Historical Background
Federal wildlife law enforcement celebrated its centennial
in 2000 with the 100th anniversary of the Lacey Act - the
Nation's first federal wildlife protection law. That
Act's prohibitions on the importation of injurious wildlife
and interstate commerce in illegally taken game species
were followed by a series of measures aimed specifically
at protecting migratory birds. With these laws and treaties
came the age of the "duck cop." Policing waterfowl
hunters and protecting waterfowl populations from commercial
exploitation would long be a major focus for federal wildlife
law enforcement.
During the middle decades of the century, however, increasing
human pressures on populations and habitats of many different
animals - from whooping cranes to American alligators -
began to take their toll. Special protections for
bald eagles (1940) and then golden eagles (1962) were put
in place. The 1960s saw the first steps to protect
a broader range of endangered species - steps that would
culminate in the comprehensive 1973 Endangered Species Act
and negotiation of the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Laws
to protect specific types of wildlife, from marine mammals
and African elephants to wild birds and tigers, targeted
special conservation concerns.
With these developments came new roles and responsibilities
for Service law enforcement. From 1918 until the early 1970s,
the word "game" consistently appeared in the job titles
used for federal wildlife law enforcement officers. In
1973, however, the Service began calling its investigators "special
agents," a name better suited to the expanding challenges
of the job. In 1975, the Office of Law Enforcement hired
a biological technician to inspect wildlife shipments in
New York - the beginning of a trade inspection force that
would expand the following year to cover eight ports of
entry. The opening of the world's first wildlife forensics
laboratory in 1988 made science and technology an integral
part of the Service's enforcement team.
The Office of Law Enforcement today focuses on combating
international wildlife trafficking, unlawful commercial
exploitation of native species, environmental contamination,
and habitat destruction. Partnerships with states, tribes,
and foreign countries make Service special agents, wildlife
inspectors, and forensic scientists part of a national and
global network committed to protecting wildlife resources.
The chronology below traces the development of federal wildlife
law enforcement and records major historical milestones
for the protection of wildlife in the United States and
around the world.
Chronology of Key Events
The following are significant developments in the history
of Federal wildlife law enforcement: The history is separated
into three time frames in order to make the pages faster
to load and easier to read.
Period:
Additional Information
A listing for each of the following subjects is available:
There is also additional information regarding Fish and
Wildlife Service Law Enforcement located on the
National
Conservation Training Center
website.
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