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Threats to Wildlife from Overexploitation of Natural Resources
* Courtesy of Defenders.org *
Overexploitation of natural resources, through unsustainable hunting, fishing, or extraction of raw material, can
result in the extinction of species and the loss of genetic diversity within others. Sustainable use of natural resources
is essential to the conservation of wildlife and habitat.
Era of Overexploitation (1850-1899)
During the Era of Overexploitation, the North American continent was transformed from a mostly unsettled land mass to one
with cities and farms scattered everywhere and linked by a network of railroads, roads, and telegraph wires.
During this period many wildlife species went extinct or became gravely endangered.
- Bison herds on the Great Plains were systematically slaughtered or died of disease until only a few hundred
individuals remained.
- Passenger pigeons, once numbering in the billions, were harvested commercially and became extinct in
1914.
- Heron and egret populations were decimated at their breeding colonies when their plumes were collected
for ladies hats.
- Ranges of large predators became greatly reduced, with mountain lions and wolves
virtually eliminated from eastern North America.
Starting with the passage of the Lacey Act in 1900 and the accession of Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency in 1901, some
wildlife were protected in the nation's first national parks and wildlife refuges.
The Lacey Act helped eliminate market hunting for plumes from birds (by prohibiting interstate commerce in feathers) and
was passed with strong support of newly formed Audubon societies.
Era of Game Management (1930-1965)
During this era, overexploitation, with some exceptions, ceased being a conservation threat for the nation's wildlife.
The Committee on North American Game Policy, chaired by Aldo Leopold, made strong recommendations in 1930 for better research
and management of game animals. In 1933, Leopold published his book Game Management, which is often used as the milestone
heralding the birth of wildlife biology as a profession.
The Present Era
Today, again with some exceptions, overexploitation is no longer a domestic conservation threat. However, overexploitation
can still be significant risk to wildlife species outside the United States. Defenders works with foreign governments, conservation
organizations, and other partners to protect these species through its work on CITES, wildlife trade, and other international
projects.
International Conservation
The International Program at Defenders of Wildlife focuses our scientific, legal and policy expertise on the following
goals:
- protecting global biodiversity
- stopping global warming
- reforming the wildlife trade
- stemming the global amphibian decline
- blocking imports of harmful non-native species into the United States
Defenders advocates in numerous international forums including the:
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
- Convention on Biological Diversity
- Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles
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