Wildlife Conservation

3 major components of wildlfie conservation

Wildlife populations, environment/habit, and humans (cultural systems, social structures, and institutions), can also be interpreted as social, political, and scientific

Wildlife Management Methodology

Conceptualize, Plan Actions and Monitoring, Implement Actions and Monitoring, Analyze Use and Adapt, Capture and Share Learning

Conceptualize

Define planning purpose and project team (can’t do it alone), define scope, vision, targets; identify critical threats, analyze the conservation situation

Plan Action and Monitoring

Develop goals, strategies, assumptions, and objectives; develop monitoring plan, develop operational plan

Implementing Actions and Monitoring

Develop work plan and timeline, define and refine budget, implement plans

Analyze, Use, Adapt

Prepare data for analysis, analyze results, adapt strategic plan; sometimes stuff can’t save, analyze impact if species leaves (sometimes non if population was small for very long)

Capture and Share Learning

Document learning, share learning, and create learning environment

Functionalism

An animal has function in an ecosystem so it is protected

Compositionalism

An animal has important cultural or social value, so it is protected

One Health

The idea that people and society, the environment, and plants and animals work with each other (makes up One Health Triad), desires to promote a change in perspective

How does one health promote a change in perspective

Education, Research, and Outreach

Wildlife Manager

Maintains or manipulates wildlife populations, habitats, or human users to produce benefits for wildlife and the general public. Benefits sought may be ecological, economic, social, recreational, or scientific. A wildlife manager uses wildlife science to formulate and apply scientifically sound solutions to wildlife and habitat management problems.

Wildlife Biologist

Gathers, analyzes, and interprets data on wildlife and habitats, including behavior, disease, ecology, genetics, nutrition, population dynamics, physiology, land-use changes, and pollution to conserve wildlife species and improve habitat conditions. A wildlife biologist uses scientific principles to research wildlife and habitats to increase our knowledge base.

Wildlife Consultant

Evaluates ecosystems to determine environmental impacts from proposed actions. Following standards created by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), consultants provide reports to businesses, industries, and governments to ensure quality environments.

Wildlife Technician

Collects data on wildlife and habitats under the supervision of a Wildlife Manager or Wildlife Biologist

Communication and Public Relations Specialists

Interprets wildlife research and conservation programs to present to the general public. Communications and public relations specialists write articles and news releases, create brochures and websites, photograph wildlife and conservation activities, and speak at public gatherings or through outreach

Wildlife Educator

Teaches high school and university students about wildlife science and conservation including wildlife biology, ecology, physiology, disease, toxicology, taxonomy, economics, research and management techniques, and conservation policy and law.

Public Educator and Outreach Specialist

educates the public about wildlife species and conservation issues. Outreach specialists work with private and corporate landowners, industries, citizen groups, and others to provide technical assistance related to wildlife management on private or public farms, forests, parks, urban areas, and industrial lands. Outreach specialists apply economic principles and conservation practices to aid others in maintaining or restoring wildlife on their lands.

Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer

enforces wildlife laws and regulations to maintain wildlife populations at desired levels. Wildlife law enforcement officers often perform surveys of wildlife populations, are involved in trapping and banding programs, implement wildlife population controls, respond to complaints of nuisance wildlife, and educate the public about wildlife issues.

Wildlife Inspector and Forensic Specialist

intercepts smuggled, illegal shipments of live wild animals for the pet trade and wild animal parts for trophy or medicinal purposes. Wildlife inspectors are stationed at international airports, ocean ports, and border crossings. Forensics specialists perform scientific and investigative work to document the origin and nature of evidence collected on these illegal imports.

Wildlife Policy Analyst

Applies wildlife management theories and practices to laws and regulations governing wildlife and habitats. Wildlife policy analysts often work for governments, legislative bodies, nonprofit organizations, or industry groups.

Wildlife Administrator

Works with many stakeholders and budgets to provide assistance in promoting sound resource management programs designed to effectively manage wildlife and habitats.

GIS Specialist

Works with Geographic Information Systems and other technologies to interpret data and make management and policy recommendations concerning wildlife and their habitats

Wildlife Economist

Provides economic analyses of natural resources to support policies, critical habitat designation, assess damage, and analyze environmental plans.

