America the Beautiful is still the home of wondrous numbers and varieties of wild creatures. Yet, only a few decades ago, wildlife's survival was very much in doubt. And even today, despite remarkable improvement, the future is uncertain for many of our most inspiring birds and mammals.
The early settlers had encountered a spectacular abundance of wildlife. But in their zeal to conquer an untamed continent, they squandered that legacy for centuries, wiping out some species and reducing others to a pitiful remnant of their original numbers.
In the early 1930's, the accumulated impacts of plundered forests, heedlessly plowed grasslands, and commercial slaughter of wildlife were brought sharply into focus by the worst drought and the worst economic depression in America's history. People realized something needed to be done.
But even the best efforts seemed too little too late. Lake beds were turning to powder, and dust storms scoured whole regions of the country. Money was as scarce as wildlife and getting scarcer. Not only was the passenger pigeon long extinct and bison nearly so; in many rural areas the sight of once-common animals like white-tailed deer and wild turkey and wood duck had become something only old timers remembered.
Then a remarkable thing happened. With a handful of far-sighted conservationists leading the way, organized sportsmen and the firearms and ammunition industries joined efforts with State wildlife agencies to meet the wildlife crisis with an ingenious long-range plan. At their urging, Congress extended the life of an existing 10 percent tax on ammunition and firearms used for sport hunting, but this time it earmarked the proceeds to be distributed to the States for wildlife restoration. Not just restocking, which had met with mediocre success at best, but other needed support systems as well - scientific research and habitat management to give animals a solid chance to re-establish healthy populations.
The result was called the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, better know as the Pittman-Robertson Act after its principal sponsors, Senator Key Pittman of Nevada and then-Representative A. Willis Robertson of Virginia. The measure was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 2, 1937.
Initial progress did not come quickly. By the time the program was well under way, World War II brought shortages and millions of sportsmen went into the armed forces, all of which sharply curtailed receipts from the earmarked excise tax. But Pittman-Robertson really began to take off in the 1950's, and from that time until the present its successes have multiplied over and over, exceeding the high hopes of many of its early boosters.
Numerous species have rebuilt their populations and expanded their ranges far beyond what they were in the 1930's. Among them are the wild turkey, white-tailed deer, pronghorn antelope, wood duck, beaver, black bear, giant Canada goose, American elk, desert bighorn sheep, bobcat, mountain lion, and several species of predatory birds. Because improved research and good habitat also help non-game animals, many creatures that are not hunted, such as bald eagles, sea otters, and various songbirds, have benefitted under activities funded by "P-R," the commonly accepted nickname for the Pittman- Robertson Act.
From the viewpoint of the 1990's, it seems phenomenal that so many sportsmen and price-sensitive industry would have chosen in times of economic hardship to submit to a heavy excise tax for benefits that would take years to realize. That their successors continued to support Pittman-Robertson enthusiastically (the tax is now generally 11 percent of the manufacturer's/importer's price and covers handguns and archery equipment as well) is a tribute to the program's many achievements.
Federal funding from "P-R" pays for up to 75 percent of project costs, with the States putting up at least 25 percent. The assurance of a steady source of earmarked funds has enabled the program's administrators, both State and Federal, to plan projects that take years to complete. And that is an essential building block in professional management and research, because mere short-term studies and strategies seldom come up with lasting solutions where living creatures are involved.
Another major building block, invisible to the casual observer, is professionalism in wildlife management. Just "leaving wildlife alone" had failed to work in the past, and even the employment of game wardens and restocking are not enough in an era when human activities steadily increase the pressure on available lands and waters. Pittman-Robertson funding has aided greatly in a nationwide effort to enlist science in the cause of wildlife conservation. New information and improved tools are constantly needed. At stake may be more than wildlife; people too, need good air and water, proper food and a safe place to raise their young. Where wildlife fails, people need to know enough about the probable causes to enable them to act promptly to protect ecosystems that support many forms of life, including humans.
