Outdoor NEBRASKA

Vol. 33, No. 3 EDITOR: Wallace Green Artist C. G. Pritchard Circulation Marjorie French Leota Ostermeier COMMISSIONERS Harold H. Hummel, Fairbury; Frank Button, Ogallala; Bennett Davis, Omaha; La Verne Jacobsen, St. Paul; Donald F. Robertson, North Platte; Floyd Stone, Alliance; Leon Sprague, Red Cloud. ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF EXECUTIVE SECRETARY: Paul T. Gilbert. CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING DIVISION: Eugene H. Baker, supervisor. FISHERIES DIVISION: Glen R. Foster, supervisor. GAME DIVISION: Lloyd P. Vance, supervisor. INFORMATION DIVISION: Wallace Green. LAND MANAGEMENT DIVISION: Jack D. Strain, supervisor.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE OUTDOOR NEBRASKA is published quarterly at Lincoln, Nebraska, by the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission. Subscription rates are $1.00 for two years and $2.00 for five years. Single copies are 15 cents each. Remittances must be made in cash, check or money order. Send subscriptions to OUTDOOR NEBRASKA, Department C, State Capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please notify this department immediately of any change of address to assure prompt delivery of the next issue to the new address.

All material appearing in this magazine may be reprinted upon request.

Editorial

ON THE BACK PAGE of this issue is a copy of the Student's Outdoor Creed poster being distributed by the Nebraska Department of Education. It is to be distributed to schools throughout the state and will be used by teachers in conservation courses at all grade levels.

We mention this example as9just one of many methods of how the conservation story is being told to our Nebraska youth.

Conservation being taught in the schools! To many of us adults, this is a revelation. Indeed, its a far cry from the three R's that were current curriculum during our youth.

Justifying the teaching of conservation certainly isn't necessary. Not in view of today's problems of growing populations and dwindling natural resources—from soil and water to timber and wildlife.

All of us adults will agree that the real job of conservation of these natural resources will become more of a problem for the coming generations.

As adults, we have made some progress in the conservation field. Unfortunately, this progress has been more of the nature of "Do as I say, not as I do."

We have gained a glimpse of the course that our civilization must take to maintain our present high standard of living through real conservation action programs. But, the actual practice of conservation methods, as they are being done today, leaves much to be desired in the way of action programs.

We know how to conserve soil. Yet, only a fraction of the Nation's farms are under Soil Conservation Service districts.

We know more about water conservation than any previous civilization. Yet, we have disasterous floods and water shortages reoccurring every year.

Our wildlife technicians tell us of the need of living space or cover by wildlife. Yet, every spring and fall we can see fires burning up this cover in the name of "clean farming." Occasionally, even a barn or farm home is also burned to the ground; unintentionally, of course.

These are just a few of the many examples of the gap in the wildlife field between "What we know" and "What we do."

Besides schools, some notable wildlife clubs throughout the state have initiated action programs of indoctrinating youngsters in the grand avocation of hunting and fishing. Instilled in these youth programs are the essentials of good citizenship through sportsmanship; an appreciation of our Nation's responsibility in management of natural resources; and development of knowledge and skills that will give them happiness in their outdoor recreation for the rest of their lives.

Tomorrow's citizens are getting the conservation story from many places. Indeed, they have the opportunity of learning about the needs of conservation of our natural resources that many of us from older generations did not have. Much of our mishandling of natural resources can be charged off to lack of this type of information. Thanks to organizations like our State Department of Education and progressive wildlife clubs, this is no longer the case.

The day when our state, and Nation, is "living in harmony with nature" is still in the future. But, no one can deny that it is not a goal that can and will be attained by our youth of today.

THE COVER: This issue's cover shows a family of ruddy ducks in a typical rearing grounds in the Sandhill country; according to C.G. "Bud" Pritchard. See pages 14 and 15 for more information on this small native Nebraskan duck.

When It Comes to Bluegills ... YOU CAN EAT YOUR CAKE AND HAVE IT TOO!

by Jack Heaton

A JULY SUN glistens across the ripples, as a shimmering silver and brown dragonfly hovers, then lightly rests on your rod tip. These ripples hide the shallow, vegetation littered bottom and only the twitch of the flyline brings your wandering attention to the business at hand.

A sharp rise of the rod and the line zips from side to side with brief but sudden fury, before a palm shaped, glistening bluegill is lifted for admiration before joining his fellows on the stringer trailing behind your boat.

As the breeze stills, the surface clears and the circular depressions which mark bluegill nests are revealed clustered in the shallows before you. Occupying the center of most nests is a pugnacious male bluegill, circling and pausing, only to dash after the ever present small fry, who hope for a meal of eggs. To a sunfish fisherman such a scene means certain fishing success and fish in the pan, for there is no more successful method of taking sunfish than to fish the spawning beds.

"But hold up a minute," you say, "taking a mess of fish is fine, but is taking spawning fish good business?" "Won't this cut down on the number of sunfish we can catch another year?" These questions are good ones and fortunately fisheries technicians have ready answers. They are unqualified no's when applied to "pan fishes." These include the bluegill, sunfish, yellow perch and crappies.

Fisheries studies in recent years has changed many of our ideas concerning the proper management of panfish populations. In order to better understand the complicated conditions found in a lake, it might be well to compare a lake to a pasture. Most of us are well aware that the fertility level of the soil determines the amount of grass produced in a pasture and this grass in turn will produce only a certain amount of beef. We will then say a pasture will supply food for a certain number of cows.

A lake is similar, for the dissolved nutrients in the water determines the amount of microscopic plants produced. These plants are eaten by tiny animals and all of these serve as food for the fishes in the lake. Thus our lake is, in a sense, an aquatic pasture which will provide food for a definite weight of fishes. Many of us, who are aware of the potential of a pasture, fail to realize that a lake has a limit to its production.

In our particular lake, let us assume that it is fertile enough to produce enough food to grow 500 pounds of fish and we place 1,000 young bluegills in the lake. With this amount of food, each fish could grow only to weigh one-half pound.

Since fish are cold blooded animals and grow only in relation to the amount of food they receive, you can see that 5,000 bluegills placed in the lake would only be able to reach a weight of one-tenth pound each. Fish do not die when food is inadequate, as warm blooded animals would do, unless there is an extreme food shortage. But their growth rate slows or ceases entirely, so we may find a lake with fishes that are several years old, yet they are only 4 or 5 inches long, thin and undesirable to the fisherman. This is commonly called a stunted population, by fisheries technicians.

In actual practice, when we place 1,000 bluegills in a lake, we must realize that within one year they will spawn and instead of 1,000 fish, we may have hundreds of thousands of small fish competing for the food available in the lake. We are accustomed to the reproductive rate of domestic animals and tend to forget the high reproductive potential of most fishes. A bluegill of one-half pound may produce 20,000 or more eggs during a single spawning, depending upon the size of the female! They also will spawn at least two or more times during a single summer.

This tremendous production of young is both a blessing and a menace. If no larger fishes are present to eat them, and thereby reduce their numbers, they will be unable to grow to a desirable size because of too little food. However, if we also placed predatory fishes in the lake, such as the large mouth bass, they will take an enormous toll of the young bluegills; cutting their numbers down to where the survivors have SUMMER ISSUE 3   enough food to make good growth.

At the same time, the bluegill diet will put weight on the bass to produce the much sought after "lunkers."

In a well balanced lake, the majority of the young panfish are eaten by the larger predators. If, however, too many of the bass are removed from the lake or there is too much vegetation in the lake for the young bluegill to hide in, it is possible for enough panfish to survive and the stage is set for population trouble.

In the succeeding years they can prevent successful spawning of the bass to the extent that we end up with hordes of bluegill sharing an inadequate food supply. Under conditions such as these, drastic measures are necessary before good fishing can be expected again. Generally, drainage or rotenone to kill all of the fish population in the lake and subsequent restocking will be necessary.

It is not uncommon for misguided fishermen to demand more stocking of panfishes under circumstances where too many of these fish are already present. Often the effect is similar to adding more cows to an already overgrazed pasture.

Once fish have become established in a lake, further stocking is generally unnecessary or even harmful for natural reproduction, as it generally produces more young fish than the lake can feed.

But, back to our bluegill fishing. It probably will not be too much of an incentive to heavier fishing, but it is pleasant to know that the harder you fish for panfish the better the chances are for continued good catches. Each fish caught means more food for his brothers and sisters still in the lake. It is a rare lake indeed where fishermen remove nearly enough of the panfishes.

These are the conditions which have led many states, including Nebraska, into programs of liberalized fishing regulations. This year, statewide bag limits were removed on the bluegill and sunfish (green, pumpkinseed), which is merely another step toward better use of our fast reproducing pan species. Sandhills fishermen are enjoying no bag limit on yellow perch and more liberal limits on bullheads in certain Sandhills counties.

Our prolific pan species, including sunfish, crappies, yellow perch, and also bullheads, can take a lot more fishing than we have been exerting upon them. To put it another way, with these kinds of fish we can eat our cake and have it too! Or have our panfish and eat them too!

FOCUS THE PICTURE

FOLLOWING ARE CHARACTERistics of a common animal found in all parts of the state. How many of the characteristics must you read before you can bring the picture into focus?

