North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

How could a brid that once numbered in the billions have vanished so quickly?

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is a set of principles that, collectively applied, has led to the form, function, and successes of wildlife conservation and management in the United States and Canada. This technical review documents the history and development of these principles, and evaluates current and potential future challenges to their application. Describing the Model as North American is done in a conceptual, not a geographical, context. Wildlife conservation and management in Mexico developed at a different time and under different circumstances than in the U.S.

The philosophy, institutions, policies, and laws that collectively govern wildilfe conservation in North America have become recognized as the North American Model. It has led to the recovery of many wildlife species at a continental scale, generated a diverse economy, and enriched society by sustaining wildlife and habitats. However, what may arguably be the world's best experiment in conservation is not invulnerable. It is at risk and its collapse is possible.

Wildlife conservation in the United States and Canada has evolved over the last century and a half to acquire a form distinct from that of any other nation in the world. It's a conservation approach with iron at its core - sparked by the over-exploitation of wildlife, then crafted by hunters and anglers striving to save the resources their predecessors had nearly destroyed. Now a series of principles collectively known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, it helps sustain not only traditional game species but all wildlife and their habitats across the continent.

Much has been written about the gun in the USA. Persuasive, proactive, and protective, the gun is akin to a religion in America and few can stand outside its trajectory of influence. The right to keep and bear arms is not only a foundation of liberty, it's crucial to the North American conservation model. Nor can the Model persevere without an armed citizenry.

Unfortunately the wild abundance of America today is often taken for granted. Citizens of Canada and the United States have come to expect wildlife diversity as part of their cultural experience and remain largely uninformed of the heroic efforts that led to this priceless wild legacy and the complex infrastructure that ensures its continued presence in our lives. Addressing this lack of awareness by North American society is beyond question one of the great social responsibilities for the conservation movement in this 21st century.

Wildlife does not exist by accident. It thrives today in North America because of a wondrous network of policies, laws and financial support structures largely put in place and maintained by the small percentage of us who hunt and fish. Perhaps in some distant future society at large will pay for what we have carried for a century or more; but even if this were true would not the history of our achievement be worth telling? The reality is that no feasible alternative model for wildlife conservation is yet within our reach, and may never be.

The North American model of wildlife conservation is arguably one of the most successful programs of sustainable resource use ever devised. At the time the first of these two stories was written, it had been virtually ignored by the world leaders and private and public organizations alike. However, the challenge of how to maintain human economies and traditions while continuing to  utilize the world's natural gifts has been a focus of international agencies for decades.

This is two-part article by the author dedicated to helping hunters appreciate our own history of achievement in wildlife conservation and to encouraging greater commitment to the cause. It examines the North American Wildlife Conservation Model, both as a touchstone to our past and guidepost to our future. In the first installment, the author outlines rescue and recovery of wildlife it engendered and succeeded against all odds. In the second article, the author focuses on the impact of George Perkins Marsh on conservation.

These are the latest in a series of articles about The North American Wildlife Conservation Model. Titled Triumph For Man and Nature, the series is dedicated to helping hunters and anglers from throughout the United States and Canada appreciate their own history of achievement in wildlife conservation and encouraging greater commitment to the cause. For these two articles, the author focuses on the work and accomplishments of John Muir.