Transcript The Importance and Benefits of Wildlife

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Wildlife is the wild, undomesticated
vertebrate or invertebrate species living in
their natural habitat
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Identifying, solving and preventing problems
Wildlife management is the process of
preserving, increasing or decreasing wildlife
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Restocking (replenishing a fishing pond)
predator control (trapping and moving
animals from one area to another to protect
another species)
habitat improvements (planting shrubs for
the shelter of rabbits)
game refuges (providing food and shelter for
various species)
restrictive laws (no hunting in refuges
provides safety)
•The majority of land in the U. S. is under
private ownership.
•Therefore, it appears evident that wildlife
refuges alone cannot be responsible for all
of the wildlife management activities.
•Every landowner should have a goal of
achieving sound, responsible wildlife
management.
There are four areas where wild
plant and animal species benefit
human existence:
• ecological,
• economical,
• aesthetic and recreational, and
• medical and scientific
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Ecology is the relationship of living things
with their environment
Organisms that live in the same area make up
a biotic community (a group of plants and
animals that live in the same environment)
Each organism in a community is dependent
on the other organisms in the group
Each biotic community is relatively self
sustaining but is linked to other communities
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Economic benefits are those in which wildlife
gives monetary returns
Could include:
◦ Hunting
◦ Fishing
◦ Other activities people might pay for
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Furbearing species also serve as economical
use of wildlife
Mink and muskrat are two of the most
abundant furbearers
Can cause species to become endangered or
even extinct
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Production of meat
◦ Studies have shown that wild game can produce
more meat from the land than can domestic
livestock
Individuals spend money on
licenses, leases, supplies, and
guide services.
Photo courtesy of U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Americans spend 18 billion
dollars simply to watch wildlife.
Photo by Leslie Quinn courtesy of
Bird watching alone makes up
$5.2 billion of that amount.
Photo by Jim Frates courtesy of Yellowstone
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Wilderness Act of 1964
◦ States that wilderness lands “be administered for
the use of enjoyment of the American people.”
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Aesthetic values are those values that relate
to natural beauty and artistic appreciation
Difficult to measure and compare
U.S. has 755 million acres in National Forests,
parks, wildlife refuges and public domain
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National parks and wildlife reserves do not
permit hunting within their boundaries
These places attract millions of people who
enjoy observing wildlife in a natural setting
Medical and Scientific Benefits
Medically, plants or their extract
are a source of medicine for 80
percent of the world’s population.
In less-developed tropical
countries alone, wild plants have
an estimated value of 100 billion
dollars annually.
These plants make up about 40
percent of all medicines, drugs,
and pharmaceuticals.
Currently, scientists have studied
about 5,000 of the 250,000
known plant species.
Photo by Jim Peaco courtesy of Yellowstone
The main value of plants is that
they
• produce oxygen;
• regulate the water supply; and
• use solar energy to make
chemical energy.
It must be understood that the
diversity of life includes:
• bacteria,
• fungi, and
• insects.
Photo by Ed Loth courtesy of U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
These three groups dominate and
aid in the functioning of the
natural ecosystem.