Notice For Boys

Sometimes the idea prevails among boys that the game warden is a sort of "spoil-sport"—a man whose primary job is to prevent boys from having fun with slingshot, air-rife or "22", or fish spear.

Such is far from the truth. The game wardens real job is to see that the boys of today have the same pleasure or even more out of hunting and fishing and outdoor recreation when they attain man's estate as the man of today.

Boys of Nebraska will find the Nebraska game wardens friendly and willing to help them have a good time, but the warden wants cooperation. In return for his friendly advice, he wants the boys to help him conserve our wild life and to enforce protective laws.

Boys of today should always remember that tomorrow belongs to you. If you expect to hunt and fish like dad and granddad, you must help the game wardens do their work. The game poacher or the fish hog are robbing you of tomorrow's fun.

4 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA  

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Official Bulletin Nebraska Game, Forestation and Parks Commission VOL. VII APRIL, 1932 NO. 2

Where To Fish In Nebraska

THOUSANDS of Nebraskans are interested at this time of year in finding a place where they can fish. This is especially the case in southeastern Nebraska where the fishing streams and lakes are limited.

Bass are now being taken in all parts of Nebraska, but more abundantly in the northern and western lakes. The Brown County group of lakes—Long, Willow, Enders, etc.—furnish considerable bass fishing. The Cherry County lakes—Dewey, Pelican, Willow, Eat, Beaver, Red Deer, Hackberry—all are well stocked with bass. A good many bass are also found in lakes in Sheridan, Grant, Hooker, Morrill and Chase Counties. Most of the Sand Pit lakes along the Platte River, especially those at Fremont, Louisville and Central City, furnish some bass fishing.

Blue gills and other sunfish are found in practically all the sandhill lakes, as well as in the sand pits along the Platte. Some nice sunfish are being taken from the Blue River, Lake Ericson and the State Lake (Pibel) near Spalding. Perch are always taken from the sandhill lakes in large numbers, and catfish from the larger rivers. Bullheads are found in practically all parts of the State.

The new state lake at Memphis (Saunders County) is providing fishing for many anglers. This lake is well stocked with bullheads, sunfish and crappies. The State lake at Spalding (Pibel Recreation Grounds) contains bass, bullheads, and sunfish. A good hotel is operated by the state at this lake. The state lake near Oxford contains many crappies and some good catches have been reported. Reports indicate that good bass catches have been made this spring at Champion Lake in Chase County as well as Arterburn Lake near Champion. Good bass and crappie reports have also been received from the bayous along the Elkhorn River extending northward from Oakdale.

The Blue River has furnished some good sunfish and perch fishing this spring. Most of the bluegills have been taken at Dam No. 6 and Dam No. 2. The perch have been found at Dam No. 2, where the Commission placed them two years ago as an experiment.

The State Sand Pits at Fremont and Louisville have not furnished good fishing this spring, probably because of the changeable weather. A good stocking of bullheads are being placed in both these places and the fishing should improve as the warm weather comes on.

Bullhead fishing should be good in all state-owned lakes, as the Commission has adopted a new policy in stocking these lakes. Hereafter bullheads will be planted every week or so throughout the fishing season, rather than being dumped in in carload lots once or twice during the season.

Trout fishermen should have good luck this season as over 50,000 adult rainbows were recently placed in Long Pine Creek, the Snake River, the Bordeaux River Lodgepole Creek and the Upper Niobrara.

While the weather during the spring has been changeable, some good bags of fish have been reported from different sections of the state. A number of extra large catfish have been taken at Lake Ericson recently. This lake is in Wheeler County. Several fine trout, weighing four and five pounds have been taken at Pine Creek at Long Pine. One measured twenty-three inches and the other twenty-four inches. A six and one-half pound bass was caught during May in Lake No. 2 at the Fremont Recreation Grounds. Some extra taken at the new state large crappies have lake at Memphis.

The season of 1932 should provide some good fishing. During the past three years the Commission has stocked a large number of bass, bullheads, catfish and others. The bass in particular have been given attention. During 1931 Nebraska ranked as one of the leading states in the union in bass production. Many Sand Hill lakes not stocked previously were given a goodly number last year.

NEW RECREATION GROUNDS

The following State Recreation Grounds where fishing and free camping may be enjoyed were opened this year.

MEMPHIS LAKE. Contains about 70 acres of water. Good picnic grounds. Bullheads, sunfish and crappies. Located seven miles north of Greenwood, between Omaha and Lincoln.

LOUP CITY. Contains about SO acres of water, and frontage on the Middle Loup River. Contains bullheads, sunfish and perch. Located one mile from Loup City. This lake is not opened for fishing until May 30, 1932.

Other state lakes opened to the public are: Long Lake, Brown County. Oxford Lake, near Oxford. Cottonwood Lake, Merriman. Walgreen, near Hay Springs. Rat & Beaver, Cherry County. Champion, Chase County. Frye Lake, Hyannis. Pibel Lake, near Spaulding. Louisville Sand Pits, near Louisville. Fremont Sand Pits, near Fremont. Cottonmill Lake, near Kearney.

6 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

On The Blue At Crete

By Alice G. Harvey

AS the walking forces of spring and summer creep in upon us from the sky, the air, the earth, oh, come with me and I will take you on a joyous trail over the gently rolling Nebraska hills to a laughing, dancing stream where you may rest and play.

