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South Atrica (continued) RARE's Conservation Education Program is another strategy successfully employed in ecologically sensitive areas to build pride, awareness and investment in preservation. Using a competitive process, RARE provides academic and practical training to individuals from ecologically threatened areas. The nearly 15-month process includes an intensive 10 weeks of courses and workshops at either a university in England or Mexico (depending on language fluency), an 11-month awareness building campaign in their home region and a two-week follow-up university session. In May 2001, a Pride campaign, as it is commonly called, began in Namaqualand to conserve the natural resources of Namaqua National Park. Christa Botha, a South Africa National Parks employee, led this campaign. The star of the Namaqualand Pride campaign was the speckled padloper, the world's smallest tortoise, endemic to the region. Botha hosted school and community visits, puppet shows and helped develop a campaign poster, bumper sticker, comic book and billboard. A park volunteer created the costume representing the campaign mascot that inspired more than 1,000 schoolchildren to join the "Skillie Patrollie Club." ("Skillie" refers to the speckled padloper). The campaign was so well received that South Africa National Park officials requested training for additional staff at parks throughout the country. In partnership with Conservation International and with a multi-year grant from the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund, RARE is training three more South Africans to manage Pride campaigns. Kathryn Washburn, director of the Department's International Affairs program, worked closely with the Service and with USAID to coordinate the start-up of the effort. She is pleased with the outcome: "The project was successful because it delivered on both biodiversity conservation and jobs creation goals at an appropriate level to ensure that enduring technical assistance could occur." Kim Winters, Development Manager, RARE Center for Tropical Conservation Fish & Wildlife... In Brief Busted: Going Too Far with Caviar Last April, five individuals from Russia and other Eastern block nations were arrested in New York and Los Angeles on an eight-count indictment handed down by a Federal grand jury in Jackson, Tennessee. They were indicted for illegally trading in caviar derived from paddlefish and domestic sturgeon unlawfully taken and sold from U.S. lakes and rivers in Tennessee and Kentucky. The arrests resulted from a two-year undercover investigation conducted by special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and State wildlife officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The American caviar was often labeled and sold as Russian caviar. These arrests follow the convictions of eight other individuals and four other businesses in Tennessee, Kentucky and New York whose illegal caviar dealings were exposed during the course of the investigation. $17 Million in Grants to Support Coastal Wetlands Conservation in 10 States The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will award nearly $17 million in grants to 10 states to conserve, restore and protect coastal wetlands. States awarded grants for fiscal year 2004 under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program are Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington. The grants, which provide funding for 20 projects, will be awarded through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant program and will be supplemented by more than $42 million from state and private partners. The Service makes yearly matching grants to coastal states and U.S. territories for projects involving the acquisition, restoration or enhancement of coastal wetlands. Projects are administered for long-term conservation benefits to wildlife and habitat. Whooping Crane Population Spreading its Wings The tallest bird in North America has something special to `whoop" about. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge announced the highest numbers of endangered whooping cranes are wintering in Texas in approximately the last 100 years. Service Whooping Crane Coordinator Tom Stehn completed a census flight on December 10th and tallied 189, compared to the previous high of 188 in 1999. The increase is due to good production last summer. A record 61 nesting pairs fledged 27 chicks in Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada. The young cranes were old enough to fly by mid-August increasing their ability to escape from predators. The record population of 189 includes 24 young cranes that have completed their first migration to Texas. Although the whooping crane population remains endangered, the comeback of the species sets a standard for conservation efforts in North America. The population in Texas reached a low of only 15 birds in 1941, before efforts were taken to protect the species and its habitat. The population has been growing at 4 percent annually and reached 100 birds in 1987. National Wildlife Refuge System on Display at Smithsonian From the rugged coast of Maine to the tropical island of Guam, the world's most expansive network of public lands dedicated to wildlife is being celebrated at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, which opened a first-of- its-kind exhibition, "America's Wildest Places: Our National Wildlife Refuge System," on November 7. The multi-media exhibition-one of the most extensive examinations of the conservation of wildlife and natural diversity by any museum- will include docent-led programs, films, and a host of displays about the Refuge System and our country's network of "America's Byways," a collection of distinct and diverse roads designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. "America's Wildest Places" will be on view through April 1, 2004. The exhibition is sponsored by the Service, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Federal Highway Administration. Karl Stromayer, Division of International Conservation, International Affairs