No. 2

Published quarterly at Lincoln, Nebraska, by the Game, Forestation, and Parks Commission, State of Nebraska. Subscription price 25c a year; $1.00 for 5 years.

THE ACORN PRESS, LINCOLN, NEBRASKA Editor. STAFF . . . .PAUL T. GILBERT COMMISSIONERS Clarke Wilson, Chairman Ernest Bihler, Vice-Chairman Ralph Kryger Dr. C. H. Silvernail Cloyd Clark COVERS

The unusual photographs used on the cover pages of this issue are loaned the Department through the generosity of Mr. J. W. Jackson of Brush, Colorado.

The front cover is a very interesting study of the Thirteen-striped Ground Squirrel which is present in large numbers throughout Nebraska. There are two sub-species of this squirrel in Nebraska, Citellus tridecemlineatus tridecemlineatus, which is the darker eastern form, and Citellus tridecemlineatus pallidus, the pale western form. This squirrel with its habits of digging holes in the ground and its bill of fare of garden and grain crops is no friend of the gardener, farmer or even the golfer whose greens these squirrels love to mar with their subterranean homes.

The back cover presents a close up of the Black-tailed Prairie-dog, a familiar sight in western Nebraska where these "dogs" live in large colonies in honey-combed underground passages. A number of light-colored clay mounds on a side hill in the prairie country usually means a colony of prairie-dogs, and usually a few burrowing owls in the same vicinity. The prairie-dog sitting up on his mound is a standard target for rifle lovers, but here has been shot by a photographer.

NEBRASKA WILDLIFE REPORTERS SHOW PERFECT RECORDS

Perfect Records: The Wildlife Reporters listed below have returned every inventory card since the beginning in 1941. The Game, Forestation and Parks Commission thanks you and hopes you'll do as well in the future. Many others have missed only one or two cards. More reporters would be welcome. Any interested rural resident may have his name added to the reporter list upon request.

H. B. Ballagh, Ballagh, Nebr. M. A. Bodyfield, Ericson, Nebr. Wesley Huenefeld, Aurora, Nebr. Osee A. Newbold, Minden, Nebr. K. R. Ware, Springview, Nebr. Orville E. Chessiey, Arnold, Nebr. H. C. Bohlken, Auburn, Nebr. Earl Hoskinson, Pierce, Nebr. Reuben E. Hasenyager, Salem, Nebr. Mrs. Mary Rieger, Falls City, Nebr. N. F. Markey, Tobias, Nebr. John Rethmeier, Crete, Nebr. O. F. Cooke, Morrill, Nebr. A. R. Boyd, Reynolds, Nebr. Elmer Thone, Herman, Nebr. Robert North, Hastings, Nebr. John Hennings, Hemingford, Nebr. A. J. Roelofsz, Alvo, Nebr. Lester Wagoner, Louisville, Nebr. Roy S. Ross, Gordon, Nebr. P. J. Engel, Clarkson, Nebr. Fred Koch, West Point, Nebr. Watson G. Mangold, Bennington, Nebr. Fred Scott, Jr., Max, Nebr. John Lienemann, Bloomington, Nebr. Next Issue The fall or hunting issue of "Outdoor Nebraska" is being made up at the present time. The Editor would be pleased to print any good pictures you may have showing good game bags of pheasants, quail, ducks or geese, or even squirrels or raccoon. If you have such pictures, let others see your shooting skills by sending them to the Editor as soon as possible.

4 Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945

WHAT DOES A GAME BIOLOGIST DO?

By Levi Mohler

Managing the state's wildlife is a big job, and an important one too. The state game department believes that the facts concerning our game and fish resources must be constantly available if best results are to be obtained for the benefit of Nebraskans who like to hunt or fish or otherwise enjoy the outdoors. Gathering the information from the fields, thickets and forests is a year around job, and the game biologists can tell you that there is never a dull month in the wild.

What kinds of information does the game department need? An answer to that question can be suggested by simply asking several more questions—such as: Are there enough pheasants for an open season? What was the matter with the sick geese on the lake in April ? Why are quail' plentiful in southeast and scarce in the west? What is the relationship between rabbits and coyotes? How did the 1944 cloudbursts affect the pheasant hatch? What do the hawks eat—are they harmful or helpful to our game supply? Why do we see so few cock pheasants in August and so many in October? Can we have a season on grouse? Or prairie chickens? Or Hungarian partridges? How can we help game birds through the winter? Why do deer starve in a forest ?

The list of questions goes on and on, and the field men are "up to their ears" in the work of digging out the answers. And many of these facts aren't too obvious nor apparent. As in any other kind of research, it takes time to get complete results. So a game biologist usually divides his time between annual wild" ife census work and other studies which may require an accumulation of data over a period of several years.

The Early Bird.

One of the characteristic things about game research men is their habit of getting up early in the morning. Their work often involves watching the birds or other animals, and the wild things are particularly active in the hour or two following daybreak. Many laymen —even those with special interests in wildlife—miss part of the fun by getting out in forenoon, after the best part of the day's display is over.

A biologist's work includes such things as: (1) Interview sportsmen concerning their hunting success and field experiences; (2) Examine large numbers of bagged birds to get information on old-young ratios, etc.; (3) Spend the day on foot, flushing and counting birds on study areas, or tramping through the snow to observe the effects of winter on wildlife; (4) Talk to farmers on the land, showing them how they can help game conditions locally; (5) Discuss wildlife profrems with professional wildlifers from other states; (6) Trap and band wild birds or mammals in order to learn life history facts; (7) Desk work compiling field records, etc.—the field work may be exercise, but the real meaning of the observations often doesn't show up until the tedious job of organizing the data is accomplished.

Game birds have received the main attention in Nebraska's wildlife studies, but several men have a1 so done considerable work concerning deer and fur-bearing animals. It may be easier to understand some of this work if we review briefly some of Nebraska's accomplishments.

Pheasant Investigations

Pheasants have been given more time than any other species because of their importance in the state. The first problem was to develop useable pre-season census methods and three men spent much time in 1941 working out the present state-wide roadside pheasant count. This method, used in July each year, is   Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 5 based upon experimental "runs" made first in Valley and Chase counties. The method was improved somewhat following later work in Keith, VaFey, Pierce and other counties. This census work has paid dividends to Nebraskans in the form of much longer open seasons. In the four years since such work began Nebraska has had a total of 202 days of pheasant shooting which is more than the combined total of the 14 years of open seasons before 1941.

If you live in the country maybe you have seen a conservation officer, or some other employee of the game department, cruising down the road at about 15 miles per hour in the early morning in late July. This person was probably busy with his local pheasant census route—although it is a well respected fact that conservation officers also get out early on many of their other duties too!

