The Long Road to Protecting America's Wildlife

Did you know the way we view nature has changed over time? This happens on a small scale. For example, individuals might learn about nature more as they grow. This also happens on a larger scale. Communities react to wildlife they encounter, and the country might change how it supports it.  Let’s rewind. 

(Photo courtesy of Lori Karr Greene)

When European settlers first came to what would become the United States, the wilderness seemed to stretch on and on. Everything in the wilderness — the plants, trees, animals and natural resources — seemed to be in endless supply.

Who can blame them for thinking that? Every time settlers moved, there was an abundance of new animals, insects, plants and trees. So for about 200 years, animals were hunted, forests were cleared and land was farmed without hesitation.

Toward the end of the 1800s, people started to notice changes. The ground that once shook beneath the thundering hooves of bison herds stood still.  Flocks of thousands of passenger pigeons no longer darkened the sky.  The evidence of the disappearance of egrets was seen on ladies’ hats.  White-tailed deer were hard to find in Illinois, on the verge of completely disappearing. Can you imagine Illinois without deer, our state mammal? 

By the turn of the 20th century, alarm bells started to ring. Species that were once seen as plentiful were now gone. The question was asked: What can we do to help save the wildlife we have left?  

The road to the Endangered Species Act 

In 1900, the U.S. Congress passed the Lacey Act, making it unlawful to transport illegally taken wildlife across state lines. The law was a loss for feather-loving fashionistas, but it was a win for birds and bird enthusiasts. And this was just a start.  

Hats adorned with bird feathers like this one were in style in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Throughout the next few decades, the populations of many animal species continued to decline. Scientists continued to monitor these species and what in their environment was causing their smaller and smaller numbers. At the same time, government officials worked to change or create laws.  

One of the most famous examples is the bald eagle. In 1940, the Bald Eagle Protection Act made it a federal offense to take or possess the species, including its parts or nests. One of the most pivotal moments for the eagles, however, came in the 1960s.  

Biologist and author Rachel Carson wrote “Silent Spring,” which described how a new and powerful pesticide, DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), affected insects in places where it was sprayed. Those effects lasted for weeks and months, and they were seen all the way up the food chain. DDT washed into waterways, contaminating the water, contaminating the creatures that live in the water and contaminating those who feed on those aquatic creatures. 

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Words to know

Abundance: A very large quantity of something.

Contaminate: To make something impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance.

Pesticide: A substance used to destroy insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals.

Pivotal: Of crucial importance related to the development of success of something.

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Bald eagles were eating contaminated fish. One of the visible effects of this contaminated food were thin eggshells. Eagle eggs were so thin that they broke during incubation or simply did not hatch at all. “Silent Spring” not only brought readers’ attention to the eagles, but to how human actions affect wildlife as a whole.  

Big changes continued throughout the 1960s. Here are some examples:

1966: The Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the first federal endangered species legislation, authorized the Secretary of the Interior to list native species of fish and wildlife as endangered. It also authorized the secretary to acquire endangered species habitat for inclusion in the newly established National Wildlife Refuge System.  

1967: The first endangered species are listed under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. The listed species included 14 mammals, 36 birds, three reptiles, three amphibians and 22 fish.  

1969: President Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act, requiring federal agencies to evaluate how their actions would affect the environment during their planning stages.  

1972: The Environmental Protection Agency outlawed the use of DDT because of its potential danger to people and wildlife, including the bald eagle, peregrine falcon and brown pelican. Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act on behalf of whales, seas otters, porpoises, polar bears, sea lions and manatees. Finally, Congress passed the Clean Water Act.  

1973: President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law. His statement: “Nothing is more priceless and more worth of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans. I congratulate the 93rd Congress for taking this important step towards protecting a heritage which we hold in trust to countless future generations of our fellow citizens. Their lives will be richer, and America will be more beautiful in the years ahead, thanks to the measure that I have the pleasure of signing into law today.” 

Yesterday, today and tomorrow 

According to Section 2 of the Endangered Species Act, “The purposes of this Act are to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved, to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered species and threatened species, and to take such steps as may be appropriate…”

For the past 50 years, this has been a guiding document for federal organizations, states and individuals to protect wildlife.  The act facilitates species recovery by making it illegal to import, export, take, possess, sell or transport any endangered or threatened species and providing land necessary for the survival of the species should be designated as critical habitat. This includes land that is occupied by the listed species and land that is crucial for the next generations.  

Different mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates and plants have been added to the endangered species list, and some have been taken off recently due to collaborative work between many different scientists. The bald eagle became one of those success stories and was delisted in 2007.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, actions taken under the Endangered Species Act have been successful in preventing extinction for 99% of the species that are listed as endangered or threatened.  

Let’s keep up the good work for the wildlife of tomorrow.  

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