Nature conservation areas are areas of the countryside which have special protection under law because they have interesting or unusual wild plants or animals in them.
In Britain there are now about 400 national nature reserves and 1 000 local nature reserves and marine nature reserves . Many contain species that are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. In addition, some relatively small pieces of land get special protection as sites of special scientific interest ( SSSIs ) because rare or endangered plants or animals are to be found there, or because they have special geological (= rock) features. There are over 6 000 SSSIs in Britain, many of which are not open to the public. In theory, SSSIs are safe from the threat of commercial development, but this is not always the case. Despite protests, several SSSIs have been lost in recent years to make way for new roads.
Nature conservation areas in Britain are managed by English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland, with the help of local naturalists’ trusts and natural history societies.
The US also has many nature preserves . People can visit them for enjoyment or to do scientific research, but must stay on paths and cannot disturb or remove anything. They are not allowed to drive vehicles, camp, hunt or start fires. Indiana has 151 nature preserves, more than 20 000 acres (8 100 hectares) in total. A popular type of nature preserve is the wildlife refuge , such as Lake Woodruff Natural Wildlife Refuge in Florida, where John James Audubon once watched and drew birds.
There are also many national forests, rivers and seashores, and scenic trails. Many national monuments are also natural areas. They include the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado , Lava Beds in California and Organ Pipe Cactus in Arizona . The US National Park Service is in charge of all of these and cares for the plants, animals and scenery so that they can be enjoyed by the public.