A friend or two, or the family will make the joy more real. 'Twould be best to go by train and shed as many of the superficial things of life as possible. A few blocks northwest of the Crete station you will find the boat landing, and there rent a boat of some kind. A ducky, little motor boat would be just right, as with a little sputter she will go chug, chugging over the smooth surface of the Blue river. And now, with a hand resting lightly on the wheel, you can settle back and let the cares and worries slide off your shoulders and breathe deeply of the spirit of the great out doors.

Reserve your cabin and there deposit what few belongings you have brought with you and go forth to enjoy to the limit this delightful camping spot—Horky's Park.

You will want a row boat or a canoe in which to explore every nook and crevice of the river. Lazy hours may be spent in some shallow spot where the branches hang low, and as the cool breeze fans your face you may read that long treasured book. Go hunting with a pair of binoculars and make friends again with the birds at early morn and again at twilight. The sunrise should never be missed and as day draws to a close, climb the high, steep bluff just west of the park where you may watch the sun sink beneath the horizon. Soon the moonlight will cover all, painting a silver stream to the southward. You will stay up here quite a while, and with a mandolin, guitar, or yuke, the hours of which golden memories are made will slip by. As you come down you will stop at the foot of the bluff for a drink of crystal, cold spring water.

Again, go forth and hunt with your kodak or movie camera. You can find no more beautiful scenery anywhere. Of course, you will want a snap of yourself or the kiddies swimming in the pool or the river, and don't forget to record that nice string of fish you catch.

HORKY'S PARK

Twenty-six years ago Anton Horky started a small camp on the Blue river, three miles northwest of Crete, Nebraska. People going out for picnics and now and then camping in tents gave him the idea of building up a resort. He first started with thirty tents, an open-air dance floor and a small store. The park now covers seventy-five acres of land, dotted with sixty-two summer cottages, well shaded by large, beautiful trees of different varieties. The main camping season starts about the first of May and lasts through August, though cottages may be rented any time as the park is open all year. All cottages are furnished for eight people though some are larger than others.

On the grounds is a store where all supplies may be purchased, also a cafe for those who are there for only a short time or who do not care to preare their own meals. There is a dance hall, fresh water swimming pool and a large lake. Bass, perch, sunfish, bullheads and catfish have been stocked in the lake and the Blue river is an ideal place to catch the channel cat.

One of the main attractions at the park is boating— twelve miles of it. Bow boats, motor boats and canoes may be rented at the park by the hour, day or week. A large launch makes pleasure trips up and down the river giving one many miles of beautiful scenery. For a number of years the boat livery at Crete was owned and operated by Mr. Stone but it is now owned by Mr. Horky and is under park management.

Between twenty and twenty-five thousand people camp at this park each year, coming from all parts of Nebraska and a few adjoining states. They come in

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OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 7

Wild Life As A National Asset

By Hon. Doyle E. Carlton, Governor of Florida.

\~\ 7 ILD life, which constitutes the essence of our V V great outdoors, is among the major assets of any nation, wherther measured by economic, political, social moral, aesthetic or any other character-building standard. Time was when its one chief mission was to feed and clothe the race; now in addition to its value as a food supply, it gives impulse to multiplied industries, with all that that means to the workers of the world. It brings happiness, health and inspiration to crowded millions of the land and helps to establish that independent, well-rounded, nature-loving, God-fearing citizenship, the one great goal of any nation worthy of the name. To me, America, stripped of this great resource through indifference, waste or destruction, would cease to be America, having robbed its future generations of those elements which make for the happiness of our people, for the building of citizenship and hence for the security of our institutions.

I am going to ask you to think with me for a few moments on the economic and moral value, the material or aesthetic advantages of this great gift of nature.

ECONOMIC VALUE

We usually measure things first, in terms of yards, acres, bushels or dollars and in times like these of economic revolution, of world-wide depression and distress, we cannot ignore these material standards of value. With this in mind I am thinking first of the dollar value of this great resource. According to a report to the seventy-first congress by the committee appointed by that body to investigate and report on the wild life resources of America, the commerical value of fish has reached the staggering total of $175,000,000 per year. And this does not take into account the amount which man takes for his own use and which is, of course, not the subject of sale. I have no figures on the aggregate value of game for food and for pelts, yet when we think of a little state like my own—not a state primarily of fur-bearing animals—realizing $2,000,000 per year from that resource —we can get some idea of the national value. Then, think of the kindred industries inspired by this resource. Why, we are told that $25,000,000 per year are spent for sport fishing tackle alone, $21,000,000 for sporting firearms, twice as much for ammunition. These sums in the aggregate represent but a fraction of a larger sum, when we take into account the amounts expended for the building and maintenance of hunting lodges and equipment, for supplies to meet the fads and fancies of every sportsman, guide services, hotel accommodations, transportation equipment, all of which give impulse to a mass of industries on the side. We are frequently told that the sportsman's dollar is more widely diffused than any other. His money flows as freely as the stream into which he casts his minnow, and is usually as widespread as the forest through which he is pleased to tramp. Morris Ackerman has said that "the angler follows the fish and the hunter follows the game; let the world know that you have fish and game and the world will be your guest and will pay its good money for that sort of sport." Roger Babson, speaking of Florida, said that the monetary value of the great outdoors as an attraction to tourists is five times as great as the citrus industry, our greatest commercial enterprise. I wonder if this gives us some standard of measurement by which we can appreciate the commercial value of the wild life of the country.

