2-3 Environmental History of North America: The Early Conservation Era

What Happened between 1832 and 1870? Ignored Warnings

During this time, there were some signs of conservation problems near the areas that were most densely settled; for instance, beavers had been trapped to the edge of extinction in some regions. Between 1832 and 1870, a number of Americans became alarmed at the scope of resource depletion and degradation in the United States.

Two early conservationists were Henry David Thoreau and George Perkins Marsh. Thoreau was alarmed at the loss of numerous wild species from his native eastern Massachusetts. Marsh questioned the idea that the country’s resources were inexhaustible. He also used scientific studies and case studies to show how the rise and fall of past civilizations were linked to the use and misuse of their resource base. Most of these warnings were not taken seriously.

What Happened between 1870 and 1930? Government and Citizen Involvement

Canadian civil servants, and subsequently the federal government, began to focus on conservation. In the United States, the federal government tried to protect more of the nation’s natural resources.

In Canada, the British North America Act of 1867 placed wildlife in the hands of the provinces. The federal government had been focused on economic and political issues, such as the transcontinental expansion of the railroad and the Confederation of Canada.

What Happened between 1930 and 1960? Depression and War

Governments focused on recovering from the Depression, the dust bowl, and war.

Up until 1945, when the emphasis shifted to developing more parks for recreational purposes, the government focused on the establishment of national and provincial parks in remote and beautiful areas.

A second wave of American resource conservation and improvements in public health began in the early 1930s as President Franklin D. Roosevelt strove to bring the country out of the Great Depression. The government purchased large tracts of land from cash-poor landowners, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established in 1933. It put 2 million unemployed people to work planting trees and developing and maintaining parks and recreation areas