Born in the Hands of Hunters the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

Born in the Hands of Hunters The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation Wildlife conservation in the United States and Canada has evolved over the last century and a half to acquire a form distinct from that of any other nation in the world. It’s a conservation approach with irony at its core—sparked by the over-exploitation of wildlife, then crafted by hunters and anglers striving to save the resources their predecessors had nearly destroyed. Now a series of principles collectively known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (Geist 1995, Geist et al. 2001), it helps sustain not only traditional game species but all wildlife and their habitats across the continent. The key to its future lies in understanding its origins. By John F. Organ, Ph.D., Shane P. Mahoney, and Valerius Geist, Ph.D. 22 The Wildlife Professional, Fall 2010 © The Wildlife Society Historical Context The North American Model (the Model) has deep social and ecological roots. In the early days of North American explora- tion, English and French settlers came from cultures where wildlife at various times in their histories was the private prop- erty of an elite landed gentry (Manning 1993). The explorations of these settlers were driven by the incredible wealth of North America’s renewable natural resources—and by an unfettered opportunity to exploit it. Today, wildlife conservation in Canada and the United States reflects this historic citizen access to the land and its resources. Indeed, the idea that natural resources belong to the citizenry drives demo- Credit: René Monsalve cratic engagement in conservation and forms the heart John F. Organ, of North America’s unique approach (Krausman 2009). Ph.D., CWB, is Chief of Wildlife After resource exploitation fueled the expansion of people and Sport Fish Res- across the continent, the Industrial Revolution brought so- toration for the U.S. cial changes that indelibly marked the land and Fish and Wildlife its wildlife. In 1820, 5 percent of Ameri- Service Northeast cans lived in cities, but by 1860, Region and Adjunct 20 percent were urban dwellers, Associate Professor marking the greatest demographic of Wildlife shift ever to occur in America (Riess Conservation at 1995). Markets for wildlife arose to feed these the University of urban masses and to festoon a new class of wealthy Massachusetts, elites with feathers and furs. Market hunters plied their Amherst. trade first along coastal waters and interior forests. With the ad- vent of railways, hunters exploited the West, shipping products Coauthors from bison, elk, and other big game back to eastern cities. The Shane P. Mahoney march of the market hunter left once abundant species teeter- is Executive Director ing on the brink of extinction. for Sustainable Development and Strategic Science By August 1886—when Captain Moses Harris led cavalry troops in the Department of Environment into Yellowstone National Park to take over its administration and Conservation, and stop rampant poaching—bison, moose, and elk had ceased Government of to exist in the U.S. as a viable natural resource (U.S. Dept. Newfoundland and Labrador Interior 1987). The Army takeover of Yellowstone is symbolic of and Founder and the desperate actions taken to protect the remnants of American Executive Director of the Institute wildlife from total extinction. Ironically, the sheer scale of the for Biodiversity, slaughter was to have some influence in engendering a remark- Ecosystem Science, able new phenomenon: the conservation ethic (Mahoney 2007). and Sustainability at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Valerius Geist, Ph.D., Northern shovelers (Anas is Professor Emeritus clypeata) take to the air of Environmental over Laguna Atascosa Science at the National Wildlife Refuge University of Calgary in Texas. in Alberta, Canada. Credit: Steve Hillebrand/USFWS © The Wildlife Society www.wildlife.org 23 Born in the Hands of Hunters criticized Roosevelt for his limited ex- perience in the West and for presenting hunting myths as fact. Roosevelt went to talk with Grinnell, and upon compar- ing experiences the two realized that big game had declined drastically. Their discussion inspired them to found the Boone and Crockett Club in 1887, an organization whose purpose would be to “take charge of all matters pertaining to the enactment and carrying out of game and fish laws” (Reiger 1975). Roosevelt and Grinnell agreed that America was strong because, like Canada, its people had carved the country from a wilderness frontier with self-reliance and pioneer skills. With the Credit: Jim Peaco/NPS demise of the frontier and Some 40,000 bison The increasing urban a growing urban populace, pelts in Dodge population found itself with however, they feared that City, Kansas (right) something that farmers did America would lose this await shipment to the East Coast in not have: leisure time. The edge. They believed that 1878—evidence of the challenges of fair-chase citizens could cultivate tradi- rampant exploitation hunting became a favored Credit: National Archives tional outdoor skills and a of the species. The pastime of many, particularly sense of fair play through end of market hunting and the continuing those of means. Conflicts soon arose between mar- sport hunting, thereby maintaining the character conservation efforts ket hunters, who gained fortune on dead wildlife, of the nation (Brands 1997). have given bison a and the new breed of hunters who placed value on new foothold across live wildlife and the sporting pursuit of it. Endorsing these ideals, influential members of the parts of their historic range, including Boone and Crockett Club used their status to great Yellowstone National These “sport” hunters organized and developed the advantage, helping to create some of North Amer- Park (above). first wildlife hunting clubs (such as the Carroll’s ica’s most important and enduring conservation Island Club, founded in Maryland in 1832) where legacies. In 1900, for example, Congressman John hunters protected game from market hunters. Lacey of Iowa drafted the Lacey Act, making it a Recreational hunters also pushed for laws and federal offense to transport illegally hunted wild- regulations to curtail market hunting and over- life across state borders. Canadian Charles Gordon exploitation. The New York Sportsmen’s Club, Hewitt wrote the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1916 to for example, drafted laws recommending closed protect migratory birds from egg and nest collectors seasons on deer, quail, woodcock, and trout—laws and unregulated hunting. And during his presidency which passed in 1848 (Trefethen 1975). from 1901 to 1909, Theodore Roosevelt protected more than 230 million acres of American lands and Pioneers in Conservation waters, doing more to conserve wildlife than any An early advocate of game protection, Yale-ed- individual in U.S. history. ucated naturalist George Bird Grinnell acquired the sporting journal Forest and Stream in 1879 The Canadian effort revolved around the Com- and turned it into a clarion call for wildlife mission on Conservation, founded in 1909 under conservation. Grinnell had accompanied George the guidance of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier Armstrong Custer on his first western expedition and noted conservationist Clifford Sifton, who in 1874, where he saw herds of bison and elk. A served as the Commission’s chairman and was decade later, in 1885, Grinnell reviewed Hunt- eventually knighted for his efforts. Established to ing Trips of a Ranchman by fellow New Yorker combat resource exploitation, the Commission— Theodore Roosevelt. In that review, Grinnell and its prestigious panel of scientists, academics, 24 The Wildlife Professional, Fall 2010 © The Wildlife Society Born in the Hands of Hunters and policymakers—sought to provide scientific society” to promote discourse on issues facing guidance on the conservation of natural resour- wildlife conservation. ces. Working committees conducted research on • Funding legislation. Congress passed the agricultural lands, water, energy, fisheries, for- Duck Stamp Act of 1934 and the Federal Aid ests, wildlife, and other natural-resource issues, in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (or the eventually publishing the first comprehensive Pittman-Robertson Act) to provide reliable survey of Canadian resources and the challenges funding sources for federal and state wildlife to their conservation. conservation. (See article on page 35.) Emergence of a Profession Though initially launched in the U.S., these initia- By the early 20th century, much of the infrastruc- tives were endorsed and mirrored by Canadian ture of wildlife conservation was already in place. policies and programs. In both nations, subsequent In the 1920s, however, leading conservationists decades have brought expanded conservation legis- recognized that restrictive game laws alone were lation—such as the U.S. Endangered Species Act and insufficient to stem wildlife’s decline. To help Canadian Species at Risk Act—as well as partnership address such concerns, ecologist Aldo Leopold programs to promote and fund wildlife conservation, and other conservationists published American including the U.S. Migratory Bird Joint Ventures Game Policy in 1930, which proposed a program and the Teaming with Wildlife coalition. of restoration to augment existing conservation A Colorado hunter law. “For the first time,” writes Leopold biographer The Model’s Seven Pillars fires a Hawken Curt Meine, “a coherent national strategy directed Such key

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