OUTDOOR Nebraska
Fall Number 1939
Pheasant Open Season for Ten Days—October 22-31
ATTENTION! Pheasant HuntersIf you shoot a pheasant this fall that has a band on its leg, be sure to report it to the Nebraska Game Commission.
It is not necessary to send the band to Lincoln. Just jot down in a letter or on a postcard the number found on the band and just where the bird was shot.
These bands furnish the Game Commission with valuable information which will enable them to provide better hunting. Therefore, do your part and send in the bands or the information thereon.
LATE in October Nebraska hunters will take to the field for their annual pheasant hunt. There will be ten days open to hunting, with shooting permitted from 7 A.M. to 5 P.M. in eastern Nebraska and from 6 A. M. to 4 P. M. in western Nebraska.
From surveys made by the representatives of the Game Commission and from reports sent in by sportsmen, it is evident there is a good crop of birds. Some counties contain exceptionally large number of the wary Ringneck. The birds are found over larger areas of the state this year than heretofore.
The entire state, excepting those coun- ties closed for restocking, will be open to hunting. Counties being restocked this year are as follows:
Boone Howard Nance Gage Johnson Pawnee Garfield Kimball Stanton Greeley Loup Valley Hall Merrick WheelerThe policy of the Game Commission under new laws provide that each year the entire state will be opened, except about fifteen counties which will be stocked with new blood from the Game Farms. Since there are about seventy counties where the pheasant thrives, the entire state can be restocked with new blood every five years. Larger and better birds are secured each year for breeders at the farms and for that reason the stock in the wild should gradually be improved.
Some of the sportsmen in counties in the eastern and southern part of the state where birds are scarce become alarmed when they are included in the open territory. However, experience has proved that where large areas are opened, the take of birds in any certain community is smaller and there is less damage done to the bird population generally than where there is concentration of hunting. Few hunters go into counties where birds are scarce. If it were possible to close a county and keep the hunters of that county from going into nearby counties that are open, then it would be different and the constitutional rights of all could be considered. But that cannot be done.
There will be no change in bag limits this year. Five cocks or four cocks and one hen may be taken as heretofore.
Hunters are warned to be on the lookout for the Chukar Partridge which is being stocked in western Nebraska and also to keep away from those closed areas where birds have been stocked from the cooperative pheasant rearing projects. All these areas are plainly marked and heavy fines will be assessed for shooting on such refuges. These areas are designed to build up the bird population in the rest of the county where shooting is permitted, so cooperate by keeping away from the refuges and reporting anyone who shoots there.
The Chukar Partridge is about twice as large as a Bob-White quail and they are usually flushed in flocks. They have dove-colored backs and breasts, barred each side under the wings, red legs and bill, white throat, with dark horseshoe running from eye down the neck and back to the other eye.
Owing to Nebraska using both Central and Mountain time, it will be noted that shooting must begin and end at the same time in all parts of the state. This was made necessary because of the trouble caused in the central part of the state where the time zone changes. The division line between Central time and Mountain time will be the east lines of Sheridan, Garden and Deuel counties. All hunting east of this line will be done on Central time and all hunting west of this line will be on Mountain time.
On the inside back page of this issue of Outdoor Nebraska will be found the regulations for pheasant shooting this fall. Tear off this sheet and carry it with you.
The permit fee until January 1, 1940, will be the same as heretofore. After that date, you can buy a hunting permit for $1.10, a fishing permit for $1.10 or a combination hunting permit for $1.60. However, this does not apply for this hunting season.
Boys under 16 can hunt without a permit.
Inasmuch as the pheasant season will be later this year in order to start when the duck hunting begins, there should be less loss of crippled birds. Frosts will have reduced vegetation, which will aid the hunter in finding birds that have been winged.
More hunters each year are using dogs in pheasant hunting. Where dogs are properly trained, they are a great aid in retrieving owing to the tendency of the pheasant to sneak and run.
Each pheasant season a number of pheasant hunters are killed or injured by firearms. Therefore great care should be exercised at all times in the handling of guns. Not only should care be taken in the field, but also in carrying firearms in cars. A number of accidents resulted last season in removing guns from automobiles.
Here are a few suggestions that make for "safety first" at all times. Observe them at all times:
REMEMBER the gun is ALWAYS loaded— even when you are positive that it is not.
1. NEVER point a gun at anyone or anything, unless you intend to kill.
2. NEVER swing a gun in the general direction of your companions.
3. NEVER carry a loaded gun in your car; unload it BEFORE you get in, load it AFTER you get out.
4. NEVER drag a gun behind you when climbing a fence; always push it through first.
5. NEVER have a gun cocked as you go through the thick underbrush.
6. NEVER shoot on suspicion! Only a "cracker" shoots at anything unless he is sure of what it is and sees clearly the whole of it or the course of the bullet.
7. ALWAYS know where your companions are BEFORE you shoot. Don't shoot in their general direction, and be careful of other parties who may be near.
8. ALWAYS wear a bright red hat or coat, and shoes that won't slip or trip you. Attention to minor details will prevent accidents.
9. ALWAYS get permission of the owner to hunt on his property. Making your presence known to him will be an added safety factor, as hunting licenses do not give hunters the right to trespass.
10. ALWAYS remember that each year many are killed while hunting and even larger numbers are injured. BE CAREFUL!
State Game Commission regulations very definitely provide for restrictions to be meted out to hunters who are found guilty of misuse of firearms in hunting game. Permanent deprivation of hunting and fishing license may result after a hearing before the Commission.
LL S. Officials Open Nebraska Duck and Goose Season October 22nd
Local Names of DucksTo aid hunters in identifying the more common species of ducks, some of their local names are given below:
Blue-winged Teal: Bluewing, teal, teal duck.
Bufflehead: Butterball, butter duck, dipper, dipper duck.
Canvasback: Can, canvas, whiteback.
Cinnamon Teal: Teal, teal duck.
Gadwall: Gray duck, redwing, creek duck.
Greater Scaup: Big bluebill, bay broadbill, scaup, blackhead.
Lesser Scaup: Bluebill, blackhead, scaup, little bluebill, broadbill, little broadbill.
Green-winged Teal: Greenwing, common teal, teal duck.
Redhead: Fiddler, fiddler duck, redneck.
Ringneck: Ringbill, blackjack, blackhead.
Ruddy Duck: Stifftail, butterball, Ruddy, booby, greaser.
Shoveler: Spoonbill, spoony, shovelbill.
Wood Duck: Summer duck, woody, squealer.
The open season in Nebraska on migratory waterfowl will be one week later than it was last year. The Nebraska Game Commission asked that the season begin October 15, but the federal authorities, in order to coordinate the requests of other states, decided that the intermediate zone, which included Nebraska, would be from October 22 to December 5.
While the later season will not be as satisfactory to the eastern and central Nebraska duck hunter, it will meet with the approval of the western goose hunter. With days open from October 22 to December 5, he is almost certain to get some excellent goose hunting. However, should Nebraska have an early freeze-up as sometimes happens, there is likely to be a large number of disappointed duck hunters.
From reports received from the Dakotas and Canada, it would seem there is a good supply of ducks this year. Some of the reserves and lakes of northern Nebraska are already full of ducks. However, the long dry spell covering the last six weeks has dried up many ponds and sloughs and will make it extremely difficult for many hunters to find water where a duck could even get a drink.. Irrigators, because of the lack of rainfall, are using water later in the season than usual, causing the Platte River and other streams and reservoirs to be dry or holding very little water.