Of the "P-R" money available to the States, more than 62 percent is used to buy, develop, maintain and operate wildlife management areas. Some 4 million acres have been purchased outright since the program began - enough to cover all of Connecticut and Rhode Island - and nearly 40 million acres are managed for wildlife under agreements with other landowners.
Various kinds of lands have been acquired. Big game animals in the North and West can maintain healthy populations through the long snowy winters only if they can migrate seasonally to winter range where they can get at the natural foods they need. Much of the better winter range is privately owned, or exists on lands managed by Federal agencies like the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.
Where possible, therefore, State wildlife agencies either have bought winter rangelands or negotiated leases with private landowners, or worked out cooperative management agreements with other public land-managing agencies to give wintering antelope and elk, deer and bighorn sheep and many other wildlife species a fighting chance to survive the hardest seasons. In some cases, the purchase of relatively few private acres for access opened up wildlife's entry route to publicly owned lands.
Similar arrangements have been made for wetlands, essential to ducks and geese for nesting, wintering, and stopover feeding and rest during migrations. Pittman-Robertson wetlands have significantly helped other Federal and State programs designed to keep great stocks of waterfowl flying across America's skies.
Along with land acquisition, better management methods have yielded remarkable results. In the hot dry southwest, precious water is caught in small waterholes so that wildlife may drink; in some of the most arid desert areas, concrete "guzzlers" store rainwater in small, shaded reservoirs to ensure dependable access by animals. Trees and shrubs are planted in some Great Plains localities as woody cover to help pheasants, quail, and other wildlife survive winter storms; in heavily wooded parts of the Northeast, however, clearings may be created to provide more varied food and shelter for deer, woodcock, rabbits, and ruffed grouse. Timber cutting practices are modified to preserve cover for deer among pines, fir, or spruce. Controlling livestock grazing in the West can improve habitat for quail, prairie chickens, and sage grouse.
Controlled burning of brush and tall grass in parts of the South stimulates growth of seed-producing plants for wild turkey and quail. Sometimes small patches of wildlife foods are planted. Some lands have a high water table beneath a dry surface, so waterfowl habitat is provided by cutting level ditches which quickly fill with water from the saturated soil and grow plants attractive to ducks...also creating favorable conditions for songbirds, muskrats, raccoons, mink, and other marsh species.
About 26 percent of "P-R" funding to the States is used for surveys and research, which have substituted science for guesswork in wildlife restoration. Surveys, now employing computers and space-age technology, provide solid information on the location and activities of species, the makeup of their population by age and sex, and whether their numbers are rising and declining - essential data in managing the species and its habitat.
Research has disclosed surprising answers to former riddles about wildlife's needs for food, cover, and breeding success. For example, it has shown that most big game animals do not directly compete with livestock for food, and seldom carry contagious disease to cattle or sheep. Thanks to research, live trapping and transplanting have become applied sciences instead of high-risk gambles. State researchers using "P-R" funds developed such tools as tranquilizing dartguns to capture animals, and miniature radio devices to track them. With new data steadily coming onstream, research findings have enabled managers to keep wild creatures in balance with their environments and to permit more people to enjoy wildlife without endangering the future of any species.
Although Pittman-Robertson is financed wholly by firearms users and archery enthusiasts, its benefits cover a much larger number of people who never hunt but who do enjoy such wildlife-related pastimes as birdwatching, nature photography, painting and sketching, and a wide variety of other outdoor pursuits. Wildlife management areas acquired by the States for winter range also support substantial use by hikers and fishermen, campers and picnickers. Wetlands for summer waterfowl nesting are useful to nature lovers in other seasons. Almost all the lands purchased with "P-R" money are managed both for wildlife production and for other public uses. Recent estimates indicate about 70 percent of the people using these areas are not hunting, and in some localities the ratio may go as high as 95 percent.
