"When the buffalo went away the hearts of my people fell to the ground and they could not lift them up again. After this nothing happened..."- Chief of the Crow Nation, Plenty Coups, 1928.
The listing in May 2008 of the polar bear as "threatened" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been a highly controversial decision. In the first of a seies of articles, Shane Mahoney discusses the special place this inspiring animal has held in human cultures and the complicated scenario that an interface between climate change debate, wildlife science, and the ESA presents for hunters and the sutainable use of wildlife.
I believe that in this century, the great significance of conservation will be realized. With seven billion human beings demanding so much of one planet, it is now inevitable that a collision between our numbers and our expectations will occur. The desire of people everywhere for a full and reasonable life have placed unprecedent demands on natural systems. If this is true, then the great notion launched upon the world over 100 years ago that we term conservation will become the one idea that can truly save humanity.
White-tailed deer have been a mainstay in North American's freezer for many generations, and very few U.S. or Canadian citizens can say they have never tasted venison.
