1. A MERICA ’ S W ILDLIFE Y ESTERDAY, T ODAY, AND T OMORROW Wildlife at the Brink

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

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

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

11. Beaver hides were a measure of wealth.

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

14. Game animals became scarce.

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

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

17. Market hunting for fur and feathers became profitable.

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

20. Killed by “professional” white hunters in 1872, 1873, and 1874 3,158,730 Killed by Indians, same period 390,000 Killed by settlers and mountain Indians 150,000 Total slaughter in three years 3,698,730 *From The Extermination of the American Bison by William T. Hornaday Year. Hides shipped by A., T. and S. F. railway. Hides shipped by other roads, same period (estimated). Total number of buffaloes utilized Total number killed and wasted. Total of buffaloes slaughtered by whites. 1872165,721331,442497,163994,3261,491,489 1873251,443502,886754,329 1,508,658 187442,28984,578126,86731,716158,583 Total 459,453918,9061,378,3591,780,4813,158,730 The Slaughter of the Southern Herd*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

32. Dead Birds Found In One Cold Storage House In New York In 1902 Snow Buntings8,058Grouse7,560 Sandpipers7,607Quail4,385 Plover5,218Ducks1,756 Snipe7,003Bobolinks288 Yellow-legs788Woodcock96 1600 HUMMINGBIRD SKINS MISCELLANEOUS BIRD SKINS

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

34. 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.

35. “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

37. . “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

39. “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. – William T. Hornaday The sportsman alone never will save the game! The people who do not kill must act, independently.” To Be Continued…