Figure 33—The number of people who fish for fun has been increasing. 
Threatened and Endangered 
Species—A series of laws passed in 
the late 1960’s and early 1970’s had 
major effects on the management of 
some species of wildlife and fish. The 
most significant was the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973. 
There are 565 animal species listed as 
being threatened or endangered. Some, 
such as the alligator and peregrine 
falcon, have made spectacular 
comebacks under legislative protection. 
Others, such as the California condor 
and black-footed ferret, have not 
recovered despite extraordinary 
attempts to save the species. Habitat 
changes contribute to changes in 
wildlife and fish populations. 
Improvement of our understanding of 
habitat needs and the location of all 
threatened and endangered species 
would facilitate management of these 
species. 
36 
Unique Role of Public Lands 
Public land ownerships collectively 
constitute a huge area. The stability of 
public ownerships in terms of area and 
management philosophy and the 
diversity of habitats found on them 
give them unique status in evaluating 
the future outlook for fish and wildlife 
supplies. For example, much of 
America’s elk and cold-water fishing 
habitat is found on public lands. 
Although public land ownerships are 
concentrated in the West, they exist in 
all parts of the country. On these lands, 
various Federal, State, and local laws 
mandate that the conservation and 
enhancement of wildlife and fish and 
their habitats be given consideration in 
land management. 
As land use intensifies on private 
ownerships in response to increased 
demands for commodity goods, the 
quantity and quality of habitat provided 
on public lands will become relatively 
more important for maintaining the 
health and diversity of wildlife and fish 
populations and recreational 
opportunities associated with them. 
Of federally managed land units, the 
National Forest System is unique 
because of the extent and diversity of 
the wildlife and fish resources on its 
lands. This uniqueness is measured in 
terms of wildlife and fish habitats and 
the number and variety of wildlife and 
fish species found on National Forest 
System lands. For example, national 
forests contain approximately 128,000 
miles of streams, 2.2 million acres of 
lakes, 16,500 miles of coastline, and 
more than half of the Nation’s big- 
game habitat. These aquatic and 
terrestrial habitats support over 3,000 
species of wildlife and fish. Some 50 
percent of the trout streams are on the 
national forests, as is 50 percent of the 
spawning and rearing habitat for 
salmon and steelhead trout in the 
Pacific Northwest and California. 
The Forest Service has habitat 
management responsibility for 
approximately 31 percent of the 
Nation’s threatened and endangered 
plant and animal species. Present 
numbers of listed species occurring on 
National Forest System lands are 
expected to increase as habitat loss 
continues on other lands, new species 
are listed, and new information on 
species distributions becomes 
available. 
Projected Inventories and 
Uses of Wildlife and Fish 
The future availability of fish and 
wildlife depends on the availability and 
quality of habitat (fig. 34). Nationwide, 
it is expected that rangeland area will 
increase somewhat over the coming 
decades and that the acreage of forest 
land will decline. The area of land used 