Refuges established in the Dakotas will benefit Nebraska duck hunters, if the belief of Burnie Maurek, Regional Director of the Bureau of Biological Survey. It is his contention that these refuges will tend to hold the birds in the north over a longer period of time and that migration will not be made by all the birds at one time.
Wildlife is benefiting in many ways from the government's coordinated program for wise land-use. This fact is stressed by Dr. Ira N. Gabrielson, chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, in his report for the fiscal year ended June 30th, made public today (December 30th).
The wildlife restoration program, says Gabrielson, is fundamentally one of land utilization. Fortunately, through the cooperation of those concerned with land-use planning, it has been possible to make provision for wildlife in the submarginal land purchased by the government. Unwise land-use has ruined many wildlife areas that had greater value to man in their natural state, but many such areas are being restored.
Seventeen new units, Gabrielson reports, were added during the year to the system of national wildlife refuges, bringing the total on June 30th to 248, covering 11,650,358 acres. Of these, 232 were in the United States (7,557,221 acres), and 16 are in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico (estimated acreage 4,093,137). On 32 refuges development work was carried on by CCC camps. WPA and NYA help assisted the regular refuge personnel in improving other areas.
For the third consecutive year Gabrielson reports an increase in waterfowl, attributed in part to success in the refuge program. He points out, however, that of all factors limiting the birds' number the one that can be most effectively controlled is the annual kill by hunters.
"Regulations governing waterfowl hunting," Gabrielson explains, "have had to be drastic for the past few years and have been enforced as strictly as possible. The result has been a noticeable increase of waterfowl, and this year the prospects were the best the birds have had since their recent precipitous decline. Some liberalization in the regulations, therefore, was possible, so as to distribute more equitably such hunting as could be allowed. There is still great need for restraint in hunting and for adopting somewhat drastic regulations and enforcing them effectively. The restrictions may seem unjust to some hunters, but it must be remembered that an adequate game-law-enforcement program is necessary if waterfowl hunting is to be perpetuated."
The Biological Survey's action programs are based on the research and field observations of its technicians. The refuges are being used increasingly as scenes of studies, and the cooperative research units at 10 land grant colleges have been further developed.
URGED TO BUY 'DUCK' STAMPS
The Bureau of Biological Survey has urged all hunters more than 16 years old to purchase a migratory bird hunting stamp before the opening day of the hunting season to avoid a last minute rush.
In past years, some hunters have complained because they were unable to obtain a "duck" stamp at the last minute at an office where the demand had been heavy. Last year more than a million stamps were sold.
In 1939 migratory bird shooting regulations, announced recently by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes, make October 1st the first day of the season. They provide a 45-day period for hunting.
"Hunters who wait in line only to be turned away are inclined to blame postal authorities," Survey officials said, "but actually the postoffices cannot be expected to cope with a situation that may strike any postoffice."
It is almost impossible to know where the sudden large demands for "duck" stamps will be, it was explained, because weather conditions greatly influence a hunter's last minute decision. "A post-office may run out of stamps one year and have only a mild demand the next," officials said.
It was also pointed out that "duck" stamps were placed on sale on July 1st to give hunters ample time to buy a stamp before the season opens.
The Cottontail Rabbit in Iowa
By DR. GEORGE O. HENDRICKSON Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Iowa State College, Ames, IowaEditor's Note: This interesting study of the Cottontail Rabbit, made in Iowa, should be of interest to Nebraska sportsmen where conditions are much the same as in our sister state.
THE cottontail is very popular game among the farmers of Iowa. When the corn husking is over and the long winter commences, the work day on the farm is cut in half. After a few days of merited rest the restless toiler feels the need of exercise, craves a taste of appetizing game such as fried corn-fed young cottontail, and he goes out to the cornfields gunning for rabbits. The whole family is disappointed when the cottontails are too scarce to yield that luscious dish.
The only cottontail known from Iowa is Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsi (Allen) as reported by Stoner (1918) and from specimens collected from the museum of Iowa State College in recent years. Several cottontails collected (1936) in southern and western counties were sent to the U. S. Biological Survey and the identifications as to the subspecies mearnsi were confirmed by Dr. H. H. T. Jackson.
Until in recent years throughout most of the state so plentiful was the animal that numerous farmers regularly invited their sportsmen friends from the towns to help with the harvest of the surplus crop, and there was game for all. While the cottontail was still abundant in eastem and southern counties, several years ago the former Fish and Game Commission, acting wisely, deemed it advisable to limit the season and the take of all rabbits in the state. The regulations were acceptable to the new Conservation Commission.
The first reactions received at the college were from cemetery officials and orchardists who had followed the custom of destroying rabbits at all seasons of the year to protect the ornamental shrubs and fruit trees, a practice which they admitted had not brought long time relief. And the college also faced the problem of rabbit control in its various plantings.
It was surprising to learn, through the early correspondence, that estimates of damage by rabbits were greatly lessened when trapping and removal of the animals to northwestern counties were proffered at no cost to the possessors of the land. Not many were anxious to take advantage of such kind offer; that attitude should be credited to the good sportsmanship and understanding of the farmers and their hunting friends. They chose to face the problem squarely and to abide by the regulations.
Consequently, the college found itself in a position to investigate ways and means to lessen the rabbit damage and not to evict the cottontails. The wide general experience of the college orchardists and zoologists as well as perusal of literature yielded no suggestions concerning sprays that would at all times effectively discourage rabbit attacks, and it was decided to devote but little time to the investigation of such possibilities. Rather, following Lantz (1929) there developed the suggestion that the fall prunings of apple trees be left through winter where they fell from trimming or be piled in windrows in ditches or shallow gullies as food and cover for the rabbits and as means for checking erosion. In ten acres, chiefly of bearing trees, in the college orchard, under observation by the author, no damage to low hanging branches or other parts of the trees by rabbits was seen during some hours of close examination. Three acres of low branching, bearing apple trees, with a ground cover of a thin stand of winter rye about 10 inches tall and well scattered apple prunings, were inhabited by 8 to 11 cottontails through the winter of 1935-'36,
It occurred to many orchardists to place the prunings at the edges of the orchard or at short distances from the trees. From their experience and from observations with such methods at the college plantings it seemed that such rabbit feeding brought much relief to branches of small trees, drifted deep with snow. Several years ago it was decided at the college orchard that cylinders of fine mesh wire hardware cloth were the most satisfactory curb against basal girdling by rabbits. Thus the farmers fed and managed the cottontail as a crop in addition to managing the orchard in better ways. Such illustrations carried from one farmer's experience to other farmers by conservation officers, county agricultural agents and college extension specialists have proven very effective.
When a rabbit shortage has developed, at once the investigator's mind turns to thoughts concerning disease. Conse- quently, in attempts to discover underlying reasons for the eviction of the cottontail in limited areas and depletion in numbers in many counties the disease situation was the first to be investigated. Conservation officers under cooperative instructions were asked to collect and send to the college slow-moving cottontails, alive if possible, and those picked up dead.
