User:Tinah123/sandbox

This is my sandbox. I will use it to draft the J.B Harkin article. I will be editing and composing the "Wildlife conservation" sections.

Here is the outline:

Proposed Outline of ArticleWe are students from the University of British Columbia. As part of our Environmental History course, we will be editing this page until April 10th, 2012. The following is our proposed outline for the article:

1. Early life

2. Political career

3. Influences

3.1 The American example and experience

4. Philosophy

4.1 Commercial value of parks

4.2 Commitment to endangered species

4.3 Parks as instilling patriotism

4.3.1 The 'play spirit' and 'play instinct'

5. Achievements

5.1 Evolution of the Dominion Parks Branch

5.2 Commercial achievements (autotourism and tourism)

5.3 Wildlife conservation ( My section to work on)

5.3.1 Migratory Bird Legislation( My section to work on)

5.3.2 Wood Buffalo Reserve( My section to work on)

5.3.3 Pronghorn Project( My section to work on)

5.4 Miscellaneous

6. Controversies or Disputes

6.1 Forestry Branch on wildlife administration

6.2 Native hunters and conservationists

7. End of Harkin's career

8. Legacy

9. Footnotes

10. References

11. External Links

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Wildlife Conservation

Wood Buffalo National Park

As a result of Harkin’s contribution, the Wood Buffalo National Park was established in December 18, 1922. The park was created to protect the last remaining herds of bison in northern Canada during the early 1900’s. Today, the park is known for its preservation of the bison that reside there. The park was initially created by Harkin and his branch members to protect the existing habitat of about 1500 Wood Buffalo. During the early 1830s, there were millions of bison. However, the progress to civilization and modernity created a decline in the bison population from the estimated 40 million in 1830 to less than 1000 by 1900. Today, the land consists of 44,807 square kilometers and is located in northern Alberta, with overlaps into the Northwest Territories. The land serves as the largest free-roaming and self-regulated bison herd park in the world and the world’s only natural nesting site of the whooping crane. The whooping crane is officially classified as an endangered species. There were 15 in 1941 and the population dropped to 133 by 1994. The whooping crane is the tallest North American bird, with a height of about 1.5 metres. Whooping crane have white colored bodies with black wing tips, face, and legs. The landscape of this natural park can be divided into four primary sections, each with its own unique geological features, wildlife habitats, and vegetation. Some of which include the Caribou, Birch Uplands, the Alberta plateau, Slave River Lowlands, and the Peace-Athabasca Delta.

Migratory Birds Convention Act

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 was first passed in 1916, and sought to preserve migrating birds from extinction as a result of slaughter by suppliers to the milliner's trade, market hunters, and spring shootings. In response, the Canadian government suggested to draft a similar bill to protect and preserve the birds. In August 1917, the legislation was established by Harkin and the government. It was a landmark in the evolution of the Canadian government's role in wildlife protection. It created greater clarification of the government's responsiblities for wildlife and established the emergence of a wildlife protective policy for Canada. The goal of this new conservation act was to protect and regulate the excessive practice of bird hunting. With the Migratory Birds Convention Act, Harkin was able to achieve his goal of receiving complete authority for game protection in Canada. The act lead to boundary revisions of Rocky Mountain Park and the re-inclusion of the Kananaskis Valley, which Harkin believed was necessary to protect game.

Pronghorn Project

The pronghorn antelope was another large Canadian mammal believed to be on the verge of extinction. In 1910, the pronghorn antelope was moved from the Banff Paddock into Wood Buffalo National Park. Harkin believed the animal would benefit in a new protected park area. In March 1912, the park reported the presence of fourteen antelope. However, the effort was unsuccessful as the pronghorn antelope population decreased due to a lack of proper diet. In 1915, Harkin continued to play an essential role in antelope preservation near the village of Nemiskam, Alberta, where about 200 starving antelope were found in a rancher near the village of Foremost. The antelope removed and sent to a reserved area of Maple Creek, where sufficient food and resources were available to the antelope. On December 18, 1915, Minister William James Roche approved the the formal reservation of seven square miles of land and established the Nemiskam National Antelope Park. In 1917, the American Permanent Wild Life Protection Fund recognized Canada as the first country to create a fenced preserve for antelope. In 2012, the pronghorn antelope can be found in southern Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Allison's Feedback

Wood Buffalo National Park Hi Tina, good start! I made some minor edits with regard to spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure to make some items more clear. Here is more detailed feedback, suggestions, and questions I had for clarification:

• I am a bit unclear as to what the second sentence means exactly: "The park was created to protect the last remaining herds of bison in northern Canada and of the Natives inhabitants of the bison range.... 1900's" -- more so, the latter half of the sentence is unclear for me.
• Is there a citation for the 40M bison in 1830 to less than 1000 by 1900?
• Info about whooping crane: I'm not sure if it's necessary to include facts and description of the bird, as it may not be relevant to Harkin directly. I think so long as we link it to the whooping crane wiki page, we can leave out the factual details about it. Perhaps, just keep the note about it being endangered.
  

Pronghorn Project

• About 200 starving antelope were removed from and sent to reserved area of Maple Creek, where sufficient food and resources were available to the antelope. = Removed from where?
• I changed today = to 2012 because it may be confusing if we use the word currently or today to convey 2012, as wikipedia would need to update that every year to remain accurate.

Hey Tina! I changed around your second sentence in your "wood buffalo national park" section just because I found it to be a little confusing and I wasn't really sure what you were trying to say, but check what I changed it to because it could be wrong! Cm1014 (talk) 06:19, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

Hi guys, thanks for the suggestions made and I have edited some sections. Allison, I have edited the second sentence and also cited the part about the decline in biosn. I think I am going to keep the part about the whopping crane becuase it is a big part about the park and also it is an endangered animal, so I think it ties in with the section. I have also added the missing section about the 200 starving antelope and made some grammatical corrections and edits.Good call on the 2012 change, I think it works! Charlotte, I have read your comment, and thanks for the correction, I think this is make sense! Please take a look at my sections becuase I am done with the final changes and has posted my finailzed section in the Harkin page. Thanks. Tinah123 (talk) 21:56, 9 April 2012 (UTC)