ORIGIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



All of us familiar with history books have read of 

 the abundance of fish, shellfish, birds, small game, 

 and furbearers that early settlers in this country 

 found readily available. Fish and shellfish from the 

 Atlantic Ocean saved some of the early coastal 

 settlements from starvation. Frontiersmen obtained 

 their food from the meat and their clothing from the 

 skins of bear, elk, moose, deer, bison, beavers, 

 raccoons, and other game animals. Before long the 

 commercial fisheries became a cornerstone of New 

 England's economy and fishery products were among 

 the first items exported abroad; fur trapping was the 

 foundation for many of America's early family for- 

 tunes. 



But little thought was given in those early days to 

 husbanding our natural resources. As long as they had 

 new streams to fish and new fields to hunt, Americans 

 maintained that the supply of fish and game was 

 boundless and that they had the inherent right to hunt 

 and fish when, how, and as much as they desired. 



As settlement of the country progressed and the 

 population grew, the American people were forced to 

 revise their concept of an inexhaustible supply of fish 

 and game. Gradually they came to recognize that the 

 mounting numbers of hunters and anglers were a 

 tremendous drain on these natural resources and that 

 the requirements of an ever-increasing human popula- 

 tion were steadily reducing the living space of our 

 game and fish. What to do to keep these resources at 

 a high productive level, and how to do it, were 

 debatable subjects even back as far as the 1860's. 



The U.S. Fish Commission and the Bureau of 

 Fisheries 



Because fish were an important source of food, the 

 fisheries were the first renewable resource to receive 

 public attention in this country. Concerned lest over- 

 fishing destroy this natural resource, the Congress 

 recognized the national aspect in the conservation of 

 fisheries in 1871 by authorizing appointment of a 



