Yaolage County’s Ecological Environment Continues to Improve ‘Swans Index’ Increasing Year on Year
Early Spring on the Plateau
Melting ice and snow, wind and sunshine
In Xiaoji Town, Maixi Township, Luojaqiu River, Yaolage County
A flock of white elves came one after another
They or circled and played, or sang at full throat
…
Seeing the swans dancing so closely, it deeply moved the reporters who came to shoot. She quickly focused her camera on the distant elves, and the shutter clicked incessantly. 'I have always imagined the beauty of Swan Lake, but seeing it with my own eyes made me feel that the scenes in the real world are even more moving,' the reporter said, moved by the 'beauty' before her.
Great White Swan
The Great White Swan is a second-level protected animal in China, and also one of the highest flying birds in the world. It can fly over the Qomolangma Peak, with the highest flight altitude reaching over 9000 meters. Every year in mid-October to late November, the swans from Siberia will arrive in Xiaoji Town west of Yaolage County, 100 kilometers, for a short wintering. The swans' fusion with the snow mountains and blue sky has made this place a beautiful landscape on Yaolage grassland.
In recent years, Yaolage County has been committed to improving the ecological environment, actively building an ecological civilization demonstration zone, promoting ecological governance and integrated management, launching the compilation of the mountain, forest, land, lake and grass ecosystem restoration plan, and vigorously carrying out 'reducing livestock, planting grass, eliminating rodents, combating desertification, and conserving water' five actions, continuing to implement cropland restoration and afforestation, livestock grazing restoration and grass restoration, increasing afforestation by 32,000 mu, implementing pasture prohibition of 4,580,000 mu, livestock and grass balance of 518.4 million mu. Establish 'fenced and restricted plus' classification grid system and 'sand to soil, organic matter, photovoltaic desertification control' new model, with an investment of 164 million yuan, implementing the sand control and desertification prevention and ecological fragile zone governance projects in the northwest of Sichuan, and governing various sandified grasslands of 3446.9 hectares, and restoring wetlands of 6400 hectares.
It is understood that no less than 1000 swans have spent the winter in Yaolage every year, providing sufficient energy for them to fly back home to reproduce in the spring.
Black-necked Crane
In addition to the beautiful Great White Swan, the Black-necked Crane, a first-level protected animal, also makes its home here. In Huahu Lake Protection Zone, there is another landscape. The lake is transparent to the bottom, and the unknown aquatic plants have just sprouted their tender leaves. The reeds sway in the wind, and the floating algae quietly lie on the surface of the water. The sound of small birds' melodious singing comes and goes, which is refreshing and pleasant.
'Now more and more birds are settling down and making a home in the protected area, and the number of precious birds such as the Black-necked Crane is also increasing,' said a warden of Yaolage Plateau wetland.
Because it is rare, like the giant panda, the Black-necked Crane also has extremely demanding environmental requirements. It will only visit or 'settle down' if the air quality is fresh and the water quality is clean and the climate is suitable.
Known as 'China's Black-necked Crane Country', Yaolage is located at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and has always been known as 'the water storage pool of the Yellow River'. Due to its favorable natural resources and good ecological environment, it has become a 'cloud paradise' for tourists from home and abroad, and it is also the home of birds.
Swans dancing, swans playing in the water, eagles soaring into the sky… Amidst the blue sky and clear water, man and nature coexist harmoniously. From the ancient times, we will go to the future, we must be determined and comprehensively committed to the green development concept. In the future, Yaolage County will focus on 'gathering green' and aim for 'ecological civilization demonstration zone', comprehensively governing, all-terrain governance, and full-process governance, carefully writing 'ecological high-quality' answer sheet, cultivating ecological civilization new atmosphere.
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