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America’s Wildlife Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

America’s Wildlife Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Wildlife at the Brink. FIELDS. The New World provided an abundance of natural resources. TREES. WILDLIFE. In England, hunting was a privilege reserved for royalty and landowners. MARTEN. For some animals, the fur was profitable to sell.

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America’s Wildlife Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

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  1. America’s WildlifeYesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Wildlife at the Brink

  2. FIELDS The New World provided an abundance of natural resources. TREES WILDLIFE

  3. In England, hunting was a privilege reserved for royalty and landowners.

  4. MARTEN For some animals, the fur was profitable to sell FISHER BEAVER WOLVERINE

  5. Beaver hides were a measure of wealth.

  6. Hunters and settlers moved west, altering the land as they went.

  7. Game animals became scarce.

  8. The “Transcontinental Railroad” provided easier access to western lands.

  9. A lack of laws meant hunters were free to take whatever they could shoot or trap.

  10. Market hunting for fur and feathers became profitable.

  11. Market hunting was one factor that led to the near extinction of bison.

  12. The Slaughter of the Southern Herd* *From The Extermination of the American Bison by William T. Hornaday

  13. Bison numbers were so low that hunting them was no longer profitable.

  14. But bison weren’t alone. Deer, elk, wolf, turkey, and more were drastically declining.

  15. Habitat loss, market hunting, and predator control were making their impact.

  16. Waterfowl, such as ducks and geese, may have been hit the hardest.

  17. The “Sunday Gun” – A deadly combination of concealable rifle and shotgun Improved gun technology increased hunting efficiency.

  18. Lack of breeding locations forced large numbers of birds to small areas.

  19. As long as the market existed, the slaughter would continue.

  20. 1600 HUMMINGBIRD SKINS MISCELLANEOUS BIRD SKINS

  21. By the early 1900s, many animal species were already or nearly extinct, largely due to market hunting.

  22. Great Auk (1852) Cause of extinction: Killed for food and oil. Carolina Parakeet (1918) Cause of extinction: Killed for feathers, killed as pests, and loss of habitat. Passenger Pigeon (1914) Cause of extinction: Killed for food, and loss of habitat.

  23. “Right at our very door, under our very noses and as it were only yesterday, a well-defined species of American elk has been totally exterminated.” – William T. Hornaday

  24. . “As civilization marches ever onward, over the prairies, into the bad lands and the forests, over the mountains and even into the farthest corner of Death Valley, the desert of deserts, the struggle of the wild birds, mammals and fishes is daily and hourly intensified. Man must help them to maintain themselves, or accept a lifeless continent.” – William T. Hornaday

  25. To Be Continued… “If the American People as a whole elect that our wild life shall be saved, and to a reasonable extent brought back, then by the Eternal it will be saved and brought back! The road lies straight before us, and the going is easy—if the Mass makes up its mind to act. The sportsman alone never will save the game! The people who do not kill must act, independently.” – William T. Hornaday

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