1. It has an external skeleton with many legs attached; some for swimming, some for walking and some for grasping and tearing food.

2. Almost any freshwater pond, stream or lake in Nebraska has many of these animals.

3. They are night feeders; eating snails, tadpoles, immature insects, small fish, frogs and decaying organic material.

4. Eyes of this animal are mounted on movable stalks with many facets or lens on the ends.

5. If any of the appendages are broken off, they are soon regrown.

6. They breath through many small gill filaments that are attached internally in a breathing chamber called a branchial chamber.

7. Eggs are carried on small swimming appendages, where the female aerates them by waving these appendages back and forth in the water.

8. They are used by many fishermen as bait for many kinds of fish, particularly when they have just shed their skin and are in the so-called "soft shell" stage.

9. Their salt water relative is the lobster.

Answer on page 25

R. W. Eschmeyer's Death Is Blow to Conservation World

DR. R. WILLIAM ESCHMEYER, Executive Vice President of the Sport Fishing Institute, Washington, D. C, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at his home in Arlington, Virginia, while watching a ballgame on TV.

In addition to being a tremendous personal loss to many, Dr. Eschmeyer's passing closed the door on a fruitful and significant chapter in the development of modern fish conservation.

"Doc" Eschmeyer's career was marked by a number of distinguished firsts in research and management in the fish conservation field. In addition to his outstanding professional accomplishments, he was widely known as an author of ten books for children on fish conservation subjects. The list includes "Billy Bass," "Tommy Trout," "Bobby Bluegill," and others.

"Doc's" interest in the education and development of youth found many channels of expression. He served on the national Boy Scout Conservation Committee and was instrumental in helping to organize the 1954 National Good Turn in Conservation which led to the adoption of conservation as a permanent part of scouting. He was constantly pointing out the value of fishing as a means to sound mental and physical health.

Born in New Knoxville, Ohio, in 1905, he spent his boyhood in and around New Bremen, Ohio, where he received his Bachelor's Degree in 1927. He did graduate work in fisheries at the University of Michigan, getting his Doctorate there in 1930.

He served as fishery biologist for the Institute of Fisheries Research, Michigan Conservation Department, for 8 years until 1938. It was while in Michigan that he scored the first of his many significant achievements in fish conservation. There, for the first time, Doc employed rotenone to poison out the entire fish populations so fishing could be improved by starting over.

He next went to the Tennessee Valley Authority at Norris, Tennessee, where he was in charge of fish work for 12 years, becoming the Assistant Chief of the Fish and Game Branch. It was here that he organized and directed the research which resulted in abandonment of the closed season on game fish in the large TVA impoundments.

In 1950, the directors of the newly organized Sport Fishing Institute selected Dr. Eschmeyer as the outstanding fish conservationist in the country to develop and head up a program to help "shorten the time between bites." "Doc" then became even better known nationally and internationally for his efforts to improve sport fishing.

His Fishing Conservation Fundamentals,currently being published as a series in Outdoor Nebraska entitled "Better Fishing for Nebraskans," is widely acclaimed as a readily understood digest of principles in this field. Numerous consumer and state fish and game conservation magazines have reprinted the Fundamentals and will continue to do so. His many other writings, through the medium of a special news release in the form of a monthly bulletin, has been widely used.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth W. Eschmeyer; three children, Barbara 18, William 16, and Jane 12.

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 4

YOU AND THE NEW UPLAND GAME BIRD STAMP LAW

TO MOST NEBRASKA hunters, the most important bill passed in the 1955 legislature session is LB 340 —more commonly known as the upland game bird stamp bill.

If you are over 16 years old and are going to hunt, take or kill pheasants or quail; you must purchase an upland game stamp for $1.00 and carry it in the field attached to your hunting license. You must also purchase a hunting license.

This bill was supported and endorsed by the Nebraska Council of Wildlife Clubs at their annual meeting in Lincoln in the spring of this year. The objective of the bill is to provide extra funds for the propagation and restoration of upland game birds.

In the original conception of the upland game bird stamp bill, ideas were borrowed from other such plans in other states. Michigan has a special fee stamp for trout fishing and Kansas has similar plan for quail hunters.

According to the official copy of this new State law:

Section 1. Commencing October 1, 1955, and for a period of four years thereafter, no person over sixteen years of age shall take, hunt, or kill any pheasants or quail unless, at the time of such taking, hunting, or killing, such person carries on his or her person an unexpired stamp validated, by his or her signature in ink across the face of the stamp, prior to the time of taking, hunting, or killing such birds. Any person to whom a stamp has been issued shall, immediately upon request, exhibit the stamp to any officer or person whose duty it is to enforce the provisions of this act. Any person taking, hunting, or killing pheasants or quail in this state without such a stamp attached to his or her hunting permit and actually not on or about his person, shall be deemed to be without such stamp. Such stamp shall be issued upon the payment of one dollar as provided by rules and regulations of the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission.

Section 2. The hunting stamp, provided for by the provisions of section 1 of this act, shall not be transferable. Such stamps shall expire at midnight on December 31 of the year in which issued.

Section 3. Any stamp, issued under the provisions of this act, shall be subject to revocation by the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission at the same time and for the same reasons that permits are subject to revocation, as is provided for in section 37-207, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, 1943.

Section 4. It shall be unlawful: (1) For any person, holding a stamp under the provisions of this act, to lend or transfer the stamp to another person or for any person to borrow or use the stamp of another; (2) for any person to (a) procure a stamp under an assumed name, (b) falsely state the place of his legal residence, or (c) make any other false statement in procuring the stamp; (3) for any person to knowingly issue or aid in securing a stamp under the provisions of this act for any person not legally entitled thereto; (4) for any person disqualified for a stamp to hunt pheasants or quail, with or without a stamp, during any period when such right has been forfeited or for which his stamp has been revoked by the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission; and (5) for anyone to hunt pheasants or quail without a permit as required by section 37-201, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, 1943, and the stamp attached thereto. Any person violating any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty dollars.

Section 5. Stamps shall be issued by the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission. They may be procured from the secretary thereof or from such other persons, firms, and corporations as may be designated by the commission to sell said stamps and to collect the fees therefor.

Section 6. All money received by any person, firm, or corporation authorized to sell the stamps, as provided by the provisions of this act, and collect the Continued On Page 24

SUMMER ISSUE 5

Getting 'On Target' For Nebraska's First Archery Deer Season

With the advent of Nebraska's first archery deer season, there will be many novice archers striving to bring home the venison. Here is a picture story of the fundamentals of archery, as demonstrated by members of the Prairie Bowmen Archery Club of Lincoln. You can use this as a guide in attaining archery proficiency, but the most important thing is practice-lots of practice, if you want to get your deer.

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 6   SUMMER ISSUE 7

Part 2 of a Guide to Nebraska Fishing.. NEBRASKA'S TROUT COUNTRY

THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE, could more aptly be named "Nebraska's Trout Country" because of the abundance of trout fishing to be found in many areas.

Native brown, rainbow and brook trout are found in many of the counties in this far western section of the state. Besides the native fish populations, many of the streams receive supplementary stocking each year by the Nebraska Game Commission.

Other game fish can also be found in the many lakes and small reservoirs in the panhandle. Bass, walleye, yellow perch, channel catfish and others are taken by fishermen each year.

The following is a list of the fishing locations in each of the counties.

SCOTTS BLUFF COUNTY: Creeks Dry Sheep, Sheep, Dry Spottedtail, Wet Spottedtail, Akers Draw, Winter Creek, Nine Mile Creek, Tub Springs, and Leavitts Drain.

These creeks all are trout waters. Nine Mile creek is the best of these streams with native brown trout and spawning runs of rainbow in the spring. Dry Spottedtail, Wet Spottedtail and Winter creeks are also excellent trout streams. The remainder of the streams are dependent upon stocked fish and Sheep Creek is the best.

Minatare Lake—Fishing success is not outstanding here but there are some fine walleyes, crappies, yellow perch, and channel catfish in the lake.

University Lake—This small lake, northeast of Mitchell, has fairly good bass and panfish populations.

Sandpits—Scattered along the North Platte river bottom are numerous sandpits which contain a variety of fish: sunfish, bass, crappie, carp, etc.

SIOUX COUNTY: Niobrara River— This is probably the best trout stream in the panhandle. From just below the Wyoming border, downstream to the Box Butte reservoir, the water is excellent for trout fishing. Good populations of brown trout are found in some sections of the stream. Some rainbow trout are also stocked.

White River—Upstream, west of Crawford, this river offers good brown and brook trout fishing.

Creeks—Monroe, East Hat, West Hat and Soldier. Monroe creek has good brook trout fishing from a native population. Soldier creek is the other outstanding stream in this group of creeks, with mostly brown trout available.

DAWES COUNTY: Most of the better fishing in this county is found in the numerous reservoirs. A few small creeks offer some trout fishing.

Box Butte reservoir—Has crappie, bass, walleye, yellow perch, trout, channel catfish and carp. Crappie fishing has been the best this summer.

Whitney reservoir—Has crappies, yellow perch, walleye, bass, channel catfish and carp. Many crappies, channel catfish and walleyes are taken here.

Chadron reservoir — Bass, yellow perch, bluegill and trout. Trout are stocked by the state.

