2 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944

"The Star," so symbolic of the joys and Christian gladness ever abundant at this time, assumes an even deeper meaning as we confront ourselves with an evergrowing constellation; silent sentinels of our friends and colleagues hi the services of our country. May the spirit of our seasons hopes and wishes reach them, and all others far from their homes.—The Editor.

"OUR CONSTELLATION" Koald Amundson, Assistant to the Secretary L. P. Vance, Pittman-Robertson Supervisor William Cunningham, Pittman-Robertson Division David Damon, Pittman-Robertson Division Edson Fichter, Pittman-Robertson Division Liven Petersen, Pittman-Robertson Division Burman Guyer, Conservation Officer William Garnick, Conservation Officer Robert Hassler, Conservation Officer Clive Short, Park Superintendent Carl Lathrop, Park Division H. J. Dollinger, Park Division Harold Dollinger, Park Division Dick Wosnick, Game Farm Leslie Miller, Game Farm Vernal Stockholm, Seining Crew Ronald David, Fish Hatchery

4 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944

FIRESIDE CHATS

By Gilbert, Conover, Cunningham, Grace, Lashmett, Bunney

If you have just a moment, I wish you would sit down here by the fire and meet a few of our fellow Conservation Officers and hear their stories of just a few of the many things that happen to a Conservation Officer during his patrol throughout the year. It is cold outside and there's nothing like a good pipe, a warm fire, and a bit of story-telling by some fellow hunters who, like yourself, are spending many a winter evening reminiscing by the fire, living again the hunts that have been and cherishing the thoughts of hunts that will be.

You know, these men who spend their entire life outdoors with the wildlife of Nebraska, enjoy outdoor Nebraska and appreciate the need for its protection far more than we realize. Their work begins in early January with the issuance of permit books to thousands of private individuals who sell them for the State. At the same time, requests for permits to trap beaver causing damage call the wardens to all, parts of the State. It is at this period when the buying of fur by commercial houses reaches its peak, and such activities must be constantly checked to make sure that no illegal buyers have entered the State to deplete Nebraska's fur crop or to cheat the conscientious authorized commercial buyers of fur.

Spring brings new activities for our men, all migratory waterfowl are maing their early flight north to their home breeding grounds and it is the duty of our officers to chaperon these birds safely through the State. I am sorry to say that there are always those few individuals who refuse to realize the importance of protecting nature's wildlife during the breeding period. Fishing season comes close on the heels of the northern duck flight; a season during which the officers are busy assisting fishermen, along with continual checking of licenses and bag limits.

Summer brings with it the lowering of water levels and often times stranded fish whose final fate depends upon the vigil of the officer in that area. At this time of the year, we again find a few individuals who always try to take more than ther fair share from their conscientious neighbors; consequently, much time must be spent on the rivers and streams of Nebraska looking for illegal nets and checking the commercial river fishing on the Missouri River. Late summer brings constant watch over the pheasant crop in order that they may be protected for Nebraska's true sportemen when the season opens. The Fall season is replete with the day and night work, checking hunters' take and aiding with information helpful to hunting Nebraska.

Early winter brings the trapping season and the collecting of permit accounts throughout the State. Thrown in for good measure are numerous public appearances with moving pictures, exhibits, and displays to educate and sell Nebraskans on the wildlife conservation of Nebraska. The opinion of a few would indicate that the warden's chief aim and desire is the making of arrests and the seeking out of those individuals who deviate somewhat from the normal course of the State's laws. But as you can see, my friend, this is but a small portion of the Conservation Officer's   Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944 5 activities. In fact, many are the moments of regret that we officers experience, upon having to arrest an individual. However, in order to assure Nebraska of an ever-abundance of wildlife, such arrests are necessary. Many times such cases assume major proportions in the slaughter of wildlife by market hunters, calling for the greatest of efficiency .in the line of law enforcement. For example, many of the men sitting around the fire this evening can tell you of instances, which they will long remember; in protecting the wildlife of the State or the conscientious legal hunter. Take Officer Conover here, for example.

Connie, you have had some tough cases that probably could show our friends here some of the hazardous and, certainly, undesirable experiences that you must realize in fulfilling your duties as a Conservation OfficerHow about lighting up your pipe and giving us a story?

"Well, Chief, I have had many experiences in my years with the department. Many of them were gratifying and wholesome experiences, while others were not so friendly, with individuals bent on taking more than their share at a time when protection of our wildlife is most important during the Spring migration of White-Fronted geese in Western Nebraska. The snow was falling quite rapidly and was drifting some in a light northwest wind. It looked like one of those days when a warden knows that something is going to happen. Visibility was 200 yards when I called a brother officer to meet me at four o'clock. At the appointed time and place we met and started out toward the heavy goose concentration on the Platte River. After driving some thirty miles along the highway, we stopped and put the chains on, then continued patrolling on the roads bordering along the river where thousands of geese were to be found.

