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rAIUXUH "~SEAItCH IEFUaf: TEN YEARS OF PITTMAN-ROBERTSON WI LOLl FE RESTORATION 193 ~ -- I'li 8 "'..,~ ... t., ,II. WH,O"" MANAOIM'NT INUlTun 1 ...... -' ""WI_, w-.w., ... I, 0, C, " TEN YEARS OF PITTMAN-ROBERTSON WILDLIFE RESTORATION by ROBERT M. RUTHERFORD, CHIEF BRANCH OF FEDERAL AID, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Published by the WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE Investment Building Washington 5, D. C. 1949 ' TABLE OF CONTENTS Subject THE STORY BEHIND THE ACT ____________________________________________________________ _ WORKING OUT PROGRAM STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES ___ _ ASSENTING TO BECOMING ELIGIBLE TO SHARE IN BENEFITS EXCISE TAX: ApPROPRIATIONS AND ApPORTIONMEN'rS_ Page 8 9 9 How THE ACT OPERATES WORK SELECTION AND EMPHASIS _______ _ RESTORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS }'EDERAL RESPONSIBILITlES-STATE COOIWINATION SPECIES BENEFITTED BY P.-R. PROJECTS DEER ______________________ _ _______________________ _ ELK __________________ _ ANTELOPE __ _________ ___ _ _______________ _ MOUNTAIN SHEEP ____________________________________ _ MOUNTAIN GOAT ___________________________________________ _ MOOSE ____________________________________________ _ BUFFALO ____________________________________________ _ JAVELIN A ____________ _____ _ ___________________________________________ _ BEAR _____ ______________ _ _________ . _______ .... . __________ _ WATERFOWL _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ _ BOBWHITE QUAIL __________________ _ ____________________________ . _____ ....... _____ . ____ _ SCALED, MOUNTAIN, VALLEY AND GAMBEL'S QUAIL RING-NECKED PHEASANT __ . ______________ . _____ .. ______ .___ _ __________________________________ _ WILD TURKEY _______________ _____________________ _ _____________________________ _ RUFFED GROUSE ________ ______________________ _ ______________________________________________ _ PRAIRIE GROUSE _______________________________ ________________ _ ____________ • ________ . _____ _ SAGE GROUSE __________________ _____ _ __________________________________________________________ _ HUNGARIAN P ARTRIDG E _____________________________________________ _ CHUKAR PARTRIDGE __________________________________ _ DOVES ______________________________ ___ ____________ _ __________________________________________________________ _ CLAPPER RAIL _____________ _ _________________________________________________________ _ WOODCOCK _____________________________________ _ COTTONTAIL RABBIT _ _ ___________ _ _____________ _ ______________________________________________ _ SQUIRRELS _____________________________________________________________ _ VARYING HARE ____ __________ _______ _ ________________________________ _ RACCOON ____________ _ ______________________________________________________________ _ MUSKRAT ________________ _ _________________________________________________________ _ BEAVER __________________ _ ______________________________________________________________ _ MARTEN ________________________ ________________________________________________ _ _____________ _ PREDATORS ___________________________________________________________________________________________ _ CONTRIBUTIONS OF TECHNICA(,Ly-TRAINED PERSONNEL ____________________________ _ PUBLICATIONS COOPERATION BETWEEN THE STATES AND FEDERAL AGENCIES ApPENDIX HUNTING LICENSE SALES BY STATES ____________________________________________________ _ DATES OF STATES' ASSENT ACTS TO THE PITTMAN-RoBERTSON ACT SUMMARY OF RECEIPTS, ApPROPRIATIONS AND ApPORTIONMENTS ApPORTIONMENT OF FUNDS, STATES' CONTRIBUTIONS, AND GRAND TOTAL __ FINANCIAL SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS FOR FEDERAL AID IN WILDLIFE RESTORATION PROGRAM ________________________________________________________________________ _ NET OBLIGATIONS BY TYPES OF PROJECTS ______________________________________________ _ SUMMARY OF LANDS ACQUIRED AND BEING ACQUIRED BY STATES _________ _ SUMMARY OF LANDS ApPROVED FOR PURCHASE ____________ . __ . __ ._. ____ . ____ . __ .. MAMMALS TRAPPED AND TRANSPLANTED ____ . ___ . ____ . _____________ . __________ _ BIRDS TRANSPLANTED ____________________ _ __________________________________________________________ _ WILDLIFE SPECIES INVESTIGATED BY STATES _______ _ ____________________ _ FEDERAL AID IN WILDLIFE RES'l'ORA'rION PROJ ECTS ApPROVf;D FISCAL YEARS 1939-48 AND THE FUNDS INVOLVED ______________________________ _ 5 ](\ 10 11 12 14 16 16 19 21 23 23 24 24 25 2!) 25 32 36 39 42 43 44 4" 4" 46 46 47 47 47 50 "I 52 53 55 ,,8 58 61 62 63 68 69 69 70 71 72 73 73 74 75 76 78 INTRODUCTION """""''''''<1"""""""",,,,,",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,""""""'"'''''H','''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''"'''''''''''''"""""""'''''''''''''UI!<H."t!''H"",'I,'''''''''''''''''IU'"UUlU''IlluWh""""",I .. ",,, Every time an American hunter buys a gun or ammunition he chips in to improve his sport. This has been g'oing on since July 1, 1938, when the excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition, first levied in 1932, was channeled over by the Oongress to pay for work performed under the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act. The millions of Americans who go afield each year in pursuit of their favorite game finance wildlife restoration action by buying arms and ammunition and by purchasing hunting licenses that provide State matching money. But why is this necessary? Have these investments in the wildlife factory improved management and stepped up production t The multitude of stockholders in this restoration business are entitled to an accounting. This report covers the first decade of operations. Double-fronted assaults on a fast-rising scale of intensity squeezed wildlife during these ten years. State hunting license sales soared from 6,898,847 in 1938, to 12,066,763 in 1947. (See Table I in appendix, for annual sales.) At the same time, an unprecedented expansion in crop production erased much wildlife food and cover, so essential to continued high populations of game birds and mammals. Skyrocketing hunting license sales and shrinking living quarters for game species made it imperative that the State game departments reverse the tide of habitat loss by financing replacement work. Farm lands, which produce more than 75 percent of the annual game harvest, had to be made more productive by habitat improvements compatible with good farm management. There was a pressing need for public lands, particularly those controlled by the State game and fish departments, being brought into maximum wildlife production. Critical winter ranges for big game, fast dwindling waterfowl marshes, and other important game areas had to be acquired for these purposes. Collecting accurate information on wildlife popUlations and trends became a necessity. The margin of allowable error on what the proper harvest should be had declined in proportion to the vast expansion of the hunting army. Administrators were compelled to expand or contract hunting pressure according to the size of the game population and the ability of the lands to support them. But the management that any sensible cattle rancher would apply to his herds was not enough. Wildlife seed stock had to be brought into suitable but vacant ranges to spread game species and help cushhn the impact of greater gun pressure. Funds coming to the States from Pittman-Robertson appropriations have been a potent aid in financing performance of varying 7 restoration work, to insure large-scale population increases. This income also paid for the brains and brawn to gather facts for sctting sound seasons and bag limits. THE STORY BEHIND THE ACT The drought of the early thirties brought home the stark reality that waterfowl were in a bad way. Buying and developing several million acres of land for duck and goose refuges by the Federal Government helped ease their plight. This demonstrated what could be done through proper financing. The 8tates had an important stake in perpetuating an abundant sHpply of waterfowl, and sole responsibility for npland wildlife. Unfortunately, they lacked funds to finance the kind of wildlife restoration job that was llC'eded. Additional attpntion was focnspcl on the problem whpn Prpsident Roosevelt called the first North Ameri('an 'Wildlife Conference to meet in February, 1936 at Washington, D. C. The large attendance at the ('onference and the topics diseussl'd (Iisdosed a deep-rooted realization of the pressing need for action to ('onserve and restore habitat and preserve dwindling wildlife numbprs. At the same time, the COllgress was in the process of abolishing eertain excise taxes, including the one on sporting arms and ammunition. Far-sighted conservationists in and out of the Congress conceived the idea of having the excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition continued, with proceeds going to the 8tates to pay for needed wildlife restoration. Such a proposal was prescnted to the International Association of Game, Fish and Conservation Commi&<;ioners, which represents all the State game departments, at their annual meeting in 1936. The Association gave hearty endorsement to the proposal. With that backing, a bill was drafted and sponsored in the Congress b~' former Senator Key Pittman of Neyada, and Senator (then Representative) A. Willis Robertson of Virginia. So ably presented and supported was the bill that it passed the Congress without opposition, and was approYCd by the President on September 2, Hl37. The new act was to take effect July 1, 1938. Its administration was placed in the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Biologieal Survey where it remained until June 30, 1940, when the Bureau of Biological Survey and the Bureau of Fisheries wPre merged to form the Fish and 'Wildlife Service, the agency which now administers the act. Under the terms of the act, project costs are borne initially by the State ganH' departnH'nts, after which rpimbursement is made from Federal funds for the Federal pro-rata share, whieh cannot exceed 75 pereent of the eost of the project. Eaeh 8tate, therefore, is required to eOI1- tribute 25 percent or more of projPct costs from its own funds. To handle the Federal Government's administrative end of the program, a new Division of Ff'deral Aid in Wildlife Restoration was set up in the old Bureau of Biologieal Survey. The first chief of this Division, appointed on .July 2, 1938, was Albert M. Day, now Direetor of the Fish and Wildlife Serviee. WORKING OUT PROGRAM STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES Like other laws, the Pittman-Robertson Act had numerous features that required interpretation. This was particularly true of such a farreaching program involving the Federal Government and 48 States. To avoid confusion, it was essential to have mutual understanding of what activities were and were not approvable. To accomplish this, representatives of the Federal agency first lIlet with heads of the State game departments in regional meetings throughout the country, shortly after the passage of the act in 1937. Out of these meetings came understanding on some points and questions on others that had to be referred to Federal legal and fiscal authorities for decision. Following the first ronnd of meetings, a tentative policy and procedure manual and required rules and regulations were drafted. This tentative set-up was reviewed by the State officials during the course of the North American Wildlife Conference at Baltimore, early in 1938. That review brought to light the need for changes in coverage. The finishing touches on what would constitute approvable activities and sound operational procedures was agreed to when the State representatives met at Asheville, North Carolina, in June, 1938, for the annual meeting of the International Association of Game, Fish and Conservation Commissioners. The preliminary study and action by I3tate and Federal officials has been outlined here to show that this cooperative wildlife restoration program, from the beginning, has been founded on mutual understanding and agreement. The democratic rather than bureaucratic approach has been used. In consequence, when the first money became available for program operations on July I, 1938, there was a meeting of minds about the character of the work that could be conducted. In the intervening years, modifications in work emphasis have necessitated some changes in original concepts. In spite of this, however, the contents of the originally adopted Federal Aid Policy and Procedure Manual remain essentially the same. The few changes made from time to time have been worked out in concert with the Pittman-Robertson Committee of the International Association of Game, Fish and Conservation Commissioners, rpprpsenting all of the State game departments. Procedural problpms are dis('ussed and ironed out promptly, so disagreements never get the chance to grow to proportions where they can stimulate acrimonious debate, or stifle progress. ASSENTING TO BECOME ELIGIBLE TO SHARE IN P.-R. BENEFITS The Pittman-Robertson Act requires the States to assent to its provisions. It also calls for passag·e of laws by the States, for the conservation of wildlife, which shall include a prohibition against diversion of receipts from sales of hunting licenses for any other purposes than the operation of the State fish and game departments. Tn a few instances, State legislatures were reluctant to pass assenting legislation promptly because they were misinformed about the true purpose of this cooperative program. Then, too, diverting hunting license receipts to non-wildlife activities had been a profitable pastime in some States. Nevertheless, the growing number of States that met D conditions of the law and were sharing in its advantages to their entire satisfaction encouraged the slow-acting States to make tl.C ... selves eligible. Kansas was the first State to pass legislation assenting to the terms of the Act. This was done on March 4, 1938. Similar actIOn was soon taken by several other States so that by July 1, 1938, when the program started, seven more States were eligible to participate. In the first year of the program, an additional 32 States joined the original eight. By 1943, 47 of the States were active participants. Ironically, Nevada, whose senior Senator co-authored the legislation, was the last State to become eligible. Until 1947, that State lacked centralized wildlife control, as required by the Pittman-Robertson Act. Each county had a separate wildlife agency. On March 20, 1947, the State Legislature established a single game and fish department, and Nevada began sharing in benefits of the Act on July 1, of that year. (See Table II in appendix for dates of State assent acts to the Pittman-Robertson Act.) On August 18, 1941, the Pittman-Robertson Act was amended to permit Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to receive annual allotments of funds. This amendment leaves determination of the amounts to be granted to the Secretary of the Interior, but limits Alaska to $25,000 and the other three to $10,000 each. EXCISE TAX: APPROPRIATIONS AND APPORTIONMENTS Between July 1, 1938, and ,June 30, 1948, a total of $48,175,431 was realized from the excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition. The Congress appropriated $23,431,274 to finance the 75-percent Federal share of the cost of this work, during the first ten years of program operations. Collections made during the tenth year ($11,276,687) were appropriated in their entirety, to defray program costs during the eleventh year, beginning July 1, 1948. (See Table III for apportionment of funds, State contributions, and the grand total available for projects, through June 30, 1948, and Table IV for summary of excise tax receipts, appropriations and apportionments for the tenyear period.) Due to appropriations under-running collections, especially during the war years, a reserve accumulated in the special fund, amounting to $13,467,469. This is available for appropriation at a later date, when the Congress decides it is needed by the States. Annual appropriations are divided among the States, using the ratio of land area and the number of paid hunting license holders in each, to determine their shares. In addition, no State may reeeive more than five percent, nor less than one-half of one percent, of the total apportioned to all States. HOW THE ACT OPERATES When the shares of annual appropriations are credited to the Statt>s in the lTnited States Treasury, the game and fish departments may proceed to obligate these funds. They select the work and submit proj_ ect proposals to the Fish and Wildlife Service for approval. The 10 Service, acting for the Secretary of the Interior, reviews the objectives and plans of the projects to see that they conform with requirements of the Act, and are sound in character and design. When approved, the State game and fish departments proceed with the work. All project personnel are employed by the States. All eqnipment and lands bought with the help of these funds become the property of the States. 