Pre-European America; The “pristine” myth

Humans arrived 14,000-16,000 years ago, caused Megafauna extinction and Indigenous land management, was not an untouched wilderness

Arrival Debate

Most believe humans arrived to 14,000-16,000 years ago across the Bering land bridge, some believe 80,000

Megafauna extinction (10,000-12,000 years ago)

35 genera of mammal lost and 10 genera of bird, 2 competing hypothesis (overkill and climate change)

Overkill Hypothesis (Paul Martin)

Human hunters overhunted NA megafauna

Climate Change hypothesis

Climate change at end of ice age changed ecosystems, causing megafauna extinction

Indigenous Land Management

Fire, Hohokam, Mississipians

Fire indigenous management

Eastern tribes burned forests regularly to create open understory, improve travel corridors, and concentrate game. Early European explorers described eastern forests as "English park-like" — wide spacing between trees, open ground — a managed landscape, not a natural one.

The Hohokam (Arizona, 300 BC-1450 CE)

Constructed over 725 km of irrigation canals to support agriculture in the Sonoran Desert, irrigating approximately 2 million km² of farmland.

The Mississippians

Large urban centers (e.g., Cahokia, near modern St. Louis, population ~20,000) that were effective hunters — so effective they depleted game in surrounding areas, forcing long-distance hunting expeditions.

European Arrival (Disease Factor)

The devastating 74–90% reduction in Indigenous populations due to European diseases (smallpox, typhus, measles, and cholera) which led to a temporary "rebound" of wildlife before the next wave of exploitation; Lewis and clark expeditions saw abundance of wildlife due to this

Fur Trade

Happen when Europeans arrived, eliminated beavers in east coast by the Hudson Bay company, Russain-American trade lead to sea cow extinction

Wanton Waste

Killing for killing sake (bison)

Market Hunting

Hunting for profit (passenger pigeon, plume trade, etc, founded Audobon society)

When did the conservation movement start

Late 1800s

Sportman’s Ethic

The transition from subsistence/market hunting to "fair chase." The formation of the Boone & Crockett Club (1887)

Lacey Act (1900)

The first federal wildlife law; made interstate transport of illegally taken game a federal crime

Weeks-McLean Acr (1913) and Migratory Bird Treaty (1916)

Asserting federal authority over states for migratory species.

Preservation vs Conservation

John Muir vs gifford Pinchot

John Muir (Preservation)

Biocentric view of nature that should be left untamed. "The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."

Gifford Pinchot (Conservation)

Utilitarian view of the greatest good for the greatest length of time. "Conservation means the wise use of the earth and its resources for the lasting good of men."

Hetch Hecthy Battt;e

The first major political split between these two ideologies. San Francisco sought to dam the Tuolumne River in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley for municipal water supply. Muir fought it as a desecration of a sacred landscape, but Pinchot supported it as a legitimate public use of a natural resource.

Aldo Leopold

Shift from protection to management, began his career as a predator control officer for the U.S. Forest Service in the Southwest where he killed wolves and mountain lions as part of official policy; First Wildlife Management text: Game Management (1933); "The ax, the plow, the cow, fire, and the g-n" — meaning habitat manipulation logging, farming, grazing, burning) and harvest are all legitimate management tools when applied scientifically.

How conservation is funded through management

Duck stamp, Pittman-Robertson Act, Dingell-Johnson Act

Duck Stamp

Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act (1934), helps protect migratory birds and wetlands acquisition

Pittman-Robertson Act (1937)

11% excise tax on firearms/ammo, helps pay for conservation

Dingell-Johnson Act (1950)

Funding for fisheries by taxing tackle, boat fuel, and boat engines

Rachel Carson and Silent Spring (1962

Linking wildlife health to human health; the catalyst for the ban on DDT. Silent Spring is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement and leading directly to the creation of the EPA.

Nixon Era

Good for wildlife laws (ESA, EPA, Marine Mammal protection act, EPA)

Sagebrush Rebellion

Political movement demanding transfer of BLM and Forest Service lands to state control. Western ranchers and states have long contested federal ownership of public lands; mainly in 70s and 80s but still active today

North American Model (7 parts)

Wildlife as a Public Trust Resource, Elimination of Markets for game, Allocation of Wildlife by Law, Wildlife should only be killed for a legitimate purpose, wildlife is an international resource, science is the proper tool for wildlife policy, and democracy of hunting and fishing

Wildlife as a Public Trust Resource (NA model)

Wildlife belongs to all citizens. It is held in trust by government agencies for the benefit of present and future generations. This principle traces back to the 1842 Martin v. Waddell and 1896 Geer v. Connecticut Supreme Court rulings.

Elimination of Markets for Game (NA model)

The commercial sale of wildlife is prohibited. This pillar was the direct legislative response to market hunting and the near-extinction of bison, passenger pigeons, and shorebirds.

Allocation of Wildlife by Law (NA Model)

Access to wildlife is determined by democratic public process and law, not by land ownership or wealth.