"Even a routine patrol along the river was no easy task in the heavy snow and cold. The thermometer had been falling all the afternoon and now was getting near the zero point. We drove into the river at every vantage point and made a rapid check of conditions. Each bunch of birds was watched closely as to whether or not it was wary at our approach. We went on for a couple more miles where we came upon a car track in the fast drifting snow. A rapid check of the tire marks indicated that the car had been progressing toward the river rather than away from it and, without doubt, was still in that vicinity. We followed in the direction of the tracks and soon met a car coming away from the river. This party was stopped and his car checked. It was really getting cold now and the north wind was driving down across the meadow. While speaking to this gentleman, we heard shooting up-wind in a position with which I was familiar. This meant a rapid drive of some twelve miles, however, in order to get into position for proper observation and to apprehend the parties involved.

"It was getting near six o'clock and the wind was rising, causing heavy drifts along the side roads, but this must not detain us. Frost gathered in ghostly-shaped objects on the windshield and sideglasses. We crossed the Platte where the loose planks seemed to bark at the wheels as we passed; then into the wind and up the river, where we had heard the shooting; from there down a lane and over a closely cut field, where we ploughed hub-deep snow in many places; and on to the river, where we found partially-obscured tracks. The tracks were almost drifted full; and we were beginning to think our party had done its dirty work and gone, when suddenly we heard a shot followed in rapid succession by two others. This proved that our hunters were still in the river. We pulled our hip-boots up high and started out through the willows, watching closely as we worked our way along. The river channels were filling with drifting snow and each bit of splash would freeze to our clothing forming curiously-shaped buttons on our boots and jackets.

"For nearly a mile we pursued the   6 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944 tracks in the snow and finally came upon a clearing at the edge of the open river, where we were in full view of our quarry. Birds were in the air constantly; geese uttered mournful sounds in the blinding snow as another and still another shot would reach our ears with a "thud" in the high wind. Darkness was falling rapidly, but with the field glasses, we could plainly see three individuals dressed in full white uniforms, hunting from a blind about a quarter mile distance. Decoys were also used to fool this unsuspecting Spring migration. We checked the pocket thermometer that I always carry and it showed 5 degrees below zero. In a few minutes we saw the three men start to pick up the decoys and commence the trek back again as we laid there in the snow. About half-way to our position, they stopped for a rest, their burden was that heavy. Later they did this again. One of them was carrying a package of decoys and the other two carried bundles of geese.

"Rapidly we made plans of attack. One man was already identified as a person whom we knew; a man whose only bad habit was hunting geese in the Spring of the year. It was decided that I should remain at the north side of a rather small towhead and prevent a possible break-through on our left flank, while my partner worked around to the right to come up in the rear guard position. The three hunters came closer and closer as their labored steps brought them to the towhead. They were within twenty feet of me when they laid their game down for a third time and I could easily see the vapor from their nostrils in the cold night air. In a moment they again picked up their respective loads and took about two steps, when out of the cold wet earth came a couple of game wardens, and my partner shouted 'Halt in the name of the law.' No mule could have held their feet at this moment and the air was literally filled with ducks, geese, guns and decoys as they made a break for it. Since the one of the party had been identified, my partner and I took a man each for the chase. Mine came across on my left, starting through an opening in the brush and made it for a channel which appeared to be frozen over. He made one jump to cover a snow drift and landed chin deep in slush and ice water floundering like a chicken that had fallen into a horse tank. He immediately came out of this, however, with me right after him while I took the same kind of a dunking only not so severe. After a chase of not more than another hundred yards I placed my man under arrest and started back to the scene of our first approach. When I turned around, I saw my partner sitting on top of his man and both of them were out in the water, my partner was bleeding under the left eye where he had slipped and fallen on a sharp willow. He was a ghastly sight all covered with slush and snow and this deep red blood dripping from his chin. A glance proved this was not serious so we started picking up the plunder.

"We were exhausted and the trip a mile back to the car was severe. Not only were we cold in the sub-zero weather but were hungry as well, having gone without supper. Besides our heavy wet clothes, there were birds, guns and decoys to be hauled back to be used as evidence. Both of our prisoners were utterly worn out and fell several times on the way back to the car and had to be assisted as well. Near mid-night we reached town and placed the evidence safely in the sheriff's office. Then we could take a little time to have something to eat and find a place to sleep. The next morning each of the three men paid generously for his experience of spring goose hunting.

"I certainly found no great pleasure in making this arrest. The men themselves paid heavily for their mistake and I cannot help but think how much simpler it would have been for all of us, if they could only have waited until the open season when they could have enjoyed their hunting and we would have been glad to cooperate with them in obtaining the maximum of hunting pleasure."

"You know, Connie, that brings to my mind a case that I worked on along with some of your brother wardens".—

"Just a minute, Bunney, before you start, I want you to meet ray friend. This is Loron Bunney, a fellow conservation officer who has contributed many years of activity to the game department. Now go ahead Bunney with your story."