During the winter of 1935-'36 approximately 40 such rabbits came to the laboratory for examination. The rabbits were measured and examined by Don Caswell, senior student in Veterinary Medicine, and Henry Huizinga, graduate student in Wildlife Management, under the direction of Dr. E. A. Benbrook, professor in Vetinary Pathology, and the author. The only gross lesions of infectious disease were those typical of the wart disease, which according to Green (1936) produces a considerable mortality in cottontails. No indications of tularemia were found in any of the rabbits. However, 18 of the animals had in their livers white necrotic foci varying in size, all apparently encapsulated, and testing negative for coccidia. Only five of the animals were free from parasites. Three sick cottontails showing advanced emaciation, weakness and incoordination were found to be infected with an intestinal fluke, tentatively identified as Hasstilesia tricolor, not previously reported from Iowa. Those three rabbits came from different counties in southeastern Iowa and were taken on low marshy ground. Other parasites such as tapeworms and roundworms were frequently found, but the hosts apparently were not suffering gravely from the parasitism. The direct loss of cottontails over the state because of disease and parasitism is not calculable from the limited data at hand. Myrle L. Jones, graduate student in conservation, reported that 35 of 54 cottontails taken in season during 1933-'34 in a northwest county had wart disease whereas only 1 in 20 in a southeast county during the same seasons carried lesions of that disease. Thomas G. Scott, college extension specialist in Wildlife Management, in the winter of 1935-'36 heard frequently about warts on cottontails in southwest counties.
Perhaps, with the larger ratio of weakened individuals and the deep enduring snow of the winter, 1935-'36, and the widespread snow and sleet of 1936-'37, predation on the cottontail by foxes increased in parts of the state. Errington (1935) in Wisconsin pointed out that with deeper lasting snow when mice were less available the number of rabbits taken by foxes increased. The reports of mouse damage in hayfields and calls for assistance with mouse control in the spring of 1936 were the most numerous of any spring of the past five years during which the author has handled such college correspondence. Perhaps there was less predation by foxes on mice the previous winter and possibly
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Bookkeeping for Rivers
By WILLIAM L. FINLEY Vice-President, National Wildlife FederationWilliam L. Finley is a well-known naturalist who has done much in calling attention to the conservation of our natural resources.
In this article he calls attention to our rivers, and the part they play in the nation's recreation.
Reclamation herein comes in for a careful analysis by Mr. Finley. This article should be of interest to all Nebraska Conservationists.
THE West is still rich in natural resources, and many of its people are eager for a larger population and more industries. Our most difficult problem is to prevent one use of our rivers from destroying other values. Therefore, before our public waters are exploited, it is common sense to make detailed and careful studies to find out which is the most important service of a river.
Throughout the West there are many promotion schemes for new reclamation projects, inland waterway transportation, power development, and flood control where no study or any attention has been paid to the destruction of our wildlife resources. While many business men have insisted that the government balance its budget, yet there is some promotion plan in nearly every district calling for federal funds.
The business men will fight to get these on the basis that if they do not get the projects, some other locality will. This is the spending that is boosting taxes throughout the United States. It is considered shrewd business in many western states where the population may be only one or two million to lift money from the taxpayers' pocket, because they pay about one-half of 1 per cent for a 20 million dollar project, while the dense population in the East pays about 99% per cent.
Some of the early reclamation projects of the Department of Interior were highly beneficial. These were started by congressional act of 1902, which provided that the federal government would irrigate publicly owned land in certain arid regions and sell these to farmers. It wasn't long before the landowners of semi-desert areas started political pressure to get federal funds for private gain.
Today this is the golden scheme where the land speculator pulls the amount of about $200 per acre out of the taxpayers' pocket so the Reclamation Service can build dams and ditches. When the farmer starts harvesting under a federal mortgage of $200 an acre, how is he to make a profit? However, in dealing out the funds, the government charges no in- terest on the money and tells the farmer he can have forty years to pay. The mortgages on some of the first projects were $90 per acre. Not a single project has paid out. Past records show a farmer usually goes broke on irrigated land, especially with a mortgage of $100 to $120 per acre.
The biggest reclamation project now under way is the Grand Coulee Dam in the State of Washington, which is to be over 500 feet high, and the prospective cost for the farmer to irrigate the land will be somewhere between $200 and $400 per acre. The solution of this gamble isn't the only problem. The high dams on these important rivers of the Pacific Coast are destroying the fish resources that belong to the public. The promoters are pushing for seven more dams on the Columbia River and seven on the Williamette River.
Another promotion plan for building dams on these western rivers is for inland waterway transportation. This does not refer to ocean harbors or large rivers where the water is deep enough for ships. It applies to improvement and maintenance of the up-river channels. Federal expenditures to June 30, 1937, for the improvement of inland waterways were approximately $2,186,000,000.
Inland waterway transportation is about 70 years out of date. The country is lined and interlined with railroads and hard surfaced highways. As far as the public is concerned, transportation by water is not cheaper than by land. The State of New York spent $346,000,000 in building their state barge canals to foster inland waterway transportation. As a result, it cost the taxpayer $4.51 per ton for all freight floated on the canal. It would have been cheaper for the state if all this freight had been put in railroad cars and the state had paid the freight bill.
For freight moved on a river like the Missouri, the taxpayers pay from $2,000 to $5,000 per ton. The army engineers are deepening the channel of the Columbia River between The Dallas and Umatilla Rapids. The cost is $800,000. If other such plans are carried out for more dams on the Columbia for inland waterway transportation, the cost will be boosted to over $100,000,000, and if we take the top figure of the amount of freight the promoters claim will be moved up and down the Columbia, the actual cost to the taxpayers will be an average of $50 per ton.
It is unfortunate that comparatively few people realize the value of our wildlife resources such as the salmon and trout in the rivers, the bird life in the fields and orchards, and the big game of the forests. These recreational attractions bring far greater returns to the citizens than many of the promotion schemes for the use of public waters.
Out on the Pacific Coast, the different states have developed a tremendous business in selling their recreational advantages to visitors who come from all parts of the country. The beauty of the snow-capped mountains, primeval forests, picturesque rivers, motoring along paved highways, packing and camping in the mountains, angling and hunting lure many to enjoy summer vacations. California gets $200,000,000 or more a year, which visitors gladly pay to the residents. About $5,000,000 drops into the state treasury for gasoline and sales taxes.
Oregon receives $50,000,000 a year from tourists, and the State Highway Commission is spending $100,000 a year advertising for more travelers since they are reimbursed by a 5-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline.
Get your hunting permit now. Last year several hunters went to the field with the best of intentions, but were embarrassed to find they had forgotten to purchase their permits. Get yours now and be prepared!
The mourning or turtle dove feeds its young with food prepared in its own body. The food is called "pigeon milk" and is regurgitated by both the male and female parent birds.
SIGNS FOR DEER.
Owing to a large increase in deer in northwestern Nebraska a number of ac- cidents have been caused. The deer cross the state highways at night and, attracted by the car lights, pause in the way of passing vehicles. Signs are now being posted on these passes or crossings to warn the drivers to proceed slowly and with caution.
OUTDOOR NEBRASKA
EDITOR COMMISSIONERS J. F. Haskin, Chairman Guy R. Spencer M. M. Sullivan J. B. Douglas Carl S. Horn Frank B. O'Connell EDUCATION AND PUBLICITY COMMITTEE J. B. Douglas Dr. M. M. Sullivan Frank B. O'Connell Published quarterly at Lincoln, Nebraska, by the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission, State of Nebraska. Subscription price, 25 cents a year; $1.00 for five years. Vol. XIV AUTUMN, 1939 Number 4EDITORIAL
Get Your Hunting Permit Now! Fish DistributionThe Nebraska Game Commission has been criticized recently by a Lincoln sportsman who has published a comparison of fish distribution in four or five eastern counties and in the same number of western counties.
