The Story of the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation: Opportunity for All

RMEF & Conservation Visions 2006

History of Wildlife Management

• When did we start managing wildlife? Why?

• How have attitudes towards wildlife and wildlife management changed through time? Why?

• What are some of the significant laws and events related to wildlife and its management? What makes them significant?

History of Wildlife Management

• Who are some of the notable people in wildlife? Why are they notable?

• How has our thinking about wildlife and conservation changed through time?

• How does knowing this help me as a wildlife biologist/manager?

History of Wildlife Management

• The beginning of mankind (~4 mya)

• Native peoples (N. Am.: 8,000-10,000 ya)– Sustained harvest– Habitat modifications

• Pleistocene Overkill

History of Wildlife Management

• 3800 BC: Weirs built in America’s

• 0 AD: Evidence of wild turkey domestication in Mexico and Southwest

History of Wildlife Management

• Bible (Deuteronomy 22:6)

• 1215-1294: Kublai Khan • 1215: Magna Charta

• 1500s: Spanish introduce horses, pigs, sheep, goats, and cattle to New World

History of Wildlife Management

• 1581: Pheasant & partridge protection statute

• 1616: Bermuda protects cahow• 1620: Bermuda protects green turtles

• Many other laws to improve hunting for nobility

History of Wildlife Management

• U.S.– Era of Abundance (1600-1849)– Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)– Era of Protection (1900-1929)– Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– Era of Environmental/Ecological Management

(1966-present)

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Abundance (1600-1849)– Most wildlife very abundant, thought inexhaustible– People starting to have negative affects– Predators and harmful wildlife persecuted– Some local efforts to boost populations

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Abundance (1600-1849)– 1630: 1st predator bounty (wolves in MA)– 1646: 1st closed season (deer in RI)– 1650: Beaver nearly gone in the East– 1677: CT prohibited game exports

– 1700s: most colonies past deer harvest laws, but no enforcement

– Early 1700s: 40+ million bison and 10+ million pronghorn roam the West

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Abundance (1600-1849)– 1708: 1st closed seasons on game birds

(ruffed grouse, turkey, bobwhite quail, and heath hens in some parts of NY)

– 1710: MA prohibits some boat types for hunting waterfowl

– 1718: MA closed deer season for 3 years

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Abundance (1600-1849)– 1739: 1st wardens in MA– 1768: Steller’s sea cow extinct

– 1776: 1st federal game law closing deer season in all colonies except GA

– 1782: Bald Eagle recognized as National Symbol– 1790: Exotic wildlife released (NJ; Hungarian

partridge)

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Abundance (1600-1849)– 1800: Jaguar extinct in U.S.– Early 1800s: Audubon counts a billion passenger

pigeons in a flock

– 1836: Ralph W. Emerson - Nature

– 1842: U.S. Supreme Court decision – oysters• Affirms the “Public Trust Doctrine”

– Natural resources belong to all people in the U.S.

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Abundance (1600-1849)– 1844: Great auk extinct– 1844: New York Sportsman’s Club to protect game

– 1846: 1st law against spring shooting some birds (wood ducks, black ducks, woodcock, and snipe)

– 1849: Dept. of the Interior (USDI or DOI) established

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)– Declines in many game species (e.g., bison)

• Increased human population and settlement• Transcontinental railroad• Market hunting• Sport hunting

– Some conservation initiated

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)– 1850: Eastern elk, bison, and beaver gone– 1850-1860: WI protected prairie chickens;

CA protected elk and pronghorns

– 1850: 1st protection of non-game (screech owls and insectivorous birds in NJ and CT)

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)– 1851-1864: non-game bird protection

established in 12 states

– 1852: 1st salaried game wardens (ME)

– 1854: Henry D. Thoreau - Walden

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)– 1856: 1st wildlife department (MA Commission

of Fisheries and Game)

– 1860: Estimated 60 million bison in U.S.

– 1864: Man & Nature published (G.P. Marsh)

– 1864: 1st state hunting license (NY)

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)– 1864: closed season (spring) on bison, elk,

deer, pronghorn, mountain goat, and sheep

– 1872: Yellowstone Park Act

– 1872: Labrador duck extinct

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)– 1878: 1st game bird bag limit (25 PC’s in Iowa)

– 1880: by this time all states had some game laws

– 1883: American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) established

– Late 1800s: Sea mink extinct

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)– 1886: Federal Division of Economic

Ornithology & Mammalogy established

– 1886: Audubon Society formed

– 1886: 540 bison remain in U.S.

– 1887: Boone and Crockett Club formed

History of Wildlife Management• Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)

– 1889: 150 wild bison in U.S.

– 1891: Forest Reserve Act

– 1892: Sierra Club formed

– 1895: 1st resident & nonresident hunting licenses in several states

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)– 1896: Division of Biological Survey (BS)

formed

– 1896: Geer v. Connecticut

– 1898: Pinchot named head of USDA Division of Forestry

– 1899: Refuse Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Protection (1900-1929)– Many wildlife populations very low– Increase in protection and regulation by

government• Except predators & harmful wildlife

– 1st conservation movement begins– Roosevelt’s Wise Use Doctrine– 1st attempts to look at entire systems

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Protection (1900-1929)– 1900: Lacey Act

– 1902: 1st wildlife managers meeting (wardens) in Yellowstone

– 1903: 1st federal wildlife refuge established

– 1905: Creation of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Protection (1900-1929)– 1907: the term “conservation” is coined

(prudent use).