'rhe initial expenditures are paid with State funds. Periodic and final reimbursement claims are paid by the Federal Government on the basis of 75 percent of the actual costs. Thus, when completed, the projects cost the States ~5 percent from theie departmental funds. The remaining 75 percent is paid from PittmanRobertson funds. The Act provides for wildlife restoration by the acquisition of lands and waters, their development, and the conduct of investigations into problems of wildlife management. Projects dt'signed to benefit fish are not approvable. On July 24, 1946, an amendment was passed which permits expenditure of as much as 25 percent of each State's share for maintenance of completed projects. The States are allowed two years in which to obligate their annual apportionments. If they fail to do this the sums of money left over revert to the Fish and Wildlife Service and are expended in financing Service operations under provisions of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act. (See Table V for tabulation of apportionments, reversions, project obligations and unobligated balances by States.) WORK SELECTION AND EMPHASIS There are no restrictions on State investment of this money as long as the work selected comes within the framework of the Act. Each State has its own peculiar problems to solve. Some have devoted most of their allotments to the acquisition of lands to be used for refuges, public shooting grounds, and management units. Others are stressing the development of lands by planting food and cover, fencing, posting, and construction of water impounding structures. Still others emphasize surveys and investigations of their wildlife management problems, such as determining the current status of game populations. Such information i3 basic to the setting of sound seasons and bag limits. Since the amendment of July 24, 1946, was passed permitting States to use this money for maintenance of completed projects, needed reconditioning of structures and other improvements on previously developed project areas has been financed. (See Table VI for a listing of net obligations by types of projects, and the percentage of funds devoted to them.) Ten years ago, most State wildlife programs consisted almost entirely of law enforcement, game bird stocking, and predator control. The majority of sportsmen had been sold on these activities as producers of the highest returns for them. But there were questions in the minds of many State game administrators and more observing nimrods, about the real dividends from investments in large-scale bird stocking and high-powered predator control campaigns (particularly those featuring bounty payments). Technically trained wildlife workers were hired, with the help of Pittman-Hobertson funds, to 11 get the facts. They soon proved that widespread and indiscril1lbate plantings of game birds were not paying their way. This led to a deeline in pen-reared bird releases and increased empha.<;is on habitat improvement. It is universally agreed now that the only excuse for this kind of stocking is to introduce new species or restore birds to suitable habitats from which they have been cleaned out. High production costs and low survivals would bankrupt a game department if it tried to stock sufficient birds on a large enough scale to meet hunting demands. Studies have shown that State-wide predator control programs rarely can be justified. The needs for this kind of work usually are local. With farm game in particular, predation does not makc serious inroads if wildlife is well established and has properly located food and cover. On the other hand, coyote control is often necessary to permit antelope remnants to build up or to pave the way for the safe reintroduction of these animals into presently vacant but suitable ranges. The point is that the real need for this kind of work should be determined by field studies. Investigations have diselosed the futility of trying to maintain excess popUlations of big-game animals by artificial feeding. This has led to population counts and forage utilization studies a,'! a routine preliminary to the setting of seasons and bag limits. The objective is a very sensible one: keep these animals in balance with carrying eapacities of the ranges thpy oceupy. Tn the W('st, partieularly, biological studies have pointed to the need for aequiring willtl'r ranges, especially for deer and plk. Much land of this eharacter has been bought to date. . Instead of laying out their Pittman-Robertson ea.<;h to build biggpr and better game farms, the Stat!'s have swung owr to improving wildlife living" quarters on the land. Tlw ('stablishnwnt of fipl(l borders featuring perennial Ipgullles such as serieea and bieolor It'spedpzas j creation of living fences through plantings of multiflora rose j planting of coverts of conifers, hardwoods, and foo(l bearing shrubs; and the fencing of parts of farms or strips of uplands bordering farm ponds, are providing food, l1Psting and eseape cover for farmland wildlife. This work is not spectacular but it strengthens nature's physical condition so she will prodlwe 1Il0re abundantly. It is a heartening improvement over those parlier feathered shots in the arm, which at best afforded only temporary relief. RESTORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS During the 10 years ('overed by this report, ;)8 States a('quirNl nearly 900,000 acres of land. The aVl'rage plm·hasc price was $7.28 an acre. (See Table VII for a(~rpag('s aeqnired and being acquired by the States and Table V III for a summary of acquisitions by fistal years.) Developmental measures have been extremely yaried. Many dams, dikes, and water diversion structures, as well as service roads and buildings, were constructed. Millions of trees and shrub seedlings were planted. Several thousand aeres of food and nesting eover were seeded. Hefuge boundary fencing and posting totaled thousands of 12 miles. Live trapping and transplanting of birds and mammals included 29 species. Restocking suitable but vacant ranges has been given high priority in many States. Included in this splendid work has been the designing of traps and devising of successful trapping methods. (See Tables IX and X for numbers of mammals and birds trapped and transplanted by the States.) The availability of Pittman-Robertson funds has enabled the States to expand their activities to include improvements to benefit waterfowl. Many excellent areas have been bought and developed. During the first ten years of this program, 23 percent of the money allotted to thc States was invested in the purchase and development of lands, and in surveys and investigations to help ducks and geese. Land acquisition and developmental work have one feature in common: although primary benefits for individual species arc emphasized, important secondary advantages accrue to other species. Quail developmental work, for example, can not be carried out without helping cottontail rabbits. Waterfowl improvement usually creates fine muskrat habitat, with substantial dividends coming from the harvest of these fur animals. Game birds and mammals also flourish in the included uplands bordering such marshy spreads. While all Pittman-Hobertson projects must aid wildlife primarily, improving conditions for ducks and geese frequently create excellent fishing opportunities. Lands retired for wildlife purposes contribute to moisture conservation and stop soil erosion. Recommended soil conservation practices go hand-in-hand with good wildlife man'agement. The aims of both are so closely interwoven that 27 States now have wildlife habitat improvement projects operating in cooperation with soil conservation districts. Prominently woven into the cloth of Pittman-Robertson achievements are the study threads. These surveys and investigations have been undertaken to answer the multitude of management problems confronting State game administrators. These include such things as the devising and testing of new management methods, the objective weighing of accomplishments on the ground, and the gathering of facts and figures so that sound recommendations for open seasons and bag limits can be made. Nearly all game species and many furbearers have been the subjects of these studies. (See Table XI for a listing of the species investigated by the States.) The 1946 amendmt'nt to the Act permits the States to use part of their annual apportionments for the maintenance of completed projects. This financial assistance was badly necded to insure that acquired and developed refuges and management areas would produce to the limit of their potentialities. Maintenance projects have been undertaken to repair structures, replace signs, reseed food patches and replant trees and shrubs. (See Table XII for a listing by States of all projects approved during the lO-year period.) 13 ' FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES - STATE COORDINATION The Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for administering the I<\>deral portion of this cooperative wildlife restoration program. This calls for determining whether projects self'ctedl and submitted by the States are approvable under the law, whether costs of such projed. s are reasonable, and whether reimbursement claims for completed work conform with Federal-State projed. contracts. lTnfot·tunately, the substantiality of projects tkaling with the purchase of lands, their development, and the conduct of rpspareh into the problptm; of wildlife management ean not be determined merely by reviewing paper submissions. Satisfying thp rf'qnirPtlwtlts of law ealls for field investigations by tren who are eompetent to perform such work. When this cooperative program began, very few States had engaged in buying lands, in performing improvl'llwnt work on sueh lands, or in eonduding wildlife management resNtreh. Over the years the Fish and Wildlife Service had assf'mbled a staff of skilled land appraisers. Depending upon the problem at hand, these men eould eruise timber, appraise the worth of buildings, translate crop production into real worth per acre for agrieultural lands, determine the livestock earrying capacity of grazin;.t lands and from that fignt'e tlleir cash value, and evaluate marshlands from the fur erops or other income produced. To help the many States in need of land-valuation assistance, a substantial part of the administrative funds available to the Fish and Wildlife Service has bepn pxpended in making detailpd lanel appraisals in propospd projeet ar('as. Proposals for the impoundment of water to bpnefit dueks and geese involve biologieal and l'nginepring problems in addition to the bnyin!! of neeessary lands. Through the development of millions of acres of waterfowl habitat, the Serviep trainpd a group of highly skilled marsh biologists. Thpse tlwn have bppn made available to the Statps for thp investigation of potential restoration sites. The Serviee pprformed the pilot work on designing and installing earthen dikPs and dams for impounding water on the national systpm of waterfowl rt'fuges it administers. There is a scarcity of engineers who are experil'nced in this economieal type of watpr impoundment and who are fully aware of the dangers inhert'nt in inaccurate water availability conclusions and faulty constrnction. To assist the States needing help on sueh developmental work, the Service has supplied enginperillg assistance wlwnever requested, which has been frequent. Tht' States have invpsted a substantial part of tht'ir Pittman-Robertson funds on wildlife surveys and investigations. As a serviee to them, the Fish and Wildlife Service abstracts signifieant information eontained in quarterly progress reports and publishes it in the PittmanRobertson Quarterly. This information is highly vaillable to project workers stationed at fipld points where rpfprence library facilities are not available. It also tends to prevent duplication of effort and encourages project workers in various States to corr(>spond with eaeh other. This eXl,hange of information is a quick way of spreading knowledge of improved wildlife management techllies. F'iseal rpquirPlllPnts of the Fedpral Governmpnt ('all for approval of State reimbursl'ment requests by bonded eertifying' offil'prs. This 14 in turn requires that claims for the Federal share of expenditures made by the States on approved projects be audited. It also makes it necessary to audit project accounts and records in the State capitals. A group of qualified auditors has been employed to perform these necessary accounting tasks in cooperation with the fiscal branches of the States. The law provides that as much as eight percent of each annual appropriation may be deducted to finance the work responsibilities of the Fish and Wildlife Service on the Pittman-Robertson program. The major part of the f>xpenditures at the Federal end have been devoted to serving the States beyond the strict requirements of the law. The States wanted the help, and by providing it the Service has promoted economy, efficiency, and progress along all lines of action. After the Pittman-Robertson program got under way, it became obvious that the weak link in the operational chain in many of the States was the lack of someone to plan new work and to supervise that in progress. State game administrators in most States could not devote enough time to program activities and there was no one in their organizations to whom that responsibility could be assigned. This unsatisfactory state of affairs led to the designing of the coordination project. The duties of prog~am coordinators in the States include planning, directing, and supervising all restoration work financed through Pittman- Robertson project~. This employee administers the program and is responsible for its integration with the over-all programs of the State game department. Contributions from coordination projects are extremely important in the smooth and effective operation of this wildlife restoration work. Coordinators relieve game department heads of responsibility for program details. They insure a well-balanced and productive program operated on a current fiscal basis. In many instances these employees conduct land-purchase negotiations and perform some devt'lopmental or rt'search work as part of their normal responsibilities. Then too, this project is used at times to finance the cost of employing engineers to make reconnaissance surveys of areas that appear to have biological promise for waterfowl restoration. Such studies disclose whether adequate water supplies are available and whether ground conditions favor desired development at reasonable costs. Where lands are being purchased in numerous places and from many owners, it often has been found expedient to attach personnel who conduct the negotiations to coordination projects. This gets away from maintaining involved cost-distribution records for each project on which office or field work is performed, and enables these State workers to spend full time on the land-buying work for which they were hired. Coordination projects were in operation in 31 States on June 30, 1948. This post in the State departments has provided a fertile training ground for advancement to higher administrative responsibilities. Of the seven former Pittman-Robertson workers who were filling the top positions in State fish and game department organizations on June 30, 1948, five were Federal Aid coordinators when the promotions occurred. SPECIES BENEFITTED BY P.