The comparison means very little. Unfortunately there are some counties in Nebraska where there is very little water, whereas in some others there is a great deal of water. The Commission cannot stock fish unless there is suitable water in which to place them.
In the comparison no attention was given to salvage. It so happens that in the western counties mentioned the Commission each year removes hundreds of thousands of perch from irrigation ditches after the gates are closed each fall. These perch do not thrive in eastern Nebraska waters. Hence they are put in reservoirs and other waters nearby. These are charged up to the western counties on the stocking record.
Let us compare Lancaster County with Cherry County, for example. Lancaster has no fishing water except Salt Creek above Lincoln, and a few small ponds and creek cutoffs. The only species that will do well are catfish, bullheads and some crappie. On the other hand Cherry County has dozens of excellent fishing lakes during normal times, where people from all over Nebraska fish.
In the past few years hundreds of thousands of adult bullheads have been taken from western Nebraska to eastern and southern counties. Unfortunately these western propagation lakes were ruined by the drought. Efforts are being made to restock them, but the drought still makes it impossible in many cases and the bullhead catfish grows very slowly. It takes from three to five years to get him big enough to catch.
Water is the big need for better fishing in Nebraska.
Feeding BirdsWith many counties again drought-stricken, it is likely that they will not have a great deal of cover for game birds during the coming winter.
If this condition prevails, it will be necessary for feed to be placed where the birds are wintering. The Nebraska Game Commission is prepared to furnish feed in cases of emergency, but will require the aid of sportsmen and farmers living in such areas.
Badges are being furnished by the Commission which will be sold during the hunting season. These sell for 25 cents each and the entire amount received will go for bird feeding. You can help by the purchase of one of these badges. They are to be worn on the hunting coat or cap.
What of The Future?
An Address Before the State Convention of the Izaak Walton League By FRANK B. O'CONNELLTHE world today is beset with mighty troubles. Depression and war are raging in many parts of it; civilization hangs in the balance. None of us, even Americans, know just what the future holds for us.
When we pause to take stock of what is happening, we are at a loss to understand what it is all about. What is it man wants that would cause him to make millions of fellow beings starve for food; what does he want that would cause chaos and world wars in which millions must die?
Perhaps these questions may seem very remote and of no particular concern to you Waltonians assembled here in your annual convention. But these things are not remote, nor are they beyond your interest and serious concern.
If modern civilization is to remain and man to again find prosperity, peace and contentment, he must take into consideration and give some heed to some of those things for which you stand and for which your organization has been fighting.
I think when we seek the underlying causes of the world's troubles of today we will find them brought about primarily by greed, selfishness, insane desire for wealth and power, false and misleading values.
Do you think that if Herr Hitler as a boy had known the democracy that existed around the old American swimmin' hole, if he had learned to know that quiet pleasure of fishing, if he had spent long hours in wood and field communing with nature, that he as a man would be so mad for power, willing to kill thousands of fellow beings to gratify a senseless ambition?
Do you think that if Lenin and Stalin had grown up in the country and had enjoyed an outdoor life instead of being trampled under the feet of higher classes in the sordid tenement districts of great cities that they would have started a world revolution based upon false conceptions of freedom and wholesome living?
Do you believe that if the great barons of industry had rubbed shoulders with the common boy on the public playground, if they had learned the true value of nature, of what great peace, contentment and satisfaction can come from hours spent on a stream fishing or trying their skill in the field with a gun that they would have devoted their entire lives to a mad scramble for gold— a scramble that was to later develop into depression and chaos for all of us?
But let us not dwell too long in generalities. Let us take stock of some of the problems close at hand which have grown out of this world madness and which concern all of us today and unfortunately for all the years to come.
I need not relate what has happened to America's forests. It is an old story to all of you.
I need not mention what has happened to our soil for six or seven years of dust storms—floods in spring and drought in summer have brought that home to you.
What I want to bring to your atten- tion today is what is happening to our water and what effect it must have on our trees, our soil, our wildlife and our citizens of tomorrow.
That there has been a great change in our water supply of the prairie states, but more particularly of Nebraska, we all agree. Where a few years ago we found numerous lakes, swamps and potholes in our sandhills filled to the brim, today we find most of them dry and blown with sand. The fish and birds that bred there are mostly gone. Where once we found our major rivers, running water the year around, and filled with migratory fish we now find them without water during most of the summer. Where once the water table of our valleys and lowlands sustained tree life, we now find our trees unable to get sufficient moisture. Where once we found the major part of our state verdant with vegetation, today we find entire counties parched and drought-stricken.
Of course, lack of rainfall has caused part of this change. And yet, if you will study the tables showing the rainfall over the past twenty-five years you will not find the recent years lacking greatly in average precipitation.
What else is contributing to this change?
I think we must admit that the breaking of the sod in sandy areas, the cutting of trees in lowlands and along our watercourses, the indiscriminate drainage of swamps and lakes, the straightening and deepening of our streams, the diversion of water from our rivers for irrigation and electric power, the pumping of vast quantities of water from our soil where it is exposed to evaporation— that all these have contributed to making nine-tenths of Nebraska a land without trees, good soil, wildlife and a happy and prosperous citizenry.
I have no quarrel with those who find it possible to irrigate their land or generate electric power, provided they will impound waste water and do it in a way that will not injure the other nine-tenths of us. But I do believe it is a mistake and unfair to the greater number of our people to let our rivers be drained completely dry, to lower and dissipate our lakes and our swamps, to pump our underground water storage to a depth it can no longer sustain vegetation and tree life, to drive off our wildlife, to destroy our trees, to wreck our soil on table-land and hillside, to cause nine-tenths of the state to suffer and lose millions of dollars each year.
Today there is a mad scramble to appropriate every little remaining stream or lake that contains a few acre feet of water. Diversion of water from our rivers, grabbing of water in lake and swamp, pumping out our underground supply of water is the order of the day. Yesterday it was in order to drain the swamp and lowland and straighten and deepen the watercourse to get more land to till. Now the battle is on to take what little water is left in these places. In the meantime we are being taxed and required to keep part of our land out of production in order to keep from raising more.
It seems to me that it is high time we made a careful and unbiased study of our water resources of Nebraska, and what effect these activities of man are having on our state. That flood water should where possible be impounded and
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COMMISSION FIELD ACTIVITIES
FISH SALVAGEThe long dry spell throughout Nebraska and the longer period of irrigation has taken a heavy toll of fish. Dozens of ponds, many streams and a number of lakes have already dried up. Many more will undoubtedly freeze out if considerable rain does not fall soon.
Salvage crews have been working overtime, but the weather was so hot that only a small number of the fish could be retrieved and then they could be moved only a short distance. Hence it was necessary to dump them in the nearest body of water or stream.
GAME FARMSNebraska's two game farms, despite a setback by disease early in the season, have been able to produce a good crop of birds.
At present it appears possible to stock about 15,000 pheasants and 2,000 chukar partridges. The partridges are being placed in western counties where conditions seem more favorable, and where it is hoped they can gain a foothold. The pheasants are being put in fifteen counties where it is believed new blood will improve the future crops. Counties where these birds are being placed are the following:
Boone, Gage, Garfield, Greeley, Hall, Howard, Johnson, Kimball, Loup, Merrick, Nance, Pawnee, Stanton, Valley and Wheeler.