Besides an annual check on the pheasant population the game department wanted to know more about how pheasants get along when completely protected. Knowing this would help to better understand the relative importance of hunting versus other mortality factors. One biologist for several years spent some time each month on the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge to study pheasants under conditions of complete protection from hunting. His studies there—among other things-showed that young birds are the important part of the fall population even in an unshot area, and that starvation can cause heavy losses even to pheasants under late winter conditions such as prevailed in 1943.

Field Records of Game Birds.

Nebraska's game biologists keep actual records of all upland game birds and waterfowl seen in the course of their field work and driving the year around. Such records now include observations on perhaps 200,000 pheasants, and these cumulative records are providing the answers to many questions in game bird management. For example, it is relatively simple to judge the annual success of pheasant production simply by checking the ratio of young to old birds in middle and late summer. Two young observed for each adult means rather low success, but three or more young per adult is very good. This little "wrinkle" of keeping bird records is one which anyone can use—fie.d men use it constantly.

Quail Studies.

Quail also came in for special study in 1941 and later years—the game department wanted to know how quail increases could be encouraged in the state and whether or not the quail population was high enough to support some hunting. The early field work—using a bird dog and making covey counts—showed that quail weren't too plentiful in 1941. But excellent gains in 1942 and later years made it possible for Nebraskans to enjoy their first open quail season in modern times in 1944. An annual pre-season check is now made on quail in many counties, but only a few counties seem to have sufficient birds to permit hunting. The quail investigations showed that certain farming practices were beneficial to quail while others were harmful—and farmers are now being encouraged to protect their grasslands and hedgerows because of their importance to quail.

  6 Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 Prairie Chickens.

In the late 30's and early 40's prairie chickens were staging a nice comeback in parts of Nebraska, so some attention was also given to this species. Following these birds the year around on local study areas—mostly in Logan, Keith and Chase counties—showed rather definitely just what the requirements are for natural production of prairie chickens. The investigation also showed that good prairie chicken habitat in Nebraska today is confined to limited areas. Good populations of these birds can be expected to persist in some counties—but the total population is hardly high enough to expect any extensive shooting. It is quite possible that limited shooting in certain years of high populations would do no harm to our prairie chickens—but the supply of birds would not go very far when divided up among our present hunting population of more than 130,000 people.

Deer

A few years ago it became obvious that deer on Nebraska National Forest were reaching a critical situation concerning food supply. But before plans for a deer harvest could be completed the department wanted to know just how many deer were in the area. So deer census studies became another job for the game men. They compared various ground counts made by Forest Service men in winter weather, and then used an airplane for more extensive counting. The two methods checked quite well with each other although the heavy timber created census obstacles which were real problems for either method. Similar counts, after the first deer season, will go a long way toward improving deer census methods since the reduction in numbers will be the result of a known kill.

The game department is asking all deer hunters to take their deer through a checking station. One of the most important reasons for doing this is to get a complete record of the kill. Such information will make it possible to improve the counting method which in turn will make for better planning and management in any future hunts.

Muskrats

Fur-bearers yield a million dollar crop to Nebraskans—and a million dollar business has many complications. Muskrats hold top rank among Nebraska furbearers, and beavers cause enough trouble in some areas that they could well be called the "problem children" of conservation.

The muskrat investigation brought out rather sharply the differences in muskrat habitat in different parts of the state. Along with these varied conditions trappers naturally have different viewpoints. In the lakes areas— where the yield is big—trappers like to trap in mid-winter or later. In stream and ditch habitats trappers usually prefer late fall trapping.

There are always some people who demand an open season on beaver, but when field men contacted landowners and trappers, in good beaver country, they found that most people preferred the present permit system for beaver trapping. The permit system has some disadvantages but many people are afraid an open season now would exterminate the beaver just as it did fifty or more years ago.

Ducks

Kill records, from hundreds of duck hunters, make up a good part of the information collected by the waterfowl investigation to date. But 1945 spring studies in the lakes country show that at least 10 or 11 different species of ducks nest in Nebraska. Actually, more than a million acres of land within the state are of importance to nesting ducks.

Native food plants for ducks are abundant in the lakes areas. In the fall of 1943 a collection of duck stomachs in the Ogallala area was analyzed in order to learn more about duck foods. A brief review of these duck foods will be found elsewhere in this issue.

Wartime manpower shortages have hampered Nebraska's program of game research, but research is certain to play a vital part in the future course of conservation.

Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 7

Nebraska, Home of the Sledge Dog Training Headquarters

By Robert M. Graham, Captain, Q. M. C. Public Relations Offices

As the only installation of its kind, the War Dog Reception and Training Center, Fort Robinson, Nebraska, commanded by Colonel Brisbane H. Brown. Q. M. C, is responsible for supplying the entire Army with its needs for sledge dog huskies. In the mountains of Sioux county, twelve miles from Post headquarters, at the site of the old C. C. C. camp, is stationed the detachment whose duty it is to breed, rear and train this type of canine soldier. Under the supervision of Lt. Col. Irvin A. Hirschy, Q. M. C, the program is directed by Lt. Stuart A. Mace, Q M. C, whose responsibility includes the command of the sledge dog detachment and supervision of grooming, feeding and training dogs, and the design and construction of equipment.

Primarily used for rescue work in the barren wastes of the Northern air routes, sledge teams trained at Fort Robinson have been credited with saving the lives of many people who have been forced down en route to Europe or Russia. Many planes have found it necessary to land in inaccessible spots along these air routes. With no roads and no railroads; with soft, deep snow which prohibits the landing of rescue planes, the Army's sledge dogs have proven to be the only practical means of transportation for bringing relief to these unfortunate individuals. Two methods of rescue have been found satisfactory. The commonest is the dispatch of a sledge dog team and driver from the rescue station nearest the scene of the landing. Drawing a sled containing emergency rations, medical supplies and extra clothing, the team travels across ice and snow to bring re'ief to the stranded travelers. The second method, used when time and distance prohibit the dispatch of a team from its rescue station, is effected by dropping a small sled, the necessary number of dogs and emergency supplies by parachute from a cargo plane. At the Fort Robinson War Dog Reception and Training Center, the training of these dogs in this type of work is only one phase of the operation. All of the sleds and harness used by these teams and the parachute harness used for dropping dogs are manufactured at the post. The sleds, made from specially selected wood and fastened by rawhide thongs, are an item which requires a unique skill in manufacture. Whi?e many types of harness are indorsed by the various old-times who know dog team maneuvers, a standard harness has been developed and perfected which has proven to be an excellent all-purpose gear. The dropping of dogs by parachute is a development of this war and the manufacture of a suitable rigging giving the dog a freedom of motion yet assuring his safe descent taxed the ingenuity of the experts. Using common sense as a basis,   8 Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 a harness has been developed by the K9 trainers which has proven itself to be strong and adequate, yet not too bulky.