SERVICE OF BIRDS

Let us think of another phase of the subject, the economic service, if you please, rendered by birds. I wonder if it is possible to measure the value of the bird life to our country. Someone has predicted that the last great war will be with insects, the outcome of which will be difficult to prophesy. Michelet said years ago that "without birds it would be impossible for man to live upon the earth, because the insects upon which birds live would destroy all vegetation and make human life impossible." A writer in one of our sportsman's magazines says that "with bird life annihilated agricultural enterprises would immediately cease." Fordham, a leading writer on the subject, has said that "a knowledge of bird life is as essential to the farmer as a knowledge of the insects which threaten his crops and menace the forest. Without the birds not a tree would survive in the forest; man would be powerless to prevent their destruction." These startling statements, coming not from men of sentiment but men who speak with authority, should arouse our interest in the preservation of the bird life of all lands.

It is well known that where insect life concentrates, birds will gather. On the other hand it has been observed that a destruction of bird life has been followed by inroads of insects threatening not only plant but animal life. We are familiar with the fact that in many instances birds have saved the crops from complete devastation. A few years ago crickets by millions invaded the crops of Utah. Gulls gathered by the thousands and destroyed the crickets, after they had ruined one crop and were on their way to the destruction of another. The citizens of that State, in commemoration of the service rendered by the lowly gulls, erected a monument which will stand as a reminder to all men of their obligation to their feathered benefactors.

On one occasion the beet fields of Colorado were saved by the blackbirds. In 1894 a host of grasshoppers invaded Australia; the birds gathered by the thousands and destroyed the pest. A few months ago when the north central states were invaded by a scourage of grasshoppers, birds gathered by the thousands, though not in sufficient number to compete with that devastating horde which stripped the trees of their foliage, turkeys of their feathers and, according to some stories, made toothpicks of wagon tongues and turned hay

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EDITORIAL

REPORT INCREASE IN HUNTING LICENSES

More than 6,900,000 hunting licenses for taking wild game were issued to sportsmen throughout the United States and Alaska, in the season 1929-30. Including receipts from combined hunting and fishing licenses but not those from licenses issued for fishing only, the revenue to the States amounted to more than $10,000,000.

Detailed figures for the season, compiled by the Bureau of Biological Survey of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, show an increase in the number of licenses issued and in the money receipts as compared with the preceding three years. In the 1926-27 season, the bureau's records show, 5,989,795 hunters paid for their licenses a total of $8,187,223; in the 1927-28 season 6,462,555 hunting licenses were issued, bring a revenue of $9,338,173 to the States; in 1928-29, 6,428,761 licenses were issued, and the fees paid were $9,391,412.

New York, with 721,171 licenses and $735,295 in money returns, and Pennsylvania, with 509,926 licenses and a revenue of $1,029,745 head the 1929-30 list. Only 17 States licensed more than 1,000 non-residents or aliens, Pennsylvania leading with 4,823, Maine coming second with 4,639, and New York third with 4,065.

DUCKS NOT SO FAST

The luckless hunter who, missing a flock of ducks zooming straight over his blind, shouted after them, "Go it, you idiots! The world is round and you'll be back in five minutes anyhow!" was slightly exaggerating the speed of waterfowl according to statistics compiled by the U. S. Biological Survey, comments a bulletin of the American Game Association. Earlier estimates of the swiftness of ducks credited these birds with phenomenal speeds, but airplanes and automobiles have made possible an accurate check on the speed of their flight under varying conditions. The Survey has concluded from its collection of reports that ducks and geese do not ordinarily fly more than 40 miles an hour, although they are capable of increasing their speed greatly for a short time when frightened. The Survey places the high speed of mallards, spoonbills and black ducks at 50 miles an hour; pintail and wood duck at 60; widgeon and gadwall at 70; redhead at 90; blue-winged and green-winged teal and canvassbacks at 100. The Canada goose can fly 80 miles an hour. The fastest bird timed was a duck hawk in California, which is said to have darted at the rate of 165 to 180 miles an hour while chasing its prey.

IN DEFENSE OF THE PHEASANT

"While it has been definitely disproved that pheasants do any considerable amount of harm to the growing crops, it remains for Ben F. Greiman, Garner (Hancock county) to emphasize the idea, and he writes W. E. Albert, state game warden, as follows: You have probably had many complaints about the pheasants doing damage to farm crops. But I am going to keep at least ten hens and two or three cocks on my 160-acre farm this year, as that is about the number I kept last year to help me fight the bugs and grasshoppers. I have had many acres of corn destroyed by pheasants until I learned how to take care of my corn. We all know that they pick the corn out with their bills and the only-time they can do this is when there is a crust formed on the ground after a heavy rain.

" 'The thing to do is to take a rotary hoe, or drag, and break this crust as soon as possible, then the pheasant cannot pick it out as the fine dirt rolls back into the hole, and Mr. Pheasant goes after the cut worms and other insects. I have followed this plan for three years and have had a good stand of corn each year.

" 'I have counted as high as ten pheasants on my sixty acres of corn at one time and if anyone thinks I haven't a good stand of corn all I ask is that they come and see for themselves. If you have many complaints next spring I would like to have my plan tried out and see if I am not right.' "—Outdoor Iowa.

LEGION AIDS LAST STATE

Partly because American Legionnaires like to hunt and fish, the state of Mississippi has again joined the "union." The only state without a game and fish department, Mississippi will create a commission to safeguard the future of its hunting and fishing, effective June 1, if Governor Conner approves a bill just passed by the Legislature, according to officials of the American Game Association, one of the organizations actively interested in the project. Governor Conner has been a staunch supporter of the measure.

The Mississippi state department of the American Legion threw its full weight into the fight for a modern statewide system of wild-life management nearly four years ago, when it decided to back the then recently organized Mississippi Association for the Conservation of Wild Life. A survey conducted by the Legion revealed that 95 out of every 100 Legionnaires in the state hunted.