Bordeaux and Little Bordeaux creeks are the most important trout waters in this county, particularly on the upper portions.

MORRILL COUNTY: East and West Wildhorse, Red Willow, Greenwood, Pumpkin, Lawrence Fork, and Cedar creeks are all trout streams. Best fishing is found in Red Willow and Wildhorse. Both have good populations of brown trout and some large rainbow spawners enter the creeks from the North Platte river in the winter months. The other creeks are very small. Some of the irrigation drains provide some trout fishing in this area.

GARDEN COUNTY: Many of the Garden County Refuge lakes are not good fishing because of alkali waters. Hackberry Lake is probably the best fishing location in this area.

KIMBALL COUNTY: Lodgepole creek is a good trout stream, west of the West Kimball reservoir. Both the West Kimball and East Kimball reservoirs have provided good bass, yellow perch and crappie fishing. Some walleye pike were also caught.

SHERIDAN COUNTY: Trout may be caught in White Clay and Larabee creeks. Smith Lake offers good bass and panfish populations, but not many people fish in this lake. Walgren Lake has good bass, channel catfish, crappie and bullhead fishing.

8 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Wildlife Management Institute

IF YOU were to look over the many influential organizations concerned with wildlife conservation you would find the Wildlife Management Institute ranking at the top of the list.

Although the Institute is a small organization, it has given more help and had more influence than any other single private organization in improving the national wildlife scene.

The Institute's one objective is "to contribute to the nation's welfare by promoting better use of natural resources." It is a non-profit, private organization, supported by industries, organization and individuals.

At the present time the organization has less than 20 employees and is governed by a board of trustees.

It was only in 1946 that the Institute received its charter. It assumed the public activities and evolved from the American Wildlife Institute, and its parent organization, the American Game Protective Association. In this manner the Institute is carrying on a conservation program that began nearly half a century ago.

Heading the Institute is Dr. Ira N. Gabrielson, who joined the Institute in 1946, after 30 years with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and C. R. Gutermuth, formerly with the Indiana Conservation Department.

Keeping in mind the singular purpose of promoting better use of natural resources, we might take a look at some of the means used to achieve this goal.

Field Extension Work

The Institute has a small staff of six highly trained technicians, which promotes sound restoration and management projects on public and private lands.

These field representatives work with state officials, local sportsmen's groups and individuals to preserve existing wildlife habitat and restore and improve environmental conditions whereever possible.

They help to plan wildlife projects and furnish technical guidance and aid in such efforts. An important phase of this work to Nebraskans was the planning and coordination given to midwestern states in the establishment of the Central Fly way Council; an organization of central flyway states that gives the individual commissions more voice in setting waterfowl regulations.

Another significant job for these field staff members is giving Dr. Gabrielson assistance in administrative surveys of state and provincial public conservation agencies. More than 25 such studies have been made at the request of state game and fish commissions, governors or legislative interim committees.

Completion of such a survey was made this year for our neighbors to the east—the Iowa Conservation Commission. The Institute examined the basic laws in which the powers and responsibilities of the Iowa Commission are vested, studied the Commission organization and its programs and made recommendations for improvement.

According to a statement by the Institute, "Field representatives have occasionally served as consultants for newly created state conservation agencies and stand ready at any time to aid in securing improved administration of the nation's resources."

Coordination Activities

Working closely with state and local organizations, the Institute tries to develop and maintain management programs for areas being changed by activities of civil functions agencies. Field representatives have attended and testified at hundreds of public hearings held by the Corps of Engineers, Reclamation Service and others. The objective has been to develop the maximum fish and wildlife populations possible,

Continued On Next Page 10 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA  

consistent with the public interest and to oppose vigorously those civil functions developments which are not in the best public interest.

Further coordination of the Institute's program with other non-governmental resource agencies is accomplished through active participation in the Natural Resources Council of America and Emergency Conservation Committee. Both Dr. Gabrielson and Mr. Gutermuth testify regularly before congressional committees on national conservation legislation and are often called upon by state legislative committees.

Cooperative Wildlife Research Units

In joint sponsorship with colleges, local state conservation commissions, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Institute helps maintain 17 Cooperative Wildlife Research Units.

Located as land grant colleges, throughout the country, these Cooperative Units have produced over 1,000 graduate students in wildlife restoration and management since 1934. These graduates are, for the most part, now employed by state and federal conservation agencies in the most responsible of jobs.

In addition to the primary job of training wildlife technicians, each of the Cooperative Units carries on both long and short term wildlife investigations, designed to better management practices. The nearest Cooperative Units to Nebraska are located at Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa; Colorado A & M, Boulder, Colorado; and University of Missouri, Columbus, Missouri.

Grants-In-Aid

The Institute grants a limited number of fellowships and grants-in-aid each year to outstanding students in universities and colleges in United States and Canada. These fellowships are issued only to those who have shown promise in the wildlife field and who seem to be approaching a point where their studies may make a real contribution.

The grants are used primarily to help finish the education of outstanding students to complete important work that has been started, and at the same time, to gather wildlife information and make it available in a useful form.

Although we don't have such a Cooperative Unit in Nebraska, the work from neighboring states has been of much value to us in managing pheasants, quail and other popular game animals.

North American Wildlife Conference

The Institute sponsors and conducts the North American Wildlife Conference, which is held annually in one of the major cities of the continent. This international conference has become the meeting place of conservation interests for an annual exchange of new knowledge. It is a clearing house for both state and national conservation commissions, administrators and technicians. Many other national and international organizations hold meetings in conjunction with this three-day conference.

The formal papers and discussions are collected and published each year by the Institute as the "Transactions of the North American Wildlife Conference." These are available from the Institute for a nominal fee. Attendance is not restricted at the annual meeting and hundreds of individuals attend.

Waterfowl Projects

Two of the most important waterfowl research stations on the continent are maintained by the Institute, with the financial assistance of Ducks Unlimited, University of New Brunswick, James F. Bell of Minneapolis and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

One, at Fredericton, New Brunswick, is aimed at investigation of the black ducks. The other, at Delta, Manitoba, is more important to Nebraskans because of the investigations on prairie breeding habitat and the waterfowl that use it. Delta station is world famous and many federal and state personnel have visited the station, which serves as a headquarters for work on breeding waterfowl.

Biologists have uncovered many new facts that are being applied in the management of birds on the breeding grounds and along the flyways. It has been proved conclusively, for instance, that female ducks and geese usually will return to nest on or near the same area in which they were hatched as long as the area remains unimpaired.

Good breeding populations of Canada geese have been restored to the Delta marsh by permitting the young of captive geese to migrate south each year. The surviving females return with mates the following spring, and as a result, the Delta goose flock is growing rapidly. The native geese were shot out on the vast marsh many years ago.

Plans have been made to establish resident goose flocks on some Nebraska lakes in a similar attempt to build up the formerly numerous locally raised geese.

Delta biologists also uncovered facts which maintained the marsh and others like it as nesting grounds for some species of diving ducks, particularly the redhead.

With the increase in hunting pressure, diving ducks were found to bear the brunt of early-season shooting because plumage development in the young birds was slower than that of the mallards and other puddle ducks. Hunters killed many young redheads early in the season before they were able to fly adequately.

As a result of these findings, the season on the big marshes was postponed long enough to avoid these losses and there has been a substantial saving of birds. Because of the homing nature of the hen duck, there was the danger that the local populations of these species would be destroyed.

Outdoor News Bulletin

Every two weeks the Institute issues an Outdoor News Bulletin to over 3,000 outdoor writers and editors of magazines and newspapers through North America. Each edition contains articles on current news and reports on outstanding accomplishments or developments in the conservation field.

Publications

In addition to the "Transactions of the North American Wildlife Conference," the Institute publishes outstanding books in the wildlife field. These books feature varied subjects, but focus attention on the technical wildlife problems and the wildlife itself. They are published at cost in an effort to meet the needs of workers in the natural resource field, few of whom can afford many high priced books.

Know-How Booklets

Aside from the regular books, the Institute has initiated a series of knowhow booklets designed to give the layman an insite on special problems in resource management and make available practical wildlife management techniques adaptable to their own lands.

Each of the following booklets is available free on individual request from the Wildlife Management Institute, 709 Wire Building, Washington 5, D. C.

1. Upland Game Management 2. The Farmer and Wildlife 3. Waterfowl Management

Nebraska has only recently been added to region 5 of the Institute's field districts; which includes the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. Floyd A. Johnson, Ardmore, Oklahoma, is the Field Representative for our region.

You can see from the scope of the Institute's many functions that it has a place of leadership in the conservation of all resources; in spite of its small physical organization. True to its stated objective, it is "contributing to the nation's welfare by promoting better use of natural resources."

SUMMER ISSUE 11

FISH KILL!

FISH KILL! These two words cause both fishermen and fishery technicians of the Nebraska Game Commission to cringe at the sound of them.

If you were to go on the. upper reaches of the Big Blue river in southeastern Nebraska, you would readily see the tragic results of a fish kill. Recently thousands of fish have died in these waters, due to the lack of oxygen in the low water pools left on the near dry river. This condition existed on literally miles of formerly good catfishing water.

This type of fish kill is one of the most common found in the state. Extended dry periods lower the streams by lack of rain and evaporation; irrigation use makes further demands and soon the streams are a series of pools connected by mere trickles of water.