"It started many years ago when rumors began to reach our office of the   Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944 7

operations of a group of market hunters followed later by demands from sportsmen that we break up the gang. Many small scale attempts to catch up with this gang all ended in failure. Federal agents had given us help, with the same results. Finally in late winter a meeting was called composed of Federal agents from several states, and our own state officers. Federal men who had much experience in breaking up much larger market rings, played a major role in this meeting in laying plans and offering assistance, in catching this gang. One of the first moves was to photograph the area from an airplane where we had reasons to believe the shooting occurred, also the placing of experienced under-cover men where they could do the most good. When the spring flight of geese and ducks arrived we were fully organized and each pair of officers knew his job. Both sides of the Missouri River were covered, as well as the highways which led to the market centers.

"Many weary days passed, but finally it happened. It was late in the evening when my partner, a Federal agent, and I heard shooting out in the river about a mile away. We immediately took off on foot for the boat landing 'where we contemplated they would eventually land. We had to crawl, wade mud and water along the waters edge, and keep absolutely quiet in passing within a few yards of some occupied cabins in order to keep from being detected. It was dark by this time except for a quarter moon when we reached a point within 60 feet of the landing and hid in the dark shadows of the river bank. We felt better as we thought we had not been seen, when sticks began to break just above our heads. I think we stopped breathing for a minute expecting to look up and see a man instead of a friendly little dog come trotting down the bank to greet us without as much as letting out a' yelp which would have blown up the works. I gathered him in my lap whispering encouragement to him, praying that he wouldn't bark.

"Two cars were parked above the landing and soon we heard low voices out in the river and saw a boat approaching containing three men headed straight for us, but when within a few yards, the swift current caught them and swung them into the landing. We had guessed right on what would happen, the first boat would have no birds fearing a shake-down by the wardens. Two men got out, walked up to the car and gave a signal that all was clear, and then drove to the end of the lane leading in, and stood guard. The man in the boat returned. (All this time the dog was snoring.) This time two men got out as before, but with them they carried huge bundles of ducks and geese which we could make out by the faint moonlight. We knew the time had come to strike, so we made our rush and demanded them to reach for the stars. One man reached, but the other took to the brush like a coyote with me in close pursuit. I had the advantage as he was wearing hip boots and I soon caught him and marched him back to the car. We hand-cuffed the two men and gathered up one of the biggest collections of illegally killed birds ever taken in the State. We got signed affidavits from each man as to the identity of the third party and had him in jail the next day. The three drew fines totaling $800.00 and one member of the gang was given 24 hours to leave the State, which he promptly did. To   8 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944 this day we do not know what became of the little dog, which was such a gentleman at such a tense moment."

"Yes Bunney, that was a case that will long be remembered, and I hope for the men involved that it served as a lesson. In fact, perhaps that was all that was needed to convert them to the league of good sportsmen. But wait, my friends here will think we work on nothing but migratory waterfowl cases. Buck, didn't you have a deer case, based only on three deer hairs, that should be interesting? This is Buck Lashmett, my friends, another old faithful, long in the service of the department."

"Okay chief, if you fellows want to light up and listen to a rather unusual case I had several years ago, I will tell you the general gist of the story. I won't mention any names, as chances are the man involved has learned his lesson; and after all what we're interested in is helping people in one way or another to become true sportsmen who will help us to conserve wildlife, in order that we may have hunting again next year.

"As I said before I had a phone call informing me that there had been a deer killed in my district. It was in the old days of the Model "T". So practically pushing it up over the hills with my left foot I managed to contact a man who gave me a little information regarding a deer that might have been killed down river a ways. So it was over the Sandhills again with my faithful but sputtering jalopy. I went over the farm in question, but the individual involved was not at home. Actually my hands were tied. I had practically no evidence to go on, but when a conscientious citizen informs us of a law violation, it is up to us to check it thoroughly. I browsed around the farm a bit but could find no obvious signs of a deer having been butchered. I was about to give up, but just as I was passing the barn, I noticed three little hairs caught upon a splinter of the barn door. They obviously were not the hairs of any horse or dairy cow and upon examination proved to be deer hair. This seemed to indicate that the deer had been taken in the barn, so I began forking over the hay in the east end of the barn, and sure enough I found a quantity of deer hair and blood giving me perfect evidence that the deer had been dressed right in this stall of the barn. This evidence might have been conclusive enough but as you men know, it is our desire to be able to furnish the court with as complete evidence as possible. I realized that the deer was propably gone, but I did think that perhaps the head and the hide might have been buried somewhere on the lot. In this instance I thought sure my hunch had been realized when I found some fresh dirt dug up under a brush pile. However, as is often the case, upon digging into the pile my theories were exploded when I found the head and hide of a calf which had been recently killed.