-R. PROJECTS Practically every game and fur species has received attention under one or more phases of the program. Typical examples of State actions have been selected and are contained in the following coverage, by species. Deer The three species of deer - white-tails, black-tails, and mulecomprise the most important big-game group in the country. As such, they have been accorded major attention under the Pittman-Robertson program. These animals received primary benefits from 70 land acquisition projects, covering 64 areas in 19 states. These have involved the purchasing or long-term leasing of 636,000 acres of land. These dcer areas vary in nature and use, but fall into two general categories. Those in the East usually comprise year-round habitat for whitetailed deer and are set up as refuges, or as in Pennsylvania, as ad.ditions to the State Game Land.s, open to hunting (-'xcept on specified refuges. Much of the limd acquired in the West has been purchased to provide wintering range for mule and black-tailed deer. A good example of an eastern project is the Catoosa Game Management Area acquired by Tennessee, comprising 60,000 acres in Cumberland and Morgan Counties. The Tehama Winter Deer Range in Tehama County, California, is a good illustration of the western type. This eventually will contain over 114,000 acres, and will benefit Columbian black-tailed deer. A total of 33,972 acres has been bought or is in process of acquisition in this purchase unit. Cattle grazing was reduced to 50 percent of prior usage on Stateowned lands, and sheep grazing has been discontinued. Required fencing was constructed nnder a developnkntal project. Texas has been most active in live-trapping and transplanting white - tails, having moved 9,186 head. Additional animals have Figure I. During the 19<47-<48 trapping season, the Telas Game, Fish, and Oyster Comission furnished Georgia with 150 whitetails. This truck load has just completed a I,OOO-mile trip and the deer are about to be released on suitable but vacant Georgia deer range. The animals were trapped on the Fish and Wildlife Service's Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Georgia Game and Fish Comminion. 16 been made available to Oklahoma and certain eastern states, for seed stock purposes (Figure 1). This out-of-state aid in helping solve deer deficiency problems has included the shipping of 25 Texas white-tails to the Virgin Islands. They were trucked to Miami, Florida, and then transported by airplane the remaining 1.100 miles to the Virgin Islands. Arkansas has caught and moved 1,909 white-tails. Montana has live-trapped and transplanted 1,:333 deer, of which 262 were white-tails and 1,071 mule deer. Restocking unoccupied but suitable range by purchase and release of white-tailed d('er had b('en emphasized in eertain eastern and southern States. Virginia pro~nred and released a total of 1,373 deer, betw('cn 19:1!) and ID44. This stocking program was very successful. Son.:e of the counties where these deer were released have already been opened to hunting for Hhort periods to permit the harvesting of surplus bucks. Opening up dense stands of timber to stimnlate growth of food plants on the forest floor is a re('('nt addition b program activities. Outstanding is Pennsylvania's projel't involving a ('utting progra:n in second-growth timber on its extensive game land holdings. \Vith intensive fire protection, large scopes of cut-over timcer land have recovered, and now support dense stands of second growth which no longer provide food for deer. Snrh forests must be opened if the carrying capacity for more than a remnant of recNlt herds is to be maintained. Cutting operations underway in Pennsylvania are aimed at removing inferior trees. The deer benefit, and the timber removed is in accordance with sound woodland management. Several of the southt'a"tern "tates have set asi(le large blocks of woodlands as deer refug'('s in which the animals will be allowed to increase for restocking purpos('s or the l-iurplus will be permitted to spread out into adjacent open art'as. To make thel-ie as productive as possible for deer, the boundaries have been posted and food patches established on old clearings and trails. Methods of censusing deer have teen gr('atly improved through the efforts of Pittman-Robertson workers. In 'rexas, a successful cruise census and quadrant count has been developed on the Edwards Plateau. This has made it possible for one man to sample representative areas and come out with a rt,liable estimate of total population. Similar types of cruise census were devised and applied on PittmanRobertson projects in Oklahoma and Minnesota. The greatest improvement in counting deer and many other species has been made possible by using airplanes. This was pioneered in i-Jorth Dakota, but has since been adopted by about half of the States for deer population Htudies. Browse studips in a nmuerr of statps have provided yardsticks for quickly appraising' deer cont('ntration areas by examining key browse species as indicators of intenl-iity of deer use. These surveys, plus nutritional and preference l-itudips al-isembled through Pittman-Robertson projects, enable the game departments to establish season and bag limits, so as to keep numbers within the ('arrying' capacities of the ranges. Starvation lossps can be prt'tiidt'd in time to avoid them (Figure 2). Expt'rilllents have bet'n (·ondlleted in 'Wisconsin and Michigan to determine ('an-ying' capaeity of deer Y Lrtis, and Wiscon- 17 Figure 2. Deer browse line in Itasca State Park, Minnesota. Field investigations and timely herd reduction can prevent forage being depleted to this starvation stage. Photo by Minnesota Department of Conservation. sin has n~ade appraisals of drrr damag-r to forest reproduction. Palatability ratings of plant spe('ies wpre determined in South Dakota by eOlllparing pereentages available as determined by range surveys with pereentages found in stomaeh analyses. Bone marrow analyses to determine degree of malnutrition in deer, have teen made in New York, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. North Carolina has used environmental studirs as a basis for deer management. Moreover, effeets of weather on deer kill have been studied in New York, Vel'lllont. and Maine. Oregon, Texas, Alabama, Nt'w York, Maint', alld Vermont havt' studipd depr-damage eontrol by use of t'ledrie fenees, 1'('p('l1ents. and buffer erops. Body and antlt'r lIlt'aSllrements in V t'rmout showed age to bt' thr most important fador gowI'ning size and weight and Colorado has devisrd a method of eonvt'rting body mt'aSllrements of mule deer into wright figures, thus {'liminating the necessity of removin~ earcasses from ears. This type of data is important in determining physieal eondition of the herd. Winter mortality surveys have been eonducted annually in the Adirondaek region of New York, and food habits studies have Ceen made in North Carolina, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and many other States. Studies of supplemental feeding of mule deer in winter concentration areas in Utah and Colorado diselosed that such programs were detrinH'ntal rather than benefieial. It wa.'> concluded that heavier hunting prrssure to remove surplus deer threatened by malnutrition was the only practieal method of avoiding over-populations. The abandonment of artificial feeding in Colorado has saved that Statr almost $50,000 per year. Annual population inventories and rang'e utilization studies have been substituted. Deer now are managed on a herd-basis, with hunting pressure being expanded or eon traded to keep the animals within the earrying capacities of their winter ranges. Bitter and inconclusive wranglfs as to whether defr herds should ue incrfased or reduced are now being solved over the fntire range of these animals by Pittman-Robertson field studies, and slItSl"ljUl"nt management recommendations. Facts have replaced opinions. Actions are in keeping with the basic principles of good livestl)('k management, partienlarly in the \Vest. In some of the millwestern and eastern 18 Figure 3. Some of Montana's Sun River elk hord on the winter range being acquired for them. Photo by R. F. Cooney, Montana Fish and Game Commission. stat.('s, how('vl'r, putli(~ ('du~atioll has not progressed to the stage where intelligent managellll'nt ('an be applied to deer. Deer winter yard forage conditions continue to dpt.priorate and periodic heavy starvation losses occur. Nevertheless, Pittman-Robertson technicians have developpd pradical and inl'xpPllsive n1l'thods for getting the facts. The prescription can te written and treatment started whenever public acceptance permits aetion. Elk The Irajor problpJl1 in rlk manag-rll1l'llt is the shortage of winter range. To rl'lieve this condition six of the \V l'stprn States have undertaken the purchase of 1 U wintering areas., Montana's elk winter range 19 • -I < , . < . "1 , , .,~' ; ~ It' 1. Figure 4. All big-game animals transplanted on Pittman-Robertson projects are OMtagged. Additional Wyoming elk are lured into corrals and livestock tags are attached to their ears. Hunter and other kills then furnish information on extent of migrations and life spans. Montana also tags new-born elk on calving grounds. Photo by James E. Gra5Se, Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. pnrehase progra:n at the headwatprs of the Sun River is t.'1pieal. By eareful management, the State has built up the Sun River herd to :3,000. This is the second largest concentration in the State, being exeeeded only by the Gallatin herd which summers in Yellowstone National Parle The Sun River elk were causing severe damage to ranches. The Montana Fish and Game Commission had two choices: the winter range could be expanded or the elk population reduced. The State chose to buy the ranches. The purchase area contains 65,280 lwrps of privately-owned lanels, of which 11,775 acres have been acquired. (Figure:3.) ·Wyoming has liw-trapped and transplanted 929 elk, and leads in this activity (Figure 4). Idaho obtained 50 l>lk from Wyoming, to get these animals baek onto Yarant but hereditary range. Elk refug'es have been established by several States, and developments eonsist of posting, fencing out domestie stock, and range revegetation where ne(~e&"ary. Salting summer ranges, as eondueted b.'1 Idaho and Montana, has proved effective in prolonging their use by rlk. Animals are thus p}1C'ouraged to drlay thrir fall mig'rations to winter ranges, and go back to the summer ranges earlier in the spring. Since winter range is the population bottleneck, successful enticements to keep elk at higher elevations until they are aetually forred out by winter snows, and to get thcm to return as qnit'kly as possible, is first-class managellH'nt. In the roadlrss cal'k <'oulltr.'1, airplanrs are used for dropping the 50-pound blo('ks of livrstol'k salt. 'rhis is ehraprr and makes for better distribution than would be the ease if pa('k animals were used. :!o Rex-and-age dassifieations of elk have been made in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah. Sueh information is gathered to learn the reproductive success of individual herds and whether the ratio of cows to bulls is in proper balance. This data, along with population counts and the degree of forage utilization on the ranges, makes it possible for the game departments to intelligently build up, maintain, or reduce the herds. When ranges become overstocked, western Statt's do not hesitate to permit the harvesting of surplus cow elk. Treating each herd and the range it occupies as a separate problem, is in striking contrast with former State-wide management. The ehange-over in operating procedure was made possible by the availability of Pittman-Robertson funds to t'mploy trained men to go out and gather the facts. That these workers had to devise new methods and procedures to do the job is more to their eredit. The task of taking inventory, for example, has been simplified and speeded up by using airplanes. Antelope One of the outstanding accomplishments of the Pittman-Robertson Figure 5. Metal post and rope-netting antelope trap. Stakes and cables provide needed support and eliminat. time-consuming post setting in rocky or frozen ground. Narrow lane in background extends 100 yards and widens into V-shaped wings. Loading chute and catching pen is in the foreground. Photo by R. F. Cooney, Montana Fish and Game Commission. program has been the speetacnlar increast's in numbers of antelope, due to restoration and management activities by the States. Once ranging from Iowa to California and from Canada to Mexico, and counted in the millions, occupied ranges and antelope numbers were whittled to nubbins. Changed land nse, overgrazing by sheep, overshooting and predation were responsible. To spread these speedsters onto lands that are still suitable for them, trapping and transplanting have been conducted. More than 7,000 antelope in eight western States have been liberated in new homes. Texas leads, that State having trapped and moved 2,675 of them. Through experimentation, traps have been designed that can be erected quickly and where the corralled pronghorns can do themselves the minimum of injury. Bands selected for trapping are spotted and herded into the traps by airplanes. Truck bodies have been designed to permit loost' loading, getting away from awkward, individual crating. Transportation losses are negligible under this system (Figure 5). The airplane also is a major tool of managt'ment. Open seasons are based upon ability of the populations to stand hunting pressure. In order to get the faets about numbers, sex ratios, and the fawn crop. the Statt's have used the airplane to do the job (luickly, cht'aply, and accurately. In some cases, predation by coyotes has proved to be a limiting factor. Their killing is confined principally to the kids. Where necessary, some predator control has been done to take pressure off remnant populations, or to prepare the range for seed-stock releases. Arizona studies have shown an excellent increase in fawn survival where coyote eontrol has been undertaken. Fawn survival was in direct ratio to the degree of control, being as high as 95 percent where intensive control campaigns were conducted, and a'> low as 21 percent where control was lacking. Complaints by Texas eattIe ranchers about competition between antelope and cattle for available forage, resulted in a study being made to get the facts. It was fonnd that a range steer would eat as mueh eattle forage a,> 38 antelope. The rt'ason is that in addition to the great difference in consumption due to the disparity in weight, antelope are essentially browsers while cattle confine themselves almost entirely to grass. Spreading the rt'sults of this study in Texas and plsewhere has helped allay past misapprehensions and ch·ar the way for expansion of antelope rehabilitation work. The non-competitive nature of antelope, and the fact that there are millions of acres of public land in the West over which these animals can range freely, have made it generally unnecessary to buy land for their use. The major exception was the purchase of the 9,000-acre Raymond Ranch in Coconino County, Arizona, by the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, to provide the nucleus for the Anderson Mesa antelope range. Control over 5,000 acres of State-owned lands was obtained by lease and exclusive