No hunting will be permitted in these counties this year.
NEW MAPA second edition of a scenic and pictorial map was published by the Nebraska Game Commission this year. Thousands of copies have been sent to all parts of the United States. Nebraska school teachers have all been supplied with a copy to aid them in teaching conservation in Nebraska grade schools.
4-H CONSERVATION CAMPAnother 4-H Conservation Camp was held at Seward in August. This was under the direction of the Extension Department of the State University and sponsored by Mr. Charles Horn of Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Nebraska Game Commission.
Boys and girls from most of the Nebraska counties spent four days in studying conservation and learning about the outdoors. It is believed they will be able to return to their communities where they can become leaders in local conservation activities.
COOPERATIVE PHEASANT PROJECTSThe Nebraska Game Commission was highly pleased at the success of the twenty-five cooperative pheasant rearing projects. In spite of the fact that some of the day-old chicks had to be replaced by the state, owing to disease, all projects finally got off to a good start and all of them came through in excellent shape. All of them produced from 150 to 225 mature birds. Since this was the first year, it is believed that this production was unusual. Fine service was given by many interested sportsmen. It is planned to operate fifty of these units in 1940.
IMPROVE LAKES AND RECREATION GROUNDSWhile funds for the development of lakes and recreational areas purchased several years ago have been short, nevertheless some progress was made this year in the improvement of these holdings.
The Elkhorn Recreation Grounds near West Point has been about half completed. Roads, bird cover, bridges and a shelter have been provided. A large number of trees have been planted. A lake is now being built where fishing will become available when it is finished and stocked. WPA and NYA labor is being used.
Walgren Lake, Sheridan County, one of the best crappie lakes in the state, was improved this summer. This was done in cooperation with the WPA. A new ditch draining a large area was turned into the lake and it is believed that henceforth there will be an abundant supply of water available for this fine fishing lake.
Cottonwood Lake, Cherry County, also has been provided with a better water supply. A dam was completed here late in September.
A water supply at Valentine Hatchery has been made available through the construction of a large dam in Minnechaduza Creek. This solves a problem at this hatchery that has caused much trouble in the past. A much greater number of fish can now be produced each year.
Verdon Lake in Richardson County and Alexandria Lakes in Thayer County are now being deepened and the dikes repaired. Both of these lakes were so filled with moss it was impossible to fish in them. With a greater depth in places, they should be in better shape for angling.
Work has also been carried on in improving both game farms, a lake and recreational area in Adams County and one near Ravenna in Buffalo County.
ANNUAL GUN SALEThe annual gun sale of confiscated guns was held at Lincoln September 23. Fifty shotguns and rifles brought $353.10.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF SAFETY 1Treat every gun with the respect due a loaded gun. This is the cardinal rule of gun safety.
2Carry only empty guns, taken down or with the action open, into your automobile, camp and home.
3Always be sure the barrel and action are clear of obstructions.
4Always carry your gun so that you can control the direction of the muzzle even if you stumble.
5Be sure of your target before you pull the trigger.
6Never point a gun at anything you do not want to shoot.
7Never leave your gun unattended unless you unload it first.
8Never climb a tree or a fence with a loaded gun.
9Never shoot at a flat, hard surface or the surface of water.
10Do not mix gunpowder and alcohol.
Federal Regulations for Migratory Birds
Editor's Note: The following are No. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 11 of the Federal Hunting Regulations which are effective in Nebraska for the 1939 season:
Regulation 1.—Definitions of Migratory Birds and Game Mammals.Migratory birds.—Migratory birds included in the terms of the conventions between the United States and Great Britain for the protection of migratory birds and between the United States and the United Mexican States for the protection of migratory birds and game mammals, concluded, respectively, August 16, 1916, and February 7, 1936, are as follows:
1. Game birds:
(a) Anatidae, or waterfowl, including brant, wild ducks, geese and swans.
(b) Gruidae, or cranes, including little brown, sandhill and whooping cranes.
(c) Rallidae, or rails, including coots, gallinules and sora and other rails.
(d) Limicolae (Charadrii), or shore birds, including avocets, curlews, dowitchers, godwits, knots, oyster-catchers, phalaropes, plovers, sandpipers, snipe, stilts, surf birds, turnstones, willet, woodcock and yellowlegs.
(e) Columbidae, or pigeons, including doves and wild pigeons.
2. Insectivorous and other non-game birds:
Cuckoos, flickers and other woodpeckers; nighthawks, or bullbats, chuckwill's-widow, poorwills and whippoorwills; swifts; hummingbirds; kingbirds, phoebes and other flycatchers; horned larks; bobolinks, cowbirds, blackbirds, grackles, meadowlarks and orioles; grosbeaks, finches, sparrows and buntings; tanagers; martins and other swallows; waxwings; phainopeplas; shrikes; vireos; warblers; pipits; catbirds, mockingbirds and thrashers; wrens; brown creepers; nuthatches; chickadees and titmice; kinglets and gnatcatchers; robins and other thrushes; all other perching birds which feed entirely or chiefly on insects; and auks, auklets, bitterns, fulmars, gannets, grebes, guillemots, gulls, herons, jaegers, loons, murres, petrels, puffins, shearwaters and terns.
Regulation 3.—Means By Which Migratory Game Birds May Be Taken.The migratory game birds on which open seasons are specified in regulation 4 of these regulations may be taken during such respective open seasons with bow and arrow or with a shotgun not larger than No. 10 gauge fired from the shoulder, but they shall not be taken with or by means of any automatic-loading or hand-operated repeating shotgun capable of holding more than three shells, the magazine of which has not been cut off or plugged with a one-piece metal or wooden filler incapable of removal through the loading end thereof, so as to reduce the capacity of said gun to not more than three shells at one time in the magazine and chamber combined; they may be taken during the open season from land or water, with the aid of a dog, and from a blind, boat, or floating craft except sinkbox (battery), powerboat, sailboat, any boat under sail, and any craft or device of any kind towed by powerboat or sailboat; but nothing herein shall permit the taking of migratory game birds from or by means, aid, or use of an automobile or aircraft of any kind.
Waterfowl (except for propagating, scientific, or banding purposes under permit issued pursuant to regulations 8 and 9 of these regulations) and mourning doves and white-winged doves are not permitted to be taken by means, aid, or use, directly or indirectly, of corn, wheat, oats, or other grain or product thereof, salt, or any kind of feed whatsoever, placed, deposited, distributed, scattered, or otherwise put out where such waterfowl or doves are lured, attracted, or enticed, regardless of the distance intervening between any such grain, salt, or feed and the position of the taker, but it is not intended to forbid the taking of such birds attracted by growing or standing crops of grain or by harvested grainfields so long as such crops are not manipulated or such fields have not been harvested by man or his agencies so as to cause such grain to be placed, deposited, scattered, or otherwise put out, as aforesaid; and in the taking of waterfowl, the use, directly or indirectly, of live duck or goose decoys is not permitted, regardless of the distance intervening between any such live decoys and the position of the taker; nor shall anything in these regulations be deemed to permit the use of aircraft of any kind, or of a powerboat, sailboat, or other floating craft or device of any kind, for the purpose of concentrating, driving, rallying, or stirring up waterfowl and coots.
