Fauna Series No. 1 Cover Contents Foreword Approach Methods Analysis Conspectus Suggested Policy

Fauna of the National Parks of the United States PROBLEMS OF HISTORICAL ORIGIN CONDITIONS CAUSED BY EARLY INFLUENCES OPERATING INDIRECTLY Major influences responsible for injuring wild life indirectly were stock raising, agriculture, and lumbering. These human activities which affected the fauna adversely through altering essential elements in its environment have left behind them problems of very complicated nature. The ramifications of the upsets they caused are great, and, consequently, difficult to disentangle. One of the worst influences, that of grazing, has not yet been completely eliminated. That is an objective which must be consummated at the earliest possible date. From the wild-life standpoint, an area is not a national park in fact until all domestic stock is permanently removed. The policy of not renewing permits when they expire seems to be the fairest method of meeting this situation. But with the above exception, the original influences have been removed from the parks proper. The first step, then, in solving the problems which they have left behind them is to restore the altered environment to its original state, which was known to have been favorable to the species in question. Because this restoration may take a long time to accomplish, the species suffering may have to be sustained by a temporary program of assistance. If it is a case of a depleted range, the range itself may have to be temporarily protected against the animal until its grazing capacity is restored. NEXT> TO RESTORE A DEPLETED HABITAT (3)

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