1937 was a big year for American wildlife.
The Wildlife Society (TWS) was formed in 1937. TWS is the international society of professional wildlife biologists. About 11,000 wildlife biologists are members, most in the U. S. and Canada.
The early 20th century was a sad time for wildlife in America. Market hunting, the Dust Bowl, and political non-scientific resource management had brought wildlife numbers to a low ebb. The tragic status of wildlife prompted conservation pioneers to call for a comprehensive national policy for wildlife conservation. Led by Aldo Leopold of Wisconsin, those early conservationists drafted the American Game Policy in 1930. This document called for a program of wildlife restoration implemented by scientifically trained professionals with a stable funding source.
The second major event in 1937 was passage of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (P-R) which provided funding to the states for science-based wildlife conservation from a federal excise tax on sporting firearms and ammunition. Some have argued that without P-R wildlife populations and habitats would not have recovered.
For those of us in Missouri, we celebrate another event from 1937: the establishment of the Missouri Conservation Commission. This new agency came about by a citizen-led campaign to amend the state constitution. Missouri became the first state with a non-political conservation agency with a science-based management approach and it became a model for the nation.
Did these landmark events make any difference for wildlife? Judge for yourself. Missouri just completed the firearm portion of its annual deer hunting season with over 204,000 deer harvested. In 1931-37 Missouri had a 3-day deer hunt averaging about 100 bucks harvested per year. My grandfather was one of the lucky ones in 1937; he shot a nice buck in Carter County that year.
Illinois held its first modern deer season in 1957 with a harvest of 1,735. The total deer harvest by all methods in 2011 in Illinois was 181,451.
Missouri was able to resume hunting of wild turkeys (my sport) in 1960. That first hunt was for 3 days in 14 counties and the harvest was 94. This year 40,477 turkeys were taken in the spring season for gobblers and 8,498 in the fall firearm season.
There are still many challenges facing the wildlife conservation movement. Land use and economics are overriding factors influencing wildlife habitat, especially for upland species like bobwhites and grassland songbirds. Wetland drainage continues to reduce habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds. And there are many other issues to face. But I'm glad there are wildlifers out there working on those problems.
