Salvation Through Science? The First Life-History Studies of Endangered Species

Abstract

The heath hen once ranged across the northeastern part of the United States, as far south as Virginia, perhaps even South Carolina, and as far north as Maine. The ornithologist Alfred O. Gross, a Harvard-trained biologist with a position at Bowdoin College, was commissioned to find out as much as he could about the bird's life and behavior. The heath hen was the first endangered species to be subject to intense scientific study. By the time Gross began his research in 1923, however, the bird was already on the verge of extinction. The demise of the heath hen occurred during a period of deep rancor within American wildlife circles as naturalists, sport hunters, government officials, nature lovers, and other interested parties argued about the proper scope and goals of conservation. This chapter chronicles three studies—which investigated ivory-billed woodpeckers and California condors—that were born of an optimistic belief that if enough could be learned about the life history, behavior, and ecology of vanishing animals, they might be snatched from the jaws of extinction.