A person over 16 years of age is not permitted to take migratory waterfowl unless at the time of such taking he has on his person an unexpired federal migratory-bird hunting stamp, validated by his signature written across the face thereof in ink. Persons not over 16 years of age are permitted to take migratory waterfowl without such stamp.
(Continued on Page 10)Shooting Hours:
Duck, goose, brant, coot 7 A.M. to 4 P.M.
Rail, gallinule, Wilson's snipe (jacksnipe), 7 A.M. to sunset.
NO OPEN SEASON in the United States on the following:Shorebirds (except woodcock and Wilson's snipe or jacksnipe).
Wood duck.
Crane.
Swan.
Ross' goose.
Snow goose and brant in states bordering on Atlantic Ocean.
Daily Bag and Possession Limits:Ducks, 10 in the aggregate, except that the daily bag limit may not include more than 3 of any one or 3 in the aggregate of canvas - backs, redheads, buffleheads or ruddy ducks.
Geese (including brant), 4 in the aggregate.
Rails and gallinules (except soras and coots), 15 in the aggregate.
Soras, 15.
Coots, 25.
Wilson's snipes (jacksnipes), 15.
NOT MORE THAN 2 DAYS' BAG LIMIT OF DUCKS, GEESE (INCLUDING BRANT), AND 1 DAY'S LIMIT OF OTHER MIGRATORY GAME BIRDS MAY BE POSSESSED AT ONE TIME.
Migratory game birds MAY be taken with or by use of— Shotgun not larger than No. 10 gauge fired from the shoulder.
Bow and arrow.
Dog.
Blind or floating device, other than sinkbox.
Migratory game birds MAY NOT be taken with or by use of—
Automobile.
Aircraft.
Sinkbox (battery).
Power boat, sailboat, or any device towed by power boat or sailboat.
Automatic-loading or hand-operated repeating shotgun of more than 3-sheIl capacity in the magazine and chamber combined.
Live duck or goose decoys.
Corn, wheat, oats or other grain or product thereof, salt, or any kind of feed placed or distributed in any manner whereby such birds are lured, attracted or enticed, regardless of the distance between the location of such food and the taker.
Penalties:Failure of waterfowl hunters over the age of 16 years to have a migratory bird hunting stamp, or a violation of any regulation under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, will subject the offender to a fine of not more than $500, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
Waterfowl (except snow geese and brants in states bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, Ross' geese, wood ducks, and swans), and coots, may be taken each day from 7 a. m. to 4 p. m., and rails and gallinules (other than coots), Wilson's snipes or jacksnipes, from 7 a. m. to sunset each day during the open seasons prescribed therefor in this regulation, and they may be taken by the means and in the numbers permitted by regulations 3 and 5 of these regulations, respectively, and when so taken may be possessed in the numbers permitted by regulation 5 any day in any state or territory or in the District of Columbia during the period constituting the open season where taken and for an additional period of 10 days next succeeding said open season, but no such bird shall be possessed in a state or territory or in the District of Columbia at a time when such state, territory, or district prohibits the possession thereof. Nothing herein shall be deemed to permit the taking of migratory birds on any reservation or sanctuary established under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of February 18, 1929 (45 Stat. 1222), nor on any area of the United States set aside under any other law, proclamation, or executive order for use as a bird, game, or other wildlife reservation, breeding ground, or refuge except insofar as may be permitted by the Secretary of the Interior under existing law, nor on any area adjacent to any such refuge when such area is designated as a closed area under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Waterfowl, Wilson's snipe, or jacksnipe, and coot.—The open seasons on waterfowl (except snow geese and brant in states bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, Ross' goose, wood duck, and swans), Wilson's snipe or jacksnipe, and coot, in the several states and Alaska, shall be as follows, both dates inclusive:
In Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin, October 1 to November 14.
In California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois (except coot in certain counties as hereinafter provided for), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, including Long Island, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming, October 22 to December 5.
In Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, November 15 to December 29.
In southeastern Alaska from the 141st Meridian south to Dixon Entrance, October 1 to November 15; in Alaska south and west of the Naknek River and Naknek Lake and the Katmai National Monument to the westernmost boundary of the Aleutian Islands and east of this area to the 150th Meridian, November 16 to December 30; and in the remainder of Alaska, September 1 to October 15; Provided, That scoters, locally known as sea coots, may be taken in open coastal waters only, beyond outer harbor lines, in Maine and New Hampshire from September 15 to September 30, and in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, from September 15 to October 14, and thereafter from land or water during the open seasons for other waterfowl in these states.
In Illinois, the season on coot in Rock Island, Whiteside, Lee, De Kalb, Kane, Du Page, and Cook Counties, and all counties north thereof, shall be October 1 to December 5.
Rails and gallinules (except coot).— The open season on rails and gallinules (except coot) shall be from September 1 to November 30, both dates inclusive, except as follows:
Alabama, November 20 to January 31.
Louisiana, November 1 to January 31.
Massachusetts, New York, including Long Island, and Washington, October 22 to December 5.
Wisconsin, October 1 to November 14.
District of Columbia, no open season.
Regulation 5.—Daily Bag and Possession Limits On Certain Migratory Game Birds.A person may take in any one day during the open seasons prescribed therefor in regulation 4 of these regulations not to exceed the following numbers of migratory game birds, which numbers shall include all birds taken by any other person who for hire accompanies or assists him in taking such birds; and when so taken these may be possessed in the numbers specified as follows:
Ducks (except wood duck).—Ten in the aggregate of all kinds, of which not more than 3 of any one, or more than 3 in the aggregate, may be of the following species—canvasback, redhead, bufflehead, and ruddy duck; and any person at any one time may possess not more than 20 ducks in the aggregate of all kinds, of which not more than 6 of any one, or more than 6 in the aggregate, may be of the following species—canvasback, redhead, bufflehead, and ruddy duck.
Geese and brant (except snow geese and brant in states bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, and Ross' goose).—Four in the aggregate of all kinds, and any person at any one time may possess not more than 8 in the aggregate of all kinds.
Rails and gallinules (except sora and coot).—Fifteen in the aggregate of all kinds, and any person at any one time may possess not more than 15 in the aggregate of all kinds.
Sora.—Fifteen, and any person at any one time may possess not more than 15.
Coot.—Twenty-five, and any person at any one time may possess not more than 25.
Wilson's snipe or jacksnipe.—Fifteen, and any person at any one time may possess not more than 15.
The possession limits hereinbefore prescribed shall apply as well to ducks, geese, brants, rails, including coots and gallinules, Wilson's snipes or jacksnipes, taken in Canada, Mexico, or other foreign country and brought into the United States, as to those taken in the United States.