The site selected for sledge dog training lends itself admirably to the problems peculiar to this type of training. Nestled between two broad plateaus, the territory immediately surrounding the camp is rugged enough to afford adequate obstacles for testing the strength and mettle of these canine draft animals. Three major types of teams are trained. The first, consisting of five to seven dogs, are harnessed in tandem to negotiate the narrow Indian trails through dense timber. This is the type of team used by many trappers in the Par North. The second, consisting of nine dogs, eight in pairs and one lead dog, is used in hauling passenger sleds and light emergency loads. This type of team demonstrates a combination of speed, maneuverability and extreme endurance. The third type consists of eighteen dogs, sixteen hitched four abreast, plus two lead dogs working together. Capable of carrying a pay load of more than one ton, this type of team has also demonstrated its usefulness in towing disabled planes for a considerable distance over snow and ice. The winter months in the training area give these dogs a climate similar to those in which they will be used when assigned to active duty. Peak efficiency of the sledge dog is reached in temperatures of ten degrees above zero to twenty degres below zero. Summer training is scheduled for the early morning hours. Starting at daylight, the dogs are hitched to an automobile chassis and are given workouts in order that they may exercise in the coolest part of the day. Wlife not as valuable from an instructional standpoint as training in cold weather and deep snow, the lessons of teamwork and command are effectively given in using this type of equipment.

The training of these sledge dogs requires skill and knowledge which can only be gained in actual experience. There are no "three easy lessons" in training huskies and the Army, through screening and classification, has obtained experienced trainers who have passed on their experience to other men who have shown an interest in this type of animal education.

Master Sergeant Richard S. Moulton, Meredith, New Hampshire, as senior non-commissioned officer, is first assistant to Lt. Mace in the supervision of the sledge dog training program. Sgt. Moulton accompanied Admiral Richard Byrd, as a dog handler, on his expedition to the South Pole and at the outbreak of the war was in Baffinland, driving sledge dogs in connection with air corps weather station operations. Other enlisted personnel with previous experience in cold-climate dog performance included Staff Sergeant LeRoy W. Billings, Newport, N. H., who was active in sledge dog racing circles in New England; Technician Fifth Grade William H. Clemons, demons, Iowa, who was the ranger in charge of sledge dogs at McKinley National Park, Alaska, before entering the service; Private First Class Niel C. Curtis, Seattle, Washington, who was a trapper, guide and fur buyer in the Fort Yukon country of Northern Alaska; Technician Fourth Grade Harold E. Dix, Neenah, Wisconsin, who has had considerable experience in handling dogs in Newfoundland and Technician Fourth Grade Vernon K. Gardner, Quechee, Vermont, who maintained teams at winter sport centers in New England. Five former ranchers are represented in the group of inexperienced men who are now rated as superior sledge dog trainers. They are Technician Fourth Grade Edwin A. Dungan, Cody, Wyoming; Technician Fourth Grade Daniel P. Feuerborn, Lexington, Oklahoma; Technician Fourth Grade Thomas A. Lallatin, Soda Springs, Idaho; Technician Fifth Grade Marvin G. Marks, Willow City, N. Dakota and Technician Fourth Grade John A. Matovich, Columbus, Mont. One Wall Street clerk and stenographer has demonstrated an exceptional ability for this type of dog training. He is Private First Class Howard M. Travis of Hillsdale,

  Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945

New Jersey. It is a major transition for a blue grass state horse fancier to transfer allegiance to the canines, however, Technician Fifth Grade Albert E. Barrett of Boonevi'le, Ky., has proven himself an apt pupil and has demonstrated his efficiency by handling dog teams in the waterways section of Canada working with crews engaged in the Canal Oil production project. Private First Class M. H. Moss, Battle Creek, Michigan; Technician Fourth Grade George A. Perry. Portsmouth, Rhode Island and Technician Fifth Grade Dalbert J. Zemaitis, Lowell, Massachusetts, are drivers of Army teams who brought no sledge dog experience with them as they entered the service. Experience, however, has taught them this unique technique.

To the individual who has had no close contact with working sledge teams, the command "Mush" is his idea of driving a dog team. This command, however, is not used, The first impression of a newcomer parallels that of a city man watching a farmer operate a two-row cultivator. The commands used are "Gee" and "Haw." Working entirely by voice command, the lead dog sets the course which the team follows. It is easy to see that the accurate maneuvering of a team depends almost entirely upon the training of the lead dogs and these "sergeants of the K9 Corps" show an intelligence which sometimes puts their human superiors to shame.

Among the dogs which are members of the Army's sledge dog organization at Fort Robinson, is Greycloud, an old man of seven or eight who was a lead dog on Admiral Byrd's expedition to the South Pole. A veteran of many miles of cold weather travel, Greycloud still rates as one of the most brilliant lead dogs in the country and is daily passing on to the younger dogs his knowledge gained in world travel.

In addition to the training of sledge dogs, this detachment of the War Dog Reception and Training Center is also responsible for the training of pack dogs which are used as beasts of burden when the going is too tough for motor or mule transportation. These dogs in their training are taught to avoid getting their loads wet. While the handler may wade across a stream, the dogs will explore the bank upstream and downstream until a spot is found suitable for crossing without the immersion of their cargo. Weather and terrain make very little difference to these rugged pack animals and, being we1! trained and intelligent, they demonstrate an ability to think for themselves which make them invaluable in transporting small loads over almost impassable country with speed and dependability.

At the headquarters of the War Dog Reception and Training Center, an entirely different type of training is progressing at the greatest possible speed. With the fall of Germany and the resultant increase in our activity against Japan, an urgent appeal by the Army Ground Forces fo~ infantry scout dogs is being met bv the Quartermaster Corps. Infantry soldiers who have completed their basic and technical training at infantry schools are sent to the center at Fort Robinpon to be grouped into Infantry Scout Dog Platoons. These scouts, after being assigned three dogs, teach them military obedience and basic commands, and at the same time learn diseases, first aid, care, psychology and grooming of dogs After six weeks of this type of training, a field course is given which accustoms both man and dog to varying conditions of wind, weather and terrain. Today, throughout the buttes and hills of western Dawes county and eastern Sioux county, infantry scouts and their dogs are simulating the same type of patrol maneuvers which wiT be encountered a few months from now when they will be creeping through the jungle against the Japs.

