The Bureau of Biological Survey 



The wildlife functions of the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service had their genesis in the activities of a private 

 organization, the American Ornithologists* Union 

 founded in 1883. In 1885 the Union memorialized the 

 Congress to establish a unit in the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture to take over an unexpectedly large 

 amount of data that the Union had received in response 

 to questionnaires circulated by committees studying 

 bird migrations and the relation of the introduced 

 English sparrow to agriculture. The Congress re- 

 sponded with an appropriation of $5,000 for the pro- 

 motion of "economic ornithology, or the study of the 

 interrelation of birds and agriculture, an investigation 

 of the food, habits, and migration of birds in relation 

 to both insects and plants.*' 



The new unit began its work on July 1, 1885, in the 

 Department of Agriculture and grew steadily from the 

 beginning. In 1886, with a doubled appropriation and a 

 broadened research scope, it became known as the 

 Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy. 

 In 1896 it was designated the Division of Biological 

 Survey and in 1905 it was given Bureau status. 



During its first 20 years, the Survey confined its 

 work almost exclusively to scientific research. In 

 1900, however, some functions of game law enforce- 

 ment were added with the passage of the Lacey Act. 

 This act prohibited the importation into the United 

 States of certain species of birds and animals "de- 

 clared to be injurious to the interests of agriculture 

 or horticulture.*' 



In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt by an Execu- 

 tive order established the first wildlife refuge of a 

 steadily growing system of refuges. The scope of the 

 Bureau's wildlife conservation work was extended by 

 the passage of the Alaska game laws in 1902, 1908, and 

 1925, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The 

 Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 and the Mi- 

 gratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 19 34 provided for the 

 acquiring of land for the present extensive system of 

 national wildlife refuges. These laws were designed to 

 carry out the provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty 

 of 1916 with Great Britain for the protection of birds 

 migrating between the United States and Canada. In 

 1936, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was amended 