Regulation 6.—Shipment, Transportation and possession of Certain Migratory Game Birds.Migratory game birds of a species on which open seasons are prescribed by regulation 4 of these regulations, legally taken, and parts thereof, may be transported in or out of the state where taken during the respective open seasons in that state, and when legally taken in and exported from Canada or Mexico, and if from Mexico are accompanied by a Mexican export permit, may be transported into the United States during the open season in the province, state, or district where killed, but not more than the number thereof permitted by regulation 5 of these regulations to be taken by one person in 1 day, or in 2 days in the case of ducks, geese, brants, and woodcocks shall be transported by any one person in 1 calendar week out of the state where taken or from Canada or Mexico into the United States; any such birds or parts thereof in transit during the open season may continue in transit such additional time immediately succeeding such open season, not to exceed 5 days, necessary to deliver the same to their destination, and may be possessed in any state, territory, or district during the period constituting the open season where taken, and for an additional period of 10 days next succeeding said open season; and any package in which such birds or parts thereof are transported shall have the name and address of the shipper and of the consignee and an accurate statement of the numbers and kinds of birds or parts thereof contained therein clearly and conspicuously marked on the outside thereof; but no such birds or parts there-
Continued on Page 13
CROWS
By JACK MINER The Canadian NaturalistBeing in my 75th year as I look back over my 35 years of lecture career, I doubt if ever any individual has attended more conservation meetings than I have: from Florida to Alaska, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, as well as making seven trips in five years across Canada. The one big thing I have noticed has been that the entire theme of discussions and resolutions has been in regards to curtailing the shooting; namely, shorter open season, shorter shooting hours of each day for hunting, bag limits and other restrictions, all of which have had their place. I would not utter a Word against such discussions but what I cannot understand is that there is all this talk about controlling man's killing desire, and practically no resolution or discussion in regards to controlling crows, vermin and other natural enemies of our game birds when I honestly believe that the crow alone destroys more game than the hunter's gun. Living here in Canada where the ducks and other game birds nest, I again say that I honestly believe the crow is far more responsible for keeping down the duck population by eating their (the duck's) eggs than the hunter's gun, to say nothing about the destruction caused by hawks, owls, Weasels and other natural enemies, and as I said above practically nothing is said or done about it in comparison to regulation controlling man's killing. I know one man in Western Canada who found 21 duck nests and 19 were destroyed by crows. Think of it!
When I mention control of game's natural enemies, one school of thought at once throws out the argument of "Balancing Nature." In reply to this I feel the Creator put bird and animal life here for man's use and control, and thus when man takes game birds for food, such as ducks, geese, pheasants, quail, and such like, then it is up to man to control or reduce their enemies to the same proportion, but man has not done this. Man's attention has been on shooting the birds that are good to eat and he has allowed the enemies to increase well out of proportion.
In the 19th century the Passenger pigeon was here by countless millions. They are now extinct. Then to hold out the "Balance of Nature" argument of some men, let me say that crows and other enemies should have been decreased to the same extent, but they were not. They have increased all out of proportion and are living on our other valuable bird life. When I say "valuable bird life" I mean bird life that the Creator meant for man's food, and valuable weed seed and insect-destroying birds which in their way are valuable to man.
Man is Nature's first assistant or God's viceroy. Let us use the brains God has given us.
REARING AND FEEDING CHUKARS
Q. I have four pairs of Chukar Partridge and would like to know what sort of nest to build for them, also the kind of feed you think is best. K. R.
A. Your Chukars will not need nest boxes. Simply lay a wide board up against the side of the pen to make a sheltered place for them, and put some hay or straw under it and very probably the birds will decide to lay there. Some hens insist on laying their eggs at random about the pen, but others make a very neat little nest and lay their eggs in it. In some cases the birds have laid under a branch of evergreen or under a bundle of cornstalks, or some similar cover, but I doubt if they will lay in regular nest boxes, although you can provide some if you wish, as Chukars will lay in a variety of locations and conditions.
Chapin's Layall plus grit, clean water and green feed is a good feed for breeders in Chukars. This may be gotten from Chapin & Company, Hammond, Ind. Or the Beacon Milling Company, Cayuga, N. Y., gets out an excellent game bird mash, which will give you good results. F. J. Boehling Company, Richmond, Va., also gets out a very satisiactory quail mash which is also excellent for Chukars. You might write around to all three and see which you can do best with. All will give you directions for feeding their products in the best way.
Webb Rice and William Berner with a new type boat recently built. The inset photo shows the boat knocked down ready to put in a car.
LAUNCHES NEW BOAT
Webb Rice, former Nebraska game commissioner, has built a new type boat that would seem to solve the sportsman's problem of boat transportation.
According to Webb, the two sections lock together absolutely water-tight. It does not require a wrench or other tool to take it down or assemble it. It can be taken down or assembled in less than ten seconds. "It really works as easily as a repeating shotgun," Mr. Rice states.
The boat will accommodate two or three people and can be used for fishing or hunting. No trailer is required to transport it. When placed in the rear of an automobile and riding on a bumper bracket, you can drive your car at its regular speed and never know you have a boat with you.
What of the Future?
Continued from Page 7utilized for irrigation, I think we can all agree. Where water is impounded, dropped through a power plant and let go on its way, I think there can be no objection.
But where the natural level of lake and swamp is molested, where the spring and summer flow of river and creek is entirely taken, where our subterraneous supply of water is lowered beyond the reach of vegetation, where the habitat of our fish and bird life is destroyed, then I think, as citizens, we have a right to demand that our rights be considered. It is time we were examining our state constitution and our statutes to see just where we stand in regard to our water resources.
I was informed that I am to talk today about the plans and policies of the Nebraska Game Commission. Time will not permit me to go into great detail, but I would like to discuss several of the more acute problems confronting your Commission.
The prolonged drought has taken its toll of wildlife as it has taken its toll of other resources. Our fish population has suffered especially. Lack of water, the drying up and freezing out of lake and pond has killed millions of adult fish during the past six or seven years. I will venture to say that if during the past decade we had had normal physical conditions, that excellent fishing would be available in every part of the state today. Our hatcheries and nurseries were prepared to pour millions of baby fish into bodies of water where they could thrive and grow. We had lakes well on the way to providing fine bass fishing. We had enlarged hatchery capacity to provide many thousands of large trout. We had learned to hatch catfish artificially and to move them from the Missouri to smaller streams throughout the state. We had a whole string of propagation lakes where up to a million adult bullheads could be removed each year and placed in ponds, lakes and streams throughout eastern and southern Nebraska. But the drought upset much of this program and destroyed many of our nurseries and propagation lakes. Today we are still waiting in many cases to find waters of sufficient depth to restock. We were so lacking in the bullhead, which is a very slow-growing fish, that we have purchased them from other states to restock our waters.
And yet, in spite of these conditions, you would be surprised to know of the number of fish being taken in Nebraska. Thousands of anglers are getting good bags in certain parts of the state. But we are a long way from having what we would like to offer and what the Commission had planned to make available. Water is our crying need in the restoration of our fish life.
The hunter has fared better than the fisherman during the drought years, but he also is far from getting what he should have. Due to international and federal help, our duck and goose population is increasing and future hunting of these species is much brighter than it was five years ago. A large number of federal and state sanctuaries have helped to solve this problem. Insofar as Nebraska is concerned, good waterfowl hunting is not so much an adequate supply of birds as it is sufficient water where they can pause in their migratory flight. The Nebraska duck hunter's problem today is to find a place where he can hunt.
The pheasant situation is quite good. The Game Commission for many years was condemned because it turned loose pheasants which were in the eyes of many farmers "a no-good bird that just pulled your corn." I have myself faced many meetings of angry farmers who were demanding we come and get these pesky birds. But something happened during the past several years. Today the Game Commission is being condemned because it opened a season and allowed a fair proportion of these birds to be taken. I find myself this summer before indignant farmers demanding that every bird be left and the hunter kept out of their county. These farmers have forgotten that it took thousands of dollars paid by the hunter to get these birds into the state, to protect them and to build up the present population.