grazing rights were assigned to wildlife on 5,000 acres in the adjacent Coconino National Forest. This State-owned and ('ontrollt'd unit provides ('ssential winter range for Arizona's largest antelope herd and it ensnrE'S the does. coming 22 through the winter and into the critical fawning period in good condition. This State antelope establishment has been fenced to prevent trespass by domestic livestock. Water sources have been developed to insure an ample supply of good drinking water. Previously-erected ranch headquarters buildings have been remodelled to provide suitable quarters for the State employee who is responsible for management and maintenance of the land and improvements. Mountain Sheep Ten years ago the fear was prevalent that the bighorn sherp was a vanishing sprcies. Pittman-Robertson investigations verified the low state of popUlations, but not the vanishing predictions, if protection and sensible management were applied. Recommendations came out of those studies for trapping and transplanting wherever a surplusage prrmitted. Traps were devised and successful corralling methods developed. Montana moved 25 out of its small Sun River herd to the Gates of the Mountains country on the Missouri River, near Helena, where Lewis and Clark reported large numbers in 1804. Montana also obtained 16 bighorns from Colorado, in exchange for mountain goats. These have been released in a half-section woven wire enclosure in hereditary sheep country in the Missouri River breaks, bordering the Fort Peck Reservoir. Surplus animals will be permitted to leave the enclosure. By that time the sheep should be sufficiently accustomed to the new country so that long-range wandering in search of accustomed Rocky Mountain terrain need not be feared. With its famous Tarryall herd to draw from, Colorado is in the best position to get seed stock onto vacant but suitable ranges. To date, that State has trapped and moved 152 sheep, not including those traded to Montana. New Mexico has performed some water impounding work to provide a permanent source of water for bighorns in the Big Hatchet Mountains. Previously, these sheep had to travel a long distance down into cattle country for water. Texas' Sierra Diablo mountain sheep project is the only acquisition undertaken primarily to aid bighorns. The projcct proposes the purchase of a block of very rugged land, containing almost 20,000 acres, in Hudspeth and Culberson Counties, to protect the Texas remnants of this species. To date, 5,325 acres of the proposed purchase area have been acquired. Mountain Coat Surveys of mountain goat range were made in Montana to determine approximate numbers, sex ratio, extent of range, life history and migratory habits. This information was badly needed to insure the best possible management of these animals. Montana deviscd suitable traps and succeeded in catching 54 mountain goats. Colorado obtained eight of them in exchange for mountain sheep. The remainder was released by Montana in mountain ranges lying east of the Rockies. There had never been any goats in the places the releases were made, but conditions there were comparable to those found in occupied ranges in the l~ockies. Very satisfactory results are coming from Montana's efforts to sprcad the range of this interesting and valuable big game specie". 23 Colorado never had any Ro(~ky Mountain goats, at least during historic times. There is no good reason, however, why these animals should not prosper in the placf's they were released in that State. Moose Pittman-Robertson investigations in Montana in 1945 showed the population to be around ;~,600 head. These were scattered in three loealities in the western part of the State. These surveys revealed over-populations in certain parts of tIl{> winter range, and unbalanced sex ratios in others. Based on these findings, the first open season on a special-permit system was allowed in 1945. Moderate kills of bulls both in 1945 and 1946 were made. The part hunting plays in scattering these animals has not been determined, but recent increases have been noted in several places adjacent to hunted areas. Moose also were found to have very definite migration habits which are closely related to palatability changes in forage. In Minnesota pressure was put on the game department to open the moose season in the Northwest Angle - the most northerly point in the United States. Aerial surveys by Pittman-Robertson personnel over that area and other places in northern Minnesota occupied by this largest member of the deer family showed that the moose population was not high enough to justify an open season. These findings were accepted by the game department and no hunting has been permitted (Figure 6). A similar investigation in Wyoming showed that a hunting season could be justified in 194(), and 200 animals were subsequently harvested. This was an increase in kill over any previous war between 1940 and 1945. . \Vyoming experimented with trapping and transplanting and in the winter of 1947-1948 was su('('essful in moving eight moose to new locations. Buffalo Arizona has a free-ranging herd of buffalo in House Rock Valley, close to the Colorado River in Coconino County. These animals range on public domain along with domestic livestock. Under agreement with the local grazing district, the herd is limited to 200 animals. Numbers above that rate are harvested by hunting, through the /. 2·1 medium of special permits. To supply an assured source of water, a pipeline several miles in ]pngth was laid to tap permanent water on the adjoining Kaibab N ational For est. \Vater troughs were installed along the pipeline. This Figure 6. Moose being counted from the air. Photo by W. W. WeHschreck, Minnesota Department of Conservation. Pittman-Robertson development has enabled the buffalo to utilize fully the range they occupy. Buffalo and antelope complrnH'nt one another in their feeding habits - the buffalo being primarily grass raters and the antelope browsers. Mindful of that, 42 buffalo were trapped in House Rock Valley and released on the 20,OOO-acre Anderson Mesa antelope range. An additional 17 were obtained from the Wichita National Wildlife Refuge of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and rrleased on the Mesa. Through these actions, the Arizona Fish and Game Commission now has two thriving herds. Kansas is the only other State that has done anything for buffalo, under the Pittman-Robertson program. In that State a 520-acre area was purchased and frnced, to expand the Finney County Game Preserve as a refuge for buffalo and othrr game species. Javelina The javrlina, or peccary, has rrceivrd drwlopmental attention by one State. Trxas live-trapprd and transplanted six of these animals, under one project. Arizona is making a study of thrse animals in the southern part of that State to ascertain their prrsrnt distribution and numbers. These findings will be the basis for further studies and management recommendations. Bear Black brar have recrivrd s(>('ondary attention in many woodland acquisitions. Being secretive and difficult to hunt, they are not classed as a major big-game specirs. Krntucky has imported and released 10 of these animals on big-game refuges in an attempt to extend their range in thl:1t State. In Virginia, bear damage complaints WHe investigated by PittmanRobertson personnel. It was found that the damage was not serious. As a result of this study the Commission was able to reject a petition to extend the open season on black bear or remove it entirely from the protected list. Workers in Colorado and Montana have rrported that there is a drfinite correlation between brar damage and the scarcity of natural foods during certain seasons of the year. While no specific projects have bren set up for bear studies, many of the Statrs have gathered data on them incidental to other work. Waterfowl With the help of Pittman-Robrrtson funds, many States for thc first time were able to finance waterfowl restoration work. It was fortunate indeed that they could move in to take up some of the slack. Duck stamp sales more than doublf'd during the ten years, bringing a spectacular increase in hunting pressure j high crop prices stimulated the drainage of marshes j and well-financed hunting clubs bid high for control of the fast shrinking waterfowl habitat. Work to aid waterfowl has been performed by 38 States. This has included the purchase and devrlopment of lands, the conduct of field studies to locatf' and appraise likely restoration sitrs, and the gathering of facts needed for better management of the resource. Almost 25 I I 126,000 acrrs of land have been bought in 70 areas. Typieal example~ of such purehases are New .Jersry's -1,4~)6-acre Egg Island Marsh; Oak Orchard, totaling 2,2-13 acres in ~ ew York; the Cheyenne Bottoms in Kansas, ('ontaining 18,711 acft'S; Colorado's South Platte River acquisition calling for the eventual control of 14,000 acres; and Oregon's Sauvies Island, which will total over 12,500 acres. Iowa has dipped into its Pittman-Robertson income to step up action on its 25-ycar waterfowl restoration program. In thc heart of the high-priced land of the corn belt, that State aequired 15 fine waterfowl areas totaling 6,600 acres during the 10-year period. Effcetive management of lands for dmks and geese calls for control of water levels. This is accomplished through construction of dams, dikes, spillways, canals, and othrr features peculiar to first-class marsh management. Such improvements have been made on 34 areas in 22 States. An outstanding example of this work was the development of the Ogden Bay Unit on the gently sloping mud flats bordering Great Salt Lake. Formerly a skim of water would cover those salty flats from time to time. In late summer and early fall the ducks would con(' cntrate there and periodically thousands would be killed by botulism. Utah built a series of dikes enelosing 6,500 acres of these mud flats and interior dikes to permit shifting of water levels within the main impoundments. Spillways to let the water in and out were built into the dikes. Ample water was available for diversion from the 'Weber River which flows into Great Salt Lake at this point. Raising or lowering water levels helps check botulism when sick ducks appear. Shallow flooding of the fertile delta lands produce an abundance of waterfowl food plants. An additional 6,000 aeres of unimproved marshes and mud flats lie between the dikes and the Lake. This development is not only an attractive stopping place for migrating birds, it also is a top-notch waterfowl factory. In 1947, a one-mile stretch along the banks of an interior channel revealed over 200 waterfowl nests. Canada geese owned 17 of them (Figures 7 and 8). The Ogden Bay project is managed as a refuge and public shooting gronnds - half of the developed lands being devoted to each use. During the 1946--17 open seasons, more than 10,000 hunters bagged almost 16,000 birds here. ~ew .Jersey owned a 13,000-acre tidal marsh near Atlantic City. The scarcity of open water and the rank profusion of salt marsh grasses offered little attraction to wildfowl. By constructing dikes now totaling ovn 27,000 lineal feet, the State has been able to trap fresh water along the margin of the marsh. Close to 3,000 acres of salt marsh has been transformed into a series of fresh water impoundments which provide ideal conditions for the birds (Figures 9 and 10). And the remaining salt marsh has not been ne~lected. Using" dynamite, the thick vf>getative mat has been blasted to create a pattern of quartt'r-aere ponds (Figure 11). The Tuckahoe development is llIanagf>d as a eombination waterfowl refuge and public shooting grounds. It is first-class both ways. In thf> spring of 1946, the Missouri Conservation Commission started buyin~ ;3.000 acrf'S of flood plain along the Grand River, ill Linn and Living-ston Counties, for the FOllntain Grove Waterfowl Management r Figures 7 and 8. The above scene shows thousands of botulism-killed ducks on a fourmile stretch of mud flats at Ogden Bay prior to diking and restoration. Below is the healthy situation created by construction of diklts and spillways to im pound and manage Weber River waters. Photos by Lee Kay, Utah Fish and Game Commission. ,) , .. -. • p- , , ' Figure 9. Ditch plug construction with a three-quarter yard dragline in diking work at Tuckahoe, New Jersey. Photo by L. G. MacNamara, New Jersey Department of Conservation. Figure 10. One of the marshy lakes created by diking and trapping fresh water at Tuckahoe, New Jersey. Photo by L. G. MacNamara, New Jersey Department "f Conse, vation. 28 Figure II. Dynamiting a pond in the unimproved salt marsh on Tuckahoe project. Photo by L. G. MacNamara. New Jersey Dep.lrtment of Conservation. Unit. 'fhat was followed by eonstrudion to divprt flood wah-rs into a series of pools formed by a system of eross dik('s. By the fall of ] 948, dewlopmpnt was ll(·arly (·olllplef('d. Part of the (·stahlishmr.nt was opened to publie shooting and the hnnters obtained g'oo(l returns despite the fact the pools were only partially filled. Thus in two seasons the State was able to transform a large dlllnk of unproduetive flood plain into an attraetive waterfowl manaw'ment unit. The Oregon Game Commission is prond of its ];3,650-aere Summer Lake Waterfowl Management Area. Alkali flats, exposed by the dwindling lake, made this opportunity. Oreg-on bong-ht the privatelyowned lands needed, then proceeded with improvement work. \Vater was available from the Anna River, whieh heads a few miles north in a duster of profusely-flowing spring'S. Diversion dams were built, eanals excavated and low dikes eonstruded to eOlltrol and spread the water over the parched lands. The work is not eompleted, but close to a,ooo acreS have already been converted into a highly-productive waterfowl marsh. Wheat and rye are planted on bordering uplands each yrar to provide additional nourishll~ent for local and migrating ducks and g'eese. Hunting is pcrmitted 011 half the area; the other half is a sanctuary. Illformation gathered dming' the first half of 29 Figure 12. Hunters returning from public shooting grounds at Summer Lake. Photo by A. V. Meyers. Oregon Game Commission. the 1948 split hunting season disclosed a harwst of 8,669 ducks and geese fro:n :3,367 man-days of shooting, or better than 2.6 birds per man-day (Figure 12). But Summer Lake is morc flail a l'ombination rt'fuge and pnblic shooting grounds, it is also a spll'IHlid illl'ubator. The production records show that this Pittman-l{occrtson pt'ojed rears 6,000 ducks and 1,500 Canada geese each year. Horicon Marsh, \Visconsin, is a fine example of nnwisc re('la'l:ation followed by a costly salvage job. In its original state this 30,OOO-acre marsh was a famous waterfowl ll('sting and concentration spot and a splendid producer of mink and muskrats. Unfortnnatply, the marsh was drained some 50 years ago to uneover more agril'nltural law]s. After the lands wcr(' d!'hydrated and rnined for wildl ife it wa-; ](>arned that the sour Iwaty soil would Bot grow erops. In 1940, the Wisconsin COltserYation Commission 1111(1 tl:(' Fish and \Vildlife Service entered into an agreement whpr!'by the ~tate would buy and restore the southern part of the former marsh, and the Scrvi('c would take like action on the northern part. 'rhis two-prongt'd rehabilitation campaign was to be financt'd by the State, with the h('lp of Pittman-Robertson funds, and by the St>rvice with Duek Stamp money. Executing its part of the agr('pmrnt, \Vis('onsin pr(wrf'ded to buy nearly 10,000 acres of land in the southl'r11 part of the marsh. lkstoration has followell, through required developuH'lltal (lJ'oje:·t;;. Half of the State's marshy spreall is dosed to hunting-; the rcuwindpl' is open. \Vhile fur animals were ineiti('ntal to tht' n:ain purpose of restoration, the \Viseonsin Conservation Departll'Pnt's dividends frolll this source of cash ineome, are substantial. During the 1 D47 -48 trapping season, for exam pit', the State sold its half of the share-trapped mink and muskrats for $15,000. 