Wildlife should only be killed for legitimate purpose (NA model)

Killing without purpose is prohibited. Legitimate purposes include food, fur, self-defense, and property protection. This pillar outlaws the kind of mass, purposeless slaughter that characterized the market hunting era.

Wildlife is an International Resource (NA Model)

Wildlife does not respect political borders. Migratory species in particular require cross-border cooperation for effective management. This pillar is the foundation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918) and ongoing U.S.-Canada-Mexico cooperation.

Science is the proper tool for wildlife policy (NA model)

Management decisions must be grounded in scientific data and professional expertise, not politics, tradition, or economic interest alone. This is the pillar that gave rise to the professionalization of wildlife biology and the university training programs that produce wildlife managers today.

Democracy of Hunting and Fishing (NA model)

Every citizen has an equal opportunity under the law to hunt and fish, regardless of social class or land ownership. This stands in direct contrast to the European model where hunting was a privilege of the aristocracy.

21st century problems

Funding Gaps (Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson only fund management of game species, about 10,000 other species not getting federal funding), 2016 Malheur National Wildlife Refugee Occupation (armed protesters rancher occupied refugee for 41 days), Transboundary issues (border fences, jaguars), Climate change, urbanization

William Hubert

British aristocrat that focussed on how hunting was no longer for aristocrats only in USA

George Perkins Marsh

Author of Man and Nature, argued if we knew the future impacts of effort we would work to preserve future resources (wise use)

PrOACT Framework

Problem, Objectives (what) try to achieve and for who), Alternatives (courses of action), Consequences (what happens under each alternative), Trade-offs (what must be sacrificed to achieve this), Implement & Monitor (learn, act, adapt)

Kaibab Plateau

The Grand Canyon Game Preserve in northern Arizona. Deer populations are perceived to be low, with blame being placed on local ranchers and unregulated hunting. Proposed plan involves hiring federal hunters to systematically eliminate all predators like mountain lions, wolves, and coyotes, from the plateau to allow the deer herd to recover; end with 674 mountain lions, 3000 coyotes, and hundred of wolves killed over 18 years, mule deer pop explodes from 4000 to 100,000 by 1924, overgrazed, crashed to 10,00 by 1930 through starvation, disease, and malnutrition

Characteristics of effective planning

Future Control, Problem-solving, team effort, no single approach, adaptive framework, and intention to implement

Conservation triangle (top to bottom)

Objective (SMART, quantifiable), Goals, mission, vission

Vision vs Mission

Values + end goal vs what it does and for what ebenfit

Scales of conservation

International, landscape, regions, state, local, species-specific

Land-use plans

Maintain most suitable type of land use (development vs natural vs recreational)

NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act)

Requires federal agencies to disclose environmental impacts. Results in an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); protects whole enviro, has to be filed for every infrastructure project

Environmental Assessment (EA)

Short assessment done before construction, checks if project will significantly harm, not that deep

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Long assessment done before construction, checks if project will significantly harm or have large federal consequences, very in depth

ESA Section 7

Federal government agencies must consult USFWS

ESA section 10

Allows for "Incidental Take" via Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) for non-federal projects; benefits private land owners for their own conservation

3 Rs of Species Status Assessment (SSA) framework

Resilience, representation, redundancy

Resilience (SSA)

Ability to withstand random disturbances

Representation (SSA)

Genetic and environmental diversity (ability to adapt).

Redundancy

Spreading risk across multiple populations to withstand catastrophes.

Land own percentages

70% of USA is privately owned, 60% of risk species live on private land

Key private land management programs

Conservation Reserve Program, Environmental Incentives Program (EQIP), Safe Harbor Agreements

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

Pays farmers to retire erodible land and plant cover

Environmental Incentives Program (EQIP)

Financial/technical assistance for conservation practices on working lands

Safe Harbor agreements

Landowners improve habitat for endangered species without fear of future regulatory “take” penalties if they return to their baseline, basically not punished for accidentally killing

State wildlife action plans

In order to receive P-R or D-J funding, must have action plan

Steps of a wildlife action plan (8)

Disturbance/abundance of wildlife, habitat/community description, review of problems/factors effecting a species, proposed conservation actions and priorities for identified species/habitats, monitoring plans for species/habitats, procedure for plan reassessment and evaluation, coordination plans with other agencies, public participation plans

State Wildlife Grants Program

Created by congress in 2001, grants require a nonfederal match to impact state and private funding

Increased stakeholder participation and responsibility (rising)

Authoritative, Passive-reception, Inquisitive, intermediary, transactional, comanagement