Historical PerspectiveEarly Wildlife ManagementHuman management of wildlife surely began with our prehistoric ancestors’ awareness of their dependence on animals, and then crops, for their survival. Maintaining a food supply of game and later protecting fields and domesticating animals required the control of natural resources. The preservation of wildlife – dramatized in the story of Noah’s Ark – has been practiced since ancient times, when rulers established game reserves for their own personal use. For centuries, gamekeepers in both Europe and Asia controlled the populations of game animals on kings’ lands. Evolution of Wildlife ConservationModern conservation programs evolved in North America as well as elsewhere. It took centuries, though, for European immigrants and the United States government to understand the need for wildlife management. continent was seen as a vast wilderness that needed to be tamed. Animal life was abundant, and along with the natural resources of forests and water, seemed limitless. Westward settlement altered ecosystems, and in the latter half of the 19th century, many animal species declined rapidly. The hunting of elk, pronghorn antelope, and the snowy egret decimated their numbers. The passenger pigeon became extinct. The fur trade endangered the beaver population. And bison – whose estimated numbers ranged from 60 million to 100 million before Europeans arrived on the continent – were near extinction by the end of the 19th century. Governmental ProtectionCongress established the world’s first national park, Yellowstone, in 1872, but it wasn’t until the turn of the century that growing awareness of over-exploitation of the nation’s resources led to widespread conservation efforts. Most states set up fish and game departments, and the national forest system protected millions of acres of wilderness. Landmark 20th-century legislation includes:The first federal wildlife refuge – Pelican Island, Florida – established by President Theodore Roosevelt, 1903 The National Park System (under the National Park Service), 1916 The Fish and Wildlife Service, 1940 The National Wildlife Refuge System (under the Fish and Wildlife Service), 1966 The Endangered Species Act, 1966 (amended 1973, 1979, 1989) The Environmental Protection Agency, 1970 Continuing EffortsMany private organizations committed to wildlife conservation were also formed throughout the 20th century, and international efforts to manage natural resources continue to expand. |