'l'hat money is helping' pay for restoration and manag-ement work on the property. Replacing low-quality plants with hi~h-qualit:v food producers has been undertaken by n:any States. Elimination of noxious vl'g'etatioll is a('complished by cutting, discing, sImwing- with hprbicides such as 2,4-D, and by controlled burning. Nl'W York is rapidly elrarillg waterrhestnut from the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. This worthless ('xotie threatened to ehoke all other vE'g-etation in the quil't waters of thosp streams until it was sucepssfullv batth'd by 1I1ldpt'water wec(l ('uttp['S and 2,4-D sprayed by airplanE'S: hdieopt('rs' and hand PUl\} ps. \ViSl'Oll- 30 sin has used controlled burnin'" to "'ood effect on its Horicon Marsh, to eheek the growth of willo; an;1 aspen and thus provide gOOf'll' pasturage. Maine has made extensive elearings on Swan Island, and has seedNI them with rye, Ladino elov('r ancl other plants to supply QTeen foo<ls for gcese during the spring migration. Food pJantingf'l have been made on :34 projeds in 20 States. TeIllH'ssee is performing- a king-sized job Oll the 185-mile long Kentw·ky Resl'l'Voir undrr a coopl'rative agrepmpnt with t'1e Tcnnessee Valley Authority. Certain shallow water areas at the reservoir margin have bpf'n diked and are pumped dry each spring to eliminate a prime setup for malarial mosquitos. Crops of corn, peas, soya beans, whl'at and oats are produced on these dewatered lands. In the fall- after the IJ'osquito-breeding spaHon is over - the croplands are flooded (l'~igare 13). These recently installt'd cafeterias have been a spectacular Hll('ecss. In Ig46-47, 14,000 <lurks and GO Canada geese wintered Iwre. This jumped to 50,000 dutks and GOO honkers in the winter of 1D47 -48. 'rhe splendid results coming from its maiden efforts to do something for the birds and hunters have encouraged the Tennessee Conservation Dppartmpnt to pxpand opcrations. 1\1l :;ites suitable for watprfowl dpvelopment in th(' other rescrvoirs treated by the Tennesse Valley Authority within the State will be included in this habitat improvenwllt program. Surveys and illve:;tigations - biolo~i('al, engineering and land acquisition are the foundation of land purehasrs and dcvrlopments for waterfowl. Field studies also provide administrators with the fads about production, hunting pressure and kill, and many other featnres that brar upon the wrll-tl'ing and ('ontinup<l abundanec of waterfowl. During the first ten years of Pittman-Robertson operations, about onefifth of all money investt'd in investigativ<~ work was devoted to duclvs and g-eese. New York, Minne:;ota, Connedicut, Massachusetts, and Oregon, lead the parade in locating and studying likely sites for future acquisition and development. Kill records now are being obtained in large enough quantities so Figure 13. Food plantings for waterfowl in Kentucky Reservoir dewatered areas are flooded in t~e fall when pumping operations for malaria mosquito control are discontinued. Photo by Tennessee Department of Conservation. that the hunting (lrain on the available supply ean be detrrmined. During the 1D47 oprn season, 15 States stressed this line of work. This information, whrn corrriated with like data collrrtrrl by the Fish and \Vildlife Scnier, providrs an important aid to etfretive managemrnt. California and Minnrsota have stndied watrrfowl food plants, their distribution, propagation and use by thc birds. The New England :-Hates have made ('xtrnsive surveys on pel g-rass. This aquatie - a very important watprfowl food plant along the North Atlantic Coast - was almost exterminated by a blight i;ome years ago. Its eomeba~k is i;low but promising. The growing problem of lead-shot poisoning has been investigated by Minncsota ami Michigan. Fipld studics by both States have located heavy concentrations of such pellrts in certain marshrs and lakes. X-ray and fluoroscope rxaminations of wintering dueks showed that a high pereentage have l('ad shot in th('ir gizzards and are suffering from It'ad poisoning. Miehigan flnoroseoped spring migrants during balJ(iiug' operations, and found as high as 25 pere('nt of the puddle dlleks ('arrying l('ad in th(·ir tlpsh (l<~ig-llI'('S U and 15). 'With increai-wd hunting pr('ssur(', ('rippling losses have mounted. On six 'Wisconsin marsh!'s, it was fonnd that 4,561 hunters bagged :{,D4~) birds and erippled an additional 1,010. Much of this waste could be averted by more earefnl shooting' and the Ilse of hunting dogs. Studies on Horicon Marsh, \Viseonsin, disl'losed that gunners using dog-s failed to r!'trieve only 8.:~ p<'rc<'llt of thr waterfowl shot down, while those without dogs lost 18.7 p<'rcrnt of the birds they knocked out of the air. Many nrw techniqurs in watrrfowl managemrnt have been developed. These range from invrntorying mrthods, as illustratf'd by the State-wide aerial ernsus in Colorado, to the ehrmical and mechanical ('ontrol of nndpsirable aquaties s\1('h as watprdwstnut in New York and water-hyaeinth and alligator wppd in Alabama. Population tr('nds haye been studicd in many Stafrs through banding, invrntorying, drtermining 11f'st ing SlH'cess, analyzing hunter sueeess and erippling losses, checking of s('x and ave ratios and g-ath('ring data on migrations. Massachusf'tts tr(~hni('ians have dcvis<,d a bettcr way to rnconrag-e wood dueks to use nesting boxes. They ('xperimrnted and learned that when these sheltprs wrre plaeed on po1<'s srt in the water, the oceupancy increascd to ovcr !)!) pPl'('('nt as ('ompared to 40 pf'reent use when the boxes were nail!'d to tr('es. Tr('e locations wrre too attractive to squirrels, raeeoons, owls, and bees. The suee!'ss attained in Massaehusetts has encouraged New Hampshire and PpJ1l1sylvania to embark on extensive programs of eonstrllction and distribution of these artificial nesting- sites to increase the numb<'rs of this gandy member of the duek family. Bobwhite Quail The various spreirs of quail nati\'{' to the United Statf's romprise a g-roup of outstandingly important g-anH' birds. A mongo th<'111 the bobwhite l'l'igns as king over a large part of the nation. 3:! Figure 14. Fluoroscopic exam· ination of migrating black duck to determine number of shot in bird's body. Photo by Michigan Depart. ment of Conservation. Figure 15. X-ray photo of same black duck showing it is carrying 10 lead pellets from past body wounds. Photo by Michigan Department of Conservation • • c\ • 33 When the Pittman-Robertson program began, bobwhite restoration eonsisted almost entirely of stocking pen-reared birds. Sportsmen had been sold on the eif{,(·tivl'ness of that approa(·h. Improved game farm techniqul's I'nabled ganl!' breeders to turn ont birds in large quantities. It was generally assumed that liberal dosag'es of artificially produced quail were the sure ('nre for ailing populations. Field studies eonducted sinee 19:18 have proVE'd that game farm products have been grossly over-ratl'd as a means of inereasing the supply of bobwhites. Such stoekings have all too frequently been earried on with little or no attention to the adequacy of food and ('over where liberations were made, or to the ability of released birds to survive under wild conditions. Chronic failures w(~re inevitable. Even where stocking has heen ean'ipd on to improve hunting con(litions immediately, hunters' bags the first season have been found to contain only 4 to :l:3 p('re('lIt of the birl]s rplpasl'd. Vpr,v few aI'(' bagged the seeond season. The gTE'at majority of stoekl'd birds disappeared rapidly from release sites. Beeause they are abnormally tame, many arl' taken by prt'dators. SOllie arl' lost to exposure and otll!'rs simply wandel' away. Stndips in P('nnsylvania have shown that although popnlar with the hnlltl'l's, tlw l'estol'killg [lrogt'alll, for thl' money eXjwnt!ed, has been the ]Past I'tf('(·tiv(~ of the (~Ollllllissioll 's quail management praetiees. 'fhe suceess of restocking ('an only be ml'asllrpd by tlw Humber of bird:,; that survive and rpprodul'l'. Dl1l'ing- th(~ Jwriod from 1940 to 1942, Oklahoma baudI'd H:l,OOO of its jWlI-raised qnail to find out what happened to tllPlll after rple(lsp. By.J Illy 1, 1 !142, 7!)4 ban (Is had been rptul'ned. That was less than one 1)(,1'('(,l1t of the total l1umber band(~(l. l\nd more to the point: two areas in ('astern Okiahollla stol'i{('d with 108 birds in S('ptpmbpr 19·n wpre hl1ntpd intensively during the lath'I' half of NOVt'Illb('r of thp sallle Y('ar. SP\,Plltv-seven binls wpre kill(~d on olle arpa all(i 42 on the otiwr, making' ~ total of 119 bobwhitps bag-gl'd. But only :n, or :n per(,Pllt of the birds takpl1 wpre hakllPl'Y birds; 82 or (j9 ppreent wpre wild-l'pared. Here is another illnminating ('xampl('. I\('lltlll'ky has bpen making intensive field studies on the f'ffeets of liberating- pen-rpared quail. Data concerning the snrvival of birds t'pll'ased during' the fall of 1946 disclosed that only 28 per('pnt of them were found on the stoeked areas two months after they were liberated. ){pturns from livptrapping showed that by Ap'ril 1!l47 only 8 Iwr('('nt of thpse gallle farm products were present. The 1947 spring qnail (,pnsns of Pulton COllnty, PPIlns,vlvania, was of partieular intel'Pst beeause it was ('ondn\'tpd as a test to It,am til<' real worth of the qnail sto('king program th roughol1t tllP State. r II thl' ('astern one-third of Fulton County where 1,000 adult quail had bl'l'll released in April 194H, the ('Ollnt rPlllained at 1 H ('OV('YS, (~xad.ly thp same IlUlllber found during the Mart·h 1941) (·(,IISI1S. 1\ llllost all of th('sl' (~OVl'ys were at or within a short distance of the samp pla('ps wh(,l'l' they had wintered in 1945-46. 'rhis indieated a survival of lIati\'(' stoek only. In the western sed ion of the eounty, where 1,000 pe11- reared birds had been released in September 1946, there was a gain of one ('ovey over the nnmber fOllnd tlw previolls spr'ing (18 t.o 1!l). It was iwlieved that fiv(~ of the IH COV!'."S (·ollld be slll'viving J'PlIllIants 34 of the September release because these coveys were isolated from previonsly occupied ranges. In the middle division of the county which had receivrd IlO pen-rpal'cd birds, the total number had increased by six coveys (30 to :16), bnt evpn here the mortality from fall to spring had bePIl pronounced. The cpusus showpd, however, that wild birdswithont any ht'lp from game farm additions - were able to maintain tlwir numb!'rs for a ppriod of a year during whieh lH'arly all of the 2,000 pen-reared quail were lost. The rcsnlts of nparly 100 fit'ld :-;tn<iit's in 29 Rtatp:-; have proved to wildlife a(lministrators that the dividt'lHls from qnail :-;toeking programs are low indeed. This has led to a shift in restoration emphasis: quail living quarters are either bring ereated or improved on the land. \Vithout required food and cover conditions, no amount of stocking - be'it wil(l or artificially propagated birds - will put more bobwhites lwrmanently in the eovprts. fn the Sonthpast, where the bobwhite is game bird No.1, habitat im provPIlH'nt Plll plHuiizes field bor(lcr (':-;tablishments whieh combine two :-;hrllbby ('xobe IpgnIlH':-;, bi(~olor and s('ri('('a kspedezas. Bi('olor ('ontriblltes littl(, in the way of eo"pr hilt its sppds provide a mneh :-;ollght-aftpr winjpr food; seri('pa grows low and <1pnse and supplies nN,ting and (~:-;('ape e()v(~r. Th('se plantings for quail not only increase birds numbers and make the hnnters happy, but the farmer also lwnpfits - and that is the key to enthusia"ltic aeeeptanee. The field horders ehp('k woodlands frolll Illoving' in on eroplands, provi(le a ('011- venicnt turnrow for the farmers and ('Ilrb soil erosion. The Soil Conseryation Reryiee rpcolllllwn<ls sH('h phmtini~s to it'; (·ooperators. Observations and hunter t'xperipnees show that qllail are almost ('crtain to be fOllnd in or near tlwse field bor<i('rs. LmHlowners, sportsmen and g'ame te('hni(~ians are hig-h in tht·ir praise of the splendid results ('oming- from this type of hahitat impI'Ov(,I1I(,llt \\'ol'k (L"igm'p 1H). (lpoqria's farm game habitat rt'storation proje('t is typi('al. Beglln Figure 16. Bicolor lespedeza field border provides excellent winter food for bobwhite quail. Photo by James W. Webb, South Carolina Game and Fish Department. 35 in 194:3, the work is state-widp ill seo!>p. 1t operates throng'h Soil ConserYation Distril'ts. O('or;!ia's first trouble was in gptting enongh bieolor sped to (listribut(, to tl](' farHH'rs for planting. Then too, many failures ('ame from rlired s('('(ling and a shift was HUH Ie to growing seedlings in nnrst'rit's for later transplanting. r II Hl-1-S, the produetion of bieolor s(,(,tlling's totalpd n('arl.\' :P/~ millions. During the last five ~'t'ars, almost ii,OOO of tl]('sp tipld horders ha\'(~ bepn pstablishpd ill Ororgia. ~ill1ilar proje('fs are olwrating lIO\\' in North Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, :::iol1th Carolina, Florida, Virginia, and Mississippi. General farm game habitat. imprO\'('IlH'llt proj(,l'ts which utilize th(~ lespt'dezas to a It'sst'r l'xtPl1t arc fpatllrpd in Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Oklahoma, -:\lissonri, \Vest Virg'inia, Dplaware, Mar~'land, and Pennsylvania. {~nfort.llnat,·J.\', lpslw<ieza bi('olor will not pl'o(ilH'e seed in th!' northern part. of t hI' ('onntn'. Maryland's ('oopprati\'(' fal'm gamp program illllstrates a sOIlH'what. difi'erpnt and IlIOI'(, ('OlllIH'plwllsin' approa('h to helping' qnail and oth!'r rpsidpnt sp('('ips of IIpland ~nlnH'. 'J'IH' (lame D('IHll'tIlH'nt furnish('s tpl'hni('al glli(lal}(,(" s(,pd, planting st()('k, f(,lwing llIatprials and signs for lands to be impr()\'('(l. Th(' ('<loppratol's providp the lahor, Impro" Ved ar('as rang(' from fiv(' to GO a('I'ps ill siz(~. '1'h(' landoWIH'rS agr('(~ to maintain not I('ss tban fly\, a('rps in an inviolate sant'tllarv and to allow hunting on their lan(ls as tlw.\' }Ul\'(' in til<' past. This Maryland habitat impro\'('llJ('nt work is ('()]l(lu\'f('d in ('ool)('ration with til(' ~oil Conservation Distl'id.s, 4-Il Clubs, Izaak \Va!t.o!l Lt'aglw Chapt!'rs, and otber ('ons('l'\'ation dllbs, tl1<' :-\tat(~ D('pal'tlll(,lIt of Por('sts and Parks, the University of Man'lalHl Ext('nsiol1 :-\('rvi('(', farmers, and othprs. :-\ll<·h broad g'ang(' ('ool)('ratiol1 ('xpands snpport, sl)('('(ls progr('ss, and i!ls1lr('s stability. Providing badly np('d('(l li\'illg' qual't('I's for quail anti other fal'JlIlano wildlife is a whale of a hi!! job. Illinois, for ('xalllple, ('ontains :12 million a('r('s of farmland and 200,000 fal'llIs. I1alf of tlw farms lll'(,d small r('f1lgps and fiel(l bord('r ('stahlishlll('lltS. To ('omplete the task ('alls for lOO,OOt) III i l('s of f(,IH'('-row planting'S and 2GO,OOO a('r('s of de\'t~loppd s('('d st()('k l'pfll;!!'S. During tlH' spring of 1 !l-lH, the Stat(~ planted 12G mil('s of f(,I](,(, I'O\\'S and 2':)00 a('I'ps of s(,pd st<H'k refuges. This complpted th(' work Oil -lOO,OOO W'I'('S of th(' State's ('roplands, Multiflora rose is til(' prilH'ipal planting sto('k, The progrpss is very satisfador,v for tl1<' amount of 1lI01H',\' Iwing' il1\'('stt'(1, hut adioll mnst he stepped np. Illinois is ('nlistill!.! all possiblp h(·lp in a('('olllplishing this (Fignre 17). Land pur('hases for bobwhitps have bppn quitp 1I11l11(,I'Ol\S ill the past(' rn half of the ('onntry. Many of the ar(';ts pllI'(·has('d wpre ahandoned or snbmar;!inal farms. Tb(' lands honght al'(~ 1lI1llti-pnrpose units to inerease production of ('ottontail rabbits ami sqnirr('is as well as qnai!. 8neh aequisitions are illlproy('d for g.·ame by l'Oypr plantings, seeding food patches, fencing', and po:--ting, Scaled, Mountain, Valley, and Cambel's Quail The priu('ipal limiting fador on qnail (ll'o<illd.ioll, 0\'('1' millions of lW!,('S of arid land in the \V('st, is hH'k of wat('t', 1<'00(1 sllpplit's, pyt'n in 36 Figure 17. Multiflora rose field borders provide tight living fence and excellent wildlife cover. Photo by Illinois Department of Conservation. <1('s('rt alld n('ar-ilpsl'rt sitnations, arc ample to sllstain larg-c numbers of tI](';..;e birds. B!'