Jack Miner
Encyclopedia
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(April 10, 1865 – November 3, 1944), or "Wild Goose Jack," was a Canadian conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
called by some the "father" of North American conservationism.
Biography
Born John Thomas Miner in Dover Center (Westlake), OhioWestlake, Ohio
Westlake is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 32,729 at the 2010 census. It is an affluent suburb of Cleveland, Ohio and is located 12 miles from Cleveland's downtown.-Geography:Westlake is located at...
, he and his family moved in 1878 to Canada. Their home would be a free homestead at Gosfield South Township (part of Essex County
Essex County, Ontario
Essex County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada. The administrative seat is Essex...
), near Kingsville, Ontario
Kingsville, Ontario
The Town of Kingsville is located in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, and is Canada's southernmost municipality with town status. According to the 2006 census, the population of Kingsville is 20,908.-Geography:...
. Miner's parents had emigrate
Emigrate
Emigrate is a heavy metal band based in New York, led by Richard Z. Kruspe, the lead guitarist of the German band Rammstein.-History:Kruspe started the band in 2005, when Rammstein decided to take a year off from touring and recording...
d from Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England in the mid-19th century, and John Thomas was the fifth of ten children. He did not receive a formal education, and was illiterate until the age of 33. In the 1880s he worked as a trapper and hunter to supplement his family's business income in the manufacture of tiles and brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s (from a clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
bed on their land).
Miner's first experiments with conservation took the form of erecting brushwood shelters and providing grain to Bobwhite Quail
Bobwhite Quail
The Northern Bobwhite, Virginia Quail or Bobwhite Quail is a ground-dwelling bird native to the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean...
, which seemed to have difficulty surviving the winter. He also raised Ringnecked Pheasants. At last, he noticed that Canada geese were stopping at ponds on his land in spring, on their migration northward.
In 1904, Miner created a pond on his farm with seven clipped, tame [Canada Geese], hoping to attract wild geese. It would take four years of effort before the wild geese finally began to settle at Miner's sanctuary. In 1911 and onwards, geese and ducks were arriving in large numbers, and Miner increased the size of his pond. In 1913, the entire homestead had become a bird sanctuary. The provincial government of Ontario provided funding for Miner's project, allowing him to add evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
trees and shrubs, and to dig more ponds and surround them with sheltering groves.
Anderson, South Carolina
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was estimated at 26,242 in 2006, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530...
, constituting the first complete banding record. His bird tags quoted scripture: "Keep yourselves in the love of God—Jude 1-21" and "With God all things are possible—Mark 10-27". Thousands of subsequent bird taggings over the following years produced copious data that would help to establish the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 , codified at , is a United States federal law, at first enacted in 1916 in order to implement the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Great Britain...
, representing an agreement between six nations making it unlawful to capture, sell, or kill certain migratory birds.
In 1910, Miner began a lifelong career of lecturing. He spoke about wildlife conservation and the need for the establishment of sanctuaries and wildlife refuges, and told of his banding, research, and habitat preservation methods. He encouraged junior bird clubs
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
and the building of bird boxes, and expressed his concern about the declining ecological condition of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
.
Despite his conservation ethic, Miner called for the extermination of some species based on their non-monogamous reproductive habits. He disliked predatory animals, and a New York Times article of the late 1920s defending crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s indicated that Miner had killed hundreds of them. In 1931, Miner embarked on a campaign to reduce owl and hawk populations in Ontario because he believed they were threatening small animal populations. A naturalist group in Toronto called the Brodie Club published a pamphlet entitled The Brodie Club Examines Jack Miner's "Facts About Hawks". Miner was furious about this and tried to sue for libel. However the Brodie Club had no officers so there was no one to sue.
Legacy
The Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary was one of the first of its kind in North America, and remains in existence today. It is located near KingsvilleKingsville, Ontario
The Town of Kingsville is located in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, and is Canada's southernmost municipality with town status. According to the 2006 census, the population of Kingsville is 20,908.-Geography:...
in Essex County, Ontario
Essex County, Ontario
Essex County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada. The administrative seat is Essex...
, resting on a peninsula between Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
to the south and Lake Saint Clair
Lake Saint Clair (North America)
Lake St. Clair is a fresh-water lake named after Clare of Assisi that lies between the Province of Ontario and the State of Michigan, and its midline also forms the boundary between Canada and the United States of America. Lake St. Clair includes the Anchor Bay along the Metro Detroit coastline...
to the north. It is ten miles away from the well-known birding destination Point Pelee National Park
Point Pelee National Park
-See also:*National Parks of Canada*List of National Parks of Canada*Long Point-External links:**...
, which Miner helped to designate as a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in 1918. (The "Atlantic" and "Mississippi" migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
flyway
Flyway
A flyway is a flight path used in bird migration. Flyways generally span over continents and often oceans.-Flyways of the Americas:*Atlantic Flyway*Central Flyway*Mississippi Flyway*Pacific Flyway*Allegheny Front...
s converge in this area.)
Jack Miner died in 1944. He had been presented with the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) by King George VI in 1943 "for the greatest achievement in conservation in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
." In his lifetime, he had banded over 50,000 wild ducks and 40,000 Canada geese. Several U.S. newspapers rated him among the best-known men on the continent, among Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
, Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
, Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
and Eddie Rickenbacker
Eddie Rickenbacker
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was an American fighter ace in World War I and Medal of Honor recipient. He was also a race car driver and automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation, particularly as the longtime head of Eastern Air Lines.-Early...
. In 1947, Canada's National Wildlife Week Act passed unanimously to be observed the week of Jack Miner's birth, April 10 each year.
The first school to be named after the legendary conservationist was built in 1956 and renamed Jack Miner Public School in 1968. It remains to this day, just a few miles from Miner's sanctuary in what was Gosfield South Township. Each year the graduating students participate in the yearly banding activities at the sanctuary. A school in the name of Jack Miner was created in 2001 in Whitby, Ontario
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...
, administered by the Durham District School Board
Durham District School Board
The Durham District School Board is a public school board in Ontario, Canada. The DDSB serves most of the Regional Municipality of Durham, except for schools within the Municipality of Clarington, which belongs to the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board...
. There is also a Jack Miner Senior Public School in Guildwood in city of Scarborough,ON.
External links
- The Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary
- Green Majority web site Downloadable interview with Robert and Kirk Miner, grandchildren of Jack Miner. February 2, 2008.