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the art of biopolitics involves motivating the general public so that it will demand changes for the benefit of wildlife resources. He is supported by Gilbert (1971), who emphasized that the manager must use effective pub- lic relations to help influence politicians and political action in t~e proper direction to .conserve natural resources. The thoughts just presented on critical habitat provide practical or realistic approaches.to maintaining such habitat for threatened and endangered species as well as for preserving habitat required by game or commercial spec.ies. Propagation. Propagation has been considered a viable option in most recovery plans that have been drafted. Most of the research for development of the methodology for propagation has been on birds and mammals (U.S. Fish and Hildlife Service, 1976). Although some success has been achieved in rearing the Colorado squawfish and humpback sucker (Toney, 1974), much work renains to be done on space requirements, nutritional requirements, and behavior if management of these species by propagation is to be successful. Once a propagation program is successful and surplus animals are avail- able, stocking can be made in suitable natural habitats. However, careful evaluation of such releases must be made so that past mistakes in releasing game birds, fish, and mammals are not repeated. Natural areas within state or federal refuges, monuments, or parks that provide suitable habitat for threatened and endangered species should be used when possible, since these habitats can be protected and are already under state or federal management (D~ffey, 1974). .. Perhaps the most important prac~ical consideration for propagation r. should be the gene pool of the captive stock. As plant and animal popula- tions decline until the species is rare, the genetic diversity of the species may be decreased. This gene~lc diversity Of. heterozygosity allows the org- anism to adapt to various environmental conditions, and its decrease may accelerate the extinction of the species. Smith et al. (1976) revie..:ed the i~portance of population genetics in the management of all fish and wildlife populations, and their concern is especially applicable to threatened and endangered species. Funding of Endangered Species Programs and the Systems Approach for Establishing Priorities. Adequate funding for research and management of endangered species is not now available. Pister (1976) concluded that it should be a function of legislative bodies to provide the finances for such programs. This will not be accomplished easily, because federal and state conservation agencies are alreaoy underfunded and understaffed. As I mentioned earlier, public support and pressure will be required to obtain the funds necessary for endangered species programs. Since several states have experimented without much success to obtain funds in various ways, the most practical solution to fund an endangered species program would be to obtain state general funds that could be used as match- ingfor federal assistance under the 1973 Act. Such funding should be acceptable to the public and should not cause a conflict with sportsmen by using rever.ue from their license fees. 280