Even during the 70s there were already conservation efforts. The Eastern bluebird almost went extinct in the 70s but a bunch of Americans built birdhouses for them.
It sounds very doom and gloom but I should say that there's also tons and tons of people working very hard to make things better (like the woman in this article). I've met a lot of people working very hard at conservation, generally for little personal benefit since the pay is abysmal, and it's always very heartening.