Some of our sportsmen of recent years have been critical of the Commission's policy in regard to pheasants. Right here I would like to explain that the constitution of the state declares there can be no special game laws. The old plan of opening this county and closing that one was wrong in every sense of the word and no doubt could not have stood a test in the courts. Under new legislation now on the statute books and under the present policy of the Commission, the entire state is opened to hunting, except those areas kept closed for restocking and those areas set aside for breeding and refuge. It is planned to restock and put new blood in every pheasant county not less than once every five years.
When you hear your Commission being condemned for its pheasant policy and when you feel a terrible mistake is being made in your part of the state, please bear in mind that your Commission had increased the pheasant hunting from four counties to the entire state; that in spite of a prolonged drought, poaching, severe winters and lack of suitable cover we have been able to give you pheasant hunting every year without exception, even during the worst drought years and that today we have a much greater pheasant population in Nebraska than ever before.
We are making some headway with the chukar partridge where it has been stocked in western Nebraska. However, it is still too early to tell definitely whether or not this bird will provide good hunting. So far it looks promising. Nebraska's game farms will probably liberate more of this specie this year than any other state except California.
Late in the summer a considerable number of petitions were received requesting the Game Commission to open a season on doves. Since there has been some misunderstanding about the dove, let me explain the situation.
The mourning or turtle dove is migratory and therefore comes under the federal laws. In the Nebraska statutes we find the dove classified as a game bird. Another section of the law provides that the Commission open the season on game birds when the supply is considered adequate.
Each year about June or July each State Game Commission is called on to make recommendation to the federal bureau as to what open seasons, dates, bags, etc., they recommend. The Commission opened a season on doves in 1937. There was much criticism of this by bird lovers and farmers, and since there did not seem to be a general demand on the part of the hunters, the season has not been opened since.
The petitions arrived this year too late to be considered by the federal authorities. I think all of us can fully realize that it takes considerable time to formulate regulations and once they are fixed and published it is nearly impossible to change them.
The Nebraska Commission is not yet certain that the majority of hunters themselves desire to shoot doves. Plans are now under way to determine the majority opinion on this matter.
To mention all the different phases of the Commission's work is impossible, but permit me to mention some of the more important ones.
We now are operating two game farms where pheasants and partridges are being propagated. About fifteen thousand pheasants and two thousand partridges will be released this fall in areas being restocked.
We have one project under the Pittman-Robertson
Act thus far. This is a
OUTDOOR NEBRASKA
13
cooperative pheasant rearing project. It
is operating in twenty-five counties this
year, and about 5,000 birds will be released
on protected breeding areas. Next
year it is expected to increase these
units to fifty.
Several new lakes and recreational areas have been opened and several are now under construction. However, funds are no longer available to increase the number of such areas and until funds again accumulate we cannot undertake to purchase additional areas.
On January 1, 1940, three new resident permits will be issued. One will be for hunting, one for fishing and one for both hunting and fishing. The first two will cost $1.00 each and the combination will cost $1.50. Starting in 1940 the Commission will maintain two funds—one derived from fishing permits and one-half the combination permit; the other derived from hunting and one-half the combination permit. All the proceeds of each fund will be used strictly for the improvement of either fishing or hunting as the case may be. After 1940, if you fish you may be certain your entire dollar will go for better fishing. If you hunt, then your dollar will go to improve hunting. If you do both, your dollar will be divided equally between the two sports. It will be interesting to see just how many fishermen and hunters we have in Nebraska.
We are still hopeful to provide much better hunting and fishing and to play our part in the conservation of Nebraska's natural resources. We want to do our share in advertising our state and creating better times and a fuller life for our people. As I stated before, our success will depend greatly on what nature does for us and how you gentlemen, as citizens of the state and leaders in your communities, solve the fundamental problems upon which all our program is based. Unless you provide safeguards for the protection and proper utilization of our soil and our water, we cannot hope to provide you with more trees, fish, animal and bird life.
Federal Regulations
Continued from Page 10of shall be transported from any state or territory or the District of Columbia to or through another state or territory or the District of Columbia or to or through Canada or Mexico contrary to the laws of the state or territory or the District of Columbia in which they were taken or from which they are transported; nor shall any such birds or parts thereof be transported into any state or territory or the District of Columbia from another state or territory or District of Columbia, or from Canada or Mexico, or from any state or territory or the District of Columbia into any province of the Dominion of Canada or into Mexico at a time when any such state, territory, district, or province, or Mexico, into which they are transported, prohibits the possession or transportation thereof.
Migratory game birds imported from countries other than Canada and Mexico.
—Migratory game birds of a species on which open seasons are prescribed by regulation 4 of these regulations, legally taken in and exported from a foreign country (other than Canada and Mexico, for which provision is hereinbefore made) may be transported to any state or territory during the open season prescribed by said regulation 4 for such state or territory on that species, and to the District of Columbia during the open season so prescribed for Maryland, and may be possessed in such state, territory, or district for an additional period of 10 days immediately succeeding such open season, by any one person in 1 calendar week in numbers not exceeding those permitted by regulation 5 of these regulations to be taken by one person in 1 day, or in 2 days in the case of ducks, geese, brants, and woodcocks, if transportation and possession of such birds are not prohibited by such state, territory, or district and if transported in packages, marked as hereinbefore provided in this regulation.
Regulation 11.—State Laws for the Protection of Migratory Birds.Nothing in these regulations or in any permit issued thereunder shall be construed to permit the taking, possession, sale, purchase, or transportation of migratory birds or parts, nests, or eggs thereof contrary to the laws and regulations of any state or territory or the District of Columbia, made for the purpose of giving further protection to migratory birds, their nests, and eggs, when such laws and regulations are not inconsistent with the conventions between the United States and any other country for the protection of migratory birds or with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and do not extend the open seasons for such birds beyond the dates prescribed by these regulations.
DRAINING THE WATER AWAY
From the Columbus Telegram)To The Editor:
Let you and I go back 25 or 30 years and take a trip, we will say, east of Columbus, or any place, as far as that matters. The going was not quite as smooth as today, but we all got back home again.
You remember we found water standing all along the road, seeping slowly in the surrounding fields and meadows, building up the subsoil moisture, which we have lost and which will always be lost as long as we have those nice three and four-foot ditches along each highway and road in the land.
One-half hour after any kind of a rain, the rain water is on the way to the rivers, or there already, as this scientific ditch building is very efficient to get every drop of rain out of the country as soon as it falls, causing untold damage and floods in the southlands.
In the old days our corn crop could withstand a week or two of hot weather, which we had and are going to have every summer, because we had subsoil moisture stored. Today the field leach out to the bottom of those ditches and our corn crops will continue to go where they have gone the last seven years.
When you multiply those ditches by millions of times as they are all over the United States on all highways and roads, each taking the weter away as fast as possible to the rivers, you may realize that there is no possibility to have any subsoil moisture.
Mother Nature provided the storage of water—we spoiled it all by drainage ditches and drainage of lakes. Water is the life of the earth and of the man on the soil as well as the men in the cities. We are all so closely connected that when one suffers, all suffer. In the old days the surplus of subsoil moisture drained slowly back to the rivers, giving them a steady flow of water all the year around. Look at your rivers today.
—CHRIST WUNDERLICH.