Fish, seeking favorable living conditions, concentrate in these pools by the thousands, putting a heavy demand on dissolved oxygen in the water. As the water is warmed by the sun it holds less oxygen than cold water. Soon, even this small amount left is used by the fish and they suffocate.

Decomposing sewage, along with other organic materials, uses large amounts of oxygen and can cause fish kills even under normal water conditions. In periods of low water, raw sewage certainly predisposes fish kills due to lack of oxygen.

Other causes of fish kills in Nebraska waters are caused by impurities getting into the water. A typical example is the use of weed killers on a farm pond watershed. We have had the whole fish population of a farm pond killed when weed spray has been washed into the pond by rain.

Some serious fish kills have been caused by careless handling of liquid fertilizers such as anhydrous ammonia. Washing and draining of spray equipment in waters stocked by the state is prohibited by law.

The unfortunate part of these fish kills is the lack of ability to do much about them.

On fish kills due to oxygen depletion, the Game Commission attempts to salvage the fish and remove them to better waters. This type of salvage work takes manpower and equipment. Generally speaking, the kills of this type are extensive and not many of the fish can be removed soon enough to survive. Salvaged fish are in a weak condition and cannot be hauled very far, even with the best of equipment.

The other types of fish kills, caused by impurities or sewage, can only be prevented by cooperation of the public in respecting and strengthening our laws regulating Nebraska's water resources.

12 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

CONTINUED from last month's Outdoor Quiz; we have a representative group of emergent water plants. As explained last month, we hesitate to present difficult material as a regular Quiz as it takes a technician to recognize many of these various plants.

All of the plants presented here are emergent plants, either floating on top or growing above the water. They provide an important link in the food chain of the fish life in your fishing waters; with many of the smaller forms of life that support fish living on their submerged surfaces. Thousands and thousands of tiny microscopic plants and animals are found on these plants.

These plants, like the submerged plants described last month, also provide a means of putting oxygen in the water, similar to the way plants put oxygen in the air. They also provide escape cover, where young fish can hide from predators and have a chance to grow.

These emergent plants are also very important to waterfowl; providing food and cover in many different forms.

1. Softstem Bulrush: Only one of many types of bulrushes .found throughout the state. It has brilliant green coloration and is found in sheltered waters because of its weak stem.

2. Duckweed: These tiny plants are found floating on the water and resemble small leaves. About as large as the eraser on a pencil, they are still individual plants. Valuable duck food, used by all species.

3. Large Seed Smartweed: This plant is found both in water and on marshy grounds. It is an important duck food, utilized by most kinds of ducks.

4. Arrowhead: This plant has a rather large tuber and has often been called the duckpotatoe. However, because of its large size tuber, ducks do not utilize it as much as some of the other types of arrowhead plants.

5. Giant Burreed: This plant has large seeds that are used by ducks. It is usually found in fresh water marshes or bordering open water, but some species are almost entirely submerged.

6. Carex: These are the sedges; utilized by ducks for food, but not as important as other duck foods. They are found in moist meadows, bogs and marshes.

SUMMER ISSUE 13

Wildlife in one reel

 

Fish Management Means ... BETTER FISHING FOR NEBRASKANS

by R. W. Eschmeyer This is part three of a series on fish management. Habitat improvement and manipulation of populations are explained by the late R. W. Eschmeyer.

TO THRIVE, fish need water. This was the extent of our thinking some decades ago insofar as habitat is concerned. Now we fully realize that there are other habitat needs. The fish must have proper water temperatures and the waters must be suitable chemically. Food must be available in suitable amounts. Spawning facilities must be present if we expect to have natural propagation. Some species do not remain in an area unless they have places where they can hide.

Each species has its own environmental needs. These must be recognized if our habitat programs are to be effective. Unfortunately, for many species, we still don't have as complete a picture of these needs as we should have.

In laying out our streams and lakes, Mother Nature showed no particular interest in supplying all the needs of the creatures which would inhabit the waters. But the species themselves, over long periods of time, became adjusted to the situation, or disappeared. Consequently, most of our waters were suitable for desirable species of one kind or another when settlement began. Though there are instances where we can improve on the habitat which Nature provided, most of our enviromental improvement work is really restoration—correcting deficiencies which we, ourselves, created in

the fish habitat.

Habitat Destruction

The extensive destruction of fish habitat by man's activities need hardly be mentioned—we're all aware of it.

As an example, a survey made by the Soil Conservation Service in White-water River Watershed in Minnesota indicates that originally this watershed had 150 miles of good trout stream. By 1941, as a result of erosion, the watershed had only 60 miles of trout streams and this mileage was in poor condition.

Pollution, as well as siltation, is a major destroyer of fish habitat. Many a stream or lake is no longer suitable for fishing because of the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated domestic or industrial wastes.

Restoration is Possible

We now have good examples of habitat restoration. An excellent one is in the Clark National Forest in Missouri, where the Forest Service is gradually converting the watersheds back to their original conditions in-so-far as siltation and in-soak are concerned. According to a report in the Forest Service files, here's what's happening in the Clark Forest:

"A half of this forest area can now take heavy rains up to two inches directly into the soil, without run-off. In this area many streams and springs have returned to permanent flow, instead of being intermittent. The streams are now referred to as ''milky," not "muddy," following heavy rains. During a recent dry summer the flow at one point in the Current River was 1600 cfs, as compared to 1250 cfs in the less severe droughts of 1934 and 1936. Plant and animal life in the streams is in much greater evidence now than in 1936. Fishing has improved, and on several of the waters is reported as the best in the memory of the present generation of anglers."

Stream Improvement

In those remaining instances where man has not tinkered with the watersheds, habitat improvement is usually not needed. Here, except in arid and semi-arid regions, the stream flow tends to be relatively constant, because of permanent flow of the springs. Gravel riffles and deep pools are generally available, and there are plenty of hiding places for fish.

This observation gives us an important clue with respect to proper stream management. It's pretty much a matter of watershed use. Where the soil is kept on the land, through proper land use, and where a substantial part of the rainfall soaks into the ground to appear later as cool spring water, a stream will usually restore itself—provided livestock is fenced out.

Where we have heavy siltation because of poor farming, improper forest use, overgrazing or faulty road building, and where we have excessive runoff, resulting in high waters at times and little or no flow at other times, the use of stream improvement structures is of little or no value.

There are numerous instances where stream improvement structures such as V-dams, covers, deflectors, etc., are helpful. There are also many instances where these artificial improvements don't justify the costs involved, either

16 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   because they are not needed or because They do nothing to correct the basic problem of siltation or highly irregular stream fluctuation. Too, some amateur attempts at stream improvement may actually do more harm than good.

Before stream improvement (by installing devices) is attempted, the situation should preferably be studied carefully by someone familiar with fish needs and with water-flow and siltation problems.

We are not trying to minimize the value of stream improvement devices. We are implying that where such devices seem to be badly needed, the basic trouble usually lies in the watershed, not in the stream bed itself. We can channel silt downstream, but this is not a good substitute for preventing its entrance into the stream in the first place. We can create pools in streams which have very low water stages, but that's no substitute for the rapid and constant flow of springs resulting from having much of our rain soak into the soil. We can remove obstructions to migrations of anadramous fishes, but no amount of "improvement" will restore good habitat so long as the water is polluted by industrial or domestic wastes.

Lake Improvement

Numerous attempts have been made to improve habitats in lakes, by use of such "devices" as brush shelters, spawning beds, planting of aquatic weed beds, fertilizing, etc. Some have been helpful; some haven't.

Brush shelters do attract young fish. But, all too often, the fish which find shelter there are species such as sunfisher and perch, which tend to be overabundant and stunted. The value of sheltering young fish is subject to question. But, the shelters do attract big fish of some species (such as black crappie) to the vicinity and permit a greater harvest of these fish. In big waters particularly, only a small percentage of these fish is harvested. Here, concentrating them to simplify the catching of these fish is a good conservation measure.

We once believed that weed beds in lakes and ponds were vital to fish life. This observation was erroneous. Today, farm pond specialists don't want coarse aquatic vegetation in ponds. Too, large TVA storage reservoirs have produced good supplies of fish without aquatic "weeds."

From the standpoint of fish production, weed beds in general may do more harm than good. They protect the young pan fish from their predators and thereby cause overpopulation. But, in all except small lakes, weed beds (unless too abundant) help decidedly in harvesting the adult fish. The weed beds tend to concentrate the catchable fish, so that anglers can take more of them.

Overabundance of vegetation is a major problem in some waters. Fertilizer has been used effectively for weed control in some instances, and certain herbicides have also been used extensively. There's still no simple, universal method for control of overabundant aquatic vegetation.

Gravel spawning beds for bass have been placed in some waters. There's proof that fish use them, but we still know of no concrete evidence to prove that introduction of spawning beds has increased the bass population.

Fertilizing with commercial fertilizer has greatly increased the fish crop in ponds in some areas, especially in Alabama. Elsewhere it has been of questionable value. For example, here's a paragraph from an article (by Rod Cochran) in a recent issue of the OHIO CONSERVATION BULLETIN:

"You hear a lot today about adding commercial fertilizer to farm ponds. As far as fish production is concerned in Ohio, you can forget about it at present. As already stated, the main problem with most ponds is that they are overpopulated. This is an indication that the ponds are already fertile enough to produce more fish than are harvested."