"I finally found the farmer himself, who was mowing hay nearby. At the time he did not say anything but as is always the case, his actions spoke for him. We went into the County Seat and after thinking the matter over he decided to do the manly thing under the circumstances and came clean. The deer itself had been hauled to a neighbor's, where I later found the head and hide of the deer. And after picking up the other men in possession of the deer, completed the case in court.

"Again, fellows, it was a case where just a little sane thinking on the part of this farmer would have saved us all a lot of trouble and of course would have saved the farmer his fine. Like the Chief, I long for the day when everyone will come to appreciate the need and the value receivd from obeying our game laws and when all of the men in the field will be our friends through their conscientious hunting practices."

  Oxjtdooe Nebraska—January, 1944 9

"Good enough Buck, I'm glad you mentioned the conscientious hunter in the field, it reminds me of a story Leon Cunningham was telling not long ago. It shows pretty well what lack of conscience some people have. Cunningham, how about giving that little story again for the fellows?"

"Several years ago I left Alliance on Saturday afternoon working west to the Kilpatric Reservoir to spend the weekend. On arriving at the reservoir I found one fisherman and his small son. They were from Minatare and had brought their bed roll with them, planning to spend the night and all day Sunday. I didn't tell them who I was, but put my fishing outfit together and caught a mess of perch for my supper.

"During my conversation with this man I made the remark that I wondered if any game wardens ever came around the lake. He said he didn't know but that they sure had a mean one in the valley, then went on to tell me how he was driving down the road with a fishing pole tied on the side of his car and the warden stopped him, asking to see his fishing permit, which he didn't have at that time. He was then arrested and taken to Gering where the warden filed a complaint against him for fishing without a permit. He went on to say that he told his side of the story and the court dismissed the charge against him, giving the warden a good " going over for arresting him when he wasn't fishing.I then asked him what this warden's name was and he said Leon Cunningham.

"It was supper time and I loaned him my camp stove to fry some fish and make coffee for himself and son. The following morning I again gave him my stove to get breakfast.

"Other fishermen commenced to arrive so I worked to the west end of the lake and spent some time there, returning to find that several fishermen had arrived and were fishing next to the gentleman from Minatare. As I approached them they called me by name and came over and shook hands with me. I spent some time visiting with them and then checked the gentleman from Minatare for his fishing permit, which he had. In a very short time he packed up and left for home, his son protesting all the time about going home so early when they had intended to stay all day.

"No such incident as this had ever occurred and this man was a total stranger to me."

"You are not the only one that has had this experience. In my work with you men I often run into such caustic stories which, when traced down, often prove embarrassing to the individuals who have started such malicious fables.

"Many are the days and nights that their work is tough from the standpoint of physical endurance and physical danger alone. For example, take Dewey Grace huddled over there by the fire. Dewey, you have had some close calls, how about mentioning one?"

"Well, Chief, I remember well one experience where prudence probably saved me from at least a badly battered up body.

"It was one of my early years with the department. Most all of the wardens were called to work along the rivers to try and clean up on the nets there which were being used illegally at that time. Three Conservation Officers and myself were chosen to work the Missouri River from Niobrara to Tekamah. We put the boat in just above the mouth of the Niobrara and started down the river. My partner and I taking the boat from one point to another where the other two officers would meet us to receive the illegal nets that we had picked up. After it became too dark to work, the four of us set up our camp for the night. We picked up a few nets from Niobrara to Ponca; but from there on, we had the boat loaded with them most of the time.

  10 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944

"On one of our stops between Ponca and Sioux City, we found two motor boats anchored along the bank. The setup looked like a fishing camp so we pulled into the bank to have a chat with the men and check their take. We started up trail into the timber but did not proceed very far until a voice somewhere in the darkness called to us wanting to know where we were going and what we were looking for. I told him who I was and mentioned the fact that I would like to check his fish and he instantly replied, 'So, you are a fish cop? Well we're not fishermen so the best thing you can do is to get into your boat and go on down the river.' Well it so happened that checking bootleggers and their stills was not part of our job so we laughingly went on down the river, later to receive much razzing from our fellow officers.

"It was the next day when we were a few miles down river that I began to have to fight hard with the oars to hold the boat along the bank. My partner was watching for signs of fishing along the bank and asked me several times to hold closer to the bank, which I was trying my best to do; but the current was like a strong cable, pulling me back into the main channel of the river. I turned and looked on down river about 200 yards below and was met with a sight that I will long remember. Huge waves were rolling up river ten feet high. I headed the boat in for the bank and fought a gradually winning battle with the tug of the current. My partner who was not on the oars and could not feel the grip of the current thought I was exaggerating our predicament. I came to the bank and my partner and I climbed up the hill and around the bend to see what was causing this violent wave below us. I just got to the top of the hill only to have several tons of earth cave off beneath us. This is always a dangerous factor along this bank. We managed to scale the hill finally and moving on down to another point found that three giant whirl pools were causing the rough water from which we had narrowly escaped, each pool being large enough to sink a motor launch. We returned to our boat, covered with a nervous sweat and then the two of us on the oars pulled back up the river to safer territory. We then came down the stream over on the Iowa side of the river but even so the rough water caught us and sucked us over to the now noisy pools, both of us rowing managed to bend the boat through a side channel; and that night two tired but thankful officers bedded down stream, far below the whirlpools which might have ended our patrolling once and for all. We cannot be too urgent in our requests for people to stay off the river if they don't know how to handle a boat, especially the Missouri River during the June rise."

