places have been taken by a variety of human activites. These great 

 changes are exerting pressure on native bird populations, and 

 various species may be either benefited or adversely affected. 



The Federal Government has recognized its responsibility to 

 migratory birds under these changing conditions. Enabling acts 

 allow for carrying out migratory bird treaty obligations in 

 cooperation with other countries, and now most species have legal 

 protection under regulations administered by the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. The effectiveness of conservation laws, however, is 

 increased in the same measure that the people of the country become 

 acquainted with the migratory bird resource and interest themselves 

 personally in the well-being of the various species. Long before 

 European man came to America, the birds had established their 

 seasonal patterns of migration throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

 The economic, scientific, and esthetic values of these migratory 

 species dictate they be permitted to continue their long-accustomed 

 and to some extent still-mysterious habits of migration. 



101 



