I have been thinking a lot about a book my son gave me called Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon and how it relates to our work here at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Creativity is Subtraction,” Kleon tells us, and it doesn’t seem to make sense at first. I mean, think back to grade school, you just had to have the 64-count box of crayons. The 8-pack was just not good enough.

But, think about it some more. With the 64-count, what do you color an orange? Do you use Orange, maybe Burnt Orange, Yellow Orange, Tan, Red Orange, Burnt Sienna, Bittersweet?

With so many possibilities, you sit there unsure what to do. Having so many options is actually paralyzing.

Meanwhile, your buddy with eight crayons just used basic Orange, maybe added some tinting with plain old Red,  had time to draw a really good fruit, then finished way before you and went to play. Austin Kleon’s point is that by limiting choice we don’t constrain creativity – we empower it.

The same thing happens when we approach conservation.  All the wild life, and all the habitats they occupy, are a limitless palette with which to paint.  And our first instinct is to paint with all of them. 

But it can paralyze us. There are just so many species we have to care for.

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On May 17, 2013, we’ll celebrate the eighth annual Endangered Species Day.

After nearly disappearing from most of the U.S., the bald eagle recovered and was removed from ESA protection in 2007. Photo by Peter Davis, USFWS

And celebration is especially in order as we approach the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. During the last 40 years, plants and animals have continued to face a barrage of threats – habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and climate change – but the ESA reflects an unwavering national commitment to prevent species extinctions and to protect the habitat and ecosystems essential to species recovery. It is one of the world’s most powerful and successful conservation laws.

That success in saving species from extinction and helping them recover is fueled by the dedication and hard work of employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Because of their commitment to conservation, gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Western Great Lakes, the American alligator, bald eagle and Tennessee purple coneflower have all fully recovered and no longer need federal protection. We can also celebrate that many other species, such as the black-footed ferret, whooping crane, karner blue butterfly and California condor have been brought back from the very brink of extinction and are making major strides in their path to recovery.   

We have much success to celebrate but also much more work to do. The challenges the conservation world faces are daunting and growing, calling us to be more innovative, to create more conservation incentives and to work even more closely with our partners.    

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David Patte

David Patte, climate change coordinator in the Pacific Region, is just one of many Service employees committed to reducing their carbon footprint while getting plenty of enjoyable exercise in the great outdoors.

Every day, David bikes to work, rain or shine, even in snow and ice.

A little scratch-pad math shows David has ridden nearly 40,000 miles out in Portland, eight miles daily since 1995. He actually has ridden farther because he started commuting by bike when he was here at Headquarters in 1992.

People like David do not need any encouragement to try commuting by bicycle. But others may need a push.

For all those folks, May is National Bike Month, and Friday, May 17, is National Bike to Work Day. Think about cycling and maybe give it a shot.

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