"Well, my friends, these are but a few of the hundreds of stories that our men could tell you regarding their experiences. We want to be your friends within the entire State and aid you in enjoying what that outdoor Nebraska life has to offer. But of course such friendship is impossible with individuals who will not join the majority in obeying the game laws which are established for the protection and continuance of those outdoor sports which we are enjoying so much.

"Throw another log on the fire, Connie, it is getting cold."

Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944 11

PHEASANT BANDS TELL TALES

By Levi Mohler

When a hunter bags a banded pheasant and reports the band number to the game commission he may wonder what use is made of the information. Band records are reported by the hundreds every year, and several years' banding records are now available. Figures on the age, population turnover, movements or dispersal of pheasants are some of the more useful pieces of information derived from this source.

In the first place, all game birds released by the game commission are banded. Each bird wears an individual number, which is recorded in the office for future reference. The record also shows where the bird was released, the date, and the age of the bird.

More than 100,000 game birds have been banded in Nebraska since 1937. Most of these were pheasants, although quail, sharp-tailed grouse, prairie chickens and chukar partridges were also banded. Banded birds include those raised at the state game farms at Benkelman and south of Norfolk, pheasants reared by the cooperative rearing units at many places in the state, and game birds of all five species banded in connection with Nebraska's upland game survey and investigation.

Movements of Birds

Proper stocking of game birds requires an understanding of what is likely to happen to the birds after they are released. Band records show the amount of traveling done by released birds. In most cases the distance moved is relatively short.

Wild pheasants, caught and banded, then released at the point of capture, seem to have a definite home locality.

Pheasants reared at the game farms and released in agricultural areas tend to wander somewhat after being released, but over half of the bands reported from a check area in 1943 were from pheasants shot within 3 miles of the point of release and the average is only slightly above 4 miles.

Wild pheasants, caught and moved considerable distance into a very different type of surroundings, travel considerably more than the game-farm-reared birds. Of the wild pheasants moved into a different habitat type only one-fourth of those reported to date were bagged less than 3 miles from the point of release and the average distance was over 15 miles. It should be remembered that the figures given here will be subject to revision when the complete 1943 records are finally checked.

Pheasant Age

Taking the season as a whole, the average hunter has a better chance of bagging a juicy young pheasant than a tough old bird. This is not only because of the greater wariness of the experienced adult bird, but is chiefly a matter of percentage.

Eighty per cent of the bands reported in the 1943 season were from pheasants hatched in 1943. Most of the pheasants bagged during the hunting season are birds which were hatched during the same year, and pheasants which have lived through two winters make up a very small part of the total population.

From more than 400 band numbers recently reported 27 were from pheasants released in 1942; 19 from pheasants released in 1941; only 4 were 1940 birds. A single bird, shot near the point of release in Howard county, was reported this season from the 1938 release. This is but the second time a five-year old pheasant has been reported to the commission.

Since most of the fall pheasants are young birds the success of pheasant production in the wild is always a most important factor in determining whether the fall population will be high or low. A single year of unfavorable nesting and rearing conditions would definitely result in a low fall population.

Areas Which Have Banded Pheasants

Nebraskans annually bag about a million pheasants, hence most hunters must rely upon wild-reared birds for their fall fun. Most of the pheasants released in 1943 were put within 100 miles of the eastern centers of population, in areas where hunting pressure is heavy and where the population of wild pheasants is less than in central and northeastern Nebraska.

If a hunter covers a locality in which birds were released the same year he may bag a banded bird. Otherwise the wily wild-reared birds will furnish the sport.

Conservation in Action

Besides checking off hunting and fishing permits Nebraska's Conservation Officers find many varried activities as part of their day's work  

14 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944

KINGSLEY RESERVOIR, A DESERT FOR WILDFOWL

By Dr. Walter Kiener

When man, white man, created Lake McConnaughey, better known as Kingsley reservoir, by means of this large water surface he established a greater attraction for the ducks and other waterfowl but failed to provide the necessary food. To the contrary, he rather reduced the natural food supply and thereby fooled himself as well as the ducks.

To be sure, the reservoir was made to store water for irrigation and power for the good of man, and that was that.

