Habitat — The Vital Element 



Food, water, and cover used to escape enemies and adverse weather 

 are the essential parts of the habitat of every species. But the specific 

 habitat needs of each species vary in some degree from those of every 

 other kind of animal, although many different animals may occupy the 

 same general area. 



The water requirements of a desert jackrabbit obviously differ greatly 

 from those of a beaver. What might be year-round food and cover for a 

 meadow mouse would be little more than a full day's meal and no cover 

 at all for an elk. Many migratory birds occupy and need widely different 

 types of seasonal habitats separated by hundreds and often many 

 thousands of miles. Some large mammals, like caribou and cougars, 

 range over wide areas to find their year-round needs. Small animals, like 

 shrews and moles, may live out their lives in one small corner of a field 

 or woodlot. 



Some species need a highly specialized type of habitat. Most wood- 

 peckers require dead and dying trees to supply their insect foods and 

 nesting sites. But the Gila woodpecker of the desert Southwest digs its 

 nesting holes exclusively in the larger cacti. 



Some species, like the California condor, can stand almost no human 

 disturbance. Others, like the common pigeon and English or house 

 sparrow, thrive in the most populous cities, nesting on buildings and 

 garnering meals from human handouts and leftovers. 



When the habitat needs of every species and subspecies are computed 

 in detail, the range in variety is almost infinite. 



Whenever local conditions change, the species composition of the 

 local wildlife populations also changes. Some species may be eliminated, 

 others decline, and still others increase. If changes remove any of its 

 essential habitat requirements, a species cannot continue to live in the 

 area affected. If habitat of the kind it needs is reduced to remnants, the 

 species will become endangered. If it is eliminated everywhere, the 

 animals will become extinct. In the absence of adequate habitat, protec- 

 tion of individual animals is meaningless in terms of perpetuating wild 

 populations. 



Wildlife now threatened and endangered can be maintained only by 

 protecting those populations that still exist and preserving what remains 

 of their vital habitats. But their numbers can be increased by expanding 

 and improving suitable habitats. 



This does not mean that threatened and endangered wildlife can be 

 saved only by denying or limiting human use of the land. Rather, it 

 means that such use be done with thoughtful planning and with full 

 consideration for wildlife's needs. Incorporation of such considerations 

 in all programs affecting the landscape would assure a future for 

 America's varied wildlife. 