(':l1Ise of this, California's qllail-watt~ring- installations, known as thc "gallinaecol1s gnzzler," have b('('n a sIwt'ta(mlar sltee('ss (Fignre ]8). Cnn-('nt ('onstrnl'tion is tlw pro<lttet of It\\l('h paillstaking {'xlwrillH'lItation. Desig'lls progTcssf'd from ('ombination metal storag-e tanks, ('aIling- for mannal filling, and slllall watl'ring- basins with float valves snbj('l't to nnpr<'didahlt, failnrl's, to thl' prl's('nt ('xtrtmwly praetipal arrall.!!!'I1H'nt. 'rhis ('())Jsists of a thin ('Oll('rl'tc wat('r-(~olleeting- apron ('ov('r('(1 with an asphalt Pllllllsion, to fill any ('ra('ks that lIlay develop. ,Vat('r, falling Oil tltt' apron, fiows by g-ravit.v into an nndcrg-round storag-r. tank mad!' of pOllrpd ('OI1('r('tf'. Thf' nsc of portable forms savps nllwh timr. in ('(ll1strnd.iol1, and rf'imlts in tanks of It standard ;;iz(' and <lpsig-n. A narrow oTwning- abont pig-ht ilwhes high, in front of the storag-(' tank, ('Il<lhks tlw qnaiJ to pntpr alld ohtain wate,·. NlllaJI-dialll('t<,,'('d st('('J "ods sd npright in th(\ ('(llll'rete at the tank ('tltnUl ('(" ]>/"('\'('nt pr('dators sll('h as ('o."ot('S, bobeats or foxcs fro III 37 gaining a('('('ss. 'I'll(' tallk intt'rior ;;10 P('s gmt! ually down ward frolll til(' ('11- traJl('c, so the birds ('all always gaill a('('PSS to thl' wat(' r as it I'('('('d('s dlll'illg dry wl'atlwr, without dallgt'r of lwillg dt'owlH'd. Figure 18. Gallinaceous gunler showing part of water-collecting apron, entrance to underground storage tank and valley quail that have come in for water. Photo by Ben Glading, California Fish and Game Commission. TIH'se concrete ref;ervoirs are built to hold about 600 gallons of water. To assure a water suppl~' of that volume, thc f;ize of the collecting apron is determined by loeal prp{~ipitation recordf;. Average rainfall is halvpd, and the collecting slope is made large enough to fill the tank. For example, if the rainfall is conservatively figured at thrpe inches per year, a surface of :120 square feet will fill thc 600- gallon storage reservoir. Despite drought l'on{litions in California (luring 1948, not a single gallinaeeous guzzlpr wpnt {lry. Thc eonstrnction is simple and maintenance costs are inconsequential. The prcsen('c of this water supply has rp,mlted in Iwak quail populations of several hundred, in places where there were nOlle previollsly. Not only are largpr populations of thpse sought-after game birds being produl'pd, but thpy no longer have to travel long distames to obtain water during dry ppriods. Thr peonomit's of thpse quail oasrs are on the plpasing side. California has rt'du(,pd ('oMs in sonw lo{'alitips to a,.o;; low as $200 per installation. Figuring the iuv('stnwnt at I) 1)('l"{'Pllt lH'r ~'l'ar, and {lisI'p!!' ardillg- any littlp maintl'nal}(,{', tlw {'(lHh olltla.Y wOlIl(l he worth $10 I)('r ~·par. That wOllld pay for fivc g-allle-farm hir{ls of (lnbions ability to survive in the wild. Game men in California fignre that a gallina(' POUS g-uzzler is far below par if it does not prOdlH'e GO quail per ~·par. The imau:inatiol1 and p('rsist('n('e of California game terhnieians in pt'rft'd.ing this praetieal quail-population increase (leviee is worthy of the high('st ('ollllll('ndation. This has IH'en one of the h(·tter PittlllanRohprtson achievements. ~What haH b('('n dOll{' in Htal'ting a largc-scale qnail l"estoration pro!! ralll in California, is appli('ablp all oyer the low-rainfall parts of the ,Vest. Arizona, N{'vada, and Hawaii are now engaged on identical water-providing projp\'ts. The pllrehas('s of w('st,'rll big-g-alllP l'ang:cs haye, in Ilnmerons instane(' s, IH'lped th(' wPHtprn qnail. \Vh('1l thps(' rangps are fpnepd and ('attl(' grazing 1'('<lncpd, the habitat ag-aill h('('omps attra!'tive to th('8P hirds. ~('W Mpxi('o has pnrchasp<\ Hi arpas totaling 2H,707 a('r('s, prillIaril, v for prairie (·hi(·k(,lls. W('I('olll('(l H('alPd-q11ail iJl(~r('as('s ltav(' l)('el1 Ilotpd in thrs(' newly-frlw(·d arN\,S. A 110ther ontHtanding- a(~('olllplishn\('nt in W(,Htprn qnail manag(,Jltellt was the trapping' and t.ransplallting- of ;{,7!)0 wild Gambel's qnail ill Arizona. }<'onr Stat(>s haY(' liYl~-trapl)f'd and distributed nearly H,I)OO of the yarions HIW('ips of w('st('rn C]nail. Many sit('s that la{'lw(1 all (,ff'p(·ti\'p bl'('pding- popnlation \\,pre rpst<H'k('d h,Y this prog-ram. 'l'h1'ongh ('('IIH11S Ht11di('s, Arizona ohtainpd indiHplltabl(~ ('vidplI('p that the {jambpl'H quail popnlation was too low to IWrJllit a harv('st. Ad.ing- on this information, the h1lnting s('aHOIl was (,los('ll on this hir(l in 1!l-l6, for thp first tilllP in the histOl'Y of the Stat(', and 1'('mailwd elosed (In ring the following two seasons, has('(l on s11hseqllPllt fipld iUYf'stigations. Tn ilJpw Mexieo, t('('hni('ialJs have fOlll\(1 that avian malaria affed.s Gambel's quail, bnt not the other spP(·i(>s. The limits of infcl'tioll in the State hav\' b('I'1l !'Htahlislll'll through sampling stndi('s. \Vith this knowlcdge, plus blood ('x<tlllinations on t.ransplant sto('k, the State now is able to ayoid spreading this disease to malaria-free 100'alitips. 38 king-necked Pheasant This exotie has sueceeded so well in the northern agTieultural regions that it HOW has surpassed native species in importance in wide seetions of the country, The pheasant has received primary benefits from acquisition projeets involving 69 areas in 17 States, totaling nearly 84,000 acres, ThC'se pnrehm;es represent additions to the game Illanagement units in Pennsylvania, ('olllbillation refnges and public shooting grounds in .'VIichigan, ::\iilllll'sota, and Iowa, and seed stock l'l'fnges in Utah, "Washington, and Idaho, lIabitat improvement projpds ranging: from those ('onfined to speeifie State-owned areas to the ('oopel'ative State-wide type on privately- owned lands, have been nndertaken from Massachusetts to Washingtoll, A wildlife habitat rpstoration project ('overing' the Illinois prairie region illnstrates a ('oolH'I'ativt~ progralll for t1w IWlldit of farm game spec ips, prineipally til!' pheasant, {Tnder this proj(·d., slllall areas OIl l'ooperating' fal'lllS have Iweu feIH'ed, posted aud planted to tl'ees, shrubs, and herbaeeous plants slleh as l(',~.nlllles, llIultiflora rose, grains, and gTaSS('S, Mo<iifi('atiolls of this pl'ogTlllll at'P being eOIldue ted in Indiana, Nebraska, MilllH'sota, Nortll Dakota, South Dakota, \Viseollsin, Miehigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, The Nebraska upland g'all}(' I'pstoratioll llrojed, ill oJH'I'atioll sinee ]941, benefits pheasants, prairir g-rollse and quail, primarily, and ill( ·itlentally aids HUllgarian pat'tridg-e and rabbits. This pl'o,kct, wI! i('h is State-wide in S('OI)(', ojlpratps Oil f<lI'lIlS ill t'J.itablislH'd soil ('OllSNvation distriets, ~\ereages" illlproVl'd for wildlife are those that have IWPIl d(~sig-natpd for sl1('h att('lltioll by soil conservation planlH'I's, The work has in('lud('d few·iug-, posting-, and planting tt'P('s, shrubs, aud h('l'ba(~('ous vpgetatioll, Par'ts of dC\'t'loped fanHS arc st't aside as refuges, An additional ft'atllt'e of the Pcnllsylvallia and Ohio prog-t'allls is the purcbase of strips of hay for nesting' ('owr, standing' g-rain for winter food and the l('asing of brushy or weedy pateht's for winter cover, i{ealizillg the importalH'e of winter ('over for phl'asants, South Dakota is l'stablishing' windlm·aks of suffi(~i('nt widths to prevent the shelt(~rs from being snow!'d in, Studies of th(~ shelt(~r b(·its previously created in that State showed that be('a\lse of the narrow widths, slld~ plantatiolls al'e veritable d('ath traps for thpse birds (!<'ig-\ll'('s I!) and 20), Heavy sto('king- from galll(' farms is still b(;ing' dOll!' in some States, but studies hav(; shown that most of this is time and mOlwy wltl;ted, Hnll'ss the birds art' I'l'ir'as('d illllllediatPiv ah('ad of tlw gllll, This latter lll'adi(~e is not rl'storatioll, and ('lUlllot be apP1'ov('d as a PittlllanI{ obet'tsoll aetivit,v, Sillee the p}wasant has alrpa<iy takplt hold ill tilns!; parts of tlw ('Olllltl',V snitabl(· fOl' it, thl'r'!' I'('maills ollly tlw )ll'Oblt'lll of J't'stoekillg- sJllail areas wh('re bir'<!s ba\'(' h('en l'iiminated 01' where suitable habitat ('onditions have b('1'1l (h~\,plopnd, bllt hir'ds have not y!'t, bt'(,Il I'stablished, Masscwhllsetts, "lailH', fdaho, Utah, ()l'(~gon, California, Montana, Nt'w York, Pl'llns,d,'ania, and Miehigan, b? stnd,\'illg- l'1'1('ase and balld l'I'(~o\'('I'i('s, ha\'(~ 1'0111)(1 that IllOst birds takf'1t hy }lIl11tr'rs on r'pst(}(·k(·d 1ll'I'IlS Ill'(' wild-hah'lH'd, d('spit(~ lihel'lll st(wk- 39 Fi9urfl 19 and 20. Above is a narrow shelterbelt which became a death trap to pheasants see~in9 shelter from bitter winds and driftin9 snow. The wide dense wind- ',' break below assures excellent protection to these birds when bliuards invade the northern i " , 1, :.:plains States. Photos by Roy N. Bach, North Dakota Game and Fish Department. illg' of pen-reared birds. In Illinois, for t'xample, only [) pereent of the rPirased birds were later bagged by hunters. "Where thpre is a grnnine l1r('d for restoeking-, the trapping- aJl(1 transplanting- of wild birds is by far the best way to solve the problem. Each of these wildwise ring-neeks is worth half-a-dozen pen-reared innocents. At the end of the drollg-hty thirties, South Dakota had some blanks in its occnpiNI range in the western part of that State. \Vith normal prpcipitation, food and eover had returned. To hasten the eome-baek of the birds, almost 8,500 were trapped on the Sand Lake National \Vildlife I{efuge dnring th(' wintl'r of 1 !)40-41 and rrIpast'd in suitable sit('s nct'dinO' such stoek. I(laho and Montana have 1Ist'd the Routh Dakota llH'tho(1 in aeeomplishing phea.'mnt rpstoration. Eaeh has trapped and transplanted almost 6,000 ringneeks. Emphasis on the lise of wild bir(ls to repop1llate va('ant or badlr (lepl('ted rangps is not intpnded as an indietnwut against game farms 'I'he.v have thpir pla('('. Undisturbed gTasslands were ('ss(,ntial to prairi(' grouse r('produdion. They ('ould not adjust th('lllsplV<'s to tll(' dospd agri('uItnral pa1tprn and were for('('d 01lt. The plll'asallt thl·i\'('d among ('rop lands in the old world. Our fine popnlations of thl's(' hil'<1s ('ame from imports that weI'€' pro('('ssed throngh ganw farms. 'I'll(' r('snIts slwak for th('ms('lws. N('V('rth('l('ss, wildlife r(~storatioll do!'s 110t lllean r('leasing su('h stock in the same pla('Ps ov('r and o\,er again. If habitat is suit(lble and sound manageHH'nt is appli('d, rl'l)('at .. d rppla('p- 1ll!'1It.-; of hirds is 1II11H'(·essarv. It is Skllifi('allt that ~onth Dakota's slwl'ta('nlar pheasant ah1\nd~n('(' ('am(' 'from au original st(wking of 2,:lOO hirds, plll'!'has!'d from (In Illinois g'ame farm. Livp-tl'appillg' and transplantin!! of snbs('qllent irH'reas('s spl'{'ad the bird ov('r the Rtate. South Dakota ha,s nel'cr owned a game [ann. Rf'wral llH'thods of inv('ntorying phpasants have IWl'n (lp\'l'loppd Ilndl'r thp Pittlllall-l{{)hprtsoll prog-ralll. Th(~ roadside ('('nS1\S was the first SIl('('PSSflll lIH'ans of estilllating- populations. Tnitially, this joh was dOlle hy h'(·hni(·ians and gallw ward('ns, hut ('o\'('ragp has I)('('n g-rpatIy ('xpandp(] by ('oop€'rating rnral mail (·arriPl'S. 'l'h('se s('asonal ('01\11tS ov('r r('I)l'l's!'lItativ(' sampl!'s of the phpasallt I'allg'e pt'ovid(' ('ssential ill formation on SPX ratios, brpeding sne(~('ss, and <'ffed of hnnting prl'ssnr€'. A more r(,('pnt dev('JopllH'nt in ('ensnsing is bm;ed on (·rowing connts of ('o('k pheasants dnring- the br('('ding season. The population of po(·k hirds ('an hI' qnit(' al'('nratply determinpd by this lll<'thod. Having pr('viousl.v d<'t('rmin(,d s('x ratios from wint('r ohsprvations, the spl'ing hrl'pding- pOJlnlation ('an th(,l1 he fig'I\r(~d b~' simpl!' at'ithlllPtie. 'file lH'xt stl'l1 is to find 0111, the hatehillg" and rparing' Sl]('('ess. l~oadside brood ('Ollllts fnrnish this inforlllation. That ('omplptps the annual job. The te(·hni(·jall ('an tlwu inform his snlwrior as to whdh('r ph!'asant populations havp g-Oll(, lip or down and re('omll}('nd hunting seasons and bag- limits. Th('sp Pittman-HobPl'tsoll d('visf'd inv('ntoryill~ nlPtho<1s al'(' hping Ilspd wholly or in part in all ~tat<'s wh('r(' pheasaut.'I ar(' b('ing managed. III 1 !)4H, for ('xamplp, th€' pheasant s('ason in ~ollth Dakota was shortpll!'d wllPn ('pnSHs data show('d the popHlation was too low to withstaJl(l th(, longPt' hHlltillg- p!'riod whidl had forl11(' rl." b('e11 set. 41 \Vhell winters are severe and g'ood l,ovpr sea nt, pheasants flock to protpdive vPg'etatioll to avoid bittpr winds and drifting snow. This habit has Pllabled the game dl'partnwnts in the Dakotas to make aerial censuses. CoU('entrations of birds are photogTaphed - counting ringnecks is then a routine office job. Wild Turkey During the first decade of Pittman-Robertson operations, the wild turkey has stag'('<1 a g'ood eOlllPcal'k o\'pr most of its rang'e. The bird that appparpd to tr bound for the zoos and museums is now being harvested under eardullv malHl'!l,d spasons in at lpast a dozen States. The eonl'prted efforts to' pun'hasp and llewlop woodlands especially for turkeys have hpn lrajor bolstpring- fadors in the recovery. Turkeys ar(e rp('piving prineipal hp)wfits from thc pureha.<;es of 22 areas totaling] 72)W2 aerps in ninp States. An outstanding example is the -l,500-aere Ralt Spring-s Sandnary in Clark County, Alabama. Thp nnit is managNl as a refw.!'e for a sourl'C of stoek for live-trappingand removal to other arpas, IIabitat-improvPll1Put work has bppn eondneted by 15 States. Outstanding in this respf'et are Alaba'na, North Carolina, Tf'xas, Virginia, and \V f'st Virginia. The Virginia projp(~t provides pnvironmental improVE'nlPnt on national forpsts in the monntainolls portions of the Rtate. The work ineludps pstablishlllent. of small l·lparings which are sppded to gra.'!srs, and planting'S of snppl!'nH'utal foods. Tn addition, the forrst trails arp maintained in g-rass. Contiullollll nse of these openings by tllrkr~'s, has Cern obsprwd. 'fnrkPy habitat improvements have also grratl? Cenpfitpd rllffeli gronse and det-r. This same pattern of development has been l'lllplo.Vl'd bv oth!'r sontheastrrll States. Texas has entered into agTel'l1lentR with lanllowllers to dcvelop woodlands for eirer and turkeys. Approximatpl? -l00,000 aeres have been placed nnder manag-el1wnt. Lands are improwd b? feneing, spelling food pat(·lws, establishment of dparings. and travrl lanes, and snpplemental feeding, to hold the transplallt(~d birds at reI rase points nntil they are acclimated. With mw'h desirable vaeant range availablp, rpstol~king ha.'! bpen nndertaken by ninc Stat!'s. TexaR ll'ads in this, having livr-trapped and transplanted almost :~,O()O wild birds. Transplanting Merriam's turkey in Colorado and Arizona has extended the range of this fine snb-sprcips in those States. Colorado has relea.'!ed :i59 and Arizona 248 wild birds. Sto('king of ga~l,e-farlll birds also has been nndertaken. Virginia rpleased 1,089, Arkansas -lOO, and Mississippi 156. Subseqnent stll<iips showpd that trapping and stoeking wild binls is by far the superior method. P(,n-raised birds invariably have some domestic strain in them and are dpfinitely inferior to wild stock. They are llllWh more sm;ecptiblc to prpdatioll and hll11ting. Wpst Virginia and Virginia have prog-rams on whieh game farm h('ns are placed in fenced f'nelosnrps to be matpd with wild toms, a restoration system developed in Ppnnsylvania. This ill pxpensive, but it has yielded very satisfaetory results in Pennsylvania. An Alabama stndy showpd tbat a pattern of G- to 10-lwrp forl'st elt'arings amounting to G P('l'('Pllt of the arpa, matl'rially inen'ased and brought about wider distribution of the birlis (\,<'igurc 21). Wintcr Figure 21. Wild turkeys using opening that has been cleared and planted to sod producing grasses in Salt Springs Sanctuary. Photo by Robert J. Wheeler, Jr., Alabama Department of Conservation. ('over <'rOllS were fonl1(1 more e/fpd,ive in lIlaintaining' floeks than sn111- HlPI' food plantings. ])pstl'lll'tioll of foxl's and bob('ats Oil A labamlt tnrkey rang'ps was found un<i('sirable whpll !lonnal populations of "Odt'llts weJ'e prpsl'nt.. Hemoving' pt·edat.ors swplls ro<ipnt populations and results in ilwreased ('ollllwtition for turkey foods from rabbits, ('otton rats, and other ro<il'llts. (J razillg by dOlll('stie livestoek was found to he detrimental on turkey mallagement areas. 