Water-level management offers a number of possibilities, such as raising the level to provide better marshy border for northern pike spawning; or lowering the level for a period to permit land vegetation to grow on the temporarily exposed shoal.

There are other lake improvement possibilities, such as adding lime to over-acid waters, or pumping nutrient materials from the deep bottom (where they are of little value) onto the unproductive shoal areas (were they are valuable), or removing ice cover to prevent winter-kill.

Like stream improvement, lake improvement offers definite possibilities. And, like stream improvement, it has definite limitations.

In General

Various habitat improvement devices and manipulations have a definite place in fish management, but the important fish habitat improvement problem is one of general land use. With the limited funds available for fish work, the fishery workers can't begin to restore the watersheds. The problem is far too big and too costly.

But, watershed improvement is progressing rapidly. The improvement is needed for other reasons.

Farmers must keep their all-important topsoil on their land. It's their life-blood. Too, they must manage their land to permit a considerable amount of rainwater in-soak, so the plants will have water in the long periods between rains.

Over-grazing hurts the range—land and pasture—it reduces future carrying capacity.

Forest fires destroy future timber values—as well as harming fishing.

Pollution abatement is needed because of other water uses—recreation, drinking water, and the growing need for large amounts of clean water for certain industries.

Because of the increasing improvement in the use of our soil, water, and forest resources, we can expect a gradual improvement in our fish habitat. There's another relationship between wise use of these resources and fishing. Without our high standard of living, maintainable only by the future wise use of these resources, there wouldn't be sport fishing. Hungry people don't fish for fun. They seek food, not relaxation.

In general, the use of articial devices in the water will benefit the fish habitat in some instances. Better use of the watershed and its resources will benefit the fish habitat in most instances. Though it might seem far-fetched at first thought, our soil conservation programs, forest fire prevention programs, etc., are all-important to the quality of your fishing.

Population Manipulation

We don't like the term "population manipulation" but use it for want of something better. It involves managing fish populations in such ways as to provide optimum numbers of catchable-size fish. It may involve playing predatory game fish species against their prey (the pan fishes), or controlling

Continued On Next Page SUMMER ISSUE 17  

the less desirable species, preventing overpopulation, and in some instances, eradicating entire fish populations and starting over by restocking with more desirable species.

Obviously, we can't manipulate fish populations intelligently unless we know what species are present and the relative abundance, size-classes, and rates of growth of these species. We also need to know what species can contribute the most fishing under various amounts of fishing pressure.

We need to know, too, which species are desired by the angler. Often, a fish which is a "weed" species in one area is a highly prized species in some other region. There's the question, too, of the relative "catchability" of a species. For example, brook trout are more catchable than brown trout; the chain pickerel is more catchable than the largemouth bass. We also need to know the individual habitat needs of the various species.

Population manipulation hasn't progressed far, except in a few aspects, because we still don't know enough to handle it intelligently. But it has a big future.

We also don't know enough about the subject to give a brief, concise over-all picture of it. So, the comments here are limited to a few aspects.

The Farm Pond

The farm pond with largemouth bass and bluegills (other combinations of predators and prey species—or trout alone—are also used), is probably the simplest habitat with which fishery workers deal. Yet, fishery workers disagree rather decidedly on how it should be managed. This disagreement can be attributed mainly to the fact that conditions differ, and that management methods which are successful in one area often don't pan out in another area.

The objective, in the farm pond, is to produce continuing supplies o'f both catchable-size bass and bluegills in reasonable numbers. This can be done only if the bass keep the bluegill population reduced in numbers (by eating them) to where there's adequate food for the bluegills which survive—and only if enough young bluegills are produced to give the bass enough food to permit rapid growth.

The "balance" between predator and prey is a rather delicate one. Usually, after a few years, the bluegills become overabundant and stunted—regardless of the stocking ratio used at the start. The stunted bluegills make serious inroads on the supply of bass eggs and fry, reducing the future "predator" population effectively. It's a one-way affair, and is unlikely to correct itself. Only about one pond in a thousand gets any kind of management—including nearly enough fishing.

The other extreme—overpopulation and stunting of bass—is much less likely; it can often correct itself because bass can keep their own populations down effectively (when food is in short supply) by eating their own young.

Knowing that the tendency is toward too many bluegills, the pond owner can use various population manipulation "devices" to maintain balance or to restore it. Those which come to mind are:

1. Fish the pond hard and often. Remove all bluegills caught, regardless of size but return a reasonable number of the bass caught.

2. Keep the pond free of aquatic vegetation. The small bluegills find excellent protection in dense weed beds and are less available to the bass.

3. Destroy most of the bluegill beds. A few nests can produce a lot of young. Destruction of most of the beds by mechanical disturbance or chemical poisoning—when the eggs have been laid—will reduce bluegill production.

4. Partial poisoning. Studies on partial "poisoning" with rotenone made at Auburn indicated that, at mid-day, use of rotenone along the margin would take mostly bluegills, few bass. The same procedure, used early or late in the day, would destroy large numbers of bass as well. The fact that small bluegills are inshore in mid-day, when bass are in deeper water, permits destruction of bluegills without serious harm to the bass.

5. Where ponds are seinable, excess bluegills can be removed by seining. Or, they may be removed by trapping.

6. Where conditions permit, the pond can be drained and the desirable numbers of fish can be returned. Or, the entire population can be removed by use of rotenone. However, the fish are killed by this process and the pond will not provide fishing until new stocks have grown to catchable size.

7. A fellow we had lunch with recently had his own simple answer to the bluegill overpopulation problem in his lV2-acre pond. He bought several hundred dollars' worth of adult bass and hopes to add several hundred more dollars' worth in a few months. This method is effective, but we don't advocate it for general use for obvious reasons. The method is too costly, except in isolated instances on private waters, regardless of effectiveness.

Lake Rehabilitation

Often—where the fish populations are made up largely of numerous stunted fish or undesirable species—the easiest way to restore good fishing is to drain out the water (if possible), or to exterminate the population by chemical means, and then restocking to start over.

There are limitations, of course. Most waters can't be drained. Use of rotenone is expensive, it rarely results in a complete kill of all fish, and it will kill fish in the outlet stream.

Despite the limitations, rehabilitation has become an important tool. The state of Washington, alone, has treated 201 lakes (17,783 acres), destroying the 18 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   fish populations and, by subsequent stocking, created excellent trout fishing where angling was poor prior to rehabilitation.

Partial "poisoning" is effective where certain fish concentrate, usually at spawning time. Such fish as adult carp, suckers, and some pan fish species, can be reduced very decidedly by this method.

Rehabilitation of streams has also been tried recently, in a few instances, to reduce the rough fish. In one major attempt, rough fish from downstream soon repopulated the treated areas. Its value in stream management is still not determined.

Rough Fish Control

In waters which are well suited to rough fish, control measures often help fishing for the more desirable species. Experience shows that control of rough fish must be substantial and persistent if it is to be effective. Otherwise, recovery to their original abundance is apt to be rapid.

Some years ago big Mattamuskeet Lake in North Carolina was taken over by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and made into a national wildlife refuge. Carp interfered with the success of the refuge. They became extremely abundant. Much of the food for waterfowl disappeared in Mattamuskeet. The bass and crappie mostly disappeared too.

A seining area was baited with grain to attract the carp. In 1949, when bait was first used, the take of carp rose to 110,000 pounds. In 1950 it jumped to 360,000 pounds, and in 1951 to 745,000 pounds.

As a result, the water in this shallow 30,000 acre lake became much clearer. Waterfowl food plants increased greatly. Bass and crappie increased quite decidely. Fishing has improved as a result of the carp control program.

Extensive study in Iowa brought this conclusion from two fisheries workers (Earl T. Rose and Tom Moen), in an article in the TRANSACTIONS of the American Fisheries Society:

"The Iowa Conservation Commission's policy on rough-fish removal has been based for many years on the theory that these fish are detrimental to and competitive with the more desirable species of fish. Rough-fish control has been vigorously carried on year after year in several Iowa lakes. In these lakes game fish populations have been large and angling in general has been good. On the other hand, in several lakes with large populations of rough fish that have not been seined so intensively, game fish populations have remained at consistently low levels."

There are other examples to demonstrate the importance of vigorous rough fish control on some waters. Such control can be exercised in a number of ways, including use of commercial gear, local "poisoning," and possible innovations in electrical shocking devices.

In some areas the problem is being partially solved by liberalizing regulations, and by creatirg a greater demand for rough-fish fishing. Some of these fish are excellent fighters; and some, from unpolluted waters, have good food qualities. In this connection, personal experiences come to mind. On more than one occasion persons have commented on the excellent taste of the "walleye" fillets they were eating, not knowing the carp fillets had been substituted. Too, the "fights" which we recall most vividly were with big carp on light tackle. We didn't know that carp weren't fit to eat or fit to catch until we left home and brushed up against "sophistication."

Water Level Fluctuation

For many years fishery workers and sportsmen believed that a permanent water level was essential to good fishing. We now know that fluctuating levels, properly manipulated can greatly benefit angling by influencing the fish population.

