When I was at Purdue University in the late 1980s, Durward Allen was still alive and had an office in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. Durward Allen spent his career in wildlife management and left his own legacy of conservation through his efforts on Isle Royale in Lake Superior to begin a study of wolves and moose. He wrote many books and articles about conservation. Dr. Allen signed my copy of his book Our Wildlife Legacy and left me a legacy of memories and thought-provoking words. He wrote in the 1962 revised edition of Our Wildlife Legacy:
"If it all reduces to any dependable theme, it probably is this: that there is a harmony in the natural world which makes the right thing easy and the wrong thing chaos; that the right thing is revealed in being right, not just for now and for us, but for the earth and all those who will inherit it; that there are natural principles, if we can discover them, to guide everything men may wish to do with land and water and the life they support."
and
"What we have now is largely a matter of chance; but what we are to have cannot be left to chance. It calls for understanding and design."
He suggests:
"To boil it all down, progress in wildlife conservation will require the best research program that can be organized. It is essential, and we cannot afford the time and money wasted in second-rate performance. The era of guesswork management is past."
These words were relevant in 1962. Similar words from Aldo Leopold date to the 1930s, and John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt had similar statements at the turn of the century. Their words are still relevant today.
Today, most businesses rely on a variety of approaches to manage outcomes based on facts; a successful business can rarely afford to waste time and money on second-rate performance. They don't guess about decisions, they aspire to management by fact.
Management by fact for conservation includes the human dimensions of resource management. I believe that understanding more about the human dimensions of fish, forest, and wildlife management is equally important today as it was in 1900, 1933, and 1962. The forward thinking of Roosevelt, Leopold, and Allen included an understanding of the importance of biological, sociological, and economic research to effective resource management. In their own words, they advocated management by fact.
Using the human dimensions of conservation, or in other words, understanding the demands, opinions, participation, and satisfaction of Missourians for fish, forest, and wildlife management, is the way that the Missouri Department of Conservation is using facts to focus on results and to establish a conservation legacy for future Missourians.
More information about the history of conservation in the United States is available in a variety of books and online sources. A timeline of conservation related events from 1850 to 1920 compiled by the Library of Congress is available here.
A timeline of conservation policy successes from 1900 to today is available from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies here.
The Wildlife Society's position statement about the North American model of wildlife conservation is available here.
Information about the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, approved by Congress in 1937, is available here and information about the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act from 1950 is available here.
Additional information about the Federal Assistance Program that assists states in management efforts for fish and wildlife resources is available here. One benefit for states from Federal Aid assistance is the human dimensions information available from the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation that is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"If it all reduces to any dependable theme, it probably is this: that there is a harmony in the natural world which makes the right thing easy and the wrong thing chaos; that the right thing is revealed in being right, not just for now and for us, but for the earth and all those who will inherit it; that there are natural principles, if we can discover them, to guide everything men may wish to do with land and water and the life they support."
and
"What we have now is largely a matter of chance; but what we are to have cannot be left to chance. It calls for understanding and design."
He suggests:
"To boil it all down, progress in wildlife conservation will require the best research program that can be organized. It is essential, and we cannot afford the time and money wasted in second-rate performance. The era of guesswork management is past."
These words were relevant in 1962. Similar words from Aldo Leopold date to the 1930s, and John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt had similar statements at the turn of the century. Their words are still relevant today.
Today, most businesses rely on a variety of approaches to manage outcomes based on facts; a successful business can rarely afford to waste time and money on second-rate performance. They don't guess about decisions, they aspire to management by fact.
Management by fact for conservation includes the human dimensions of resource management. I believe that understanding more about the human dimensions of fish, forest, and wildlife management is equally important today as it was in 1900, 1933, and 1962. The forward thinking of Roosevelt, Leopold, and Allen included an understanding of the importance of biological, sociological, and economic research to effective resource management. In their own words, they advocated management by fact.
Using the human dimensions of conservation, or in other words, understanding the demands, opinions, participation, and satisfaction of Missourians for fish, forest, and wildlife management, is the way that the Missouri Department of Conservation is using facts to focus on results and to establish a conservation legacy for future Missourians.
More information about the history of conservation in the United States is available in a variety of books and online sources. A timeline of conservation related events from 1850 to 1920 compiled by the Library of Congress is available here.
A timeline of conservation policy successes from 1900 to today is available from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies here.
The Wildlife Society's position statement about the North American model of wildlife conservation is available here.
Information about the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, approved by Congress in 1937, is available here and information about the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act from 1950 is available here.
Additional information about the Federal Assistance Program that assists states in management efforts for fish and wildlife resources is available here. One benefit for states from Federal Aid assistance is the human dimensions information available from the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation that is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
No comments:
Post a Comment