In 1991, The Nature Conservancy launched a "Last Great Places" program to recognize 12 ecosystems highly valued by conservation biologists as well as people living in them. Block Islanders were proud to be placed among some very high-profile company.

The conservancy grouped Block Island with Peconic Bay, in eastern Long Island, as places that protected endangered species as well as migratory birds.

John C. Sawhill, president of the conservancy at the time, said the program arose from the realization that buying sensitive pieces of land and fencing them off was not going to succeed as a conservation strategy.

"The solution is to focus on creative methods and partnerships to protect whole functioning ecosystems," he said. "There can be planned, compatible development that allows all members of a community to realize their shared aspirations -- for their economies and quality of life -- even as they protect the bounty of their natural resources."

The other Last Great Places were:

• A 55-mile chain of barrier islands known as the Virginia Coast Reserve.

• A system of creeks in Ohio known as the Big Darby Watershed.

• The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma.

• An 18-mile dune system in California called Nipomo Dunes, home to many rare shore birds.

• Rio Celestun/Rio Lagartos in Mexico -- 300,000 acres on the Yucatan Peninsula that harbors endangered sea turtles and jaguars.

• Texas Hill Country, a biologically diverse area threatened by suburbanization from Austin and San Antonio.

• Mbaracayu, a subtropical forest in Paraguay.

• The Darien in Panama, a 1.5 million acre park.

• Southwest ecosystems in Arizona and New Mexico that include the San Pedro River System and the 40,000 acre Gray Ranch.

• The Florida Keys.

• The Condor Bioreserve in northern Ecuador.