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ensure applies to all visitors to the islands: leave nothing behind and take nothing with you. Not a shell, a leaf, a grain of sand. And the longer you stay, the more you realize that the removal of a grain of sand could lead shihs capable of upsetting the entire ecological balance of the Galapagos. Approximately 95 percent of the reptiles in the Galapagos are unique to the archipelago. Countless species of birds and tortoises are endemic to the islands. In 1959 the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands (CDF), an international non-profit organization, was founded. The CDF is dedicated to scientific research and protection of the Galapagos and in 1964 they created the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) to fulfill this goal. But in Ecuador's case, it is not only the non-profits who are rnr1rprn,>r! with protecting this ecological anachronism. The government Ecuador goes to great lengths to preserve the natural Digital Society Quality Macintosh Computer Services ?J'f�\ , the government remains loyal to this goal of protection. - �� put into effect in 1959. Even with the increase in visitors over the years, Tourism is Ecuador's primary source of revenue: more than 65,000 tourists pass through the Galapagos each year. But instead of exploiting current interest in the islands and encouraging unlimited traffic, the government looks toward the future by restricting numbers of visitors and by limiting access to certain areas with marked boundaries. Those boundaries apply to travelers and locals alike. As of 1994, only 14,000 people lived on the four inhabited islands. Gaining permission reside on the Galapagos is all but impossible for foreigners, as is permission to work. The government wants to ensure that land and cash revenue stay within the local Ecuadorian population. The Galapagos Islands haven't always belonged to Ecuador, and it is only by good fortune that Ecuador now calls the Galapagos their own. When Francesco Pizzaro conquered Peru in 1532, he also came upon e Galapagos, but decided not to claim them. Seamen and travelers from England, the United States, Spain and Holland also used the islands for refuge over the years, but no one staked claim to them until Colonel Ignacio Hernandez landed in 1832. While the numerous pirates and buccaneers who anchored off _ the Galapagos during the 17th and 18th centuries didn't claim the islands, they did leave their mark. They introduced pigs, donkeys and rats, which now roam wild around certain islands wreaking havoc on the indigenous plant and animal populations. The government has made an effort to eradicate the non-indigenous species but it is nearly impossible without destroying the natural brush that covers most of the islands. One early settler decided that he would take it upon himself to plant luscious passionfruit trees. The strong island winds blew the seeds across the land and the plant began to overtake the land. Ecuador pays close attention to this history; acknowledging the fine difference between protecting the environment and altering the ecoculture. As I dried off beside that giant turtle, aher swimming with the seal lion, I thought about this fascinating ecoculture. In San Francisco, I had ohen seen crowds of people down by the wharf watching the sea lions that hang out on local boats. Boat owners repeatedly throw the sea lions off the boats, as the animals bark and bite in protest. Compared with the Galapagos sea lions and the utopia they have known, it is amazing that these two creatures from different ends of the planet are of the same species. Then again, they say everything is a product of its environment. Ecosystems will always evolve and change. But in the Galapagos, change will be the result of nature running its course freer from the destructive impacts of human beings than other ecosystems. It is estimated that the oldest island of the archipelago is about 3.2 million years old and, with the current protection policies of the Galapagos, it may just last another couple million. Michael Rowe 60 East 10th Street New York, NY 10003 212 777-3093