On March 24, 2000 a somber anniversary is being recalled. One hundred years ago the last known wild passenger pigeon was shot and killed by a 14-year-old boy in Ohio who saw it perched in a tree above his cows. The bird was later turned over to the local sheriff's wife who mounted it and sent it to the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, where it still resides.

The passenger pigeon was once the most numerous species of bird on Earth with population estimates of up to five billion individuals. Flocks of pigeons used to darken the skies as they flew past for hours and even days on end. One flock was estimated to be one mile wide and 240 miles long and contained over two billion birds. And yet they are no more. Their extinction was caused by the loss of feeding and nesting sites caused by the destruction of the eastern forests and the wholesale slaughter of birds for food and the enjoyment of hunters. But why should the loss of this one species 100 years ago concern people today?

This species and this anniversary should cause us to reflect upon man's impact on other species and their possible extinctions. It should also cause us to reflect on the last century of conservation and what is ahead for the next century. Great strides have been made in the last 100 years in setting aside National Parks and reserves and enacting legislation to protect wildlife and the environment. Conservation organizations have raised public awareness through magazines and televised nature programs. Zoos, aquariums, and butterfly houses have established captive breeding as one of their tools for conservation. Their efforts have helped save a number of species from extinction including Schaus' swallowtail butterfly, Attwater's prairie chicken, the Aruba island rattlesnake, the Hawaiian goose, the Mexican gray wolf, and the California condor. Unfortunately, even with all this effort it is still an uphill battle. Rain forests are still being cut down, coral reefs are dying, and species are still disappearing at an alarming rate. And yet with the task ahead it is still optimism that drives the conservation efforts that are active today. The strong human desire for us to undo the sins of our forefathers and stop our own wanton disregard for the systems that support our very existence. Without optimism and hope there would be no conservation movement.

However, conservation today requires a diversity of techniques and strategies in order to be successful. Conservation organizations need to utilize all the tools at their disposal in order to save habitats and species. Conservation also requires diverse organizations in order to accomplish the multitude of tasks ahead. There are organizations like Butterfly Kingdom that focus on the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats, those forgotten species that keep everything running. The Wildlife Conservation Society has worked for decades studying vertebrates in the field and helping to establish national parks and reserves around the world. Groups like the International Crane Foundation specialize in the wetland relatives of the passenger pigeon, the cranes of the world that are vanishing along with their wetland homes. The list of conservation organizations is strong and growing but there must be a renewed effort and cooperation between them. Ordinary people must understand that conservation is not a luxury nor at odds with their life style. The conservation of biological diversity is necessary for life. In addition people should celebrate the life that is around them and realize what a poorer world it would be without the song of a warbler, the beauty of a monarch butterfly in flight, or the fragrance of a prairie in bloom. The memory of the passenger pigeon should cause us to renew our efforts towards the conservation of wildlife and wild places.

In those efforts individuals play a major role. Individuals can make a difference in conservation. Become an active member of a conservation organization and support them in their efforts. Establish a butterfly garden or set aside land for native wildlife. Write to your governmental representatives and tell them of your concerns for the environment and find out what is being done to ensure a world for our grandchildren. Recycle to reduce the amount of space taken up by the trash in our consumer driven world. But most importantly learn what you can about wildlife, nature and the environment so you can make better-informed decisions and get involved. Everyone can make a difference.

It was almost prophetic when John James Audubon spoke on seeing a passenger pigeon, "When an individual is seen gliding through the woods and close to the observer, it passes like a thought, and on trying to see it again, the eye searches in vain; the bird is gone." Is this also to be the fate of other species with which we inhabit the planet, when they too will be out of sight?