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 9

Fishing

By J. W. WHITE

"DeOPLE have been fishing since a time "when the mind of man runneth not to the contrary." Anciently it was practiced only as a means of securing food, but centuries ago man learned that it was not only a method whereby a supply of food might be had, but also one of the best for the rebuilding of health and a sure cure "for that tired feeling."

Four methods are practiced by those who take fish for sport. Still fishing, or pole and line fishing, as it is usually called, is the most ancient as well as the most common method. This method was practiced more than two thousand years ago. We know, on Biblical authority, that on certain occasions while Saint Peter was on earth he was called upon to pay taxes at a time when he was financially embarrassed. By Divine order he went fishing and when the catch was made, the mouth of the fish contained the necessary cash with which the taxes might be paid.

This method was also practiced by the aboriginal occupants of America long before the coming of the white man. Fish hooks made of bone, similiar in form to those of present manufacture, have been found in burials of these people.

Fly fishing is next in age. We know this method to have been in practice for tnore than three hundred years, because in 1653 Sir Izaak Walton wrote "The Complete Angler" which is a treatise on fly fishing. This method, which consists of casting an artificial fly, bug, minnow, or other lure, by the use of rod, reel, line and leader, introduced man's first attempt to take fish with artificial lures. This is considered by its devotees to be the most artistic as well as the most enjoyable method of fishing.

Bait casting is one of the more modern modes of taking fish, but despite the fact that it has been practiced a little more than fifty years, a great army of anglers use this method almost exclusively. Perhaps its popularity lies in the fact that it was developed primarily as a method for taking black bass. It consists of casting an artificial minnow, fly, buck-tail or other lure by the use of rod, reel and line. Trolling is a method on which I have no historic data but probably was developed after the advent of bait casting. It consists of drawing a lure behind a slow moving boat. This imparts a life-like motion to the lure, thereby tempting the fish to strike.

This is a very popular method of taking a number of species of salt water fishes and quite a few fresh water anglers use it in taking bass.

James Oliver Curwood said, "The world loves a man that loves to fish. You don't find him in jail. You don't find him in the hospital. You don't find him dying young. He is the man who without flaunting his religion from the housetops, seeks God forever in the blue skies, in the forest, in the glimmer of the stars and the rising of the moon—in everything that is a part of his beloved streams and lakes. Fishing is not only a pastime which man has created for himself, it is the greatest character-building activity under the sun for human hearts and souls. It is the man that loves to fish who helps to keep the world at its best, who is the greatest fighter for its beauties and its ideals, and all because he has come to realize and understand the glorious thrill of that intimate contact with nature which one finds when he has a rod in hand."

If you have been a single barrel fisherman broaden your activities; practice the other methods; it will increase your knowledge of fish and their habits and will give you a greater amount of pleasure than may be had by always fishing in the same old way.

U. S. UNCOVERS QUAIL RACKET

Uncovering a new bootleg ring selling native bobwhite quail, federal investigators are said to have secured names of more than a hundred prominent men, many of them multi-millionaires, according to a bulletin issued Game Association, exposing with gutting southern states Prosecutions are promised. today by the American a huge racket accredited of their greatest game bird, The Railway Express Agency has been fined handling a shipment of 907 of the bootleg quail, from it at Holly Springs, Mississippi, March 17. 700 for seized The maximum fine of $100 a bird was assessed.

The birds were shipped from Magee, Mississippi, by a man giving the name of "H. H. Johnson" and the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans, La., as his address. The several crates were consigned to prominent people here to points in N. Carolina and Alabama.

A strange coincidence is that a ring bootlegging

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STORIES WANTED

Stories and articles about Nebraska's Sand-Hills are wanted by Outdoor Nebraska. Here is a chance for Nebraska authors. The story of the Sand Hills has never been adequately told. The Hills have a beauty that few people know. They are teeming with many kinds of wild life that is intensely interesting. They have tradi tions and an historical background all Nebraska citizens should know.

Articles and stories, running from 1,000 to 3,000 words, which describe or deal with the Sand Hills will be considered for early publication in this magazine. While no funds are available for payment of such stories and articles, the rights of same will remain with the authors and many of them undoubtedly will lead to sales in the eastern publications.

Let us all join hands to tell the world about Nebraska's famous Sand Hills. Send along your contribution.

10 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Activities Of The Commission

BULLHEAD DISTRIBUTION

The Nebraska Game Commission has inaugurated a new policy of handling bullheads. In the past, large numbers of these fish have been brought to southeast Nebraska and immediately placed in ponds, lakes and streams. Most of them were placed in large lots immediately following shipment and, being hungry, anglers caught the most of them almost as fast as they were planted.

To overcome the taking of these fish before they had an opportunity to spawn and also to prolong fishing through the summer, holding ponds were built near Lincoln where these fish will be placed for several months, fed and then placed in lakes in smaller lots.

During January and February 200,000 bullheads were brought from the sandhills and placed in these ponds. About every ten days a truckload of them are placed in the state-owned lakes and this will be continued throughout the fishing season.

Other ponds, lakes and streams are being well stocked from time to time and this will be continued throughout the season.

The Commission believes that this system of planting bullheads will make much better fishing for a larger number of people for a longer period of time.

TROUT STOCKING

One of the biggest plantings of adult Rainbow Trout that has ever been made in Nebraska was undertaken by the Commission during the winter of 1931.

Fifty-thousand (50,000) trout were placed in northern and western streams. Among the places stocked were the upper Niobrara River, Long Pine Creek, Snake River, Lodgepole Creek, Cedar Creek and other smaller streams and irrigation districts.

