US Fish and Wildlife Service

1. US Fish and Wildlife Service 1940 (1776) - 2007

2. US Wildlife Management History • Homestead era meat hunting and industrial hunting exterminates species from most ranges • First state regulations (late 1800s) • Teddy Roosevelt, the big game hunter • First federal regulations (early 1900s) • Introductions and reintroductions • Endangered Species Act, 1973 • Habitat management plans and “ecosystem management” • Corridors and connectivity • Theories: Hardy Weinberg, bottlenecks, genetic issues

3. Bounty hunting and meat hunting To be entitled an act to provide for the destruction of certain wild animals therein mentioned Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Oregon; that there shall be paid out of the county treasury of the proper county on the order of the county commissioners to any person who shall at any regular or special session of the county court of any county in this territory, present to said court, the scalp of any panther, tiger, cougar, lynx, wild-cat, large-wolf or prairie wolf and declare under oath, that the animal from which the said scalp was taken was killed in the said county; when the same is presented, the following premiums shall be awarded viz; for each panther, the sum of three dollars; for each tiger, the sum of three dollars; for each cougar, the sum of three dollars; for each lynx, the sum of three dollars; for each wild-cat, the sum of one dollar; for each large-wolf, the sum of three dollars; and for each prairie-wolf, the sum of one dollar and fifty cents.

4. Bounty hunting and meat hunting Source: Wikipedia

5. Bounty hunting and meat hunting Source: Geographisches Handbuch zu Andrees Handatlas, vierte Auflage, Bielefend und Leipzig, Velhagen und Klasing, 1902 Source: Wikipedia

6. Bounty hunting and meat hunting Source: Geographisches Handbuch zu Andrees Handatlas, vierte Auflage, Bielefend und Leipzig, Velhagen und Klasing, 1902 Ausrottung: Out-wiping, wiping out Rough translation: The numbers on this chart give the years taken to extermination of the largest herds of wild bison, and current status of remaining herds per first January 1989 Source: Wikipedia

7. Meat hunting today: the African bushmeat crisis (Images: African Association of Zoos and Aquaria, Great Apes Survival Project)

8. Bison Conservation today • Yellowstone NP, USA • Wood Buffalo NP, Canada • USFWS Bison Range, MT • Ted Turner estate, MT • Various Indian reservations • Private farmers • The “Buffalo Commons” proposal

9. National Bison Range Source: State of MT.

10. Source: USFWS

11. Early State Game Laws • Closed seasons • Bag limits • Buck only • Closed species

12. Lacey Act: 1900 • Prohibited the transportation of illegally captured or prohibited animals across state lines. • First federal law protecting wildlife • Still in effect • Non-native species

13. Martha: the last passenger pigeon Smithsonian

14. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act: 1918 • Unlawful to take, import, export, possess, buy, sell, purchase, or barter any migratory bird • Feathers or other parts, nests, eggs, and products made from migratory birds also covered

15. Pitman Robinson Act: 1937 • Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the state fish and game departments in wildlife-restoration projects. • “No money apportioned under this chapter to any state shall be expended until the state in question assents to the provisions of this chapter and has passed laws for the conservation of wildlife, which includes a prohibition against the diversion of license fees paid by hunters for any other purpose than the administration of said state's fish and game department.” • Hunter education programs • Possible multi-state conservation grants

16. What Pitman Robinson says now (after multiple reauthorizations and amendments: Within five years … develop … a wildlife conservation strategy based upon … scientific information and data that-- • uses .. species .. that are indicative of the diversity and health of wildlife of the State; • identifies the extent and condition of wildlife habitats and community types essential to conservation of species identified under paragraph • identifies the problems which may adversely affect the species …. • … actions which should be taken to conserve the species • … periodic monitoring of species • … review of the State wildlife conservation strategy • … provides for coordination to the extent feasible the State fish and wildlife department, during the development, implementation, review, and revision of the wildlife conservation strategy, with Federal, State, and local agencies and Indian tribes that manage significant areas of land or water within the State, or administer programs that significantly affect the conservation of species identified under paragraph (1) or their habitats. • Etc, etc