In addition, they conduct coral reef research in the Caymen Islands and in Cozemel, Mexico. I met SongbirdClone Writer (who in real life is Leeona Kippstein, Executive Director and founder of both The Habitat Trust and its sister organization, Spirit of the Sage Council) at their Second Life headquarters nestled deep in a forested sim.
Pollywog: How did you first get involved with The Habitat Trust for Wildlife? SongbirdClone: I was a nurse in the Army and later on became a pediatric nurse. I also had a business helping celebrities find nannies. At one point, I actually became a nanny. Eventually I went back to school to study natural medicine. That was where I learned how sages were used medicinally by indigenous people. I became acquainted with members of the Shoshone Gabrielino Nation who told me there were signs of development coming and that the sage could all be gone within ten years. We were losing all of our natural medicines. I started contacting city and government agencies, getting reports, reading laws, and attending Sierra Club meetings. Someone finally said, ‘You know, if you want to save this, you’re going to have to start your own organization.’So that’s what prompted me to start the “Spirit of the Sage Council,” along with tribal elders Manuel Rocha and Chief Ya’anna - Vera Rocha. That was fifteen years ago. Pollywog: How did you learn about Second Life? SongbirdClone: I was flipping through TV stations one day and came across an interview with Philip Rosedale. I just couldn’t fathom what he was talking about and I thought, ‘how can you have real life in cyberspace with economies and real estate? I’ve got to see this!’Then I thought, ‘Maybe all the land developers can move into cyberspace and leave nature alone!’ When I first came into Second Life, I searched for non-profits and found Hayduke Ebisur, owner of the Commonwealth sim. In real life, he is Josh Knauer, Executive Director of EnviroLink.org. They don’t take positions on issues, but do provide technical support for social and environmental groups. He offered us a place in their sim no charge. In fact, many sim owners are now providing free spaces for charities. Since then, I have met so many wonderful people from all over the world—from Africa, England, Germany, and Brazil. We are now in the process of creating a full educational sim that will be a replica of endangered habitats. It will include the coastal scrub of Rancho Cucamonga with the alluvial washes and canyons, and little novelty hobbit houses that fit into the hillside. There will be notecards that explain each plant and animal, and also an ecology center. Many artists who are involved with technology have been willing to donate their skills. Animators and builders have joined our effort, including Kako Splash, of Splash Aquatics, who makes the most realistic animals. We even have Gnatcatchers. Pollywog: Suppose a group of people jointly owns a big plot of land that sits on the San Andreas fault, right around the corner from your land in the San Gabriel mountains. Suppose some of the original owners died and the remaining ones don’t talk to each other. Meanwhile, they’ve been paying taxes on it for forty years. Is there something they can do? SongbirdClone: Many people care about the environment, but they may not get personally involved unless something happens that brings the issue to the forefront. For example, some people may purchase land with the intention of developing it, only to discover that it provides a habitat for endangered species or faces some other environmental challenge. When faced with such a problem, people sometimes battle it out in court or try to resolve the issue through local politicians. Before spending lots of money on legal fees, you should really look into the tax advantages of a conservation easement. Last year a Federal law was passed that provides a tax incentive to private land owners who allow for conservation easements on their property. The amount of tax credit differs from state to state, but can be anywhere from 50% to as much as 150%. Granting a conservation easement combines the immediate, short-term benefits of a tax incentive with long term benefits to the environment. Pollywog: How do natural habitats affect the climate? SongbirdClone: One important aspect in regards to global warming and climate change is that, with the great emphasis on energy reduction and carbon emissions, what gets left out of the conversation is how important habitats are to the climate. Basically, the plants and trees are the skin of the earth. The rate of growth and loss of habitat contribute to global warming. I’d like to hear more conversations about this. It’s more than just petrochemicals and oil consumption. I’m hoping that through Second Life, we will be able to get the message out about protecting the biodiversity of our planet and how plants and animals have a direct connection to the climate. We need to stop any further loss of mature habitat. Not only forests help reduce carbon emissions, but also broad leafed plants—even more than pine needles. The process is called carbon sequestration, where plants take it in and filter it out. Even prairie grass and wetlands help reduce carbon emissions because the biomass is so dense. It doesn’t matter what kind of habitat it is. We need to take action now. Pollywog: How can people help? SongbirdClone: We recently created a new Conservation Partners program to enlist the support of businesses and individuals to help protect mature habitats. Those partnering with us can provide years of management restoration for the land that we own.  The Habitat Trust was founded in October 2000 as a means to accept land in fee title with an endowment as a result of a legal settlement agreement between Spirit of the Sage Council and SunCal’s ‘University/Rancho Etiwanda’development project. SunCal agreed to provide an additional 135 acres, but there were no local private land trusts in that region of San Bernardino, California to care for the land. Thus, the Habitat Trust was created - Giving Nature Sanctuary.We protect the land from dumping, off-road vehicles, shooters, and even equestrians. I love horses, but people don’t realize that horse droppings carry alfalfa and oats that push out native plants. We feel bad for the horseback riders who are also losing space, but conservation easement and horse droppings just don’t mix. Those who would like to help us in Second Life can contact me, SongbirdClone Writer. We need tech support and people to create animals and plants for our future sim. We especially need help from anyone that knows AI to make animals move and appear real. Also, flowers and trees. In the real world, we need techie helpers who can update our website and that of our sister organization, Spirit of the Sage Council. In Second Life, SongbirdClone Writer is a furry-footed, tartan-wearing hobbit. So regardless of whether you call it a “habitat” or a “hobbitat,” you’ll have to agree that she truly is Nature’s nanny. * * * 
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