As the only dog training station in the Army, Fort Robinson has voiced high approval of Nebraska and her excellent forest and game reserves as the perfect site for dog training.

10 Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945

ACTUAL EVIDENCE OF FARM POND VALUES

By Rudolph J. Habrich

A gulley isn't worth very much in any farmer's language. And it was worth even less than that to us on our farm 3 miles east and 2y2 miles south of Pawnee City. So, Dad—the whole family in fact—got busy and decided to make something good out of the gully, a farm pond.

As it was explained to me, the dam would hold the water from washing out more soil, and would make not only an excellent source for water to irrigate a garden below, but it would enable us to raise fish as well as other wildlife right on the farm.

And it did just that. In 1943, the % acre garden below the dam which was irrigated by siphoning water over the dam with a garden hose produced 26 bushels of tomatoes, 12 crates of strawberries, 6 bushels of cucumbers, 200 pounds of muskmelons, 140 pounds of popcorn, and a world of other vegetables that make a farm table a swell place at mealtime.

But that's just a start. We put a pipe through the dam that gives water for the livestock. And if anyone thinks that saving the job of worrying about water for the livestock isn't worth something, he should think again.

But personally, the pond itself is the best and here's why. On one fishing trip alone, we caught two bass that weighed three pounds apiece. Altogether last season, we caught 53 pounds of fish, shot 53 wild ducks and 5 geese on the pond, not to mention the swimming and boat riding, and all in our backyard. And here's another thing, we sold the feathers from the ducks and geese for $12.50.

Just so anyone interested in getting a swell pond with all these benefits out of an old gully can have the facts, here they are. We built the dam in 1938 with the help of soil conservation service technicians assisting the district. It was part of our farm conservation plan which Dad worked out to control soil erosion on our land. The old gully was 16 feet deep before the dam was built.

After the dam was built (with the cement drop inlet) fenced to keep out the livestock, all of the water edge of the pond was planted to rushes and water grasses. Some of the surrounding area was seeded to bromegrass, and many kinds of trees, shrubs, and berries were also planted. These furnished good protection and food for wildlife. The spillway, which was built in case there was too much water to go over the drop inlet, was seeded to grass. Then, the 70 acres which drain into the pond were terraced, and grass and legumes were planted and are being used in rotation on the waterway to control erosion and hold silting to a minimum.

Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 11

GAME BIRD BREEDING POPULATION IN 1945

Judging by the information on spring cards from wildlife reporters, for the state as a whole, the 1945 breeding population is about as follows: Pheasant—slightly smaller than a year ago. Quail—considerably higher than a year ago. Prairie chicken and Sharp-tailed grouse—smaller than a year ago. (Approaching the "low" in the cycle?). Hungarian partridge—more than in any previous year. Chukar partridge—very few (mostly in vicinity of recent releases). GAME BIRD NESTING Farmers and ranchers see many nests during their outdoor work every year. In 1942 and 1943 wildlife reporters recorded the following nests and eggs: 768 pheasant nests averaged 10.4 eggs per nest. 74 quail nests averaged 9.2 eggs per nest. 23 prairie chicken nests averaged 10 eggs per nest. 37 sharptailed grouse nests averaged 8.9 eggs per nest. - 4 chukar partridge nests averaged 7.1 eggs per nest. 1943 was a poor nesting year and the 1943 averages showed fewer eggs per nest than in 1942.

SHOOTING WILDLIFE WITH CAMERA

By J. W. Jackson

Editor's Note: Through the courtesies of Mr. J. W. Jackson, a photographer in Brush, Colorado, we are privileged to reproduce a few of the unusual wildlife close-ups that Mr. Jackson has taken.

The front cover of the thirteen striped ground squirrel, the back cover showing a prairie dog feeding, and the four center plates are all from Mr. Jackson's collection.

Such an avocation as Mr. Jackson's is worthy of high commendation not only from the aesthetic and technical phase, but from the point of sound wildlife conservation as well.

The following is a brief but most interesting note from Mr. Jackson on his hobby of photographing wildlife:

Most every hunter in this western country has tried out his aim on prairie dogs, but few have tried to photograph them. I think prairie dogs are easier than most wildlife to photograph. My better photos have been made from a distance of 18 to 25 feet. This is accomplished with a special camera I built, and is shot from my car window. The camera has a 36 inch focus lens which gives a much larger image than most cameras.

Stir photos are much more difficult of wildilfe than are movies. If you have an amateur movie camera with a telephoto lens, you should be able to make many interesting shots.

Try going to a prairie dog town, stay in the car, wait patiently near an active hole and sooner or later you should get a chance to try your skill. If you should have some success, you will not have to be to'd of the thrill that goes with this fascinating hobby.

I have a shelf on mv car door to hold my movie camera. Wildlife is not as afraid of a car as they will be if you try to approach them in other ways.

If you go to a prairie dog town, you are not limited to just prairie dogs. If it is summer, you will find burrowing owls—probably standing on a dog mound or carrying food to the young in the nest underground.

Or, if it is in the fall of the year, you may find the prairie rattle snake looking for a suitable den for hibernation. Rabbits, ground squirrels, badgers, hawks, eagles are commonly found in prairie dog town.

If there is no prairie dog town in your locality, a small pond often offers many opportunities for wildlife photos. Birds feeding young or building nests make interesting shots.

If you are successful in photographing wildlife, many pleasant hours showing or exhibiting your skill are yours.

WILDLIFE PORTRAITS

by J. W. Jackson  

14 Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945

FARMERS AND RANCHERS KEEP TAB ON WILDLIFE

By Levi Mohler

When Nebraska began its state-wide game bird survey work in 1941 the three game biologists charged with the work soon realized that it takes more than three men to cover a big state. So the help of hundreds of farmers and rancherrs was solicited. And in the war years these rural people have helped the Game Commission assemble state-wide information which couldn't have been obtained in any other way.

In the files of the game department these helpers are called "Wildlife Reporters" and their permanent records are very useful to the department in "keeping its fingers on things," so to speak.

During the past several years it has been a part of my job to study various wildlife problems in the field, and to help organize the information which these reporters send us from their own areas. Naturally, I've talked to as many of these people as possible^usually on their home places. It is interesting work, and other people can get a better understanding of our "Wildlife Reporter" system by "meeting" a few of the individuals via this article.

