Frage zur Grammatik

i’d be so happy if anyone could help me because i`m learning german and there`s something that really confuses me.
When we use infinitiv clause as the subjekt of the sentence, should we always use ZU? For ex, this sentence ``Diese Arten vom Aussterben zu retten wirkt sich auf den Fortbestand ihrer ganzn Ökosysteme aus.`` Can I also say ‘’Diese Arten vom A... retten…’ We can say ``to save these species from extinction`` or saving these species from extinction`` in english but im not sure how its going in german.