To cite a single example, George Bennett of the Illinois Natural History Survey experimented with summer drawdown on Ridge Lake in Illinois. He found that extensive late-summer drawdown keeps the abundance of small bluegills under control. Large numbers of them are eliminated by stranding as the water recedes or by being eaten more readily by bass when they become exposed and concentrated in a smaller area. This results in increased success of bass spawning the following spring when the lake approaches its normal area again.

Providing Forage

To have reasonable supplies of catchable-size fish, all steps in the food chain must be well represented. Fishing can sometimes be improved decidedly by finding the weak link in the chain and strengthening it.

In one such case, a southern reservoir of about two thousand acres had very poor fishing. Sampling in a bay of several acres produced a few catchable-length, but thin, bass and some numbers of badly stunted bluegills. Because of extensive winter drawdown, there was little insect life on the bottom. The only available basic food was the plankton—microscopic plants and animals. This food in the amounts present would raise the bluegills and young bass to a size of a few inches; thereafter, they needed bigger food organisms. The big bass had little fish as food. But the stunted bluegills tended to take advantage of the very shallow water. The most readily available food for big bass was little bass, and the supply of these was limited.

Gizzard shad, plankton-eaters, were introduced. After they were established a bay was sampled again. Now, there were more big bass and they were in better condition. Young-of-the-year bass were well represented, too; many had survived because predation on them had lessened. There were many young-of-the-year shad, just the right size to serve as food for the big bass. As expected, there were also numerous small bluegills as stunted as ever.

The game fish population had changed decidely and fishing had improved. The weakest link in the food chain had been strengthened. Perhaps we should add that there are places where shad should not be planted; this should not be construed as an endorsement for indiscriminate introduction of these fish.

In General

This is admittedly an unsatisfactory discussion of population manipulation. But, it does indicate clearly, we hope, that this management tool has a big future. In general, we're still too short on factual information to apply it effectively.

As may have been observed, it isn't easy, at times, to draw the line between habitat improvement and population manipulation. But, the point is of academic interest only.

In the past our efforts have been aimed mainly at managing fishing by placing various and sundry restrictions on the angler. Some of these are needed. However, prior consideration should be given to managing the fish populations themselves. On many waters the angling affects the actual fish populations only to a limited degree.

SUMMER ISSUE 19

The Search For Better Fishing

by Start Smith

Heres' a picture story of some of the basic work undertaken by a fishery biologist as he determines the true conditions of a lake. These fact finding procedures are repeated on each body of water on which technicians are trying to improve fishing conditions. Time consuming and plain hard work; yet, this is the only way to find these facts—facts necessary before any methodical improvement of fishing conditions can be made.

FISH FOOD CHECK OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 20   WATER ANALYSIS FISH POPULATION SAMPLE SUMMER ISSUE 21

Rabies in Nebraska

by Robert J. Barr

One of the State Department of Health's technicians explains some known facts about the occurrence of rabies in Nebraska. You will have a better understanding of the dangers and problems of this disease after reading this article.

RABIES is an acute disease of the central nervous system that results in the death of its victim in all infections. It is caused by a virus, an organism too small to be seen by ordinary microscopic techniques. All warm blooded animals are susceptible and may transmit the disease when actually infected.

The Laboratory of the State Health Department has examined 568 specimens for evidence of rabies since 1951. Of these, 189 showed the inclusion bodies diagnostic of rabies. This number does not include those wild animals which die unobserved or those animals which are not in some way involved in human exposure. If these cases were known it is safe to assume that the actual number of animal deaths from rabies in Nebraska would be quite high.

The disease is transmitted from animal to animal and from animal to man through the saliva. The danger from exposure varies directly with the severity of the wound inflicted by a rabid animal and the location of the wound in relation to the brain. Thus, deep torn wounds in exposed flesh are much more serious from the standpoint of subsequent infection than scratches or abrasions inflicted through a layer of clothing. Wounds on the face, neck and torso are more dangerous than those on the extremities.

The wild animals most often implicated in the transmission of rabies in Nebraska are skunks, racoons and squirrels. These, of course, are not the only animals involved and especially from the standpoint of human exposure. The laboratory has examined specimens from rats, mice, hogs, mules, cattle, dogs, cats, and 'possums, to name a few. The distribution of positive reports with relation to animal species shows that, among wild life, the skunk has been reported most often; squirrels, next and finally racoons. Among domestic animals, dogs and cats are nearly equal, followed by cattle and hogs.

We wish to emphasize that our records show only those cases in which human exposure occured. It is safe to assume that since the disease is being found repeatedly in some areas, and appearing frequently in new areas, the deaths unreported or unobserved in wild life must be fairly high.

The symptoms of rabies follow a rather constant pattern in all animals. In furious rabies, the first symptom is usually a complete and abrupt change of character, that is, a shy animal will suddenly become aggressive, a bold one shy, and a friendly dog will become sullen and vicious, a vicious dog will be overly friendly.

This period is followed by one of extreme excitement which usually blends into the "Mad dog" stage. The animal is highly dangerous at this time as he is apparently without fear and has no sense of pain. He will attack anything that moves within his range of vision. At this point he begins to wander often following a straight line and attacking anything and everything in his path.

Any animal bitten at this stage is inocculated through the saliva with the virus of rabies. As the disease progresses, paralysis begins and advances until the rabid animal is prostrate and death occurs. A notable exception to the running attack is the usual behavior of a rabid cat. This animal is more likely to hide in a dark place and attack any object moving into view.

Another form of the disease exists and is called "Dumb Rabies." The symptomatic pattern is the same until the running stage is reached, then the animal hides and dies with paralysis beginning almost immediately. The highly excitable state occurs in Dumb rabies, but paralysis supervenes so quickly as to make this symptom inapparent.

Laboratory examination of the brain following death from the disease will show, in most cases, the presence of inclusion bodies in the nerve cells. These are called Negri bodies and are a direct result of the disease. The discovery of one Negri body is diagnostic, though in most cases they are numerous.

Occasionally these forms do not appear, in which case the inocculation of mice with brain tissue will result in a final report. The use of mice has one very important drawback, it requires time. A final report can not be rendered in less than five days and usually from ten to twenty days. Because of this time factor and because the inclusion bodies do not appear until near the end of the disease it is urged that any animal suspected of having rabies be confined in a strong enclosure until its death or for a period no less than fourteen days. If at the end of fourteen days the animal is still alive, and has no symptom of the disease, it may be assumed that he was not dangerous from the standpoint of transmission of rabies at the time.

Specimens to be examined for rabies require special handling in order to assure a rapid and valid report. The head should be removed without damage to the brain and packed in a water tight container and this packed in ice in a second container and shipped prepaid express to the laboratory. An animal suspected of rabies should under no conditions be killed unless capture and confinement are impossible.

Rabies can be controlled. The danger to human life is directly related to exposure to infected animals. The most frequent contacts are domestic animals such as dogs and cats and therefore control is effected by reducing the susceptible population by immunization procedures. The reduction of wild life vector populations could cause the disease to die out due to lack of contact between rabid and normal animals.

Efforts to control this disease must be well coordinated and have the wholehearted support of all concerned since anything less than complete cofees

Continued On Page 24 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 23

Pollution and Fishing

FIFTY YEARS AGO, we had little pollution. Most streams were clean. They were teeming with fish. A little sewage found its way into the waters, but our streams and lakes could take care of it.

Now, pollution by municipal sewage is a big and growing problem. Many streams will no longer support desirable kinds of fish because of pollution. The fish which are caught in these waters often aren't fit to eat.

In some polluted waters fishing has been discouraged because of the danger of disease. Of course, swimming in these waters isn't allowed, either. They are really open sewers, and smelly ones at that.

At the turn of the century we had no serious pollution problem. Most people lived on the farm or in small towns. There were few sewer systems. Since then, there has been a big change. Many small towns have grown to be big cities. We have more people now, and more sewer systems. Of the 160 million Americans, over two-thirds now live in urban communities. Modern sewage systems have been developed to collect the wastes of entire cities and discharge them at concentrated points in our rivers.

There is an added problem. In many places our garbage, once hauled away by the garbage collector, now passes into the sewer, too, because of modern methods of disposing of it through the kitchen sink. We not only have more and more families using our sewer system, but the average family now contributes more sewage than it did even a dozen years ago.

A number of communities have sewage treatment plants. But, many still discharge it into our rivers. Nearly 12,000 communities, with a population of nearly 100 million people have sewer systems. Of these, more than 8,000 with a population of about 60 million people, discharge untreated or inadequately treated sewage into our streams and lakes.

When the sewage enters the waters, bacteria begin the process of breaking down the wastes. This work by bacteria uses up dissolved oxygen in the water.

Like ourselves, fish must have oxygen. Their gills act in much the same way that our lungs do. They take oxygen into the body. If there isn't enough oxygen, the fish suffocate.

Some fish can live with less oxygen than others. The kinds of fish we prefer to catch need considerable oxygen. The carp needs less. He can live in some polluted waters where game and pan fish couldn't survive.

Of course, most of the food organisms of the fish need oxygen, too. Crayfish, minnows, and most insects can't live if the decay by bacteria takes most of the oxygen out of the water.