Let's take a few hops over the state and see where we land. First, down to Adolph Habrich's place near Pawnee City in the southeast. Adolph—a jovial, hard-working farmer—is a busy man but he takes a few minutes twice a year to fill out his wildlife inventory card for us. He wasn't satisfied with his gullied land so, with the help of the Soil Conservation Service, he built a farm pond which I wish more people could see. He did a bang-up job and when I stopped there one summer day his boy was catching fish right there near the barn. He also fenced the gullies and planted many trees and shrubs, and the quail are really showing their appreciation. Adolph wrote on his wildlife inventory for the spring of 1945—"quail are so many you just can't count them." He wasn't kidding either, for when we stopped there on a quail checking trip not long ago bobwhites were whistling at several different locations when we walked down through the brome grass pasture. Incidentally, his card also shows: "Pheasants, none"—quail are far more common than pheasants in southeastern counties.

Now a long hop—and I do mean long. (Did you know it is farther from Falls City to Harrison than it is from Falls City to the Indiana state line?) Up northwest of Harrison, on the northern slopes of the Pine Ridge, lives Ollie Seaman. His place is just about beyond the pheasant and quail country,   Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 15 but sharptailed grouse make themselves at home there. I was at Seaman's place in September one year, and as we drove away a fine big mule deer buck bounced away when we neared a small cultivatd field near a brush patch along a clear creek. This suggests one of the game management problems of the Pine Ridge country—deer are more or less of a headache to crop farmers because at certain seasons they like to sample the crops. This, coupled with a general increase in deer after years of protection, is another reason why quite a few Pine Ridge folks would like to have an open season on deer.

Another thing I saw at Seaman's was a Lewis's woodpecker. This woodpecker, of course, isn't a game bird, but it is common only in the country near the mountains. And when a Lewis's woodpecker shows up it's a reminder to a bird man that northwest Nebraska's pine clad hills aren't too far removed from the Rockies.

Over in the southcentral part of the state, north of Minden, is Osee Newbold's farm. Newbold loves birds—in fact, a big sign near the buildings says "Cedar Heights Bird Lodge". According to the record cards, both pheasants and quail have been increasing at this place. Which recalls to me a hunting experience I had over near the Platte River north of Newbold's one frosty morning last fall. I was on the lookout for pheasants, and when I approached a plum thicket I spotted several beautiful cocks sunning themselves. I tried sneaking closer, and when I was about ready to raise my 16-gauge a covey of quail exploded from practically under my feet. This wasn't exactly what I had expected, so I stood there watching the bobwhites sail off toward cover while the pheasants "kak-kak-ed" away in all their splendor. If pheasants have a "horse-laugh" I'm pretty sure that's what I got at that particular time. But a covey flush of quail aways thrills me and I didn't mind passing up the chance for another pheasant.

Holt county people have always been game bird enthusiasts, and Maurice Graham, northwest of O'Neill, runs true to form. Graham has plenty of pheasants, and in his area prairie chickens are frequently seen, especially in winter. But of special interest here near the head of Eagle Creek are the Hungarian partridges which have been showing up in most northern counties the past several years. Another biologist and I stopped in at the Graham farm about sunup one February morning to have a look at a covey range of Huns which   16 Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 Maurice reported. We hiked down through the fields in the near zero weather and talked about game birds. We didn't see any Huns that trip, but it was mighty pleasing to see that this Holt county reporter was on the job watching local conditions. The small grain fields, interspersed with corn fields, hay meadows and thickets seem to be to the liking of Hungarian partridges, and the 1945 spring reports indicate that these birds are making satisfactory progress in several counties.

Southwest of Champion—over in the sandhills of Chase county—is a wildlife reporter whose place is of special interest. Charlie Schammel always has a flock of prairie chickens, in addition to the usual quota of pheasants. I began my Nebraska prairie chicken research work (most of which hasn't been published yet) on Schammel's place before I was employed by the state of Nebraska, and I've been there on snowy days, hot days, muddy days and all the rest. Game birds don't hibernate when bad weather comes, so a research man can't work that way either! Charlie Schammel runs a nice bunch of Herefords but he usually keeps a sharp eye toward the welfare of wildlife too. Prairie chickens have held their own at his place because it's mostly a grassland setup—and grass studies there show that careful grazing practices leave enough native cover to give the prairie chickens their preferred kind of cover at all seasons of the year. Cattle, corn and fodder keep this farmer-rancher on the jump the year around, but wildlife has a real friend in him. I know I've learned a lot there by tramping the pasture lands and cornfields, but what I picked up from Charlie while I warmed my feet by his fire was useful information, too.

Northeast Nebraska, with its good pheasant population and a location near several of our larger cities, is always important in the state-wide wildlife outlook. And Harold Miner of Allen is typical of the busy northeasterners who usually have a quarter section or so of land. Miner's records show that pheasants increased for several years but that 1944 production wasn't cmite up to par. One of the things we ask the reporters each time is whether the game birds of each kind are more abundant or fewer in numbers than in preceding years and Miner's records are very similar to others in his part of the state.

Sandhills residents live just a bit closer to their game birds than many Nebraskans, and so this story should mention a few of the sandhills folks. There's J. E. Trenary, who jumped from a Lincoln apartment to a rural school and liked the country so well that he married the teacher from a neighboring district and settled down to Arthur county ranching. When I last visited him he took time off from branding horses to show me some grouse and some duck-nesting areas.

There's Jim Scollin, in the hills toward Thune, whose ranch is used by-pheasants, prairie chickens and an occasional deer. And John Keller of Cascade, in Cherry county, who fills out his record cards twice a year and usually writes a good letter to boot, concerning grouse and pheasants. One note on one of Keller's earlier cards is worth repeating again—he stated that the storm in November, 1940, killed all the quail. Severe storms of winter are one of the chief reasons why the northern parts of the middle west have few or no quail—nature hasn't equipped them for long periods of sub-zero weather. They may get by in mild years—even build up fair populations in such times—but sooner or later a bad winter "squeezes" the range and destroys quail.

Before the sandhillers "steal the show" let's drop in on Jim Aagaard, in the "pheasant hills" of Valley county north of Ord. Aagaard's farm is one of the many places where chukar partridges have been under watchful eyes for several years. And here, as elsewhere, the chukar story is one of steady decline and eventual disappearance. However, he estimates more pheasants there than ever—"almost twice as many as in 1932 or 33".

A wildlife story of this kind wouldn't be complete without mentioning Jesse Jeppesen, who lives with his folks on Whitetail Creek near Keystone. Jesse, a strapping young farmer who loves the outdoors, has been doing a fine job of making game bird counts for several years. He can set his watch by the daily movements of game birds in the winter. And his mother knows there'll be pheasant for supper when Jesse takes his gun and says he's "going after the mail'. 1V[y face still gets red wheff I think of the time I tramped through his cornfield, getting prairie chicken counts at sunup, and scared the team he was using on the shucking-wagon. But some of my most pleasant memories concern hard days afield, and the sunny side of a shucking-wagon isn't a bad place to meet a friend and trade ideas.

