Ch. 9— Maintaining Biological Diversity in the United States • 239 



resources are minimal, and private efforts, 

 though more substantial, are so disperse that 

 it is difficult to assess gaps or overlaps. 



Neither the Federal Government nor State 

 governments have programs designed to main- 

 tain wild animal diversity offsite. It is minimally 

 supported by Federal contributions to private 

 sector programs, but no overall Federal plan 

 exists and funding is erratic. Thus, the private 

 sector is currently making the most significant 

 contributions to maintaining domestic and wild 

 animal diversity. 



Domestic Animals 



USDA was authorized to collect, maintain, 

 and develop animal genetic resources under the 

 same legislation that provides authority for the 

 National Plant Germplasm System's compo- 

 nents (Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946). 

 However, USDA contributions to domestic ani- 

 mals did not evolve along with its agricultural 

 plant activities. 



The department has concentrated on identify- 

 ing foreign germplasm of potential importance 

 in U.S. livestock production. Beginning in the 

 mid-1960s, a substantial number of foreign 

 breeds were introduced into the United States 

 (6). The importation of cattle was emphasized, 

 but several breeds of sheep and swine were also 

 introduced. Breeds were chosen for their likely 

 contribution to U.S. agriculture and without 

 particular attention to the degree of endanger- 

 ment in their country of origin. Several of these 

 stocks have since become firmly established 

 within the United States. 



USDA evaluated the breeds and in some cases 

 (especially for sheep and swine) initiated their 

 importation. A key group in this effort was the 



Germplasm Evaluation Program of the Roman 

 L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center 

 (MARC) in Nebraska, which compared more 

 than 20 foreign and domestic cattle breeds (61). 

 Current efforts at MARC deal with develop- 

 ment of composite gene-pool stocks for new and 

 more productive breeds of sheep and swine. 



Within the private sector, breed associations 

 — loose unions of individuals who produce a 

 particular livestock breed— have been formed 

 for common species (e.g., cattle, pigs, sheep, 

 goats, and horses) to record pedigrees and pro- 

 duction of individuals within livestock breeds 

 available in the United States (see table 9-5). 

 These groups do not consider maintenance of 

 biological diversity as a goal, although they may 

 contribute to maintenance of animal genetic 

 resources (25,59). A diversity of livestock breeds 

 will be maintained only if an association ex- 

 ists for each breed. 



Most programs that deal with germplasm 

 conservation as such (i.e., separate from efforts 

 to use that diversity within the livestock indus- 

 try) are undertaken and funded by the private 

 sector. Many minor livestock breeds in the 

 United States are maintained by one person or 

 a few individuals, working relatively independ- 

 ently (25,59). 



The American Minor Breeds Conservancy 

 (AMBC), a nonprofit organization, is currently 

 seeking to identify these people and open lines 

 of communication among them. (For further 

 discussion of AMBC and the contributions of 

 individuals and breed associations to domes- 

 tic animal genetic diversity, see ref. 59.) AMBC 

 recently completed a census of North Amer- 

 ican livestock that identifies some 80 breeds, 

 including cattle, pigs, sheep, donkeys and 



Table 9-5.— Active Breed Associations in the United States 



^For fiscal year 1983- 



SOURCE: National Society of Livestock Record Associations, 1983 