As a Duck Sees It

High, on the wing, the duck's eye catches the twinkling of the large expanse of water and there he will go if it is near feeding or resting time. If he descends to the water for a rest, he finds a haven, for the water is so wide that he is safe from the guns of the hunter. But if he is hungry he probably will get indignant when he sees the bare, sandy beaches with nary a green plant. He may become disgusted, should he happen to come into the vicinity of the inlet where the alternately flooding water has killed all vegetation, including acres of willows and cottonwoods whose bleached stems and branches now give the area a ghostly appearance and an atmosphere of melancholy. So the duck passes on.

As the Hunter Sees It

A hunter knows that where there is no vegetation in or near the water there will be few ducks, and certainly he could not conceal himself on the open sandy beach. On a few places where creeks run into the reservoir some hunters have attempted to erect blinds, but found it very difficult, due to the fluctuating water level, and so the hunter goes elsewhere.

As the Game Commission Sees It

Round and round go stories about Kingsley Reservoir, by far the largest lake in Nebraska. "Why! there should be ducks by millions, they should be breeding there, and the hunters should be flocking there." The same is true in the case of fish. But the stories are all of disappointment. Some say, "Why can't you keep the carp out and put in good fish." It seems a mystery because of lack of coherent information, and so the Game Commission upon investigation sends a plant biologist to make further detailed studies.

As the Plant Biologist Sees It

The biologist, from his acquired knowledge realizes that this new lake is a watery environment into which natural agents of dispersal have not as yet brought plant and animal populations characteristic of the older lakes. As long as an adequate plant population has not developed, there will of course be no real animal life, since all animals in the final analysis depend on plants for food. Science is often said to be organized common sense, so the scientific   Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944 15 investigator proceeds to ascertain facts, compare and analyze them bit by bit, to finally put the whole story together.

What the Lake Did and Still Does

When the water began to accumulate above the dam and by and by filled the valley to a length of fifteen miles, it meant death to all plant life which became covered with water. That meant also that for fifteen miles the old river was eliminated with its hundreds of islands and banks which were such good feeding and resting places for the waterfowl. The level of the lake now fluctuates annually to the extent of twenty to thirty feet. This makes the shores of the lake an uncertain habitat for plants as any one point might at one time be high and dry and at another deeply under water. Few, if any, plants could survive such a condition. In addition wave action is of considerable strength at times and inhibitive to the growth of most shore plants.

What the Diversion Dam Does

Below Kingsley Reservoir is Lake Ogallala, a regulating reservoir. At the lower end of this lake is a dam which diverts water from the old bed of the North Platte River. Since a large part of the water is now being diverted from the river, many channels of the old bed have become dry, or near dry. As a consequence, fewer aquatic plants are produced and fewer ducks are finding food.

Life In Kingsley Reservoir Lake Today

Although the lake is new, there were plants and animals coming in with the water from the North Platte River and and the several creeks that now empty into the lake. These plants and animals, however, were mostly the kinds adjusted to life in streams. Inasmuch as physical conditions in a lake are considerably different from those in a stream, the stream organisms did not survive well in the lake, except the carp. Hence life in the lake is as poor as a a desert.

Future Lake Life Is Probable

It is well known in plant biology that plant life develops in a certain progressive way from a beginning stage to a more or less stable stage when all the plants and animals present will be relatively balanced among themselves with the conditions of their particular environment. Kingsley Lake is now at a beginning stage insofar as plant and animal life is concerned. From accumulated scientific knowledge it seems more than probable that this lake will also develop by and by into a stage of high productivity of plant and animal life.

Reservoir Usage Affects Development Plant Life Develops By Communities

Plants are social and tend to aggregate to form communities. A plant community shows a certain unity of appearance and composition, and the plants are similar in their demands on the conditions of the place in which they live. In turn the plants have certain effects on the place on which they grow, such as, the formation of humus and other organic waste. On a barren place usually only few plants can settle, these are the pioneers. From them the first community develops which is then followed by others, each community improving the living place. Along with the plants are animals that form parts of these communities and share their developments. The development goes on till a particular, combined plant and animal community has come about. This community has a more or less stable balance within itself and with the physical conditions of the place in which it lives. As long as these conditions prevail, the stabilized community will hold out, often over long periods of time.

A Lake Has Many Kinds of Communities

Most generally there are floating, submerged, and shore plant communities with their associated animals. Most plants are rooted and therefore stationary. The exception is the floating plant which is moved about by currents, wind, and other agencies.

Floating Plants Form Pioneer Community

Because of their ability to float in or on the water these plants are the first to be carried into a new place by running water. Since they have no true roots, they are not directly affected by the lake bottom. The very first of these plants to arrive are the pondscums, also known as water-bloom and frogspit, but really they are algae.