Heretofore most of the trout planted have been only partly grown, but all of these trout were adults.

SHORTAGE OF CATFISH

Apparently the permitting of commercial seiners to remove catfish from the Missouri River is reducing the numbers of these fish for the anglers.

Each year until this spring the Commission has been able to capture about 100,000 catfish annually, placing them in between dams on the smaller rivers and near the head-water of various streams.

This year, only about one-half of this number have been captured and it would seem that this will be about all the crew will be able to get.

Most of those taken are much smaller than usi1"! which would indicate that the larger ones are being tt«ven by the commercial seiners who are operating on the Missouri River.

During 1931, one hundred and ninety-one (191) commercial licenses were issued on the Missouri River. This law did not go into effect until August, 1931.

TREES

Not only does the Commission cooperate with the Committee and the Federal Forester in the planting of trees, but a considerable number are being planted on state-owned property.

This spring, plantings are being made at the new Memphis Grounds which was opened this spring, as well as at Long Lake in Brown County, Cottonmill Lake Grounds in Buffalo County, the new Wellfleet Lake in Lincoln County, the recreation grounds at Alexandria and the recreation grounds at Verdon in Richardson county which will probably be opened up for fishing next year.

A considerable number of trees are being planted at Memphis and in the course of time, some fifty (50) acres of timber will be available. All of this acreage is being planted with Chinese Elm, Cottonwood, Locust and other good shade trees.

Other smaller plantings are being made at some of the hatcheries and properties.

ARBOR LODGE CENTENNIAL

On Arbor Day, April 22nd, citizens of Nebraska City and vicinity held services at Arbor Lodge State Park, commemorating the birth of J. Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day, who was born one hundred years ago.

A large number of Nebraska citizens attended. Among the guests of honor were Joy Morton, Chicago, members of the State Game, Forestation and Parks Commission and other state officials.

The exercises consisted mainly of a Centennial Ceremonial Planting at 3 P.M., at the State Park with C. M. Aldrich, master of ceremonies.

At 6:30 P.M., the commemorative dinner was held at the Memorial Building in Nebraska City, with the W. R. McClary in charge of arrangements and J. H. Sweet, toastmaster.

CARTER LAKE

During March, the coarse fish were removed from Carter Lake in Douglas County. Nearly 100,000 pounds of carp, buffalo, shad and other worthless fish were removed. The larger ones were sold for food purposes and the smaller ones given to charity or used for fertilizer.

A considerable number of game fish were found in this lake which would indicate that fishing should be good during the coming year.

PIKE HATCHING

An interesting experiment is being made by the Commission this spring in the hatching of Sauger or Sand Pike. These pike are found in the upper Platte River and Niobrara River in considerable numbers, but the Game Commission has never been able to hatch them as is possible with Wall-Eyed Pike. A crew has been stationed near the dam at Spencer on the Niobrara and an effort has been made to secure some spawn for experimental purposes at the several hatcheries.

Such eggs as are taken will be placed in pike-hatching jars and hatched and then placed in nurseries.

If the experiment is a success, it is likely the Commission will continue this work on a larger scale and   OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 11 stock the Niobrara and upper Platte with these fish each year.

HATCHERY EXTENSIONS

All three of the larger fish hatcheries in Nebraska are having some repairs made at this time.

At Valentine, some additional ponds are being constructed. Shrubbery has been planted and the grounds beautified.

At Gretna, the road leading to the picnic grounds has been repaired, concrete steps leading up to the grounds erected, buildings shingled and repaired and other minor repairs made.

At the Rock Creek Hatchery, trees are being planted and the grounds beautified as well as some minor cement work being done.

ARE THE GAME WARDENS BUSY?

Game Wardens have been exceedingly busy this spring on account of an unusually large flight of both ducks and geese through eastern Nebraska. The Platte River and Missouri River, as well as most of the lagoons and sloughs throughout the state have been filled with birds.

A good many sportsmen have been lead to believe that ducks are again plentiful on account of concentration on lakes and ponds in eastern Nebraska. It is impossible to make an accurate estimate of migratory waterfowl, by observations in any particular community or section of the country because the birds vary their flight somewhat, depending upon water and feed available.

Reports would indicate that the flights throughout western Nebraska are not as heavy as heretofore and reports from further west where they have not had the rainfall and the snow in as great an abundance as Nebraska, indicate that still fewer birds were seen.

PRAIRIE CHICKENS INCREASE

Prairie Chickens and Grouse increased considerably in all of the sandhill counties during the past year and came through the winter in good shape. Many ranchers and farmers put out feed for these birds.

If conditions during 1932 are as favorable as during the hatching season of 1931, it would seem that the prairie chicken and grouse would again be seen in all parts of the sandhills in goodly numbers.

Some flocks were reported containing several hundred birds, many of which are young ones.

Some of the game authorities who have been making a study of prairie chicken and grouse claim that these birds thrive for a certain period and are affected by disease at other times, thus making their increase and decrease appear in cycles. Those who have been studying, claim that 1931 was the beginning of a cycle of increase which should extend over a period of four or five years. If this theory is correct, it would appear that the prairie chicken and grouse in Nebraska should continue to increase for three or four years at least.

In the fall of 1929 another season was closed on these birds that were exceedingly few and it is very gratifying to find they made such an excellent increase from the small amount of breeding stock that was left.

MOTION PICTURES

The Commission is continually taking motion pictures of its activities throughout the state which are available to schools, clubs, luncheon clubs and others, without expense.

