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ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY

TORONTO
LEAFLET NO. 5*

TEACHING CONSERVATION

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LTHOUGH the need for conservation is widely discussed, there
is a great deal of misunderstanding as to the meaning of the term
and of the methods to be followed. Such misunderstanding is a
real hindrance to the spread of true conservation practices. For instance,
many people think conservation means interference with the use of some-
thing, as exemplified by the old lady who wouldn't let her family eat any
good apples from the orchard, but insisted that apples had to begin to
spoil before they could be used. Persons who have this conception of
conservation are naturally opposed to it.

True conservation does not prohibit use, but it does mean wise :sc.
To conserve fur-bearing animals does not mean that we must not trap
them for their fur, but it does mean that we should not trap so many that
only a few are left to produce young for another year. If too many trout
or bass are taken from the lakes or streams, the number of young produced
in subsequent years will be less than if we had been wise and taken only
a proper number. If a sheep farmer has enough land to keep twenty sheep
and these raise- twenty young ones each year, he can sell twenty every
year, but if he sells thirty, at the end of a year he will have only ten left.
If these produce only ten young, and he sells fifteen, he will have only
five left. If we take more than the natural increase of game and fur-
bearing animals, fish and forest growth, there will be less and less to take
as time goes on. If we follow proper conservation principles, we may not
be able to take as many animals or fish, or cut as many trees at first, but
if we take only the natural increase, our lakes and streams and forests
will go on yielding us a moderate return indefinitely.

This brings us to another principle of conservation, namely that we
who are living to-day have no right to exterminate the game and fur-
bearing animals, the fish and the other natural life, and thus leave none
for those who are to follow us in the years to come. We should have
thought it unfair if our forefathers had so spoiled the country that it was
less useful and less attractive to us than it is, and it is our duty to see that
it is at least as good a place in which to live in the future as we found it.

*Reprinted from THE SCHOOL. Sept.. 1936.

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We should apply conservation ideas to other features besides wild
life and forests. We need to conserve the natural flow of water in our
streams. In some parts of the country where the forests have all been cut
down, there are destructive floods in the spring and very little water in
the streams in summer. The same streams that were raging torrents in
spring, shrink to mere trickles later on. When forests covered the country,
the snow melted gradually in the woods, and the mat of leaves and moss
under the trees acted as a sponge to soak up the water and to keep it from
running away too quickly. Where the forests have been removed and the
country consists of bare fields, the warm sun and the rains of spring melt
the snow very quickly, and the water runs away rapidly into the streams,
thus causing floods. The water runs off open fields and bare rock almost
as readily as it does off the roof of a house. Because the water from the
winter snows and spring rains all drain off the land so quickly and so
completely in spring, the streams are very small in summer and many of
the wells throughout the country dry up. Even where forests have been
largely cleared away, as in the older agricultural sections, marshes and
swamps act as reservoirs to hold back the water produced by the snow
and rain, and serve to regulate the flow of streams by holding back some
water from joining the spring flood, and feeding it into the streams in
summer. Too many of these marshes and swamps have been drained to
make more land for crops. Of course, we need land to grow crops, but if
clearing away all the trees and draining all the marshes and swamps is
going to cause floods which do damage amounting to millions of dollars,
besides drowning large numbers of people, it will be necessary to conserve
some of our forests and swamps.

It sometimes happens that a group of people wishes to do something
for its own interests which injures the rights of others. Then the govern-
ment must decide what is to be done, in order that the greatest good
may accrue to the greatest number of people. Thus, swamps should not be
drained, if the draining will interfere with the flow of streams on which
many people are depending for watering their cattle, fishing, bathing, etc
Similarly, the government must decide between two groups of people, one
of which wants a certain animal to be exterminated, while another group
wants it protected. For instance, some people interested in fishing want
the great blue herons killed, because they sometimes eat speckled trout,
while other people enjoy observing herons and ask the government to
protect them. No group should be allowed to carry out its wishes without
respect to the rights and interests of others.