Pioneer Algea Are In the Lake

Algae belong to that group of plants

(Continued on Page 20)

Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944 17

FURS FROM FARM AND RANCH

By Levi L. Mohler

When I think about furs and trapping I often think of what a friend of mine said a couple of years ago. This friend, who spent many boyhood days in a trapping boat, told a story which ran about as follows: "A few years ago my father died and left me some notso-good stocks and bonds and other securities and also a farm. However, the area included a marsh that most people thought he was foolish to buy, back in the 1890's. Just last week I had to sell something to get rid of a mortgage that my father also left me and I sold 40 acres of good farm land and kept the marsh." From here he went on to tell about the management and harvest of muskrats from his marsh. And he could have added that the rats were paying a neat profit.

I quite agree that most Nebraskans do not own a marsh, but many Nebraska farms have canyons, woods, or other so-called "waste-lands'' which, if properly handled, would yield welcome revenue from the annual crop of furs.

Nebraskans annually harvest something like a quarter of a million pelts, worth upwards of a half million dollars, yet our fur resources hold a relatively obscure place in the public eye.

Muskrat, striped skunk, beaver, coyote, raccoon, civet or spotted skunk, and mink, these are the "big seven" in the annual fur harvest and they rank in about that order when total value of the catch is computed. Other fur bearers which are taken here are the badger, oppossum, and weasel. North-western trappers also get a few bobcats and eastern trappers add a few red fox for good measure.

With the frontiers being pushed back and ever back, in the past century, certain furbearers had an increasingly difficult time of maintaining themselves against the inroads of man. Other fur animals, such as the coyote, have learned to live near man and as a result have actually spread eastward in recent years.

One of the jobs of the Nebraska Game Commission is to regulate the take of fur bearers. To do this properly, it is well to know what kinds of furbearers can stand cropping and what kinds need various kinds of protection. Nebraska trappers want to take a profitable fur crop but they also are anxious to preserve sufficient breeding stock so that the fur yield may be equally good in the future.

In several instances it is quite possible that field investigation of the conditions influencing wild animals may make it possible to increase our annual crop. Some areas, perhaps in your marsh or canyon, may be better fitted for wild fur production than for farming or grazing. There are many spots, often considered "waste-land," which are actually worth more for wildlife habitat than for ordinary farm use.

A survey of Nebraska's fur take has already covered the past two trapping seasons. Dr. Edson Fichter, Game Commission biologist, did an excellent job on this phase of the fur work, and the maps which appear with this article show the distribution of the take by species in the entire state for the season 1941-1942.

Fichter's work, now interrupted by service in the U. S. Army, also resulted in recommendations to the Game Commission and brought to light certain trapper practices which in the past have been detrimental to the breeding population. Later work was directed chiefly towards the beaver population and in the summer of 1943 Dr. Eugene F. Powell covered the state in a preliminary beaver survey.

While spring shooting of game birds was outlawed years ago to prevent disturbance at the breeding season, some trappers still take pregnant females of fur species simply because there is as yet only scanty information concerning the life histories of many of our fur bearers. Nebraska residents can help solve such problems by sending in the carcasses of female beaver and muskrats to the Game Commission for anatomical examination. In the interests of good management a trapping season should not overlap the breeding season.

Fur bearers in past decades have often been neglected, some writers call the fur-bearers the "step-children of conservation." However by working together on the various problems Nebraskans can expect an annual fur crop which will have a respected and profitable place in the economy of the State.

18 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944

NEBRASKA TRAPPING TAKE—1942

By Edson Fichter—Numbers Indicate Ratio

19 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944

WINTER GAME TRAILS

By James Kimball

Editor's Note: Any similarity in this article to persons known or unknown, is purely coincidental. (I think.)

The Boss told me to have this article the fireside chat type of thing and tell about the many animals settling down in their snug nests for the winter; the idea being that in winter we all like to settle down by the fireside to read intriguing little anecdotes like this one is supposed to be.

Well, I'm sorry but I guess I'm the wrong man for the job. It's fine for fellows in the steamheated offices such as the ninth floor of the Capitol to talk about settling down by the fireside for the winter, but Boss, I'm a field man. We field men have a little different slant on winter than office men do. That wind whistling around the corner of the building is whistling past our ears, and that snow which annoys by drifting in front of the garage door is drifting down our necks. Of course, we can't all enjoy Hibernating Golden the warmth of an matter not all of our wildlife can enjoy the sweet dreams of hibernation. Steam heat—hibernation. Hmmm, I think I have an opening for subtle comparison there.

In fact, maybe I could write an article comparing the various brands of humanity with the several groups of wildlife. First I could start with our migratory birds. These undoubtedly represent the smartest of our wildlife. They know that when the long arm of Mr. Icicle slides down over the Dakotas and wraps his frigid fingers around the State of Nebraska it is a good idea to be elsewhere. These birds may be compared only with the smartest element of the genus Homo; those few humans who have gathered the financial substitute for wings and migrate with the robins to bask in the sunny south.