These pictures give some excellent views of the state recreation grounds, state hatcheries, state parks and the bird and fish life of the state.

During the past three months, over 5,000 people have seen these pictures, all of whom were enthusiastic about them.

NEW MIGRATORY BIRD BOARD ANNOUNCED

Selections of the fifteen members of the reorganized Advisory Board, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, were announced today by Secretary of Agriculture Arthur M. Hyde, following the plan given out on January 13.

The ten members representing ten regions into which the country has been divided for this purpose were selected from nominations made by the State game commissions of these regions. The five members at large are from widely separated parts of the country. .

The membership of the board is as follows:

District 1 (Me., N. H., Vt., Mass., R. I., and Conn.) : George J. Stobie, Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Game, Augusta, Me. District 2 (N. Y. and N. J.): Willis C.- Adams, Chief, Division of Fish and Game, Conservation Commission of the State of New York, Albany, N. Y. District 3 (Pa., Del., Md., and W. Va.) : E. Lee LeCompte, State Game Warden, Baltimore, Md. District 4 (Va., N. C, S. C, Ga., and Fla.) A. Willis Robertson, Chairman, Commission of Game & Fish, Richmond, Va. District 5 (Ohio, Ind., Mich.) : Wm. B. Mershon, sportsman and naturalist, Saginaw, Mich. District 6 (Ky., Tenn., Ala., Miss., and Ark.) : Lee Miles, Chairman, State Game & Fish Commission, Little Rock, Ark. District 7 (111., and Mo.) : Edwin H. Steedman, sportsman and manufacturer, St. Louis, Mo. District 8 (Wis., Minn., la., N. D., S. D., Neb., Kans., Wyo., and Colo.) : Haskel Noyes, Chairman, State Conservation Commission, Madison, Wis., formerly member National Executive Committee of the Izaak Walton League of America. District 9 (La., Okla., Tex., and N. Mex.) : W. J. Tucker, Sec, Game, Fish & Oyster Commission, Austin, Tex. District 10 (Mont., Idaho, Utah, Nev., Ariz., Wash., Ore., and Calif.) : J. H. Bowles, sportsman and ornithologist, Tacoma, Wash. Members at large: Seth Gordon, Pres., American Game Association, Washington, D. C. Dr. T. Gilbert Pearson, Pres., National Association of Audubon Societies, New York, N. Y. H. L. Stoddard, naturalist, Thomasville, Ga. Joseph P. Knapp; sportsman and businessman, New York, N. Y. Earl C. Smith, representing agricultural interests, Chicago, 111.

The purpose of the organization of this advisory

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12 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

ON THE BLUE AT CRETE

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large groups and small, for a week-end, a week or a month. For fourteen years the Campfire girls from all over the state have camped there the first part of June. Between five hundred and seven hundred girls come each year. And for four years the Swedish Emanuel church has held its conference there during the third week of August. About five-hundred attend these conferences. Groups of university students come here each year. And this does not include the Crete and Doane College people who use the park for their picnics from the very early spring days until late autumn.

Horky's Park is one of the most beautiful and largest camping grounds located in Nebraska.

CAMP CRETE FOR CAMP FIRE GIRLS

During the first part of June each year the Camp Fire girls of Nebraska lease Horky's park and have the entire use of the park for that time. This is the largest camp of its kind in the world.

In the beginning, this camp was composed of fifty Lincoln Camp Fire girls, increasing each year until it reached two hundred. It was a one-week camp up to 1928 with the exception of 1918 when it held for two weeks.

This camp is sponsored by the National Camp Fire Girls organization although any girl may attend. Every precaution is used for health and safety. Two trained nurses are on the grounds and three life guards are on constant duty. Campers may swim both morning and afternoon, the morning hours being used for instruction and the afternoon for practice. Twenty patrol girls who are good swimmers and instructors are in charge of the boats and canoes. The Red Cross Life Saving Examination and swimming meet take place at the end of the week. A yearly event of interest is the tilting contest which is held by the boys of Camp Strader who come five miles up the river in their huge war canoes.

There are instructions in tennis, swimming, claymodeling, archery, hand craft, tap dancing and dramatics during the regular scheduled hours of classes.

A play committee is in charge of stunt night when every town has a stunt to put on. Also the water carnival and council fire are important events.

The aim of Camp Crete is to give every camper one or two weeks as crammed full of fun and excitement and worthwhile accomplishments as possible. Mrs. Frederick Teal of Lincoln is director of this camp and all Camp Fire girls of the state attend with the exception of the Omaha groups who have a camp of their own.

OAKWOOD LODGE

Adjoining Horky's Park on the south is the Lincoln Young Women's Christian Association camp. This is known as Oakwood Lodge and is located on a beautiful site overlooking the river. This camp includes about ten acres of beautiful bluff covered with burr oak from which it takes its name. There are many delightful spots for hikes and picnics.

The camp was leased in 1916 from Mr. Marselino by the Lincoln Y. W. C. A. through Mrs. T. S. Allen, who was then president of the board, for business girls who enjoyed its fun and privileges for many years.

In 1928 the camp wag turned over to the Girl Reserves for their use, reserving week-ends for business girls. The capacity is forty which makes an interesting family group, in which splendid friendships develop.

Ten weeks are given over each summer to Girl Reserves. This period is divided into ten and five day periods, one of each for high school, junior high, and grade school groups. The daily program consists of the land sports, swimming, boating and canoeing, handcraft, music and dramatics. There is ample opportunity for nature and camp crafts, which interests all girls and many special river trips add romance to camp life. The evening programs take a fascinating experience to every camper. Assemblies are frequently held around the camp fire site which was built in 1929 by the high school gir's. It represents the circle of friendship which is one of the pleasant memories of Oakwood Lodge. Each girl carried rocks back to the camp as they returned from an over-night hike. The sleeping cabins hold six girls and a counselor, who is their special adviser through the period.