When the polluted water moves down stream, it gradually becomes purified as the bacteria take care of the polluting wastes. Too, streams can absorb some oxygen from the air, and some is released by the aquatic plants. In a swift-flowing turbulent stream, oxygen replenishment takes place quickly. In slow-moving sluggish water, more time is needed. Here the stream often becomes greasy looking and foul-smelling.

Most waters can take care of a little pollution. But the sewage loads are so big now that in many streams the bacteria can't handle the big load. The streams become smelly, and devoid of desirable fish. You wouldn't want to fish in them even if the fish could live there.

So, most of our towns and cities must now provide sewage treatment which will remove at least enough of the polluting materials that the stream itself can handle the remainder. There are two degrees of treatment: primary and secondary.

In primary treatment, the water usually passes through a screen to catch sticks and other big objects. Then it flows slowly through a "grit chamber," where sand, gravel, and other heavy objects settle. The water then flows into a settling tank where it stands for an hour or more. While the water stands, some solids drop to the bottom as "sludge," others rise to the top as "scum." Then the water between the two layers is drained off. This treatment takes care of about 35 percent of the pollution.

In secondary treatment, the waste water is carried from the settling tanks into "filters" and "activated sludge beds" where bacteria work on the dissolved materials in the water. We can have almost complete removal of polluting substances through these secondary treatment processes.

Does your community have proper sewage treatment? Such treatment does cost money. But, that money is well spent. It's an important contribution to the health of the community and the people living down stream.

You wouldn't dump your garbage in your neighbor's yard. Yet, that's what you are doing to the folks living down stream when your town dumps untreated sewage into the river.

Pollution destroys your fishing. It destroys many other fine things, too. Be sure that your community takes proper care of its sewage.

SUMMER ISSUE 23

NEWS OF WILDLIFE CLUBS

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA is proud of the fine cooperation of the constructive wildlife clubs in Nebraska and provides this section for any club activities or reports, as space permits.

LINCOLN ASSOCIATION OF SPORTSMEN'S CLUBS

More than 15 sportsmen's clubs, with a potential membership of over 1,500, are banding together in Lincoln with the following charter principals as their guide:

1. To promote means and opportunities to better coordinate the activities of the various sportsmen's clubs of the city of Lincoln.

2. To promote conservation through all the clubs of this organization in order to safeguard all our natural resources—our soil, forests, waters and wildlife.

3. To promote and stimulate social activities and educational programs of a common interest to all clubs.

Organizers of the Association are working on a program that will benefit all local sportsmen's clubs; without interfering with the original purposes of the individual clubs.

GOODYEAR SPORTSMAN CLUB OF LINCOLN

This club held a Farmer-Sportsman meeting in August, with a speaker explaining the place of the Salt-Wahoo Watershed plan in farm economy and outdoor recreation. Ed Hollister gave a dog training demonstration and the Prairie Bowmen Club put on an archery exhibition. They plan on holding their annual blue rock shoot sometime in September.

OMAHA FISH AND WILDLIFE CLUB

Plans are underway to sponsor another mammoth Omaha Sports, Vacation and Boat Show, March 3-10, 1956. New officers were elected with R. E. Baliman as President; Harold H. Ulfers, Vice President; and C. E. Stubbs, Secretary-Treasurer. Annual Fall Hunters' Roundup is scheduled for September.

FOUR CORNER ROD AND GUN CLUB

New officers are Curtis Hitchcock, President; Clarence Lanz, Vice President; George Doyle, Treasurer; John B. Connell, Secretary; and Manfred Peterson, Director.

ANTELOPE SPORTSMEN'S CLUB

This club has been active in erecting a dam to raise the level of Atwood lake. They have transformed a formerly small creek into a lake 6 feet deep and over 1 mile long. Bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill and white bass have been stocked in this lake.

COLUMBUS IZAAK WALTON CHAPTER

Local Ikes sponsored a conservation essay contest for local 4-H club members. First prize, a week at the annual 4-H conservation camp at Chadron State Park, was won by Barbara Kluever, Platte Center, Nebr.

FREMONT IZAAK WALTON CHAPTER

Held their annual Middaugh Tournament at the Gun Club, on September 3, 4, and 5 Report that the new film, "Lands Green—Waters Clean," movie issued from the national headquarters, met with excellent reception from members that viewed it this summer.

GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTER CLUB OF NEBRASKA

They are holding their fifth licensed field trail, run under AKC shoot-to-kill rules on liberated pheasants, on October 8 and 9. Dogs are being brought in from as far away as Michigan and Utah.

NORTH ANTELOPE ROD AND GUN CLUB

Big news at this club was their Boys' Night dinner and program. The attendance surpassed the 1954 dinner at which over 450 people attended.

Rabies in Nebraska

Continued From Page 22

operation will result in smoldering pockets of infection that will flare to epidemic proportions as soon as a new population of susceptible individuals appears.

Persons bitten by any animal should consult a physician at once. If a delay is necessary the wound should be washed with soap and water, but in any event a physician should be consulted as soon as possible. The animal involved should be treated in accordance with the statements made previously.

An animal that has been bitten by another animal having rabies should be destroyed. If he is extremely valuable a veterinarian should be consulted. He will treat the animal for rabies and then hold him for an observation period corresponding to the incubation period of the disease. If at the end of that time rabies has not developed he will release the animal.

Upland Gamebird Law

Continued From Page 5

therefor, shall remit the fees for the stamps monthly to the secretary of the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission. All remittances shall be upon a form to be supplied by the commission and a duplicate copy shall be retained by the persons, firms, or corporations authorized by the commission to sell stamps for it.

Section 7. The secretary of the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission shall deposit all money received by him, or from others authorized to sell such stamps, from the sale of stamps with the State Treasurer and shall take a receipt from him therefor. The State Treasurer shall place the funds so received in the Pheasants and Quail Stamp Fund. The secretary of the commission and any county clerk or public official designated to sell such stamps shall be liable upon their official bonds for failure to pay the money from the sale of the stamps, as required by this act, coming into their hands. Any other person, firm, or corporation who shall receive stamp fees, under the provisions of this act or the rules of the commission, and who shall fail to pay over the same to the commission in accordance with its rules and this act and, after demand is made for the same, shall be liable to suit by the commission in double the amount of the funds wrongfully withheld anq1 shall further be liable criminally for embezzlement.

Section 8. All money received from the sale of the stamps, as provided by this act, and deposited by the State Treasurer in the Pheasants and Quail Stamp Fund, shall be administered by the Game, Forestation and Parks Commission. All money so received into such fund shall be available to the commission, when appropriated by the Legislature, and shall be used by the commission solely for the purpose of propagating and restoration of pheasants and quail, in acordance with the policies of the commission; Provided, that not more than ten per cent of the fund shall be used for administrative purposes.

Section 9. Any person who shall violate any provision of this act, or who shall violate or fail to comply with any regulation therein shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalties provided in section 4 of this act.

24 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Starting Your Outdoor Library From Iowa Conservationist

TO THE MAN who seriously works at his sport and thinks on the mysteries of fishing, hunting and nature, a good library is as valuable as rod or gun.

Authoritative reference books are more than good reading; they are sources that give the right answers, setting up new patterns of thinking, and teaching new skills.

This month and next Outdoor Nebraska will run a list of reference books compiled by experts—one list on wildlife and hunting, the other on fisheries and fishing.

The following books are recommended by Dr. George Hendrickson and Dr. Edward Kozicky, professors at Iowa State College and authorities on wildlife and its management. The books were chosen for usefulness, general interest, and accuracy.

WILDLIFE BOOKS—George O. Hendrickson and Edward L. Kozicky.

BIRDS

The Book of Bird Life. A. A. Allen. D. van Nostrand Co. New York, N. Y.

Pheasants Afield. D. L. Allen. Stackpole Co. Harrisburg, Pa.

The Blue-winged Teal. L. J. Bennett. Iowa State College Press, Ames, Iowa.

Bobwhites on the Rise. V. E. Davison. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, N. Y.

American Game Birds. F. E. Edminster. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, N. Y.

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America. F. H. Kortwright. Wildlife Management Institutute, Washington, D. C.

The Ring-necked Pheasant. W. L. McAtee, Editor, Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, D. C.

Waterfowl in Iowa. J. W. and Mary R. Musgrove. Iowa State Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa.

Audubon Bird Guide (Small Land Birds). R. H. Pough. Doubleday & Co., Garden City, N. Y.

Audubon Water Bird Guide (Game Birds). R. H. Pough. Doubleday & Co., Garden City, N. Y.

MAMMALS

Mammals of North America. V. H. Cahalane. MacMillan Co., New York, N. Y.

How to Know the Mammals. E. S. Booth. Wm. C. Brown Co., Dubuque, Iowa.

Field Guide to the Mammals. W. H. Burt and R. P. Grossenheider. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

The Mammal Guide, R. S. Palmer. Doubleday & Co., Garden City, N. Y.

The Raccoon. L. F. Whitney and A. B. Underwood. Practical Science Publishing Co., Orange, Conn.

The Clever Coyote. S. P. Young and H. H. T. Jackson. Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, Pa.

WILDLIFE FOODS

Wildfowl Food Plants. W. L. McAtee. Iowa State College Press, Ames, Iowa.

American Wildlife and Plants. Martin, Zim and Nelson. McGraw-Hill Book Co, New York, N. Y.

CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

Our Wildlife Legacy. D. L. Allen. Funk & Wagnalls Co.; New York, N. Y.

North American Waterfowl (Administration). A. M. Day. Stackpole Co, Harrisburg, Pa.

The Land and Wildlife. E. H. Graham. Oxford University Press, New York, N. Y.

Wildlife Management. I. N. Gabrielson. MacMillan Co, New York, N. Y.

Wildlife Refuges. I. N. Gabrielson. MacMillan Co, New York, N. Y.

Wildlife Conservation. I. N. Gabrielson. MacMillan Co, New York, N. Y.

The Way to Game Abundance. W. S. Grange, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, N. Y.

Those of the Forest. W. S. Grange, Flambeau Publishing Co, Babcock, Wis.

Game Management. A1 d o Leopold. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, N. Y.

Wildlife Management. Vols. 1 and 2. R. E. Trippensee. McGraw-Hill Book Co, New York, N. Y.

Transactions of North American Wildlife Conference. Yearly volumes beginning with 1936. Wildlife Management Institute. Washington, D. C.

The Practice of Wildlife Conservation. L. W. Wing. John Wiley & Sons, New York, N. Y.

HUNTING AND TRAPPING

Hunter's Encyclopedia. R. R. Camp. Editor. Stackpole Co, Harrisburg, Pa.

Modern Dog Encyclopedia. H. P. Davis, Editor. Stackpole Co, Harrisburg, Pa.

Hunting Whitetails. E. C. Edminister. Wm. Morrow & Co, New York 16, N. Y.

Hunting Ducks and Geese. E. C. Janes, Stackpole Co, Harrisburg, Pa.

The Duck Hunters Manual. Bob Kennedy. Hanover House, New York, N. Y.

Guide for Trapping. H. J. LaDue. Animal Trap Co, Lititz, Pa.

Calling All Game. Bert Popowski. Stackpole Co, Harrisburg, Pa.

Coon Hunter's Handbook. L. F. Whitney and A. B. Underwood. Practical Science Publishing Co, Orange, Conn.

Sholgunning in the Uplands. Ray P. Holland. A. S. Barnes & Co, New York, N. Y.

Shotgunning in the Lowlands. Ray P. Holland. A. S. Barnes & Co, New York, N. Y.

And here's an idea: this basic library would be a valuable addition to a sportsmen's clubhouse, where it would be available to members for reading and to give answers to the arguments that are always coming up. Another fine idea—and an excellent project for a sportsmen's group—is providing such books to public or school libraries.

SUMMER ISSUE 25

NOTES ON NEBRASKA FAUNA

Thriteen Striped Ground Squirrel This is the twenty-third of a series of articles and drawings depicting Nebraska wildlife. The article was written by Game Manager George Schildman and the drawing was prepared by Staff Artist C. G. "Bud" Prichard. The fall issues of OUTDOOR NEBRASKA will feature the raccoon.

CITELLUS TRIDECEMLINEATUS, that is his official name. Most of us know him as the thirteen striped or thirteen lined ground squirrel. Others erronously call him striped gopher, however, he is a ground squirrel and not a gopher.

His range is the great plains and prairie regions of central United States and southern Canada. He is a common and well known inhabitant throughout Nebraska. His perky attitude and quick actions are appealing and endearing to many. He has, however, made himself quite unpopular with farmers and care-takers of golf courses.

Of the three ground squirrels in Nebraska, he is the most abundant, and is of medium size. Adults measure 10 to 11 inches, the tail comprising three to four inches of that total. The smaller and uncommon spotted ground squirrel of the western part of the state measures about eight and one-half inches. Our largest member of the ground squirrels, called Franklin or gray ground squirrel is common over most of the eastern half of Nebraska and measures up to 14 inches. However, the latter two squirrels do not have stripes like the thirteen striped ground squirrel.

The name "thirteen striped" is befitting, since there are usually 13 stripes on the back. The arrangement of the stripes can be seen in the drawing on the opposite page. The broader dark stripes are broken by a series of grayish or buffy white splotches; the same color as the narrow alternating light stripes. The underside is buffy white. Those individuals in the eastern part of the state are generally darker than those in the drier western parts.

His home is a subterranean tunnel that may go almost straight down for a foot or two then a lateral tunnel may be several feet in length, with side chambers. Individuals, however, may build several burrows, some of which are for protection only. The entrance to the thirteen stripers burrow is different from most other ground squirrels, in that there is no mound. The soil is taken out in the cheek pouches and scattered in the grass some distance from the burrow.

The young are born about 27 days after mating in a nest of dry grass in a little side chamber. These squirrels begin to breed during April, and by May or early June, five to thirteen young are born. (Wade, Otis, Journal of Mammology, 1927; 8,271). The young squirrels are ready to leave home about six weeks later.

A very small portion of his life is spent enjoying it. About six months are spent in hibernation, from September till early April. In addition to spending half of the year in hibernation, half of each of the summer days are spent presumably sleeping. He waits until after the sun has risen to get up and retires before it gets to the western horizon.

He appears to enjoy life to the fullest though, as he frolics in the sunshine. The striper still has plenty of zip under a broiling, midsummer afternoon sun, when most other creatures have sought out a shady spot to while away the hottest hours of the day. He breaks the silence occasionally with his high pitched bird-like whistle.

The last few weeks, before he goes into hibernation, are spent consuming large amounts of food and storing up fat in the body tissues. When that September day rolls around he plugs up the hole behind him and coils up in a ball in his nest of dried grass.

Although he apparently eats nothing during the winter, he has a large store of seeds and grains; perhaps for the time he awakens in the spring. His normal body temperature of 90° to 160° F. will drop to 37°F., and his heart beat is reduced from near 250 per minute to only five. Although most of them probably awaken every couple of weeks, none go out-of-doors until the warmer days of spring.

It is because of their digging habits that makes the thirteen striper unpopular with golf course keepers; and his feeding habits bring out the wrath of the farmers. In the spring they come out of hibernation lean and hungry. Newly planted seed corn is available by early May and appeals to their appetite. At least a portion of these losses that are blamed on pheasants belonged on the shoulders of this little fellow. Small grains are also taken, sometimes in considerable amounts. Like all wild creatures, they have some beneficial aspects too. Part of the damage they do is offset by the other part of their diet. Insects of all kinds, grasshoppers, grubs, caterpillars, crickets, wireworms, cutworms, beetles and ants are eaten. Plant material makes up over half his diet including many kinds of weed seeds, plant leaves, roots, acorns, and berries. The seeds he carries back to the burrow to be stored are taken back in cheek pockets.

Although he is very handy with his paws, the food is actually forced into the cheek pouches by swelling his neck muscles. He resembles a vacuum sweeper by the ease and rapidity with which he gathers food. If he is going to eat the seeds on the spot he lets the seeds slip out of the cheeks and onto the grinding molars. The husks are spit out. If the food item being eaten is an insect such as a grasshopper, he starts eating the head end first.

Their enemies are many, as is the case with other species that have large families. Cats, dogs, coyotes, foxes, weasels, hawks, snakes and cars all take their toll. Poisoning, trapping and shooting by man also account for many where the thirteen striper has made a nusiance of himself.

Recent ideas on range management indicate control of ground squirrels and other small mammals that reach "pest" size populations may be attained by better management. Agricultural college studies indicate the abundance of these animals increases from conditions of over-grazing of grassland, possibly because they seem to prefer areas of scanty vegetation, where their vision and movements are unhampered.

26 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

STUDENT'S OUTDOOR CREED

I BELIEVE THAT MY OUTDOOR MANNERS REFLECT WHAT I AM AT HOME I BELIEVE IN KEEPING WATERS. HIGHWAYS AND CAMP-GROUNDS CLEAN I BELIEVE IN TAKING ONLY LEGAL FISH AND GAME AND WILL DO MY PART IN THEIR PROPAGATION I BELIEVE IN SECURING PERMISSION BEFORE USING OR ENTERING ANOTHER'S PROPERTY AND WILL LEAVE IT WITHOUT DAMAGE. I BELIEVE THAT PUBLIC PROPERTY IS FOR ALL OF US AND THAT I SHOULD PLAY FAIR IN ITS USE I BELIEVE THAT CARELESSNESS WITH FIRE IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY. I BELIEVE IN ABSOLUTE SAFETY WITH FIREARMS AND WILL OBSERVE ALL PRECAUTIONS IN THEIR USE. I BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD DO ALL IN OUR POWER TO KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL AND PRODUCTIVE. I WILL DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE WITH OUR NATURAL RESOURCES EACH DAY I SPEND IN THE OUT-OF-DOORS

THIS IS THE new Student's Outdoor Creed, prepared by George E. Rotter, Supervisor of Conservation Education, State Department of Education. The Creed will be used by Nebraska teachers in both the elementary and high school grades with a detailed guide to aid them.

Nebraska teachers desiring the Outdoor Creed should place their request with their county or city Superintendent's office. The Superintendent's office will in turn order the Creeds from the State Board of Education.

Postmaster: If undeliverable FOR ANY REASON, notify sender, stating reason, on FORM 3547, postage for which is guaranteed. FORWARDING POSTAGE GUARANTEED OUTDOOR NEBRASKA STATE HOUSE Lincoln, Nebraska