1t was fOllnd that futnre wild turkey manag'elllt'llt in West Virg'inia amI western Maryland shollid inelnde more elt'aring's. Hellloval of snpprpssive forl'st gTowth pprmitted the grasses and other herba(' pous plallts to bp('oll1e ('stablishpd. Predation in 'W pst Virginia was of seeon<iary importanl'e as a limiting fador, eompared to poaehing' and OVl'dlllllting'. Man still tab,s a Iwavier toll of wild turkeys in :\lisso\ll·i than all nat.llml (,lwlllies ('olllbined, in spite of a dosed s('ason. l,'t'ol\l 1 !)25 to 19-t1, lIlore than 14,000 artificially-propagated tllrlwys were rl'leased in Missouri in an effort to illl'rease dedining populatiolls. Jk(~allse results <lid not jllstify ('osts. al'tifi(~ial restocking' was abandOlwd bv the COllllervation Commission in 1!)43 in favor of better proteetion 'and management of wild native stoel\. Rulled Crouse Throng-hout the woodland areas of the northern States, especially wht't'e there ill a predominance of se(~ond-g'rowth hardwoods, the ruffed grouse is the most important game bird. 'rhe g'rotlse has been benefited by the a<'fluisitioll of more than Vi7,OOO a('r('s in 24 areas, by eight States, and by developmental projects conclUded hy ];1 States. 43 Six States have carried out investigative projects on these birds. Studies have bt'en direeted toward determining what forest management practices are best for them. These practices are being carried out wherever practical, partienlarly in eonjunction with measures to help other forest game. Because of their cyelic nature, low populations per acre and the high costs of forest manipulation, intensive management for grouse alone cannot be justified. Habitat improvements in the form of timber management have bet'll the most logieal approaeh. New York, Conneetieut, and New Hampshire have undertaken the pstablishment of smallel('arings, the release of food-bearing tr(,es, and the thinning of d(mse timber stands to allow herbaeeous ground eover to IW(,OlllC repstablished. Planting (·lumps of conifers whpre such speeies are lacking has provi<ipd necessary winter cover. Timber management for deer and turkeys has, in many instances, benefited the ruffed grouse. Michigan has been coneentrating on census and adult-immature age ratios as a means of settillg proper seasons and bag limits. Unlike other States, Michigan has an open season on ruffed grouse every year, regardless of the stage of the cycle. Information gathered by that State indicates that the length or time of the hunting season, and the number of hunters has very little effeet on the ruffed grouse population. Conneeticut has approached the management of this bird in a different manner. They haw bpen studying the !'ff(·et of fon'st el!'aring-s on the abnndanee of ground inse(~t lift'. Their findings show that the inst'et populations in eh'an'd arl'as are about double that in natural forest COWl'. An ample supply of inst'ds is esst'ntial to YOllng grouse during the first few we('ks after they are hatdlPd sin('e they require Il high protein diet. Maine has made a study of the forest typ<'s preferred for nesting . .'Jow they are in a position to recomnH'nd forest managenH'nt pl'adi('('s that will favor this bird. Prairie Crouse Sharp-tailed and pinnated grouse have bepn hclped from aeqUlsltions involving l1('arly ;{2,000 aer!'s on 20 ar!'as in fOllr Stat('s, and -1-2 (leveloplllental projPets in 11 Stah·s. New Mexico has had 11 a(·quisition project." for prairie ehi('kens uuder which 18,627 aer!'s of land have be('n pllt·(·hased. 'fwelve developmental projeds for improving- tht'se lands hllve b(~en in operation. The work ineluded f!'nl'ing, planting of tr!'!'s and shrllbs, and plowing fire-breaks. Population surveys were lIlade after tlw 1 !J-1-H brl'eding' season. l:<'avorable findings en(,ollrag'(~d thc State to deelal'l' the first open season sinee 1!);~4. New Mexieo sportsmen had a most satisfactory hunt with an ample supply of birds being left for future produetion. 'fhe r('sults of the hunting are (·on(·lnsive proof of the benefits of these restoration activities. A study of old burns in relation to sharp-tailed grouse abundan(·\' in Michigan led technicians to try experimental burning to hold baek forest invasion and !'nc(mrage creation and rl'tention of shrubby and open areas so ne('essary to this bird. Studies in at least eight Stat!'s have been (~OIl(llld('d Oil t}wse two 44 g'rouse spel·ies. Through these efforts much has been learned about the factors affecting' them. Better census techniques have made it possible to measure the results of management practices. Sage Crouse Although the sage grouse is now a species of minor importance, restoration efforts by eight western States have been benefieial. Acquisitions for alltl'lope alld prairie dli('k<'IIS, as well as some purehases primarily for this specips of gTOllS(" luwe made more range available. I{estoration 1IJ('asnrt's ilwilldp f(,lwing', dl'vplo])IlH'llt of watt'ring sitt's, !'ange rt~V\'g\'tatioll alld !'l'st(wkillg. \Vyolllillg' has trapped alit! transplallt('< l lI('arly 2,100 of tlt(·S(·. hil'ds, alHl ~Iolltalla 2-1-G. Colorado, Montana, Oregon, \Yyollling, allll the Dakotas have eonduded studi('s to dett'I'lllille distribution and abundance of sage hens as first steps toward bt'ttf'r lIlanag·ellH'llt. Or('goll fonnd that ravens are the most im(lo[·tant jll'('dators Oil grouse cg-g-s. 011 two similar study at'('as, olle with ra\'('lls ('olltl'olI('d and the otl1<'r with no (·(mtrol. the etfpd of mWll pr('datioll was startlillg'. On the raven-eontrolled area, the Il('sting SUe('l'SS was G 1.2 ]H'I'('(,llt; Oil the one where ravens w('['e lIn('ontrolI('d, ollly G.:> l)('r('(,lIt of til<' Ill'sts W(,I'(' Sl\('(·('ssfnl. Hungarian Partridge The IIlIng-IlI'ian pal'tridg-t', an ('xoti(, of I('ss illlpo!'taw'p allti with It lIIore I'(~strid('<l range than the l'illg--Il('(·k('d phl'asant, is a vaillable g-allle bird ill portions of the no['tI\('1'1l plaills ~tates and tlw .;-.JOl'tl!Wl'st. This SIW('il's has sltal'('ti ill IH'II('tits from dt"'l'lopnll'nts 1'01' ottH'I' IIplalld gallle wit.hin its I'allg-l'. II II II I.mriall pa['tl'idg'l's are ('sselltially hi I'ds of tllP op('n ('Ollllt['y. j ,allds Stl pportillg- HIP It ig-lll'st population ill !\orth i\.1lIl'I'i('a (',lI! 1)(' g'l'n('rall~' dps'·I·ib('<l as open p['ail'ie type when' slllall g-raill fal'millg- pl'pdoJllillat('s. \Vh('I'(~ this type borders woodl'd ar('as, the birds ar'e lliOd('I'ah'ly Stl('('('ssful ill tlH' olltel' fringe. Trav('lillg- ('ast frollt the \\'('stpl'n prail'il's illto tlw woodpd s(~(·tions of Mi lllH'sota, for ('x alii pIe, Oil!' filltl~ I1111l),!'(lrian par'tridg'e fairly (,0111- ilion where woods O(,('UP," about ~ii I)('['('('nt of tl\(' total arl'Cl. The birds be('ollie s('are(~ to abs('nt wtwn :>0 !ll'I'l'('llt or 11101'(' of the land is tilllb('r(~d. 'l'lw birds like wpll-sod(!t,d, Ilattlntl g!'llSS fOl' lH'sting, alld f('w of tlw "Htlll" lH'stS al'p fotlnd in (·tlltivat('d fil'lds. lI('avy prp('ipitation dtll'illg- til<' l'l'iti"lti r<~pl'odtldion [ll'l'iod is probably t1w prinei pal fador I illl it.ing- 1It1llgarian partridge ilWl'eases. Prolollg-l'd rains ('at 1St' Iwav,V lI('st loss('s. Chilling' and lIIt1dballillg' on Iwaks and fl'l't of yOllng- ('hi('ks at'(' I'('spollsibip for substantial brood losses dtlring ('old, wd w('atll<'r. Parasitism by a 1Il'llIatode WOl'ltl lllay I'('sult in t['PIl\('IHlollS die-otfs alIlOIlg- YOllllg bil't!s tinder eOllditions (·aused by IlPavv rainfall. III '}1 i ;l!Iesoh~ it was fOlllld that t hI' If tlllg'lll'ian partridge nestingseason pxt<'ll(ls ()V(,I' an H-\\,('pks' Iwriorl, with 0\'('[' !)() pcrecllt of tl](' IlPsts Lpg-ull dUI'illg- a IWl'iod of six \\'(,('ks. A It.houg-h the avera:.re dlltdl size was qllit!' hig-h (1.J..7 ('g'g-s) , til<' !lullg-at'ian pat'tridgc is lllueh l('st-; sl\('('('ssful at 1'(,II('St.illg- than is th(' rillg--Ilpeked plwusant. 'rhc 1I('still).!: s('aSOIl of the !lulIg-al'iall par·tridge (eig'ht w('('ks) as eompared with tlw rillg"-IH,('k('d ph('asant (Hi \\'('('ks) llIakf's the formel' far more \' III 1](' rub]p to the df('ds () f ('old, \\'d Il('~t i II,~ s('aSOllS. Pheasants often lay eggs in Hungarian partridge nests in regions where both speeies are eommon and especially when nesting eover is s('aree. In one sueh area in ~1innesota, those anties ('ansed the abandOllment and subsequent loss of 60 Iwn'pnt of all II lIngarian partridge llt'sts nnder observation. The Ameriean method of hunting' disl'l'iminates against the young, slower-flying' birds and allows a large proportion of old birds to escape. The result is vigorous fighting among: adult malfs in an attempt to dffend larg'e nesting territorit's (whi('h in }linnesota had an average radius of 300 yards) and the produetion of fewer birds per unit area, 1 n England where high popnlatiolls of this bird are maintaine(l through intensive malHlgpment, evpry ('/fort is ma(le to shoot old birds to redllee fi(yhtiu" amon" nestincr pairs thus inereasiIl<r uestinc~ density and produ:tiou."" The obvions ~olutiOl'l to this situation wOl~ld be t"o p(hwate the hllutfrs and establish game rfgnlatiolls which would ('oneentrate hunting pressure on the older birds. 'l'hrough stoekillg programs, tpmporary population build-ups have been obtained in !,pnnsylYania, Ohio, 11iehigan, and 1finnesota. In thpse ('asps the inereases were of short duration and Sllbsl'qlWllt attPl1lpts to rppstablish thp birds havp fail('(1. 1"01' t'xaIuph., P('lllisylvania found an HO pen'pnt dp('rpase in one year's time of a populatioll formerly llllnwrons enou~h to jllstify a hunting' spason. In Michigan the planted birds had a h'lld('lley to spread Ollt over wide areas as though tryiIl~ to find suitable livin~ quartprs - instalH:l's of movenwnts of 5 to 9 miles within a few ll10nths wpre l'ecortil'(l. Idaho ll'ads in live-trapping' and transplanting of this speei('s, having' l1lowd 92-t- birds to suitable bllt va('ant habitat in the sOllt/wastpl'Jl anti ('(,!ltral parts of the Stat!'. The partri(l~e has n,(,t'ivl'd illlpol'tallt assistanee from s!'vt'n projeds in fOllr States. Chukar Partridge N evalla trapped and transplalltcd !)2G wil(l Chllkar' pal'tridgl's in 19-t-7, on its first Pittman-l{ob{'rtson pl'ojel't. Short hnntin~ seasons were permitted in that State in 1947 and 1 !J48. Both adiol1s were 011tstandin~, l'onsidering the many failures in the past 25 y{'ars to g'd, this l'xotic ('stablished eIRpwhl'l'l' in thp United States. Spf'dal:ular ill('I'l'aSes in the population of tiwse fl'atlwred Orientals have shown up in a lOO-mile strptt'h of eoulltry rUllnill~ llorth frolll Yakima, \Vashington. Chukars are holding their own in the OW('IIS Valley and Mojav{' ])('sert of southern California, and ar(~ showill~ C1wonraging si!!ns of boosting r{'produdion into hig'h gear HOO miles away, ill northeastern California. \Vild ('ovcys, from prior plantings of pell-l'eal'cd birds, have been lo('atl'd in A rizona and SOllll' other wpstern States. The Chukar partridge has finally sl'rateh{'d out a real toe-hold ill America. But the variety we have here - OIle of 22 of a single speei('s with a natural rang-e ('xtpndin~ from Mongolia to the Atlantie, in Asia, Europe and North Africa - is adapted to low-rainfall eonntl'Y with plenty of steep rocky slopes. Doves Mourning- doves, white-win~p(l d()Y('s, and hand-taih~d pig'(~ons lwve all been subjeds of l"ederal Aid projel'ts. 4G ':\fonrning doves have been studied in a number of the southeastern :-ltates where they are an important game spedes. Beeause of their lIligratory nature and more or less solitary habits, it is impractical to carry out development work primarily for them. However, they are benefiting from other developments, snch as farm ponds, farm game habitat restoration, and refuge areas. In Missouri, for example, a dfwided increase of doves was observed arollnd farm ponds. White-winged doves have been studied extensively in the southern seetions of Arizona and Texas. Land aequisitions and subsequent management in southwest Arizona are eontributing to habitat stability by proteeting the birds from fires and dearing operations. Texa.,> , white-wings are suffering from land dearing activities and studies have shown that one of the best immediate management aids would be the acquisition of suitable nesting areas along the lower Rio Grande river bottoms. Nest predation by grackle:') in Texas is very serious and it alone is ('lItting breeding' success in half. Control teehniques are being studied in the hopes of reducing' these losses. Band-taih'd pig-POllS arr b('ing stll<iit'd ill t~()l()rado wlH're the populations have dropped sharply in r('('ent years. Clapper Rail The ('lapper rail or n:arsh IH'n has r(,(~pived little attpntion in the past. Georgia is now making a detailt'd stlldy of its habits and rc( luiremputs. rndi('atiom; are that eOllsiderable call' be done for these birds throngh habitat improvrment and proper protection. New ,Jersey ha.'> llIade some valllable observations on this spel'il's in the tidal marshl's of that Rtate. Woodcock 'I'he woodeoe];: IS another sp('cies that needs further mallage!11('ut studv. Massaehusrtts is the onlv State that has earried on PittmanRob(~ rtsou work with this sjwl·i(:s. However, it has reeeived eonsiderable study in other States independent of the 1<'ederal Aid program. Aeqnisitions for waterfowl and deer have, in many instances, provided ex('ellt'nt nesting habitat for the" timber doodle." Cottontail Rabbit The t'ottontail, being a farm game species of outstanding importall<~e in most of the eastrrn lTnitt'd States, has bet'n helped by many habitat f('storation projed.s. Almost without exception, this work has benefited phpasants or quail as wpll as rabbits. Such improvements as f('neillg, planting trl~l'S and shrubs, and speding herbaceous plants on small isolatf'<i or Noded parts of farms have eontributed food and housing for eottontails. The ('stablishment of Illultiflora rose hedgerows and the sep(ling of ll'spedeza field borders have made habitable othl'rwise barrl'Il sites. Thirty-two states are engagf'd in habitat restoration in ('.ooperation with soil ('onservation distril'ts, landowners, and other <;onsprvation agencil's. Indiana has establishl'd more than 1,200 wildlife prodnrtion nnits whi('h also provide badly needed seed sf(wk r!'fngps in that heavily huntf'd State. Rr('(mt inv('stigations of t1H'se I('ased and impro\'<'(i game salldnaries rev('all'd that nearly !)O H J ~ Ii,' It I: i I I': IWrl'E'nt of them wpre getting heavy nse frolll ('ottolltails alld other farm game spel'if's (Figurf's 22 a and b). Maryland, l\1iehi~.mll, Ohio, and Penlls.vlvania have iU\'f'sted PittllIan- Hobf'rtson funds in many land pnrehase projeds for the cr('ation of refuges and malUlg'f'ment arf'as. Frequently, these pnrchases consisted of abandonf'd or submarginal farms. On('f' in State ownership, the lands Wf'rf' g'i\'f'n devl'lo)ll1lf'ntal and malUlg'Plllcnt treatment. \Voody ('oVf'r plantings, herbal"Pons spedlings and the application of good soil eOllsf'rvation farm plans have produced gratifying results. For example, the Oldakpr \Vildlife ManagenlPnt Arf'a in Ohio was purehas('(l aJ1(1 th(,11 <\('\'('101)('(1 by tr('(" shrnb and I('sl)('(kza plantings. A soil bnilding and eonservillg ('ro)) rotation, ('ombilwd with liming and ff'rtilizing, was applipd to the ('roplall<\s. Heepnt illVf'stigatiolls revf'aled three eottontails pf'r IV're. On this same area, squirrf'ls inl'l'f'ased to five per aerp, and tlw SlllllnH'r n!'sting popnlation of hobwhitf's was one bird to five ;ter('s. Ohio, New .Jersf'Y, l\ew York, .