Parks for preservation of wild land and wildlife
Yellowstone reserved by Congress 1872 with little
debate -- promoted by group of wealthy easterners who had visited
the area in 1871
originally intended to preserve the scenic beauty of the area
possibilities for preservation of bison were recognized soon after park
created -- in his editorials in Field and Stream,George Bird
Grinnell advocated preservation of game and forests in Yellowstone
Northern Pacifc Railroad 1881 opened possibilities for tourism
a few states created reserves about this time also -- CA requested use of
Yosemite Valley as a reserve for public recreation (granted by Congress
1864 -- federal government retained ownership and in 1890 Yosemite became
a national park) -- New York State established Adirondack Forest Preserve
1885 -- 715000 acres (over 1100 square miles)
after 1890, many other national parks established -- especially in two
periods 1890-1920 and 1940-1960
Yosemite and Kings Canyon (originally General Grant) 1890, Glacier 1910,
Denali (originally Mount McKinley) 1917, Grand Canyon 1919, Great Smoky
Mountains 1930, Isle Royale 1940, Everglades 1947, Cape Hatteras and Cape
Lookout National Seashores 1952 -- and many others -- no new national
parks and no substantial expansion of existing ones since 1960 (few exceptions
involved no taxpayers' money)!
National Park Service established 1916
should national parks protect wildlife in addition to
scenery? who owns wildlife? the public (government)
or the landowner?
original bill establishing Yellowstone was not clear about the status of
wildlife and proposed vague policy for hunting and fishing -- then in 1894
Ed Howell arrested for poaching bison in Yellowstone (a blatant, repeat
offender at a time when bison were on verge of extinction) -- George Bird
Grinnell pushed for protection of all animals in national parks -- in less
than two months Lacey Act passed Congress with little debate (1894)
Lacey Act (1894) . . .
- clarified legal status of park by placing it under jurisdiction of US
government
- protected all animals and regulated fishing, also mineral and scenic
features protected
- allocated funds for salary and residence for a "commissioner"
(caretaker)
- outlawed transport of animals or fish taken in the park -- regulating
transport is often much easier than regulating hunting!
first three provisions set precedent for creation of national parks
administered and funded by federal government
last provision became precedent for much subsequent interstate and
international management of wildlife
Lacey Act 1894 started the legal precedent for treating wildlife as property of the public
US Supreme Court (Geer vs Connecticut 1896) upheld the view that game
belonged to public rather than to landowners -- for more information about
this crucial legal precedent see [Who owns
wildlife?]
wildlife was thus a "commons" -- this step had two major consequences . .
.
hunting became an activity that all Americans could pursue -- not just the
wealthy -- private property owners could not fence wildlife and then sell
hunting rights for high prices (note that individuals can prohibit
trespass on their property but do not own the wildlife)
management of wildlife became a public responsibility -- management of the
commons by elected governments became possible -- the combination of these
two consequences of the Lacey Act created broad support among American
citizens for management of wildlife
Lacey Act amended in 1900 -- prohibited interstate transport of wildlife
obtained illegally in the state of origin (it became illegal to smuggle
game out of a state where hunting was prohibited and to sell it in another
state where it lacked protection)
set precedent for recent amendments that prohibit imports of wildlife from
other countries where protected by national or international law (for
instance, captive parrots or leopard skins) -- an international treaty
(Control of International Traffic in Endangered Species CITES) now
prohibits such imports in all but a few countries of the world (Japan is
one holdout!)
how should national parks balance preservation and recreation??
controversy over the removal of Hetch Hetchy Valley from Yosemite National
Park for use as a reservoir by San Francisco 1916 -- John Muir lost this
one -- in recent years the reservoir has provided little water for the Bay
area -- should the reservoir now be dismantled?? -- or should the lake
become a recreation area??
Wilderness Act 1964 -- first stipulation that some areas must remain free
from intensive human activity (including motorized vehicles)
National wildlife refuges
1903 Pelican Island, Florida, first federal wildlife refuge -- 4 acres --
many other waterbird colonies threatened by plume hunters protected in
following few years
1908 Lower Klamath and Malheur Lakes Oregon first large migratory
waterfowl refuges (orignally called Migratory Bird Refuges)
1908 National Bison Range Montana first big game refuge (Matthiessen 192)
1932 Swanquarter NWR, 1934 Mattamuskeet NWR, 1938 Pea Island NWR -- first
three big refuges in NC
1966 National Wildlife Refuge System Act consolidates FWS authority over
all units
1973 Endangered Species Act extends USFWS activites to nongame species
1980 Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act adds almost 22 M ha
(45 M acres, 85K square miles) of land in Alaska to national wildlife
refuge system -- including Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the north
slope where Barren-ground Caribou gather for calving and Snow Geese from
Russia stop on their long migration to California -- also including most
of the Aleutian Islands with huge seabird colonies
currently over 500 national wildlife refuges with 92 M acres distributed
in all states protect over 200 endangered or threatened species -- also
most of the ducks, geese, swans in North America -- and 40M seabirds in
the Aleutian Islands -- as well as most large mammals in US including Red
Wolf, Barren-ground Caribou, and Florida Panther -- and 21M acres of
Wilderness Areas
Non-governmental organizations
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was founded in 1940's by members of the
Ecological Society of America who felt that more had to be done to protect
natural areas ... TNC emerged in 1970's as major force in protection of
unique habitats and endangered species (NC chapter founded 1977) --
primary objective is to acquire critical tracts of land by purchase or
donation -- instead of lobbying and political activity -- some large
tracts are transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to administer
as National Wildlife Refuges -- for instance Alligator River NWR in
eastern NC -- no other organization has been so successful in raising
money and brokering deals to protect natural areas
Nature Conservancy has initiated Natural Heritage Programs in nearly every
state -- operated by state governments to monitor endangered and
threatened species and to recommend areas for protection
local land trusts have followed the path of national Nature Conservancy --
NC now has at least a dozen local land trusts -- including the Triangle
Land Conservancy which, for instance, acquired a large tract of land in
2002 north of Chapel Hill to provide a connection between two parts of
Duke Forest -- similar land trusts are in operation all over the US