The Environmental Contaminants Program

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The Fish and Wildlife Service has been studying the effects of contaminants on fish and wildlife since the agency's earliest days, but the Environmental Contaminants Program did not began to take form until the 1950s, when increasing awareness of pollution problems spurred the American public to demand action. Then, in 1962, Rachel Carson, a former Service employee, captured national attention with her landmark book, Silent Spring, which described the widespread harmful effects of pesticides on the environment. Carson's alarming message--that the effects of these substances on wildlife serve as indicators of what may ultimately jeopardize our own health--struck a chord with the American public.

Many believe that Carson's book inspired the modern environmental movement and prompted the development of many of the …