Game: Return of Game

The 1937 passage of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act placed an excise tax on hunting equipment. The proceeds were designated for the management and restoration of wildlife and their habitats. The program has been largely responsible for the recovery of deer, elk, antelope, beaver, black bear, duck, giant Canada goose, elk, bighorn sheep, and other species. Three exemplary success stories are those of the wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and buffalo. The first efforts to reintroduce wild turkeys took place in the late 1930s. By the 1950s, the wild turkey population in New England had begun to increase. There are an estimated 5.6 million wild turkeys in America. Likewise, the white-tailed deer population is estimated at approximately 18 million. In the early twentieth century, conservationists and ranchers began taking steps to save the buffalo. Buffalo is no longer an endangered species and has become a sought-after food because it is leaner than beef. A number of ranchers raise buffalo for meat, and the numbers in public and private herds combined are more than 500,000 head.