\Iisso1l1'i, }lil'iliglln, and p('llllsylvania have ('OlHlnf'tpd fif'ld illv('stigatiolls to find Ollt how to hetter manage their ('ottontails. Throngh hllnt!'!· ('h('('ks, (Ihio I(,fll'lled the rf'lative importan('(' of til!' (·ottontails in til(' Stat(~ as a whole, and in whieh parts thf'Y \Y('rf' most important. I,'rolll data obtailH'd in lfl .. Hi ('ornparpd with similar figllJ'('s for 1~I:l2 alld l!l:l:l, it was fOllnd that. th(' hunter Sll('('('ss ratio had tak(,ll a big: dl'op-().fi ntbbits w('re bag'g(~d per hnnter in 1!H6, as ('ompal'pd to 1:1,4 and 11.!) for 1!):l2 and 1fl:1:1 reslwetiwly. Th('se figurl's I'ptl('<'fl'd tIl(' dllal intlll('II('(' of shl'inking habitat and inrr("ased huntillg 1)1'('ssllrl'. ~Iissollri is annllfllly snpplyillg' approxilllat('ly onl' lIlillion l'ottontails to Hw m("at trade and trallsplanting' st(wk to I'astl'l'n Statps. This does not inl'lnd(' IOt'al sportsman kill whi('h I'IIIlS into tlw millions. To kt't'p tlwir fing'ers on the ))Illsl' of this vahrable rl'SOIll'('(" PittmanHobrrtson illVPstigators a!'!' assignpd the task of invl'ntor?ing rabbit. populations pf'riodi('all? and k('('pin,!.!: r('('ords of tlw ('nornlOus harvest. \Vith sneh information on tap, til!' Stat(· ('olls(,I'yation D('partmpnt. is in a position to pnllwrly mallag'p this !'('solln'(' withollt. endangering' hi:rh prodnl'tiyity in the flit II 1'('. Hf'sf'arl'h findings (lis!'!os(·(l that in til<' ",('st-('Plltral and sOIlt.hwpstf'rn parts of Missouri, where 12Tl'at. lllllllbl'rs of rabbits art' killed hy hunters for sport. or handle(l ('OlllIlH·rl'iaJl.y, tlw ('ottontail popnlat.io]Js have bef'n maintainf'(l at high Ipv('ls ollly b('('anse the earrying ('apaeit? of the lallds IWl'lllittp(l it. This has b(,!'ll dllc leu'gel? t.o the ('/forts of landowners. Cottontails are OIl<' of tiwi I' ('ash (~rops. Intl'rvi('ws with 512 farnwr-t.ntpP(·I'S in Cl'lltral .\;1 iSSOllI'i dis(')os('d that. tlH',\' 11'('1'(' maintaining ('over ('onditions to ('n('Ollrag'e til(' produdioll of rabbits. Th(' l1Iedium-fertil(· soils of th(' w('st.-('l'lItml and sOllthw('stprn part.s of the State pro"i(l(' the l)('st rabbit nlllg'('. ;-JOl'tiWl'll Missollri is g'Pll(' rally low in ('ottontail d(,llsit~· IH'(·;WS(' lalld-llse ('hal1g'('s hav(~ l'liminated llllH'h of the formerl.Y ahllndallt. food and ('over. High populations of rabbits ('all h(' lllailltailH'd by wis(~ land mallagf'mE'nt. In )"<liRsollri it has h('('11 fOllnd that larg'E' nllmbf'rs of them serve as an important hllff(' I', aidillg lIlatl'rialJ.v in th(' rl'dlwtioll of predator damage to pOlllt.t'.v. For this J'('aSOll 1I11111,V fal'llwrs are in- -is Figures 22a and b. The above pasture was virtually a wildlife desert in 1941. due to intensive grazing. It was fenced in 1941, protected from livestock and planted to trees, shrubs and herbaceous cover. Within a year quail, pheasants, rabbits, raccoons, and squirrels were observed utilizing the area. Below is a view of the same area taken in 1948. It is now a fine haven for wildlife. Photos by H. P. Cottingham, Indiana Conservation Department. , j; terested in the encouragement of the cottontail. Recommended rabbit management practices in Missouri, to produce sustained yields of cottontails, consist of piling brushy cover in eroding draws, preventing overgrazing, planting of food and cover in spots where it is needed, and refraining from cutting or burning cover where its presence does not interfere with farming. ~ew York is one of the customers for Missouri cottontails. These imports are bring used to rppopulate (lppletPtI ranges. Pittman-Hobt'rtson firld men art' stndying sOllie of these releasps to learn whether thpy arc aetually producing results ('ommpnsurate with the eosts inYolved. Th{~ final rpsults of this study will help mold future rabbit sto('king polici(~s in thp Empil'(~ State. 'fhl' dpcline of introdm'('u eottoutails was studi(~d on an island in ~ew York. Laeking ground prpdators, tl1(> ntbbit popUlation skyroeketed. Attempts to rt'<luee tlwm by shooting and the paYllH'nt of bountips wpre lUlSUl'('pssflli. Following 1ll0dpl'atp rpduetion by wintt'r stan'ation, eonsi(l(,ntblp llIortal it,\, il('('Om paniP(l by til'k ill fpstation oc('urrpd. Tpchllieians <ldermilwd that losses l'l'snlted frolll ti('kinduepd alwlllia or badprial infpdioIlS. "\d(litiollal loss('s allIOHg' .inypnill' rabbits Ol'('lIlTpd ",h('u th('y \\"('r(~ abandollPd by si('k ot· dying parelltal females. Hestoeking ('ottolltails dlll'illg a :W-Y('a!' Iwriod in P('nnsyh'allia (litl not produce larger shooting populatiolls. 'l'lw lIIain l'('asolt for the failure was that habitat ('ollditions ill tlt(' ~tate ('onld Hot snppm·t largrr nnmbrrs than w('re alr<'ady PI·pS('lIt. '1'0 ilwrl'ase rabbit pOJlUlations it is npl'l'ssar.v to manipnlate the lI111d ill I1lIH'h tl\(~ salll(~ 1l11U1- ner as a farnwr does to produl'(, gl'patet' ~'iplds of tillahlp ('t·ops. ~t()('king- lands bp,Vo]Hl their ('al·I·.\·illg ('HIHwity is a wastl' of tillll' anel money. Mortality stndies in Pennsylvania rl'wale(l that abollt ~() P('I'('l'llt of ('aeh yrar's young survi\'('d lIntil tlw fall hllllting spason. Tlw};u-k of summer ('ovpr that ('0111<1 etfpd.iYely protp(·t jllwllile l'ottoutails from prpdators and inelem('nt w('ather wpre ttl(; (·hipf ('Illlses for this heavy loss. Llle\{ of adequate slIpplips of wintpr foods w(~re found to limit populations in some arpas whpn snow was (kpp. The woodehuek, once cOIIsi(it'rl'd a llllisatH'(" is 1I0W wpll'ollll'd ill eottolltail I'Ollntrv bl'cause the rabbits usp woodehuek burrows pxt('lIsiypl.v fot' ('s('ar~~ eover. Squi"els The gTa~' all(l fox sqnirt,pis Inr(' millions of hnntpl's afipld ('/wlt fall. Tn faet, these arbol'pal mallllllals milk S(,(,OIl<l ollly to the ('ottontail rabbit in total Jllllllbpl's harvpstt'd during the OPPII s('asons. \Vhile fl'w Pittman-Hobertson projpeis have been ulldl'l'tak('n cxdusively for squirrels, many have eOlltribut{'d major belwfits. The acquisition of woodlands in Miehig-an, P('nw.;yIYania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Tpl1IH'ss('p have assured living quarters for th('S(, seurrying woods dw('llt'rs. Maryland lLeqllired the LeCompt.e \Vildlifn Demonstration art'a primarily for the Bryant fox squirrel. 'rhe -l,;)OOaere Gratiot-Saginaw purehase llnit in l\Iiehig-an aids fox sqnitTl'ls a;;; wpll as other farm gllllle SIW('i('s. Tit is proj('('t al'l'a is olle of Hi b('illg' 50 acquired in southern Michig-an for farm game. These wildlife units are managed as combination refug-es and public hunting grounds. Also serving as demonstration areas, illduded croplands are farmed according to plans that incorporate wildlife benefits. Developmental activities include transplanting of trees and shrubs, establishment of herbaceous cover, erection of nest and den boxes, and removal of unnecessary fences. Farm game habitat projeds in Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, and Pennsylvania have benefited squirrels by dosing woodlots to pasturing, ('rel,tion of nesting boxrs, planting of corn, and the establishment of rpfuges. Arizona has done most of the trapping' and transplanting, having moved 543 Abert squirrels to yaeant but suitable forested lands. Squirrel studies in several states have been very important in pointing the way to better management. For ('xamplp, Michigan found that th(' lllast supply is the key to squirrel prodmtiyity the following year and for('('a."ts of future abulldame ean be made on this basis. Mixed stands of timber, ('specially the various Ulast producers, are much b('tter than pure stands of one speeirs breanse they act as an illsurHllee against crop failures. Seabil's Illite, one of the worst squirrel killNs, was fonnd to b(~ at its p('ak in late winter whell" food was in short supply or at any time WhPll the animals are in low physical condition. It rarely beeame serious (luring- ypars of food abundance. In making bag cheeks it was fonnd that an excellent breeding season rpsulted in about two-thirds of thp kill being young squirrels. Under poor brreding conditions young animals taken dropped to as low as 25 pereent. Studirs in Indiana, minois, and Michig-an have shown that squirrel hunting srasons during the latp summer lllouths arr IlOt good managelllPllt. \Vhil(' the quality of the Illrat wa;; pX('l'llent because of the high prrcentag-e of young- animals takrn, th(· Illlmbrr of pregnant and ladating f('mal('s killed, togethrr with tIl(' loss of nnrsing young in tllP 11rl';ts, gT<'atly 1'1'<111<'('<1 pro<1l1dion the following ."<,ar. Open seaSOilS l'OIllI1l<'Jl<'illg IIOt parlirr than S('pt(,llIb('r have b!'('ll r('('oml11rn<1ed in these statf's. Varying Hare The varying har!', or sllowsho!' rabbit, furnish('s eOllsiderable hunting in thl' northpastern and north ('entml stat('s. Altho1lg-h 110 restoration work has b('pn 1lJl(jertakl'n primarily for this species, land pur(' hases alld timber stand improV<'Ill<'llts within their rang-e have bronght abont bettpr living (~(ll1ditiol1s for the hare. Til Prunsylvania, SIlr\'('YS showl'd that varying harps w('re present in snffi('il'llt numb!'rs to afford good hunting 011 State Game IJands. Although J.;-'(·drral Aid personnel have determined that the hare has b('pn all but anllihilated in OI1P area in Vermont, the population for the State, as a whole, is at prrsfmt snffieiently large to prrmit hunting. Studies in th(' propagation, habits, and mver preferences of the varying hare have been eondlwt('(l in New Hampshire to Iparn what types of forest mallipnlation to reeommend. H('('OIllHlissaJw(' SIll'Y('YS Ita ve been made in New York to determine :)1 , I' , I, I' I the relative abundance and extent of the hare population in that State. and 139 potential release areas have been loeated, surveyed, and classified according to known habitat requirements. Some investigations of the breeding habits of the hares have been earried on at New York's Delmar Gam-e Farm. However, attempts by the State to raise these animals on their game farms in sufficient numbers for release purposes have not been sueeessfui. Areas to be supplied with hares with a view to re-establishing the animal in the various sections of the State must, at present, be stocked by live-trapping and releasing native wild animals. Studies of various liberation techniques and how to identify released hares were made in New York. The most satisfactory method for learning the results of restocking has been the dipping or tying off of the end joint of one toe on the hind foot of these animals which results in a traek dearly distinguishable from the normal. Studies made on Valcour Island, New York, during HJ46 showed a marked decline in the hare population. Diseases and parasites of this species are being investigated. From previous field and pathological work ('ondueted in 1943-H it has been eonl'luded that the range on Val(' our Island was hpavily seedc(l with harp lungworms and that juvenile hares ,vere pieking np infestations at an parly age. Further studies are being made to dptermine the <'xtent f0 whieh these hmgworms may reduee hare populations. Raccoon The rae coon interests two groups: the dyed-in-the-wool 'coon hunters who enjoy the ehase with hounds, and the trapper who is out to make some pxtra cash by pelting the animals. In recent years the demand for raccoon fur has not been ~mfficient to encourage any appreciable interpst in trapping. In many cases this has resulted in population build-ups and growing complaints of crop damage and predation. In marsh areas these sly rin!ztails often do considprable damage to muskrats. Louisiana, for l'Xamplp, rpported raccoons following trap lines and damaging as many as 20 pprl'eut of the 'rat.<;. Pelts on half the carcass!:'s w!:'re so torn up as to make th!:'m worthl!:'88 and the remainder broug-ht only 15-20 (·pnts e,wh. 'rhus, a $1.00 raccoon may damage $4.00 to $6.00 worth of muskrats in one night. Similar losses were reported from Texas marshes adjoining levees or areas supporting heavy raccoon populations. In Michigan it was fonnd that the pssentials of an optimum raccoon range were a pprmaJwnt wat!:'r supply, tree dens, and food. Artifil'ial f!:'eding was not advised, though eorn might be of value when mast crops fail. Raeeoons apparently prefer to dpn in flood-plain situations and it is there that the first management efforts should be stressed. Where tree cntting ean be controlled, investigators recommpnded that at least one and possibly two den trees per 15 to 20 acres be left standing, plus about two or three times that many potential denning sites. :Michigan also experimented with drn boxes in places where tree dens were in short supply. During a 10-month period, 10 out of 25'of these dt'n boxes were used by raceoons. The dosure of one study area in 11iehigan appeared responsible for 52 a 17 percent inrrease in raccoons in one year. However, sanctuaries were not considered generally necessary in the State, except to give low populations in depleted areas a chance to build Up. Artificial propagation has been foun
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|Ten years of Pittman-Robertson wildlife restoration 1938 to 1948
|Rutherford, Robert M.
|Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, now referred to as The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 669-669k), provides federal assistance to the 50 States, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for projects to restore, enhance, and manage wildlife resources, and to conduct state hunter education programs. The Act authorizes the collection of receipts for permanent-indefinite appropriation to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for use in the fiscal year following collection. Funds not used by the states within two years revert to the Service for carrying out the provisions of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act. The Act also requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest the portion of the fund not required for current year spending in interest-bearing obligations. The interest must be used for the North American Wetlands Conservations Act. The Appropriations Act of August 31, 1951, (P.L. 82-136, 64 Stat. 693) authorizes receipts from excise taxes on selected hunting and sporting equipment to be deposited in the Wildlife Restoration Account, as a permanent, indefinite appropriation. Receipts and interest distributed to the Wildlife Restoration Account are made available for use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the fiscal year following collection. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000, (P.L. 106-408) amends The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to develop and implement a Multistate Conservation Grant Program and a Firearm and Bow Hunter Education and Safety Program that provide grants to states.
|FWS Resource Links
Wildlife management
Fisheries management
Game management
|Wildlife Management Institute; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
|Date of Original
|Item ID
|Ten Years of PR Wildlife Restoration 1938 to 1948 (1).pdf
NCTC Conservation Library
|Public domain
|File Size
|Original Format
|128 p.
rAIUXUH "~SEAItCH IEFUaf:
WI LOLl FE RESTORATION
193 ~ -- I'li 8
"'..,~ ... t., ,II.
WH,O"" MANAOIM'NT INUlTun
w-.w., ... I, 0, C,
Published by the
Investment Building
Washington 5, D. C.
1949 '
EXCISE TAX: ApPROPRIATIONS AND ApPORTIONMEN'rS_
How THE ACT OPERATES
}'EDERAL RESPONSIBILITlES-STATE COOIWINATION
CONTRIBUTIONS OF TECHNICA(,Ly-TRAINED PERSONNEL ____________________________ _
DATES OF STATES' ASSENT ACTS TO THE PITTMAN-RoBERTSON ACT
SUMMARY OF RECEIPTS, ApPROPRIATIONS AND ApPORTIONMENTS
ApPORTIONMENT OF FUNDS, STATES' CONTRIBUTIONS, AND GRAND TOTAL __
SUMMARY OF LANDS ApPROVED FOR PURCHASE ____________ . __ . __ ._. ____ . ____ . __ .. MAMMALS TRAPPED AND TRANSPLANTED ____ . ___ . ____ . _____________ . __________ _
FEDERAL AID IN WILDLIFE RES'l'ORA'rION PROJ ECTS ApPROVf;D FISCAL
4" 4" 46
|Date created
|Date modified