Great White Heron in 

 mangrove swamps 



Snowy Egret 



Trumpeter Swan 



Protecting Our Rare Birds 



Future generations of Americans will enjoy such beauti- 

 ful and rare birds as the Trumpeter Swan, Great White 

 Heron, American and Snowy Egrets, Wood Duck, and 

 Hudsonian Godwit because of the foresight of past genera- 

 tions. In many parts of the United States we have set aside 

 refuge areas for the protection of our wildlife. Sometimes 

 endangered animals are saved simply by the setting up of 

 a protected area with the type of habitat they need where 

 they can rest and feed and bear their young. The operation 

 or nnanagement of a refuge ensures that food supplies are 

 sufficient, and that living conditions are right, too, for the 

 arrival of the new generations that the adults will produce. 

 This means the land must have good plant cover of the 

 particular kind needed by a species. Overgrazed lands are 

 returned to native grasses and shrubs; marshes, with their 

 great variety of plantlife, are restored. Water is impor- 

 tant, especially in arid regions. In desert areas wells are 

 dug, springs opened up, and new water holes developed. 

 On some refuges it is necessary to protect endangered 

 species by controlling predators such as snakes, coyotes, 

 and bobcats. Heavy losses of young animals during the 

 breeding season will help destroy a species already on the 

 danger list. 



Frequently a refuge is established on an area that has 

 the last survivors of a species, as the Aransas Refuge in 

 Texas on the wintering grounds of the Whooping Crane. 

 By using a remnant group as breeding stock, every effort 

 is made to restore the species, as for example, the 

 Trumpeter Swan on the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife 

 Refuge in Montana. The Trumpeter Swan was thought to 

 be extinct by 1900, the result of excessive shooting by 

 trappers and early settlers for their feathers and meat. 

 But in the early 1930's a small flock of about 3 3 swans 

 was found in the vicinity of Yellowstone National Park. 

 To save these rare birds, many of which nested and win- 

 tered on unprotected lands near the Park, the Red Rock 

 Lakes Refuge was created in 1935. By 1958the Trumpeter 

 has increased to more than 700 birds. Its recovery is 

 the story of conservation in action: complete protection 

 from shooting and from intrusion of men and cattle on its 

 nesting areas. What has been done for the Trumpeter 

 Swan it is hoped can be done for the Whooping Crane. 



At the turn of the century, the American Egret, Snowy 

 Egret, and Great White Heron were in great danger of 



