The History of Conservation

Conservation vs. Exploitation Small Group: What is the difference between conservation and exploitation?

Conservation: the careful use of our natural resources to provide as much usefulness as possible to people both now and in the future.

Exploitation: the using up of natural resources with little or no regard for the future.

Small Group List some resources that have been exploited.

Wildlife Management

In America’s past, wildlife was plenty Early colonists described wildlife numbers as “incredible” and in the “millions of millions” What they didn’t realize was that they settled around plentiful “pockets” of wildlife By 1698, efforts were being made to regulate hunting because much of the wildlife was already gone in those areas.

Sports Hunters 1844 – 1865: Sports hunters pushed for restrictions against market hunters to conserve game species.

Market Hunters

Market hunters hunted and fished for wholesale slaughter – The more you harvested, the greater the profit

There were no hunting seasons to regulate when and how many animals were slaughtered. – Market hunters were partially responsible for the eradication of the passenger pigeon, American bison, and whitetail deer

Group Discussion Other than market hunters, who else was responsible for the huge decline of American wildlife? How did they contribute?

Wildlife Conservation Laws and Regulations Lacey Act (1900) – made the interstate transportation of game a federal crime. Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1916 – 1918) – joint legislation between Great Britain and the U.S. – Protected migratory waterfowl, which breed in Canada and fly across the U.S.

Changing Land use: As the U.S. became industrialized, some of the land once farmed was abandoned and returned to scrub and forestland.

Aldo Leopold (1933) published Game Management which is still used today as a basis for game management Duck Stamp Act (1934) – required waterfowl hunters to purchase an additional stamp at an additional cost – Stamp money is used to provide and protect waterfowl populations

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1940) – helps regulate hunting and fishing throughout the U.S.

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Forest Management

Timber shortages have been recorded as far back as 5,000 years ago. China, Egypt, and Rome all reported timber shortages before 1AD.

Colonists passed laws as early as 1626 to control the sale and burning of timber In the late 1700’s – early 1800’s, the efforts were to save live oak trees – but only for military purposes

Forest production grew from 1 billion board feet in 1840 to 35 billion board feet in 1906.

Laws and Regulations

American Forestry Association (1875) – promoted timber and forestry USDA Forestry division (1881) Congress began creating forest reserves (1891)

Gifford Pinchot became the first head of the forestry division (1898) uHzA uHzA

US Forest Service (1905) – took over forest reserves and renamed them “National Forests” Weeks Law (1911) – gave the president the authority to purchase forestlands for river watershed protection – Linked forestry with soil and water conservation

Civilian Conservation Corps (Great Depression) – trained and gave workers experience in forestry ml4YI ml4YI

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Soil Conservation

Early colonial farmers utilized a concept of abandoning “worn out” farms – These “worn out” areas were left with bare ground and quickly eroded away.

Hillsides were plowed and grasslands were over-grazed. Approximately one-third of America’s fertile topsoil has been lost to erosion.

Laws and Legislation

US Department of Agriculture began conducting soil surveys (early 1900’s) Dr. Hugh H. Bennett published the USDA’s first soil conservation bulletin

Congress established soil erosion research stations Soil Erosion Service (1933) – worked to control soil erosion

Taylor Grazing Act (1934) - the first federal effort to regulate grazing on federal public lands. It establishes grazing districts and uses a permitting system to manage livestock grazing in the districts.

Soil Conservation Service (1935) – later became what is now the Natural Resources Conservation Service

Soil Conservation Districts (1937) – associations of local farmers, businesspersons, and others interested in the conservation of local soils. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (1937) – provided farmers with incentive payments to offset the high costs of soil conservation

Bureau of Land Management - formed during a government reorganization in Besides protecting and managing the public lands for a variety of uses, the BLM also maintains custody of nearly nine million pages of historic land documents. These documents include copies of homestead and sales patents, survey plats and survey field notes.

National Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Soil Conservation Society of America

Soil erosion is the main side effect of increased food production. Soil conservation is our responsibility. Soil is our most important resource.

Small Group What does this quote mean?

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Water Management

America was originally settled in areas that provided adequate fresh water. Water was seen as plentiful, as was the land City sewage systems emptied into rivers as a means to transport the sewage elsewhere

Laws and Legislation The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1882) – authorized cities to purchase municipal forests to protect watersheds Association for the Advancement of Science (1890) – advocated for the conservation of steam flow, water supplies, and watershed maintenance

Mississippi River Commission (1879) – helped improve the river as a waterway Rivers and Harbors Act (1917/1927) – established and maintained navigable waterways

Small Group Discussion Early legislation did not concentrate on water conservation. What were the early laws essentially focusing on?

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Flood Control Act (1936) – authorized the SCS to develop and implement plans for upstream soil and water conservation to reduce sedimentation and flooding.

Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (1954) – gave conservation responsibilities to state and local organizations

Clean water and its distribution are a serious concern and must be immediately addressed.

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