CAMP STRADER The "Y" in the Woods

And now coming down the river about four miles we find Camp Strader which is about a mile south and west of the center of Crete, but on the far side of the river so that it is isolated and in a beautiful wooded area. This camp of five and a half acres is owned by the Lincoln Young Men's Christian Association, and it has the use of an adjacent forty acres of wooded land, which is owned by the Crete Mills. This is the oldest camp of its kind in Nebraska, having been founded in 1913.

And what a wonderful place for boys to come and play and find strength and inspiration. The Y stands for high character building and here the daily program provides the very finest training possible.

Camp opens the Tuesday following the close of the Lincoln schools and is in continuous operation until the latter part of August. The periods are for nine days in length and a boy may attend one or more periods. Any boy over twelve years of age may attend camp, though a special camp for juniors under twelve is held. Sunday school classes sometimes attend in a body with their leader.

The camp is under the management of the Lincoln Y. M. C. A. with Mr. O. B. Anderson, the physical director in charge. This is his seventeenth year as camp director. Other Y. M. C. A. secretaries assisted by college men help in various lines of the camp work and instruction.

Seven boys and a leader live in a cabin. There are now twelve cabins, screened and with concrete floors, equipped with single bunks. A beautiful new dining hall, the gift of Mr. Frank H. Woods was added in 1929. This has a capacity of one hundred, with a fireplace, screened porch on three sides, and fully equipped kitchen—electric water heater and dish washer.

The camp has its own water work system with under-ground pressure tank, shower baths and modern hot and cold water system.

A unique building called the wigwam provides a splendid place for campfires and other out-door meetings.

The day's program is varied, giving the boy a

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OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 13

WILD LIFE A NATIONAL ASSET

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rakes into fine tooth combs. Be that as it may, these instances should stand out to us as a warning of the destructive power of insects and the importance of bird life in keeping insect pests under control and maintaining the balance which nature always has intended.

HIGHER VALUES OF WILD LIFE

But let us pass to a higher standard of value than that of dollars and cents. I am thinking of the recreational or aesthetic values, which rise above the material standards of measurement. One of the chief by-products of this economic age is leisure, and one of the great social problems of the day is the intelligent use of that leisure. I think we may as well accept it as determined that the five-day week for work soon will have a fixed place in our economic life. How is that sixth day to be employed with the greatest advantage to the individual and the highest service to the country? Measured in terms of health, recreation of character-building values, there is nothing that takes the place of the call "Back to the wilds."

There is no appeal which can offer a substitute for the great outdoors. I pity the man who has missed the thrill of the music of the chase, whose hair has not been lifted by the sight of an approaching buck, whose ears have not tickled at the sound of the bob-white call or the gobble of Eiley's "struttin' turkey cock"; whose pulse has not been quickened by the pull of the big black bass or the surge and plunge of the silver king of the sea. Ofttimes this call of the wild is so commanding that between seasons we must satisfy ourselves with a sort of synthetic outing. Often I roam, with joy, through our sporting magazines, from advertisement to story, choosing, in fancy, fishing or hunting equipment, sharing the stories of comrades in the cause—hoping, dreaming, living ofttimes a thousand miles away. To me the sportsman lives forever, in the present, in the past, in the future. He enjoys an ever continuing present, dreams of pleasures that lie ahead, revels in memories of days gone by—campfire scenes and stories, jokes and pranks of good fellows; joys, thrills, disappointments, hardships, which fill a storehouse of memory on which one draws from youth on through the evening time of life.

It is a great world that makes possible a life like that, filled with beauty and with use as well. Victor Hugo, touching the point, says "the beautiful is as useful as is the useful," which gives us a suggestion as to the aesthetic value of things outside. "Whatever tends to make the world happier and better; whatever ministers to the aesthetic of the human soul; whatever leads the thoughts of men and women from the sordid pursuit of gain or the mad race of personal aggrandizement into beauty of any form; whatever entices tired and careworn people from office, shop and store, factory or mine, and leads them into a closer contact with the grace, beauty and charm of things outdoors, renders a service of material value though that value may not be measured in terms of acres, bushels or dollars." It is a value that defies all standards.

I wonder what this world would be like without the creatures of the great outdoors! What a Sahara life would be without a song or plume bird in it ? How lonely the world would be stripped of everything but man! I wish it were possible in our appreciation of these great gifts, to rise to the ecstasy of the poet Shelley as he listened to the English skylark:

"Teach me half the gladness That thy brain must know, Such harmonious madness From my lips would flow, The world should listen then, As I am listening now." Or, as Lowell said of the Bobolink: "Thy heart is free as the mountain air And of thy lays thou hast no care Scattering them gayly everywhere Happy unconscious poet." Or, as Longfellow said: "Whose household words are songs in many keys Sweeter than instrument of man ere caught." Or, as Logan said of the cuckoo: "Sweet bird! Thy bower is ever green, Thy sky is ever clear; Thou hast no sadness in thy song, No winter in thy year." 0 could I fly, I'd fly with thee; We'd make with social wing Our annual visit of the globe, Companions of the Spring!"