The above people—plus two or three hundred others who can't all be mentioned in this short space—are a big help to the Game.Commission in managing Nebraska wildlife.

Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 17

GAME COMMISSION PROBLEMS

By Paul T. Gilbert

No single group of individuals is more conscientious and eager in its conclusions than the sportsmen. Friendly but spirited discussions evolve whenever fishermen and hunters get together, whether it is dry flies versus wet flies or number six shot versus seven and a half. Always emerging from such a discussion will be arguments pertinent to the Game Commission and its activities. Most hunters and fishers feel qualified on any outdoor subject and do not hesitate to draw conclusions that make a game or fishery biologist marvel. Many of the "how's" and "why's" of Game Commission actions are not immediately discernible to all localities in the state, due to distance factors and restricted Commission contacts. But investigation will show, upon direct study, that such actions are based upon fact rather than the fancies of some local debator's statements. Whenever any individual or department has within its jurisdiction the public distribution of anything from money to fish, jealousies and favoritisms will necessarily be in question by a minority.

The complete story is best understood by a study of its component parts. The topography of the state itself is no small factor in determining stocking areas and game populations, as against actual hunting and fishing pressures. Nebraska is blessed with natural game and fish habitat of many diverse types, with a limited number of areas of poor game populations, chiefly in areas of high human populations. The latter are chiefly centralized in the extreme eastern portion of the state, while the former are well distributed throughout the remainder of the state.

A study of the upland game bird hunting picture will illustrate well, some of these points under discussion pertinent to interrelations of the Commission, the sportsmen and the game itself.

In the early history of the Commission's pheasant stocking program, every possible source of stocking material was called upon. The original plants were made through the interests of private plantings by local groups or individuals scattered remotely over the state. In areas adaptable to good pheasant range, the population of pheasants rapidly increased to the point that live trapping procedures became possible. High concentrations developed in Howard, Sherman, Greely, Valley, Hall, Buffalo and adjoining counties. In March, 1926, fifteen thousand trapped birds were distributed from areas of heavy pheasant populations to forty-nine other counties. In April, 1927, another trapping program was instigated and thirty thousand birds were moved to seventy-six counties of lower pheasant populations.

In 1937, the Game Farm at Norfolk and its sub-station at Niobrara were developed for propagation of pheasants. In addition to this source of birds for stocking purposes, a cooperative pheasant rearing project was inaugurated by the Commission and was financed in part by Federal Aid Funds as authorized under the Pittman-Robertson Act. Through this program, rearing units were established over the state and operated locally by cooperating sportsmen. Through these various stocking procedures, birds have been placed in every possible area that might be acceptable to pheasants. True to the laws of nature, the pheasant is developing in areas of suitable habitat, and likewise has failed proportionately in unsitable areas.

From the first limited season in 1927 of three days in Wheeler and Sherman counties, has evolved our present eighty day season open in all counties. With this natural pheasant increase in suitable areas, the need for trapping programs, cooperative units and Game Farms has been fulfilled. Only the latter is in operation at the present time, chiefly for the production of birds for immediate kill in areas of high human population centers where hunters at present are not supposed to be able to travel far to hunt.

Natural production protected by the Commission's no hen ruling, means that the most natural pheasant brooder is in full action in the field and no artificial methods are of present importance. From this natural selective process by the pheasants, good pheasant habitat, and therefore good pheasant production, has developed in a broad line extending from Pierce and Wayne counties southwest through Merrick and adjoining counties west. Surrounding this band on all sides is an area, roughly two counties wide, where the pheasant population is very good, as shown in map number two. Skirting this second area, is a wide band on each side of good population bordered again on   18 Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 the far northwest and southeast by areas of poor pheasant populations.

Nebraska's pheasant stocking program has been in action over a long enough period of time to prove to all but the most radical individuals that the pheasant has not and will not develop a high population figure in these extreme areas. There is some compensation for hunters in the extreme southeast, however, as it is in this area that the quail have found suitable habitat after a fairly extensive quail stocking program on the part of the Game Commission. In this band, streaking through the quail country of Iowa through the tip of Nebraska into Kansas and Missouri, lie four or five counties of excellent quail hunting which local sportsmen share with the other eighty-nine counties in the state.

With Nebraska's hunting population centered in the larger urban areas of eastern Nebraska, as shown by map number one, some interesting interrelation factors exist between pheasants and hunters, and hunters and localities.

During the period of pheasant range expansion, there was a tendency for an east versus west debate on the part of sportsmen; a high percentage of permit income in the east with its low pheasant populations versus the low permit revenue from midwestern Nebraska with its high game populations. This tendency on the part of the extreme east to assume that it was not receiving high percentages of stocked birds equal to its financial apportionment, has decreased materially since the pheasant population has become stabilized, thereby proving for the most part the actual borders of good pheasant range.

The east has reacted normally to the facts. It is apparent that high hunting pressure areas correspond closely with high pheasant population areas. Map number one shows readily that the eastern hunter is getting his proportionate take of pheasants on par with the proportionate permit sales in this area.

May it suffice to say that the hunting pressure problem resolves itself into the fact that eastern Nebraska purchases the most permits; midwestern, and western Nebraska furnishes the game. Eastern Nebraska is getting her proportionate share of birds killed by visiting the neighboring areas of lower permit sales but higher pheasant populations. The midwestern and western areas on the other hand, by sharing their high bird populations with eastern hunters, realize better game protection and game management procedures through the additional financial income received by the Game Commission from the eastern hunters.

Identical factors exist in the realm of the fishing picture in Nebraska; but   Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 19 since the stability of fishing areas is far less tangible than that of the birds, a myriad more questions and debates arise, with the Game Commission bearing the brunt of the arguments as formerly with the birds. The Commission, in this instance however, finds itself seriously handicapped in producing correct statements based on proof due to lack of fishery biologists and research programs as previously inaugurated through use of Federal Aid Funds on birds. It is planned to develop such field studies on fish, in addition to present limited studies, as soon as field men are again available.

Were it not for man's handiwork, the stocking of Nebraska's streams would be chiefly the duty of nature; as Nebraska's many miles of flowing streams joining to augment the Platte and Missouri Rivers form an ideal natural fish migration pattern for the entire state. But man with his dams, his power and irrigation projects has made such normal migration patterns an impossibility, and it becomes the necessity of the Game Department to attempt to substitute a different method of fish dispersal over the state. In some cases, man's construction developments have created vast bodies of water which do greatly augment the state's fishing possibilities, at least at present. The overall long-time picture of such areas is another one of the question marks in the fishery story.

