Anthropocene

Anthropogenic Management/Brink of Extinction

California Condor

Ink on paper (2022)

Earth Day was not a holiday established to celebrate the planet. It was founded in 1970, to protest environmental degradation following an oil spill. It is a reminder that conservation and environmental protection are inherently political, human issues. Around the same time as the establishment of Earth day, a coalition of scientists and activists rallied to protect our giant, maligned friend in the skies: the California condor. 

By the 1970’s, California condor populations were rapidly declining and in critical danger of extinction. Population estimates were as low as 20! The level of human intervention to save the condor was hotly debated at the time, in a clash between wildlife preservation vs wildlife management factions. The side of wildlife preservation argued for a more hands-off approach. They believed human intervention hurts conservation, that condors simply needed larger wildlife sanctuaries, and should be left alone. On the other hand, Noel Snyder, leading the California Condor Recovery Team, urged for a hands-on approach, including captive breeding programs and an intensive recovery wildlife management plan (Alagona, 2004). All the debate led to few results. By 1986, only ONE condor was left living in the wild! Their last hope of surviving the brink of extinction was hands-on management. So, on Easter Sunday, 1987, the last wild California condor was captured and joined the other 26 in captivity, in hopes of successfully breeding and reintroducing condors back into the wild some day (Snyder and Snyder, 1989). 

Since then, the California Condor Recovery Team has made huge strides in pulling the bird out of certain extinction with their hands-on approach. The captive breeding program continues to be a huge success! The total population grew from 27 birds in 1987, to 504 in 2020. Thanks to reintroduction efforts, the wild, free-flying condors make up 65% of the total population (329 individuals)! However, these birds are still highly at risk. Between 1992-2020, there were 213 wild condor deaths, 50% of which were caused by lead poisoning (California Condor Recovery Program 2020 Annual Population Status). Condors are carrion-feeders, which means they feed on carcasses. Lead poisoning occurs when they feed on carcasses left behind by hunters, because ammunition traditionally contains lead (Snyder and Snyder, 1989). In an effort to mitigate the concern, the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation act was signed in 2007, which required the use of non-lead ammunition while hunting within the condor’s geographic range. A subsequent bill in 2013, expanded the requirements for the use of non-lead ammunition state-wide, and full implementation of this law was required by 2019 (California Department of Fish and Wildlife). 

Wildlife management is a highly comprehensive scientific and political effort to study the resources species need to thrive, maintain a breeding population, and provide a suitable habitat for a wild population to grow. The story of the California condor shows us that repairing the damage we inflict on the Earth is not a passive act of preservation. It demands accountability, stewardship, and active management. Humans are incredible engineers and architects that have manufactured comfort at the cost of almost every living creature on the planet. It is our civic duty to hold ourselves, those around us, and (most importantly) corporations and regulatory bodies, accountable to protect those that breathe on this planet with us.

Anthropogenic Extinction/Cascading Effects

Passenger Pigeon/American Burying Beetle

Ink on paper (2021)

Passenger pigeons were once the most abundant bird species in North America. Colonial settlers described flocks migrating west as "infinite multitudes" that were a mile long and took hours to pass. European colonialism led to their eventual extinction from over-hunting and widespread deforestation that destroyed their natural habitat.

The biomass of these birds moving across ecosystems provided critical value to species across the continent that are dispersed by feces (like plants) or feed on carcasses (like many insect species). The carrion-feeding American burying beetle experienced a critical population decline during the pigeon's extinction because it relied on the steady supply of passenger pigeon carcasses during their migration. The combinatorial effects of habitat destruction and widespread pesticide use have put American burying beetles at risk of extinction. They are currently critically endangered, with some of their last populations located in Oklahoma, where the efforts to protect their habitats are in constant threat. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in 2021, challenging the downlisting of the beetle from endangered to threatened. The downlisting was in response to a petition by the Independent Petroleum Association of America. Delisting the species would allow oil and gas companies to develop on land that protects vital for many species. For more information visit The Center for Biological Diversity.

We are currently in the age of human-mediated extinctions. Passenger pigeons are just one of many examples of how humans impact ecosystems and the rippling effects of the loss of one species.