SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC VALUES OF MARINE BIRDS 



181 



Scientific Research 



Even now, marine-bird research studies and 

 inventories require the expenditure of several 

 million dollars annually along our coasts. In 

 Alaska a multimillion dollar Federal effort 

 has been initiated to assess the environmental 

 risks of developing offshore petroleum poten- 

 tial in the Gulf of Alaska and five other key 

 areas of the State. These areas represent 60% 

 of the nation's total continental shelf and sup- 

 port some of the largest marine-bird popula- 

 tions in the world. The program to examine 

 life-forms and the physical environment of the 

 petroleum lease areas will require 4 to 5 years 

 to complete. Approximately $1.5 million has 

 been allocated to conduct an environmental 

 assessment of marine bird resources in the 

 first 18 months alone. 



The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is spend- 

 ing about $40,000 to determine the seasonal 

 occurrence, density, and distribution of 

 marine birds in coastal waters adjacent to 

 new national wildlife refuges in Alaska being 

 proposed pursuant to the Alaska Native 

 Claims Settlement Act of 1971, and almost 

 $200,000 to study and manage migratory 

 birds including marine birds on existing 

 refuges. 



Although generated by external events (in- 

 cluding requirements pursuant to the Na- 

 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969) 

 rather than by the resources themselves, 

 these expenditures at least indirectly reflect a 

 social concern for the welfare of marine birds. 



Citizen Involvement 

 (Social Indicator) 



Another encouraging aspect of seabird con- 

 servation and its meaning to society is the in- 

 creasing involvement of citizens in the issue. 

 Although agencies have not been as respon- 

 sive as many would like, administration of 

 government at all levels has been shaken and 

 stimulated by citizen participation. As 

 Russell W. Peterson, Chairman of the Council 

 on Environmental Quality, has stated, "Citi- 

 zen action is the essence of democracy. Citizen 

 movements should be encouraged and ex- 

 panded. The involvement of people is neces- 

 sary to counterbalance the disproportionate 



influence of the professional lobbyists and 

 public relations operators hired to further the 

 special interests of their clients." Mr. Peter- 

 son further emphasized that government 

 thrives much better on citizen concern and at- 

 tention than on indifference and neglect. 



Therefore, it is highly significant that the 

 Pacific Seabird Group has many nonprofes- 

 sional, as well as professional, members and 

 that the 1975 International Symposium on 

 Conservation of Marine Birds of Northern 

 North America had strong citizen involve- 

 ment and participation. As everyone recog- 

 nizes, nothing works in government unless 

 people, be they doctors, lawyers, college pro- 

 fessors, students, environmentalists, or In- 

 dian chiefs, make it work. 



Educators must upgrade training in envi- 

 ronmental sciences so that an environmental 

 awareness (conservation ethic) is instilled in 

 young people. In this regard, an Alaskan bird 

 study program proposed for Alaska schools 

 by J. G. King, Jr., of the U.S. Fish and Wild- 

 life Service in 1962 deserves close scrutiny. 

 This highly innovative and practical environ- 

 mental education proposal apparently arrived 

 before its time, for nothing was ever done to 

 institute it. Possibly, now would be a good 

 time to give it a closer look. 



Conclusions 



Success in more adequately recognizing and 

 using social and economic indicators to 

 strengthen and broaden seabird programs will 

 depend on the ability of the resource manage- 

 ment agencies to blend the old with the new. 

 It is obvious to most that new alignments, 

 programs, authorities, and sources of funds 

 are needed, but by themselves, they will not 

 be enough to overcome the continuing mas- 

 sive losses of wildlife habitat due to popula- 

 tion growth and technological impacts result- 

 ing from various developmental programs. 



No marine bird programs will be successful 

 without a strong political base. If this is to be 

 assured, resource agencies must be more re- 

 sponsive to the needs of both consumptive 

 and nonconsumptive users and involve them 

 in their programs from early in the planning 

 process. Because marine birds and the natural 

 environments they inhabit are jointly valued 



