NWRS History | Chronology | 1970s

<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#660000" alink="#993300" vlink="#663300" background="../assets/nf_bg.gif"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="144"><a href="http://www.fws.gov/"><img src="../assets/nf_fws.gif" width="144" height="24" border="0" alt="U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service"></a></td> <td width="59"><a href="../over/over_main_fs.html"><img src="../assets/nf_over.gif" width="59" height="24" border="0" alt="Overview"></a></td> <td width="67"><a href="chron_main_fs.html"><img src="../assets/nf_chron.gif" width="67" height="24" border="0" alt="Chronology"></a></td> <td width="71"><a href="../bio/bio_main_fs.html"><img src="../assets/nf_bio.gif" width="71" height="24" border="0" alt="Biographies"></a></td>  </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="152" align="left"> <tr> <td width="132"><img border="0" height="10" width="132" src="../assets/spacer.gif"></td> <td width="20"><img border="0" height="10" width="20" src="../assets/spacer.gif"></td> </tr> <tr align="left" valign="top"> <td width="132"><a href="../index.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="30" width="118" src="../assets/site_subnav_tag.gif" alt="NWRS History main page."></a><br> <img height="4" width="4" src="../assets/spacer.gif"><br>  <a href="chron_1800s_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="95" src="../assets/chron_subnav_b1900.gif" alt="1800's."></a><br> <a href="chron_1900_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1900.gif" alt="1900s."></a><br> <a href="chron_1910_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1910.gif" alt="1910s."></a><br> <a href="chron_1920_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1920.gif" alt="1920s."></a><br> <a href="chron_1930_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1930.gif" alt="1930s."></a><br> <a href="chron_1940_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1940.gif" alt="1940s."></a><br> <a href="chron_1950_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1950.gif" alt="1950s."></a><br> <a href="chron_1960_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1960.gif" alt="1960s."></a><br> <a href="chron_1970_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1970.gif" alt="1970s."></a><br> <a href="chron_1980_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1980.gif" alt="1980s."></a><br> <a href="chron_1990_fs.html" target="_top"><img border="0" height="20" width="52" src="../assets/chron_subnav_1990.gif" alt="1990s."></a><br>  </td> <td width="20"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="400"> <tr> <td width="400"><img border="0" height="10" width="400" src="../assets/spacer.gif"></td> </tr> <tr align="left" valign="top"> <td width="400"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="95%"> <tr align="right" valign="top"> <td width="10%"><img height="50" width="350" src="../assets/chron_1970_head.gif" alt="The 1970s."></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="95%"> <tr valign="top"> <td width="10%"><font color="#993300"><b>Date</b></font></td> <td><font color="#993300"><b>Event</b></font></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="10%"><font size="1"> </font></td> <td><font size="1"> </font></td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="10%"><font color="#663300" size="4"><b>Era:</b></font></td> <td><font color="#663300" size="4"><b>"The Environmental Decade"</b></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%"></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%" valign="top"><b>1970</b></td> <td valign="top">The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries is abolished and its functions are moved to the newly established National Marine Fisheries Service in the Department of Commerce. The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife remains in the Department of the Interior and retains responsibility for managing national wildlife refuges.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%"></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%" valign="top"><b>1971</b></td> <td valign="top">The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act is enacted into law authorizing Alaska Natives to select and receive 44 million acres of public land in the state. The law also restricts the selection of lands from existing national wildlife refuges and authorizes the withdrawal of up to 80 million acres of public land for consideration as national wildlife refuges and national parks.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%"></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%" valign="top"><b>1973</b></td> <td>Amendments to the Endangered Species Act provide new authorities "whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved." Through 1999, 57 national wildlife refuges have been established to protect various threatened and endangered species.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%"></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%" valign="top"><b>1974</b></td> <td valign="top">The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife is renamed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%"></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%" valign="top"><b>1976</b></td> <td valign="top">Amendments to the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act transfer jurisdiction of "game ranges" to the Fish and Wildlife Service and requires approval of Congress for disposal of any refuges.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="10%"></font></td> <td></td> </tr> </table><br> <hr noshade size="1"> <img border="0" height="20" width="77" src="../assets/site_prev.gif" alt="Previous."><img border="0" height="20" width="61" src="../assets/site_next.gif" alt="Next."> <p> <hr noshade size="1"><font size="1"> <a href="../over/over_main_fs.html">Overview</a> | <a href="chron_main_fs.html">Chronology</a> | <a href="../bio/bio_main_fs.html">Biographies</a>  <br> <a href="http://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service</a> | <a href="http://refuges.fws.gov/>National Wildlife Refuge System</a> </font></p> <p><font size="1"><a href="http://refuges.fws.gov/comments.html">Comments</a><br> Last Updated 12/8/99</font></td> </tr> </table> </body>