In all sorts of ways, governments regulate the actions of individuals
so that they do not unnecessarily injure others ; for instance, we are not
allowed to drive our motor cars as fast as we should sometimes like to

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do, or to associate with other people if we have a contagious disease.
because of the injury we might cause to others. In the same way, the
rights of others must be considered in any action we may wish to take,
for either the protection or the destruction of anything in nature.

It sometimes happens, too, that wild creatures are killed by people who
think they are injurious to their interests, when they are really beneficial.
A story related by the famous biologist, Sir Arthur Thomson, illustrates
this very well :

There is an Australian story which reads as if written for man's instruction.
On certain Murray River swamps several species of cormorants used to swarm in
thousands, but ruthless massacres, based on the supposition that the cormorants
were spoiling the fishing, reduced them to hundreds. But the fishing did not improve ;
it grew worse. It was then discovered that the cormorants fed largely on crabs, eels,
and some other creatures which devour the spawn and fry of desirable fishes. Thus
the ignorant massacre of the cormorants made for the impoverishment, not for the
improvement, of the fishing. The obvious moral is that man should get at the facts of
the web of life before, not after, he has recourse to drastic measures of interference.

We must not make the mistake of thinking that only "useful" things
should be conserved. Most people now appreciate the importance of
conserving our game and commercial fish, our game and fur-bearing
animals, and our forests, but not enough thought is given to the preserva-
tion of the natural attractions of our country. A beautiful mountain is as
much worthwhile for the joy we get from beholding it, as fur-bearing
animals from which we get the furs to keep us warm in winter. As a
matter of fact, we can get substitutes for furs to keep out the cold, but
there is no substitute for a mountain or for most of the other beauties of
nature, many of which are being destroyed because they do not appear to
us to be "useful". None of us would want to live in a country where
everything in nature had been destroyed except that which was useful in
a narrow7 sense, and where there wras nothing left to enjoy. The beauties
of nature are some of our most valuable possessions in this country.
Hundreds of thousands of people from the United States and other parts
of the world come to Canada every year, especially in summer, to find
recreation on our innumerable lakes and rivers in the midst of the beautiec
of the unspoiled wilderness. Canada in summer is a veritable playground.
Let us strive to keep it as attractive as we can, not only for the tourist
from other countries, but also to give our own people the greatest possible
enjoyment out of living in such a land.

if we wish to use our natural resources wisely, and at the same time
re;ain the natural attractions of the country, we must become real con-
servationists. We must learn as much as we can about wild life; the
different kinds of plants, birds, mammals, fish, etc., their life histories and
habits, and what contributes to their welfare; we must try to so interest

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and instruct others that they, too, will understand and appreciate nature ;

we must work for the preservation of nature through the creation of

sanctuaries and reserves of various kinds, that wild life may have some

place where it is safe from destruction; and as citizens and voters we

must use our influence to see that conservation laws are passed.

The following organizations may be consulted for further information

on conservation :

National Parks of Canada, Department of Interior, Ottawa. In charge
of National Parks ; administers the Migratory Birds Convention Act,
supplies information on attracting birds, building bird houses, etc.

Department of Lands and Forests, Toronto. In charge of provincial parks
of Ontario ; preservation of Ontario forests.

Department of Game and Fisheries, Toronto. Administers game and
fisheries laws.

Federation of Ontario Naturalists, 198 College St., Toronto. Encourage-
ment of nature study and preservation of nature.

Ontario Federation of Anglers, 65 Bloor St. W., Toronto. Preservation
of game fish.

Ontario Hunters' Game Protective Association, 38 Follis Ave., Toronto.
Preservation of game.

Canadian Forestry Association, Ottawa. Preservation of forests.

Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology, Toronto. Will be glad to answer
enquiries on any phase of natural history.

J. R. D.