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Because little is known about the historic distributions of many
endangered species and studies of extant populations may not be
possible, it is important that biologists look for data in sources not
traditionally considered in biological investigations. Recently Service
biologists found that archaeological and historic data were useful in
reconstructing lifeways of several species. These studies may serve as
models for similar studies which may be used by biologists who have a
lack of historic data for the species which they wish to list, restore,
or protect. Information concerning past environmental conditions and
animal distributions has often been recorded during scientific
investigations or as an incidental activity by historic writers. This
information may be readily available. For instance, many plant and
animal remains are associated with archaeological sites and when these
sites are excavated archaeologists store huge amounts of information
about past environments and species, but this information has rarely
been utilized by biologists. In the following examples, Service
personnel were able to use historic documents and archaeological data to
gather important information about past populations.

**Case Studies**

In 2001, the Service contracted the University of North Carolina (UNC)
at Chapel Hill to conduct a study of fish remains recovered from nine
prehistoric archaeological sites along the Roanoke River in Virginia and
North Carolina. One of the questions the faunal analysis sought to
address was whether the distribution of the shortnosed sturgeon was
historically larger than at present in the Roanoke River Basin. The
Service believed that the construction of dams on the tributaries of the
Roanoke had a major impact on the spacial distribution of the species
and that the archaeological faunal material would document that the
historic species distribution included areas above the present-day dams.
The data used in the analysis was analyzed from sites excavated between
1955 and 1998, and whose archaeological assemblages were curated at
UNC-Chapel Hill. Vanderwarker's (2001) report identifies a number of
vertebrates exploited by Late Woodland peoples in the Roanoke River
watershed. Her research scientifically proved that, in late prehistoric
and early historic periods, the home range of the shortnosed sturgeon
and other historic populations of fishes (largemouth bass, walleye, and
channel catfish) in the Roanoke River Basin, was larger and had been
altered as a result of past damming.

Hightower et. al. (1996) focused on historic records to study the
population dynamics of American shad and river herring in Albemarle
Sound, North Carolina. Modern populations of the species are well below
those historically documented in the sound and the authors use the
historic catch records to explore the possibility of reestablishment of
the two species, commercial use of the species, and potential for a
determination of sustainable yields. The researchers located historic
fishing records that were kept from the period well before the Civil War
until the early twentieth century which made it possible to index many
variables affecting the species such as historic damming, changes in
fishing methods, and historic stocking of the fishery. This information
allowed the isolation of the effects of specific activities on historic
population dynamics.

The article by Finch et. al. (1998) explains why biologists cannot
understand habitat reconstruction without understanding the relationship
between past humans and the environment. In this case study pollen
studies were used to recreate paleoenvironmental conditions, to
determine the species present and to document human induced change to
the environment. The author establishes past ecosystems as
human-influenced and dynamic rather than static and "pristine."
Particular attention is given to fire and agriculture as primary forces
of change in past ecosystems.

Many species of flora and fauna not currently considered edible in
modern times, were exploited opportunistically by Native Americans and
are represented as minor components of archaeological assemblages. In
fact, many prehistoric sites have an abundance of species represented
that are not associated with the primary activity at the site. For
instance, in the Vanderwarker's (2001) report notice the large number of
species other than fish being exploited at the Stockton Site (p.15) and
the Dallas Hylton Site (p.18-19) even though the fish are the primary
focus of the study.

If significant populations of threatened/endangered species are not
available for study, review of archaeological or historical data may
provide the most sound source of scientific information available for
the species which you are protecting. If you have an interest in
pursuing archaeological or historical information on a species the most
effective way to start is to contact the Regional Historic Preservation
Officer, These staff members have experience in both historical and
archaeological research and will know where some of the most likely
sources of information can be found.

**References**

Finch, D.M., J.C. Whitney, J.F. Kelly and S.R. Loftin 1999. Rio Grande
Ecosystems: Linking Land, Water, and People. Toward a Sustainable Future
for the Middle Rio Grande Basin. USDA Forest Service Proceedings
RMRS-P-7.

Hightower, J.E. , A.M. Wicker and K.M. Endres 1996. Historical Trends in
Abundance of American Shad and River Herring in Albemarle Sound, North
Carolina. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 16:257-271.

VanDerwarker, A. 2001. An Archaeological Assessment of Pre-Columbian
Fauna in the Roanoke River Basin. Research Report No. 21 Research
Laboratories of Archaeology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill,
NC. 43 pp.

**General References**

Egan, Dave, and Evelyn A. Howell (Editors) 2001. The Historical Ecology
Handbook: A Restorationist\'s Guide to Reference Ecosystems. Island
Press, Washington, D.C.

This volume represents a series of papers presented at the 1999 Society
for Ecological Restoration annual meeting in San Fransciso. It is
divided into three sections - Cultural Evidence, Biological Evidence,
and Synthesis: Case Studies Using Reference Conditions. Authors include
Michael J. O\'Brien (Archaeology, Paleoecosystems, and Ecological
Restoration), M. Kat Anderson (The Contribution of Ethnobiology to the
Reconstruction and Restoration of Historic Ecosystems), Owen K. Davis
(Palynology: An Important Tool for Discovering Historic Ecosystems),
David Rhode (Packrat Middens as a Tool for Reconstructing Historic
Ecosystems), Stanley W. Trimble (Geomorphology, Hydrology, and Soils),
and Peter W. Dunwiddie (Using Historical Data in Ecological Restoration:
A Case Study from Nantucket).

Faunmap Working Group 1994. Faunmap: A Database Documenting Late
Quaternary Distributions of Mammal Species in the United States.
Scientific Papers, Vol. XXV, Nos. 1 & 2. Illinois State Museum,
Springfield.

Whitney, Gordon G. 1994. From Coastal Wilderness to Fruited Plain: A
History of Environmental Change in Temperate North America from 1500 to
the Present. Cambridge University Press, New York, New York.

This volume focuses on the midwestern and northeastern landscapes and
their evolution or changes due to human interaction over the past 500
years. Whitney draws upon land survey records and early travelers\'
accounts to reconstruct the virgin forests and grasslands and to
identify those human actions that impacted these landscapes.