In 1935, trumpeter swans south of Canada were reduced to 73 on Red 

 Rock Lakes and Yellowstone National Park in Montana. Since that 

 year, when the Red Rock Lakes were declared a national wildlife refuge 

 to protect the swans from irresponsible people and their habitat from 

 intrusion, the population has responded well. Consequently, the trumpe- 

 ter did not have to be included on the endangered species list. Other 

 ancestral range in national parks and other western wildlife refuges 

 support substantial breeding swan populations today. These resulted 

 from the transplanting of surplus birds from the original refuge area. 



The American alligator has increased rapidly in numbers under joint 

 state and federal protection. Depleted habitat is now being repopulated 

 with livetrapped and transplanted breeding stock. Federal and state 

 authorities consider the alligator safe from extinction in most areas of 

 the United States for the foreseeable future. 



Many other species that are threatened or endangered today could be 

 similarly restored through intensive management. The know-how al- 

 ready exists in the modern wildlife management profession. All that are 

 needed are public and political support, time, and adequate funds to 

 apply this knowledge. 



The American System of 

 Wildlife Management 



The purpose of wildlife management is to maintain populations of wild 

 animals at levels consistent with the best interests of wild species 

 themselves and of the American public. Satisfying that objective is a big, 

 complex job. 



At the federal level, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the 

 Department of the Interior is primarily responsible for regulating inter- 

 state and international traffic in wildlife and wildlife products and enforc- 

 ing regulations applying to designated migratory birds. The Service 

 administers the national wildlife refuge system, which provides pro- 

 tected and managed habitat for a wide range of wildlife species. It 

 conducts research and maintains cooperative programs with state fish 

 and wildlife agencies, private conservation groups, universities, and 

 other federal land-management agencies. 



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