The North American Sarracenia Conservancy (NASC) is a

501(c)(3) non-profit organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 5 ...

dedicated to

habitat conservation Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in ter ...

. Founded in 2005, the Conservancy was granted tax-exempt status in January 2009. The main focus of the Conservancy is the conservation and preservation of the

natural habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s and

genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It ranges widely, from the number of species to differences within species, and can be correlated to the span of survival for a species. It is d ...

of the ''

Sarracenia ''Sarracenia'' ( or ) is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants, commonly called trumpet pitchers. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera '' Darlingtonia'' and '' ...

'' pitcher plants. ''Sarracenia'' is a genus of

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They have adapted to grow in waterlo ...

that trap prey in tube-shaped, hollow leaves, which in some species hold rain water. Species range from the southeastern United States, up the

coastal plain A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area. Formation Coastal plains can f ...

, and into the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and Canada. Within their range the plants naturally occur in sphagnum bogs, swamps, fens, and flooded plains.

Conservation work

The NASC is one of several organizations working to protect the habitat of carnivorous plants in the wild. Other groups that are involved in such habitat conservation efforts include the International Carnivorous Plant Society, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the Center for Plant Conservation at the

Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropy, philanthropist Henry Shaw (philanthropist), Henry Shaw. I ...

, the Carnivorous Plant Society. Of these, the NASC is the only one that specializes in ''Sarracenia'' (although many other organisms benefit from the conservation of ''Sarracenia'' habitat).

References

External links

Official website
{{Carnivorous plants Carnivorous plant societies Nature conservation organizations based in the United States