– 1911: Seal Treaty– 1911: American Game Protective &

Propagation Association (AGPPA) established

– 1913: Tariff Act of 1913– 1913: Weeks-McLean Migratory Bird Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Protection (1900-1929)– 1914: Last passenger pigeon & Carolina

parakeet died

– 1915: Act of Congress to control harmful wildlife

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Protection (1900-1929)– 1916/1918: Migratory Bird Convention & Migratory

Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)

– 1916: creation of the National Park Service

– 1924: Gila Wilderness in the Gila NF becomes the first Wilderness Area

– 1929: Migratory Bird Conservation Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– Protection not good enough, needed active

management and conservation• “Wise Use” taking hold

– Increased funding– Enforcement becomes more effective

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1930: American Game Policy (Aldo Leopold et al.)

– 1930: Tariff Act of 1930

– 1931: Animal Damage Control Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1933: Heath hen extinct

– 1933: 1st wildlife professor

– 1933: Game Management (Aldo Leopold)

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1934: Darling’s NYC meeting

– 1934: Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (Duck Stamp Act)

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1934: Division of Game Management created

within Bureau of Biological Survey– 1934: Taylor Grazing Act

– 1935: Wilderness Society formed– 1935: 1st Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research

Unit formed– 1935: USDA - Soil Conservation Service formed

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1936: 1st National Wildlife Conference (NAWNRC)

– 1936: Mexico joins MBTA

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1937: Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act

(Pittman-Robertson Act)• ~$6.5 Billion to states• ~42,500 animals reintroduced• ~3 million hunter education students• ~173,000 private landowners assisted• ~4.9 million acres acquired or leased

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1937: Ducks Unlimited (DU) formed

– 1937: The Wildlife Society (TWS) organized

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1939: BS moved to USDI

– 1940: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formed

– 1946: The Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) formed

– 1946: USDI – Bureau of Land Management (BLM) established

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1947: Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, &

Rodenticide Act

– 1948: Federal Water Pollution Control Act– 1949: Leopold – A Sand County Almanac

– 1950: Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act (Dingell-Johnson Act)

– 1950: The Nature Conservancy (TNC) formed

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1954: Flood Control Act

– 1956: Fish & Wildlife Act

– 1960: Sikes Act– 1960: Multiple Use Act– 1960: Cooperative Research & Training Units Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Game Management (1930-1965)– 1961: Wetland Loan Act

– 1962: Rachel Carson – Silent Spring

– 1964: Wilderness Act– 1964: Land & Water Conservation Fund

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– Active management and conservation continue– Increased funding– Non-game, endangered species, community,

ecosystem, and biodiversity conservation– 2nd conservation movement begins

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1966: National Wildlife Refuge System

Administration Act

– 1966: Endangered Species Preservation Act

– 1968: Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1969: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

– 1969: Endangered Species Conservation Act

– 1970: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1970: Clean Air Act

– 1970: First Earth Day

– 1971: Wild Free-roaming Horses and Burros Act

– 1971: Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1972: Japan joins MBTA

– 1972: National Marine Sanctuary Act

– 1972: Marine Mammal Protection Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1972: Clean Water Act– 1972: Coastal Zone Management Act– 1972: DDT banned in U.S.

– 1973: Endangered Species Act (ESA)

– 1974: Forest & Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1973-1975: Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

– 1976: National Land Policy & Management Act– 1976: National Forest Management Act

– 1977: Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1978: Russia joins MBTA

– 1980: Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

– 1980: Fish & Wildlife Conservation Act (Non-game Act)

– 1981 Lacey Act amended

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1984: Wallup-Breaux Act

– 1985: Food Security Act (The Farm Bill)

– 1986: North American Waterfowl Management Plan

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1987: Montreal Protocol– 1989: NA Wetlands Conservation Act

– 1990: Oil Pollution Act– 1990: Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and

Restoration Act

– 1990-present: several states ban the use of traps

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1992: United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change

– 1993: National Biological Service (NBS) formed

– 1996: NBS becomes Biological Resources Division of USGS

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 1997: Kyoto Protocol

– 1997: “Organic” legislation for National Wildlife Refuge system

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 2002: Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary– 2006: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands becomes a

national monument

– 2008 Lacey Act amended: plants

– 2010 USFWS bans some constrictor snakes under the Lacey Act

History of Wildlife Management

• Era of Environmental/Ecological Management (1966-present)– 2010: estimated 30,000 bison in NA

– 2000-?: State Wildlife Grant Program (SWG)• Teaming with Wildlife• Conservation and Reinvestment Act?

Notable Wildlifers

• John J. Audubon (1785-1851)

• George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882)

• Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Notable Wildlifers

• Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903)

• John Muir (1838-1922)

• George Bird Grinnell (1849-1938)

Notable Wildlifers

• Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

• Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946)

• Stephen T. Mather (1867-1946)

Notable Wildlifers

• Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling (1876-1962)

• Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)

Notable Wildlifers

• Paul L. Errington (1902-1962)

• Olaus Murie (1869-1963)

• Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

So what!