Our Liviiif; Rt'souivex — Introdiirtinn 



The last lime Eurlh lost this large a share of its 

 life was 65 million years ago when it may have 

 collided with an asteroid; the impacts of 

 humans on our planet today may have been last 

 equaled hy the collision of two heavenly bodies 

 (Wilson 1992). 



Scientists cannot honestly say that we need 

 all species that exist today for humans to sur- 

 vive; but as a general rule, the more diversity is 

 diminished, the less stable ecosystems become 

 and the greater the fluctuations that occur in 

 plant and animal populations. The more diversi- 

 ty we lose, the more our quality of life and eco- 

 nomic potential are diminished, and the greater 

 the risk that we will cause a critical pail of the 

 cycle of life to fail. 



If humans were allowed to cause the extinc- 

 tion of other species, who would determine 

 which species ? If we had been asked 60 years 

 ago what life we could let become extinct, who 



among us would have insisted that we preserve 

 the lowly mold that was penicillin, the first of 

 the series of antibiotics that have today so 

 changed the quality of t)ur lives? And who. 

 only 3 years ago. would have identified the need 

 to preserve the Pacific yew. which today yields 

 taxol. one of the greatest new hopes in our arse- 

 nal against cancer? 



References 



Keystone Center. 1991. Biological diveisity on federal 

 lands, report of a Key.slone policy dialogue. The 

 Keystone Center, Keystone, CO. 96 pp. 



Miller, K.R., J. Fortado, C. De Klemm, J.A. McNeely. N. 

 Myers, M.E. Soule, and M.C. Trexler. 1985. Is.sues on the 

 preservation of biological diversity. Pages .^.17-362 //) 

 Robert Repetto, ed. The global possible. Yale University 

 Press, New Haven. 



Wilson, E.O. 1992. The diversity of life. Belknap Press of 

 Harvard University Press. Cambridge, MA. 424 pp. 



A century separates the recent development 

 of the National Biological Service (NBS) 

 and an early predecessor, the Bureau of 

 Biological Survey (BBS). Both organizations 

 were established at critical crossroads for the 

 conservation of the nation's living biological 

 resources and are conservation landmarks of 

 their times. The BBS of the 192()"s was 

 described as "a government Bureau of the first 

 rank, handling affairs of great scientific, educa- 

 tional, social, and above all, economic impor- 

 tance throughout the United States and its out- 

 lying possessions'" (Cameron 1929:144-145). 

 This stature was achieved at a time of great 

 social, economic, and ecological change. BBS 

 had the vision to pioneer new approaches that 

 led to enhanced understanding of the relation 

 between people, other living things, and the 

 environment. The NBS faces similar challenges 

 to address the issues of the 1990's and beyond. 



Diminished Natural Resources 

 in a World of Plenty 



Early European colonists had an abundance 

 of wildlife to serve subsistence needs. 

 Seemingly endless flocks of ducks, geese, and 

 swans; an abundance of wild turkeys, deer, and 

 bison; green clouds of Carolina parakeets and 

 millions of passenger pigeons; and a bounty of 

 fish and shellfish. This abundance quickly 

 established a viewpoint that the New World's 

 wildlife resources were inexhaustible. 



Habitat changes that disrupted the balance of 

 nature soon resulted in economic losses and 

 other hardships because of in.sect and rodent 

 eruptions. Negative effects of exotic species 



brought from the Old World further reduced the 

 well-being of many colonists who had come to 

 the New World for a better life. The nation's 

 inexhaustible natural resources and returns from 

 agriculture began to wane significantly. 

 Decimation of previously vast wildlife 

 resources greatly reduced opportunities for cul- 

 tural and recreational uses of wildlife (Cameron 

 1929). 



Development of the BBS 



Roots of the BBS can be traced to the 1883 

 founding of the American OiTiithological Union 

 (AOU) \n New York City. Initially, the AOU 

 focused on three subject areas — distribution, 

 biological information and economic impact, 

 and migratory behaviors of birds — all of which 

 became major activities of the BBS. 

 Collaborations and partnerships were developed 

 with numerous ornithologists, field collectors, 

 sportsmen, and observers of nature who were 

 asked to report specific information relative to 

 bird migration. Cooperation also was obtained 

 from the United States Lighthouse Board and 

 the Department of Marine and Fisheries of 

 Canada (Cameron 1929). 



Funds for government biological survey pro- 

 grams related to economic ornithology were 

 allocated in 1885 to the Division of Entomology 

 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These 

 funds were provided for "the promotion of eco- 

 nomic ornithology, or the study of the interrela- 

 tion of birds and agriculture, an investigation of 

 the food habits, and migration of birds in rela- 

 tion to both insects and plants." The following 

 year additional funds were provided to include 

 the study of mammals and expand the focus 



Conservation 

 Landmarks: 

 Bureau of 

 Biological 

 Survey and 

 National 

 Biological 

 Service 



by 



Milton Friend 



National Biological Service 