In order to offset this obstruction of Nebraska's natural waterways, it becomes the duty of the Game Commission to stock the areas above the dams in the state in addition to the regular lake-stocking in areas of heavy fishing pressures. In order to accomplish this, the Department has two possible alternatives. One is the propagation of fish in the state fish hatcheries; the other is the removal of a percentage of fish in areas of abundant fish population and transportation of such fish to areas of lesser concentrations. Each of the above possibilities has its weaknesses as well as its assets.

In the first case, while millions of fish can be propagated at the state and federal hatcheries, fish handling procedures at present require the stocking of fingerlings or approximately three-inch fish, which results in a necessary wait of about two years or more before the fish is large enough to furnish much fishing pleasure. The Commission's hatchery program has developed the rearing of fry to fingerling stage before stocking, which is a distinct improvement over the stocking of fry the size of pin-heads, which results in high percentage of loss to other fish as feed. Experiments at the state hatcheries tlie past two years have proven that the fingerlings can be profitably reared to adulthood, but the pond area necessary to accomplish this is at present far beyond the management of the fishery   20 Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 division with its present diminshed personnel.

The other alternative of removing fish from one point to another has its fallacies purely in the realm of human interrelations. It is but human nature on the part of one fisherman to object to the removal of a single fish from his pet body of water. Even in cases of over-populated lakes, where good fish management calls for the necessary removal of a portion of the undersized fish to accomodate normal growth of the remaining fish, the human element has a bad habit of being in the negative.

The Game Commission is the receptor of a two-sided barrage in the attempt to manage this problem. This is especially true in two types of cases; one, the transfer of catfish upstream and, secondly, the transfer of other game fish to lakes in areas of high human populations. The first case is worthy of discussion.

Since the installation of dams on many of our streams and rivers, catfish are in great demand upstream. Many requests are received by the Commission to "get those fish around the dams, upstream where we used to catch 'em." Li order to fulfill this legitimate request, one of three things is necessary. First is the possible use of fish-ways or ladders. No such successful fish-way has ever been discovered that a catfish can use. Even the state law has been relaxed in requiring their installation. The second possibility is the seining of fish lower downstream and moving them upstream, The third is the possibility of hatchery propagation.

The human relations problems pertinent to these three areas are of interest to Nebraska fishermen. For example, on the Loup River Commission employees, after failing completely to obtain fish from the Missouri River due to high water, were instructed to trap by means of hoop nets five hundred spawner catfish for operations at Gretna Hatchery. Small catfish taken during the netting of the spawners were to be moved upstream, half or more to the Loup River and its tributaries, and the remainder to other central and western water areas. Approximately one hundred and fifty adults had been taken and thirteen thousand small fish, when public pressure from certain local areas was placed on the Commission in addition to accusations that many more thousands were to be taken. In the interest of good public relations, plans were abandoned for taking any additional fish. The result was that additional propagation at Gretna Hatchery was also written off.

In the past, some catfish have been removed from the Platte River for spawners and stocking purposes. However, the cry was soon raised that the Game Department had nets stretched clear across the mouth of the Platte much like the dams above. May it suffice to say that the state nets used were hoop nets a foot and one-half in diameter. About twenty such nets are used along a ten mile river line and only one net to a river width.

Though disastrous to this year's stocking and propagation plans, the interest of objecting fishermen in these two instances is appreciated by the Commission; as such interest is ever a symbol of the continued love of outdoor sport by Nebraskans which is after all the prerequisite for all fishing and hunting pleasures. As in the case of the birds, further research and educational programs are necessary before the Commission can set out on some of the more radical but beneficial fish management programs.

With cancellation of most future seining activities in the two above areas, there remains only the Missouri for the netting activities of the Department. Even there, true to the exigencies of man, further condemnation is piled upon the Commission by the misunderstanding minority. This year the story was carried to the humorous point in accusations that the Department was taking so many fish that a few of the commercial fishers were not getting any. The facts of the case are simple, inasmuch as during the Commission's activities on the river, the water was so high that no fish were taken. Crews were rushed inland to get fish before spawning season made such seining useless. In normal years, however, fish are taken from the Missouri River in goodly numbers by the Game Department for stocking all over the state, fish that will bring much pleasure to Nebraska fishermen. However, this amount is but a small percent of the fish taken directly from the river for food purposes by the commercial fishermen.

For example, in 1944, commercial fishermen took a reported seventy thousand two hundred and forty-five pounds of catfish, which undoubtedly does not represent all catfish taken. The state, on the other hand, took seventy-six thousand, four to ten inch fish. These would average roughly eight to the pound or approximately slightly less than ten percent of the commercial   Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 21 take by pounds. With other neighboring states taking catfish for various purposes, it is only fair that the state of Nebraska take her fair share for fishing in her inland waters.

Similar human relationships seem to exist in the allocation of good fishing lakes in the state. The east finds some of the lakes in this area to be of inferior quality, lacking the production and growth potentialities of central and western waters. Eastern Nebraska fishermen with present war restrictions are quite outspoken in their requests for immediate stocking of legal-sized fish in their immediate areas. This is accentuated when some of their numbers able to fish other waters in the state return with stirring stories of limit catches. Eastern Nebraskans can hardly be blamed under present conditions for this attitude, but the eternal triangle again exists. Where shall these fish be seined and what will public reaction be?

In the case of the bullheads, the generosity and state-mindedness of the sandhill ranchers has furnished eastern Nebraska with fine bullhead fishing. Many ranchers living in areas where the lakes have again returned, are co-operating with the Commission by permitting a seining of a portion of the fish propagated in these lakes since their original stocking by the Commission a few years ago. This not only gives fishing pleasures to eastern Nebraska, but gives better growth to the remaining fish in the sandhill lakes.

The crappie stocking possibilities for the east, other than hatchery stocked small fish, assume much the status of the catfish story. In some areas such seining is permitted on a limited scale by return stocking of other species. This problem of interrelations pertinent to fish is not the hopeless dilemma it might appear; for, like the pheasant story, it will eventually, after research study and public education, resolve itself into distinct unvariable factors. It appears at present, and it is only an inference since only a few of the many facts are available, that the following procedures will crystalize from the present fishery story in Nebraska.

With the advent of more power and more irrigation, a permanent catfish stocking program will be in effect from the Missouri River. With the termination of the war and release of travel restrictions, fishermen will do most of their fishing in the reservoirs of central Nebraska and the clear streams and lakes of the sandhills. A limited adult fish stocking program will be necessary in the eastern lakes near population centers, but only on an immediate catch basis. While most fishermen will go west, local fishing must be available on a limited scale for the "freckle-nosed kid" and those unable to travel far or often. Reservoir fishing and lake fishing in central and western Nebraska will be augmented in the next five years with new resorts growing practically over night in some areas. After a ten or fifteen year period, fishing may slack off in the reservoir areas unless fishery biologists have solved the story of the biotic succession occurring or failing to occur in other similar areas.

