From before Lewis and Clark: The history of wildlife management in the Oregon Country

Background/Question/Methods

The history of fauna and faunal management in the Oregon Country from pre-European contact through the present was explored using a mix of archeological findings, archival resources from Lewis and Clark forward to the early and recent history of Oregon, oral history interviews, secondary resources and over 50 years of first hand experience.  

Results/Conclusions

Portrayed findings center on a chronology beginning with pre-European contact resource use and management, the recorded observations of early explorers, 19^th Century commercialization and over-exploitation, early 20^th Century conservation and preservation programs, and the recent advancement towards science-based management of the total natural system.  Featured occurrences include centuries of Pacific salmon utilization and trade, two centuries of population depletion and recovery (beaver, cervids, cougar), species extirpation and recovery (wolves, bighorn sheep), species extirpation without recovery (grizzly bear, California condor), deliberate exotic species introductions (ring-necked pheasant, chukar partridge, turkey, eastern cottontail), unintentional exotic species introductions (opossum, nutria), ecosystem degradation (overgrazing, forest overharvest, large wildfires, stream mining), and ecosystem protection (National Forest system, wilderness designation, National Parks, wildlife refuges, old growth conservation, wetland protection).