Next we have the hibernators. These animals den up when the wintry winds do blow. No species of bird is known to hibernate and among the animals the degree of hiberation varies greatly with the species and climate. A series could be selected showing all stages of dormacy ranging from the ordinary night's sleep to the most completely torpid hibernation of six months as found in the striped ground squirrel. The badger and probably the raccoon hibernate in the northern part of their ranges and do not in the south.

The technique of hibernation seems to be to store up a quantity of food in the form of fat and then conserve it by a great reduction of body activity. Ground squirrels burrow deep enough into the ground so that their surroundings seldom if ever reach the freezing point. Here their body temperature drops to within a degree or two of their surroundings. In fact, their body temperature has been recorded as low as 35 degrees. Under experimental conditions the body temperature of bats has been dropped to 29.3 degrees and that of insects has been lowered to 20 or 30 degrees below zero without freezing their body fluids.

The normal breathing rate of a ground squirrel is 200 per minute but while hiberating this will slow to one or two breaths per minute, and torpid woodchucks will breath only once in several minutes. Most of the blood of the ground squirrel is congested near the heart during hibernation and so little is circulating that a limb may be cut off with almost no bleeding.

In short, when a ground squirrel settles down to his long winter's nap he really passes out. Let's coin a new phrase. "He sleeps like a ground

The third group of animals neither   20 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944 migrate nor hibernate but put on their winter clothes and see the winter through. This group includes both birds and animals and their winter adaptations are something to be marveled at. Feathers are probably the best insulator yet devised by man or beast. The tiny speck of heat which is generated within the body of a tree sparrow weighing less than an ounce is successfully preserved through the long 30 below zero nights by its wonderful fluffy coat of feathers. The tiny fires within these birds burn fiercely to maintain their body temperatures which run as high as 112 degrees. Therefore much fuel in the form of weed seeds is needed, as much as they can eat during the short winter days.

An English sparrow can survive without food for 76 hours when the temperature is 96 degrees but when the temperature drops to five degrees it will starve to death in 21 hours. At zero degrees in a six mile an hour wind a bobwhite quail will starve in less than two days if he is alone but if he is permitted to go into the close huddle with other quail in the typical covey fashion he will live over four days. One of the most hardy winter residents in Nebraska is the ring-necked pheasant. This bird can survive ten days or more of severe winter weather without food. In fact, adult pheasants have survived 35 days of average winter weather without food and have still been able to fly and take care of themselves.

Some of the furs of animals run the feathery coats of the birds a close second as heat insulators. We are all familiar with the warmth of the soft, fine, closely matted fur of the mink, muskrat, rabbit, or fox, but protection from cold furnished by the coarse hair of the deer moose and caribou is not such common knowledge. However, these larger animals combat the cold with equal success because each coarse hair has a hollow shaft which contains a tiny bit of warm air.

It is true that we humans, being a smarter but less rugged species, have not been equipped by nature to combat the cold. However, our igenuity has largely overcome our physical shortcomings. Wool underwear, sweaters, socks, boots, and a canvas coat may not be as efficient as a coat of feathers but it serves the purpose and looks more becoming on a human. On theh other hand our attempts to imitate the ground squirrel in his long sleep always end in failure, even on Sunday morning.

Well, to get back to the business of this letter, you can easily see that I'm not the man to write your article on winter game trails and I don't think my idea of comparing animals and people is so good either. Some people would resent it and it sure is a dirty trick to play on the animals.

KINGSLEY RESERVOIR

(Continued from Page 16)

that never produce any flowers, and in which group plants may be so small that it requires a microscope to study them. Though some of these plants are very small they accumulate in numbers to become visible to the unaided eye. They may be so numerous they give the water a green color; or they may form tufts and blankets over the water. Some may form a brown coating on the ground and also on the stems of tumbleweeds blown into the water. These pioneer algae are about the only kinds of plants present in the lake at this time.

Pioneer Algae Feed Pioneer Animals

With the pond-scums arriving in the lake are also microscopic animals that are almost always associated with the algae. The algae prosper and spread in this new lake and with them the tiny animals which feed on the pond-scums. As the tiny animals prosper, so will those animals which are not so tiny but eat the tiny ones. These in turn will be eaten by (still larger ones. This relationship is often called the foodchain. It follows, therefore, no plants; no animals.

Some Fish Are Here

There is good fishing already with the carp, the rascal, dominating. But in due time, as plant life develops, there will be many, many more fish.

Mr. Duck—So Sorry

Of food plants for ducks there is as yet practically nothing. But for the ducks that come to rest in safety on the wide water there is occasionally a snail or something similar that might be picked up. But there is nothing that would really please a self-respecting duck.

But, Br. Duck, be patient. The Game Commission is your friend and is making plans to help you, which in turn will help the fish.

Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944 21

Winter Game Trails

By Mohler + McClure

22 Outdoor Nebraska—January, 1944:

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