May the case of Nebraska be summarized:

1. The sportsmen, being true sons of the outdoors, want a bigger and better outdoor Nebraska in the state of which they are already proud. For this they depend on the Game Department as a central clearing house of ideas, procedures and regulations.

2. The Commission, as "keeper of the keys", depends upon the sportsmen to cooperate with it in placing its programs into effect in cooperating with the laws of nature for better conservation practices.

3. The financial permit income of eastern Nebraska is needed in part by western Nebraska for the protection and development of wildlife conservation procedures in order that eastern Nebraska may enjoy the bountiful game blessings it finds in western Nebraska.

4. The hunter needs the farmer and rancher as his "game keeper" and therefore shall feel the responsibility of his presence as "guest" upon the farmer's land. The farmer as host shall realize that the city hunter is but an "orphan" in the country unless the farmer opens his domain to his guest.

5. The sportsmen, the Commission and related agencies, in addition to their local interests, must realize the interrelations existing between localized areas and the state needs as a whole. No county or district lines exist in a true conservation program.

The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The chain that binds all agencies of good wildlife conservation in outdoor Nebraska must know no weakness, for the perpetuation of continued wildlife conservation is our heritage and responsibility to those lovers of outdoor Nebraska of tomorrow

22 Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945

FOOD FOR WILDLIFE

Food supply is always an important item with humans, and the same is equally true of wildlife. The notes below are based on examination of miscellaneous crops, stomachs, droppings, and pellets from Nebraska birds and mammals.

Thirty-three duck stomachs, from ducks shot in the late fall of 1943 in the Ogallala area—contained chiefly seeds of wild plants growing in or near water. The dominant item was the small seeds of wild millet and rice cut grass. Seeds of smartweed and bulrush were also important, and pondweed was next in line. Pondweed is the most important duck food for the North American continent.

Other items taken by the above ducks were chufa, burreed, coontail, spikerush, sunflower and wigeon grass, as well as a little corn and some aquatic and land insects.

Coyotes throughout their range feed chiefly upon rabbits, ground squirrels, pocket gophers, etc., but they often get into the publicity spotlight because of their depredations upon poultry and sheep. A coyote stomach examined last spring from Nebraska National Forest contained chiefly pocket gopher and rattlesnake, although small amounts of bird and insect remains were present, too. About 30 percent of the stomach contents consisted of hackberry fruits.

A coyote scat picked up near the carcass of a dead doe in Nebraska National Forest contained 95 percent pocket gopher and 5 percent embryo fawn fragments.

Horned owl pellets, collected over a period of several months from an isolated spot in Nebraska National Forest, contain remains of large numbers of pocket gophers, meadow mice and harvest mice. Other items taken in smaller numbers include small birds, game birds, insects, moles, crayfish, kangaroo rats and deer mice. (Pellets are merely wads of hair, bone, teeth and other in-digestible parts ejected by the owls to make room for the next meal.)

Horned owls eat primarily the foods which are readily available. In the Forest area, where grouse and pheasants are common and protected from hunting, the horned owls still seem to prefer rodents simply because rodents are abundant and easy to catch.

Sharp-tailed grouse feed mostly upon various plant items. The crop of a dead grouse found in Grant county was crammed with the seeds and flowering parts of the common dandelion, which is abundant on some of the wet meadows.

Another sharp-tailed grouse, killed by striking a telephone wire in Keith county, had fed largely upon wild rose hips or berries. Two other grouse, from northwestern Cherry and central Thomas counties had eaten the same item.

A young prairie chicken, struck by a car in mid-summer south of Ainsworth, had eaten grasshoppers for its last meal.

Insect food is important for young game birds because of its protein content. Nature usually times the hatch so that the young birds arrive near the beginning of the main insect season.

Pheasant foods have been mentioned in these columns before, but it should be worth mention that over 100 different kinds of seeds of wild plants have been found in pheasant crops in Nebraska, in addition to the variety of insect life and waste grains taken.

Outdoor Nebraska—Summer, 1945 23

REGULATIONS FOR 1945 NEBRASKA DEER SEASON

In Bessey Division of Nebraska National Forest

l. Open season on deer December 1, 1945, to December 21, 1945, inclusive, to residents of Nebraska. Hours: 8:00 a. m. to 5:30 p. m., Mountain War Time.

2. Permit entitles holder to hunting privileges only in the Bessey Division of the Nebraska National Forest, except restricted area near headquarters buildings and outlying camps.

3. Application by sending ten dollar check, draft or money order to Game, Forestation and Parks Commission, Capitol Building, Lincoln, Nebraska. All applications must be mailed by August 10, 1945. If more than 500 applications are received, a public drawing will be held in the capitol building in Lincoln on August 15, 1945, at 10:00 a. m. The first 500 applications drawn will be mailed deer hunting permits with hunting date report cards to be returned upon receipt giving approximate dates hunter desires to hunt. Checks, drafts or money orders of applicants whose names are not drawn will be returned to senders.

4. Permit entitles only the taking and possession of one deer, either sex, during the legal open season in the Bessey Division of the Nebraska National Forest.

5. Deer hunting permits are not transferable.

6. No game other than deer may be killed in the forest area.

7. Hunters shall check in at Forest Service headquarters entrance near Halsey, Nebraska. At headquarters, permits, guns and ammunition must be checked and approval slip issued before entering the hunting area.

8. All pertinent state and federal regulations appropriate to the forest area will be in effect during the open season. No smoking or camp fires to be permitted away from the headquarters or camp areas. Individuals under the influence of alcohol or narcotics while hunting will not be permitted to hunt and will forfeit their licenses.

9. All deer killed shall be checked and tagged. Tags will be provided for one deer head and four quarters at the time each successful hunter checks out of the forest area.

10. Only individual permittees shall be allowed to carry or use firearms in the area. No permittee shall be allowed to carry a gun in the open hunting area after taking the one deer as allowed per permit.

11. No one under sixteen years of age will be permitted in the forest area unless accompanied by an adult and with written permission of parent or guardian.

12. No rifle having less than a minimum bullet energy of 900 foot pounds at 100 yards will be permitted. No shotguns shooting more than a single ball or slug will be permitted. No full metal jacket bullets or incendiary bullets will be permitted.

13. Meat may be stored for a period of one year

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