History of Wildlife Conservation

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History of Wildlife Conservation
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• First practiced in England during the Middle Ages
• Ignored by European settlers to the United States
  due to the abundance of trees, water and wildlife
• George Washington was first to voice concern
  about environment

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Wasteful Exploitation

• -making unwise use of resources
• killing too much game and cutting too many trees
  without using it
• -Late 1800s opinions began changing due to the
  reduced animal populations
• -1870 the first game refuge was created in
  California
• -1872 land was set aside to create Yellowstone
  National Park

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• 1916-National Park Service established
• 1900-Congress passed the Game Bird and Wild Bird
  Preservation Act (Lacey Act) which regulated the
  shipment of illegally killed animals helpful to
  states in enforcing laws

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• 1934-Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act passed that
  obligated all waterfowl hunters to buy a 1
  hunting stamp in addition to the cost of the
  license funds used to promote the well-being of
  migratory game birds

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• 1937-Pittman-Robertson Act passed that placed
  excise tax on all hunting equipment and
  ammunition funds used to support state wildlife
  management programs

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• 1966-Endangered Species Act passed
• -protected endangered and threatened wildlife
  species
• -money provided to identify rare, threatened or
  endangered species to manage populations to
  increase numbers

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• 1966-Wildlife Refuge System organized as a part
  of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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Selected Federal Actions to Protect Wildlife

• 1903-1st wildlife refuge established in Florida
  Pelican Island Refuge
• 1913-Weeks-McClean Act protected migratory
  waterfowl and song birds from being hunted during
  closed season

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• 1918-Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act initiated
  federal involvement in wildlife management
  1940-Bald Eagle Act protected bald eagle
• 1940-Fish Wildlife Service formed consolidated
  efforts in wildlife conservation

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• 1950-Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act tax
  added to fishing tackle to fund research
• 1964-The Land Water Conservation Act created
  fund to buy land water having scenic
  recreational value to protect endangered species

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• 1964-Wildernss Act set up wilderness
  preservation system to keep some areas
  untarnished
• 1971-Wild Free-roaming Horse Burro Act
  protected burros and horses on publicly owned
  land

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• 1972-Marine Mammal Protection Act limited
  killing dolphins to 112,000/year
• 1973-Endangered Species Act provided a
  comprehensive plan to protect endangered and
  threatened species
• 1985-Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
  established provided for areas of wildlife
  habitat on farms near crops

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Leaders in Wildlife Conservation

• James Audubon-studied and painted birds of North
  America American Audubon Society formed in 1905
  named for him
• John Muir-founded the Sierra Club in 1892 to
  promote conservation

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• Theodore Roosevelt-U.S. President from 1901-1909
  expanded the U.S. Forest Service set up 5
  national parks, 18 national monuments 51 bird
  reservations generally considered the father of
  the conservation movement in the United States

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• Gifford Pinchot-promoted the conservation of
  forest lands generally considered the father of
  forestry in the United States
• Aldo Leopold-a pioneer in applying ecology to
  wildlife management demonstrated the role of
  hunting and its impact on wildlife populations

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Examples of Wildlife Management

• Banding-placing bands around the legs of birds to
  identify it for study information used to
  determine migratory routes, set annual hunting
  regulations ensure bird populations are
  maintained at high levels

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• Trapping transplanting-used to introduce
  species to lower population areas (White tailed
  deer)
• Land Management-used to provide secure habitat
  for species that require specially protected areas

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• Wildlife population survey-counting the number of
  wildlife in an area gives information about the
  relative abundance of a particular species
• Implementation of regulations-based on
  information on wildlife numbers and conditions
  made by government agencies, helps determine
  season bag limits

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Wildlife Productivity

• The rate at which mature wildlife organisms are
  produced
• Game management uses strategies that consider
  animal populations and productivity impacted by
  natural causes, hunting, introduced predators and
  habitat modifications
• Non-regulated hunting can have devastating
  impacts on wildlife.