In conclusion, may I leave with you just one thought, old, of course, but which must be kept ever fresh, and it is that we recognize our responsibility to hand on this heritage of the past unimpaired to the generations that are to be. This gift is not of our own making; it is God-given. It is not intended for one generation alone, but is a trust for all to use and not to abuse. It is a part of the continuing life of our people. We cannot lightly disregard our responsibility in the maintenance of this trust. Conservation means a wise and provident use of what we have, without a permanent impairment.

Our program will vary in different sections; each must adopt that best suited to its own requirements— shorter hunting seasons for some; reduced bag limits for others; complete prohibition of the hunting of certain species in many places; permanent breeding grounds in all sections. It should ever be kept in mind that nature unaided cannot compete with the destructive agencies of man.

Waste has to a large extent already stamped itself on the life of our country. We have depleted our forests, with no adequate effort to restore them. We have impoverished our soil by what might be called agricultural mining, taking from the earth the essential elements of plant life with little thought of permanent impairment when improvement was possible. So it is with the wild life of our country. In days gone by it has been ruthlessly destroyed without thought of the future. When Wild Bill killed buffaloes by the hundreds just for the fun of slaughter he little thought that extinction was possible. And so it is with much of our wild life today; we are driving deer, turkey, quail, fish from many places where their kind should be multiplied.

We should learn a lesson from the example of other countries. Look at the barren wastes of Persia, Greece and Italy, where civilization once reached its

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14 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

OLDEST KNOWN PHEASANT WAS GOOD SHOT-DODGER

A cock pheasant of South Dakota has lived to see at least 19 generations of grandchildren, apparently without getting a single scratch from the shots of hunters, says a bulletin release of the American Game Association.

This pheasant patriarch of South Dakota, a state now famous among sportsmen for its dense pheasant population, recently sought shelter from a snowstorm in the city of Watertown, and was found in a shed. A leg band revealed it to be one of the 200 pheasants brought from New York State and liberated in South Dakota 19 years ago. An examination showed no wounds of any kind. The bird was later released in a pheasant refuge maintained at Watertown by Frank Bramble, a sportsman.

HAY FALLS FROM PLANE FOR SNOW-BOUND DEER

Hay fell from the sky like manna recently upon a band of several hundred starving deer trapped by heavy snow in the North Fork River area of the Coeur d'Alene national forest of Idaho, according to information reaching the American Game Association. The Izaak Walton League chapter of Shoshone County chartered a large transport plane to drop a ton of hay in 60-pound bundles in the isolated area, after several vain attempts had been made to get a pack train through loose snow from three to ten feet deep. Snow had trapped the wintering herd and covered the tender shoots of vegetation on which the deer ordinarily feed. The plane carried 1,000 pounds of hay at a time, making two flights over the area. Nick B. Mamer of Spokane, Wash., piloted the plane, and was directed by E. F. Helmers, district ranger of the national forest.

WILD LIFE AS A NATIONAL ASSET

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mountain heights; the waste of the natural resources in those countries has stamped itself on the character of the people. We can conserve our resources and reap a rich reward or squander them and harvest our retribution. God forbid that we should cast aside this heritage of the past and follow the footsteps of the improvident of the ancient world. Bather let us leave more stately palaces for the future generations whom we may bless or burden by our acts of today.

ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSION

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board, said Secretary Hyde, is "to achieve a broader representation of sportsmen, conservationists and agricultural interests, and to obtain a large measure of local cooperation in the conservation of the migratory bird resources of the country." The new board will study and recommend definite policies affecting the interests of sportsmen, conservationists and farmers, including such matters as length of seasons, bag limits, shooting restrictions, zoning, measures for increasing the supply of game birds and waterfowl, measures for conserving the existing supply, and other game conservation matters that come under the jurisdiction of the Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture.

The board will meet at least twice each year and at such other times as the Secretary of Agriculture may call meetings. The first meeting will be called soon.

ON THE BLUE AT CRETE

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many-sided view of life. Each boy has his duties abc'it the cabin and camp. There is instruction in leather craft, archery, airplane building and woodwork. All kinds of out-door sports may be enjoyed, on the tennis courts, baseball diamond, and swimming or canoeing on the river. Religion also has a place in the everyday life, with grace at meals, evening devotions, daily bible study and personal interviews.

The camp has five large war canoes and naturally canoeing is a very popular sport with room enough for every boy to take part.

Camp Strader for boys and young men offers an ideal place to spend a part of vacation where there is the greatest opportunity for physical, mental and spiritual development.

So whether it be a boy or girl, young man or woman, mother and dad, or just the whole family, there is a camp for everyone on the Blue at Crete.

FISHING

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quail was uncovered in Memphis, Tenn., a year ago almost to the day when 450 native bobwhites crated for shipment were found in a raid on a warehouse there. Warrants were issued for M. E. Bogle in connection with the raid. He fled. Bogle advertised extensively as a shipper of both native and imported quail. He gives the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans, La., as his address.

Fred Belk, district attorney of Mississippi, who expects to prosecute the offenders, said: "After the seizure we put in a call for H. H. Johnson at New Orleans and the main operator there got a man by that name on the phone. When we asked if he was the one who shipped the quail from Magee, he replied that he was not and hurriedly hung up the phone. We tried again to find an H. H. Johnson at the St. Charles Hotel, but the management reported there was no one there by that name."

U. S. Game Protectors Matt Grantham and C .F. Allen declared their belief that the handwriting on shipfighter for its beauties and its ideals, and all because he has come to realize and understand the glorious thrill of that intimate contact with nature which one finds when he has a rod in hand."

If you have been a single barrel fisherman broaden your activities; practice the other methods; it will increase your knowledge of fish and their habits and will give you a greater amount of pleasure than may be had by always fishing in the same old way.