BIOL 305 - Lecture 2: Brief History of Conservation Focusing on North America

What are some of the main drivers for Conservation awareness in the early 19th century

Immigration, Urbanization, Market forces

Privatization of lands

Market hunting and harvests

Overhunting – bison as a classic example

Immigration, Urbanization, Market forces

in 1820, only 5% of people lives in cities, but that grew to 20% by the 1860s, and 35% in the 1890s

(Population growing rapidly)

Privatization of lands

wildlife was disappearing

Market hunting and harvests

railways allowed exploitation

markets for timber

markets for wildlife (food, bone, fur)

Overhunting – bison as a classic example

bison were a dominate ungulate in North America, once numbered in the 10s of millions;

by late 1880s, nearly extinct;

saved in only 5 private herds and a herd in Yellowstone

Changing Awareness and Value in 19th Century

North American philosophers/popular writers

What were both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau?

transcendentalists - believed in individualism, self-reliance, and connection to nature

Ralph Waldo Emerson, ca 1836

believed nature is a temple where people can connect with the spiritual world and gain spiritual enlightenment

Henry David Thoreau, ca 1854

believed experiencing nature was necessary to counterweigh the weakening tendency of civilization and materialism

What story did Henry David Thoreau write in 1854?

Walden (Life in the Woods)

What was the Impact of Urbanization in the 19th Century marked by?

Leisure, recreation, and renewal in nature – hunting and fishing

Recreational hunters would later push for laws and regulations to curtail overexploitation by market hunters

Leisure, recreation, and renewal in nature – hunting and fishing

hunting and fishing clubs/organizations as early mid 1700s expanded throughout 1800s

urbanization linked to expansion of privately owned reserved for hunting and fishing

Preservation was the main focus in the latter 1800s

Yosemite Grant Act, 1864

Yellowstone National Park Act, 1872

Yosemite National Park & Sequoia National Park, 1890

John Muir – Preservationist

When was the Yosemite Grant Act established?

1864

Who signed the Yosemite Grant Act?

President Abraham Lincoln

When was the Yellowstone National Park Act established?

1872

Who signed the Yellowstone National Park Act?

President Ulysses S. Grant

When was the Yosemite National Park & Sequoia National Park established?

1890

Who established Sequoia National Park?

President Benjamin Harrison

What did John Muir – Preservationist claim?

nature has intrinsic value

What was natural resource conservation and management in the 19th Century marked by?

Forest Reserve Act, 1891

Forest Service 1905

Gifford Pinchot, first Chief of the Forest Service

What was the Forest Reserve Act of 1891

allowed for federal government to withdraw forest land from settlement, logging, etc

When was the Forest Reserve Act established?

1891

When was the Forest Service established?

1905

Who was Gifford Pinchot?

the first Chief of the Forest Service (1891) and a strong advocate for research conservation

What was Conservation in the early 20th Century - Continued preservation and conservation marked by?

President Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1990

National legislation on natural resource protection

• Lacey Act, 1900

• Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 1918

Emergence of Wildlife Conservation Strategy

• Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) – Land ethics

• Wildlife management as a profession, ca 1920–30s

• The Wildlife Society, 1937, and the Journal of Wildlife Management

What did President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1901-1990, establish?

3 national parks

18 national monuments

150 national forest reserves

51 federal bird reserves

4 federal game reserves

What were some national legislations on natural resource protection?

All of the above

What was the Lacey Act of 1900?

penalties for illegal interstate trafficking in wildlife, fish, and plants (across state borders)

When was the Lacey Act established?

1900

What was the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918?

act that protects migratory birds

When was the Migratory Bird Treaty Act established?

1918

What did the Emergence of Wildlife Conservation Strategy NOT involve?

Yosemite Grant Act, 1864

What did the Emergence of Wildlife Conservation Strategy involve?

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) – Land ethics

Wildlife management as a profession, ca 1920–30s

The Wildlife Society, 1937 and the Journal of Wildlife Management

What did Conservation in the latter part of the 20th Century involve?

Continued preservation and Broad legislation on natural resource protection

What were some Continued preservation in the latter part of the 20th Century

National parks, forests, reserves

Wilderness Act 1964

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 1968

What was the Wilderness Act of 1964?

allowed agencies to petition congress to protect and designate wilderness areas

When was the Wilderness Act established?

1964

What was the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968?

allowed petitioning/reservation of rivers, preventing dams

When was the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act established?

1968

What Broad legislation on natural resource protection were developed in the latter part of the 20th Century

Pittman-Roberts Act, 1937

Bureau of Land Management, 1964

Marine Mammal Protection Act, 1972

Endangered Species Act, 1973

What was the Pittman-Roberts Act of 1937?

taxes on firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, which were redistributed to state wildlife agencies for conservation

When was the Pittman-Roberts Act established?

1937

When was the Bureau of Land Management established?

1964

What was the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972?

protects marine mammals; mammals were broadly distributed, preventing extinction

When was the Marine Mammal Protection Act established?

1972

What was the Endangered Species Act of 1973?

the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation

When was the Endangered Species Act established?

1973

Who signed the Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972) and Endangered Species Act (1973)?

Richard Nixon

Conservation Biology as a Science

Emerged from Ecology (Kinda)

During 1960s-early 1970s – Ray Dasmann

Mission-oriented crisis discipline (Soule 1986)

Professional societies and journals

• Society for Biological Conservation, 1985

Who was Ray Dasmann (1919-2002)?

biologist and conservationist who helped develop the concepts of "eco-development" and biodiversity

What did Conservation Biology as a mission-oriented crisis discipline (Soule 1986) involve?

growing environmental awareness

new generation of scientist

growing need for applied science

What Professional societies and journals were developed, defining Conservation Biology as a mission-oriented, applied science?

Society for Biological Conservation (1985)

Biological Conservation (1968)

Conservation Biology (1987)

Who defined Conservation Biology as a Discipline?

Michael Soule in 1986

When did Conservation biology begin?

when a critical mass of people agreed that they were conservation biologists (1960s-1970s)

Conservation Biology as a Discipline - Michael Soule, 1986

disciplines are not logical constructs, but social crystallizations which occur when a group of people agree that association and discourse serve their interests

What are the Ethical Principles of Conservation Biology as described by Michael Soule in 1985?

diversity of species and ecosystems should be preserved

untimely extinction of populations and species should be prevented

ecological complexity should be maintained

evolution should continue

biodiversity has intrinsic value regardless of economic, scientific, or aesthetic value to humans

What does is mean when the Ethical Principles of Conservation Biology have Implied philosophical and moral meaning?

these principles cannot be proved or disproved

What is the Ultimate driver for the emergence of Conservation Biology?

Human population growth; Current human population > 8 billion

When is the world population expected to peak?

2060-2085 at ~10 billion people