Numerous non-game species enjoy "P-R" benefits too. Ground cover for game birds also is used by all sorts of other birds and small animals. Bald eagles benefit significantly under careful management of forested areas where they typically nest. If fact, wildlife managers have learned that it is virtually impossible to take an action that will benefit only one species or one group of users. Fortunately, the Pittman-Robertson Act does not restrict use of funds to game species, but instead allows their use for any species of wild bird or mammal. Much of the money spent on research, and on management as well, now is specifically aimed at helping non-game and even endangered and threatened species.
About $37 million was available in 1994 to help State's finance hunter education programs, which train 700,000 new hunters in safety and sportsmanship each year. Congress in the early 1970's expanded the "P-R" revenue base to include handguns and archery equipment, and authorized States to spend up to half those revenues on hunter education and target ranges. In actual practice, some 9 percent of all "P-R" funds have been used for those purposes in recent years.
Hunter education is designed to make each hunter aware of how his/her behavior affects others. Its backbone is the 45,000 volunteer instructors from all walks of life who donate about $25 million worth of service annually. They teach safe and proper handling of hunting equipment, responsible hunting conduct afield, the identification of wildlife and understanding of its habits and habitats, and respect - for the animals, and for other hunters, landowners, and the general public.
Only three States do not require satisfactory completion of a hunter education course for first-time hunters. Between 1974 and 1984, some States had cut their hunting accident rates by half or more, and reduced annual fatalities to zero.
In the more than 50 years since "P-R" began, over $2 billion in Federal excise taxes have been matched by more than $500 million in State funds (chiefly in hunting license fees) for wildlife restoration. Benefits to the economy have been equally impressive. National surveys show that hunters now spend some $10 billion every year on equipment and trips. Non-hunting nature lovers spend even larger sums to enjoy wildlife, on travel and on items that range from bird food to binoculars, from special footwear to camera equipment. Areas famous for their wildlife have directly benefitted from this spending, but so have sporting goods and outdoor equipment manufacturers, distributors and dealers. Thousands of jobs have been created.
And beyond the material benefits, there can be no doubt that without a "P- R" program the nation would have been poorer in terms of knowledge, science, and the confidence that we can indeed change things for the better. The abundant presence of wildlife among us clearly contributes to our pride and happiness as a people and a civilization. Its value in helping us understand the world we live in is beyond any calculation.
Americans celebrated the golden anniversary of Pittman-Robertson in 1987, remembering that constant effort is necessary. Nothing in the natural world stands still in perfect balance, even in the quietest of times. And these are not quiet times; there are nearly twice as many Americans today as there were in the 1930's, and we are changing the natural scene at a rate never equaled. People need homes and jobs, food and transportation, economic growth for their children. We can have these things and healthy wildlife populations too, but the future will test our wisdom and skill at least as much as the half-century now ending.
Pittman-Robertson is one of three complementary programs administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help restore our splendid heritage of wild creatures at no cost to the general tax payer. The other two are the 1934 Migratory Bird Conservation Act, or "Duck Stamp" program funded by a special annual fee paid by active hunters and non-hunting friends of wild waterfowl, to acquire refuges and lease wetlands for the primary benefit of migratory birds; and the 1950 Dingell-Johnson of Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (augmented by the 1984 Wallop-Breaux Act), financed by an excise tax on fishing equipment to help States provide better habitat for many fish species and more angling opportunities for people. Both these programs have provided numerous "spinoff" benefits beyond their chief objectives, greatly assisting non-game species and general public enjoyment. In many instances, they have been employed in cooperative projects with those funded by Pittman-Robertson.
PITTMAN-ROBERTSON HAS PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN RESTORING MANY
SPECIES TO ABUNDANCE. HERE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES:
1920 Today
North American Elk: 100,000 500,000
Wild Turkey scarce 2,000,000
Wood Duck extinction feared most common
hunting banned breeding waterfowl
White-Tailed Deer 500,000 or fewer 14 million+
Pronghorn Antelope 25,000 or fewer 750,000+