Outdoor NEBRASKA

Vol. 34. No. 4 Editorial Staff R. L. Munger Editor C. G. Pritchard Artist Leota Ostermeier Circulation Commissioners Bennett Davis Omaha Frank Button Ogallala LaVerne Jacobsen St. Pant Floyd Stone Alliance Leon A. Sprague Red Cloud Don F. Robertson North Platte George Pinkerton Beatrice Administrative Staff Melvin O. Steen Director Glen R. Foster Fisheries Lloyd P. Vance Game Eugene H. Baker Construction and Engineering Jack D. Strain Land Management Robert L. Munger Information and Education 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

There's Witchery in a Word . . .

There's a magic to the word "Fall."

Pictures begin flickering on the screen of memory upon hearing it. . . . of Halloween time, with pumpkins like yellow marbles on a brown rug ripening in fields of shocked corn . . . harvest nearly over, most of the crops in, and a harvest moon dripping moonbeams through the trees like a huge golden goblet filled to overflowing. . . . the riot of color in the woods as each vain tree tries to outdo its neighbor in donning fancy red and yellow tinted clothing. . . .

The animals know it first, and begin laying aside food and deepening their nests to make it through the long winter that is coming soon.

The plants know it next, and start shedding their leaves as a brilliant courtesy to the summer's bounty of rain and sun.

And third to know of Fall's coming is the hunter, as he spots long strings of waterfowl come veeing down from the North country and revels in the wanderlust that rises in him as he listens to the plaintive honkings and quackings. ... or as he takes to the field after the rabbit and pheasant and finds the glint of Jack Frost's handiwork in the early morning grass.

Last of all to know is of course the city dweller, shut in by his canyons of concrete and paths of asphalt and paving. He is hurrying so fast he misses the tang in the air that presages the coming of Fall.

But before all of these, long before the city dweller and the hunter, even before the plants and animals, the farmer knows of the coming of Fall. To him the seasons are each behind doors. Four times a year he opens another door and is in another season, and although they are pretty much what he expected, each season is a little different from the others that he remembers.

The same, but different.

So Summer is over, Winter is coming. . . . and a hunter's moon hangs high to tell us that in between is the season of magic we know as Fall.

R. M. THE COVER: This cover shows a fox squirrel in a typical fall setting in Nebraska. The color painting is by Staff Artist C. G. "Bud" Pritchard.

Table of Contents

Fox Squirrel .Cover Editorial Page 2 Save the Whoopers! ....Page 3 Rabbit Hunt No "Kids' Game" .Page 4 The Gas Pedal Is a Predator Too .Page 5 The Central Flyway ....Page 6 The Soil Bank Plan—Dawn of a New Day Page 10 Coturnix Page 14 Safety Poster Award Won by Illustrator—Humans Still Top Destroyer of Woodland ..Page 17 Our Vanishing Shoreline ..Page 18 Conservation Legislation ...Page 21 Catching Carp .... Page 22 Thorough Cleaning Will Make Guns Last ..Page 25 Coyote (Fauna Series) Page 26

FALL ISSUE 3

Rabbit Hunt No 'Kids' Game

By Bob Munger

Rabbit hunting is something that a fellow usually does when there's nothing else to do.

Nine times out of ten he goes rabbit hunting in the late fall or winter, preferably when there is a slight snow cover on the ground. And nine times out of the same ten he is much more successful at rabbit hunting than at any other type of hunting that he may do.

Take my own case, for instance.

My hunting companion of late is a slow riser. He would prefer to hear the singing of the birds and the sharp beams of the sun in his face as he arises from bed in the mornings, and sometimes it's quite a tussle to get him out in time to get in on the good hunting.

AND LATE in the pheasant season last fall, when the birds were getting harder to find than teeth in a hen's mouth, I suggested a rabbit hunt.

"Rabbits," he snorted! "Why nobody hunts them except kids. Forget it!"

As it turned out he had never bothered to hunt rabbits before in his life, and had no intention of starting at that stage of the game. But after a few minutes of persuasion he consented to give it a try—but only on a trial basis.

"If I don't like it," he said, "and I won't, we'll just give it up and spend our time hunting for something that is fun to hunt."

On the strength of that I called a farmer friend and arranged to hunt the next day.

That night it snowed. Not heavily, just a half-inch or so, but just enough to make it perfect rabbit hunting. And about an hour before daybreak I used a crowbar to get him out of the sack and we headed for rabbit country. Rabbit country—that's anyplace in Nebraska where there is some slight cover and nearby food.

JUST AS the sun came peeking over a wind-swept hill we parked the car by a mile-long, brush covered draw and hopped out to investigate. The head of the draw looked like the rabbits had been holding a camp meeting there. Tracks by the thousands led in under the trees, and there the snow had been beaten down as if a herd of Rabbit homes right under our feet. cattle had been stampeding through.

"Are you sure there are rabbits around here?" my sleep-blinded friend asked.

After assuring him that there was a strong possibility of encountering Mr. Cottontail he agreed to give the draw a try. At first we saw no game. We must have walked at least a hundred yards before the first cottontail hopped up and blasted off through the trees and brush.

"Bang . . . zing . . . crack!" Three .22 slugs went whipping into the snow around the rabbit's flying feet, but none of them connected, and the bunny went in mad leaps out of sight into a large patch of weeds.

WELL, TO shorten this tail down a little, as the man said when he applied a knife to the puppy's posterior, we finally got to hitting some of the flying bits of fur.

On further down the draw rabbits were jumping out on all sides of us . . . behind us after we had passed by places where we thought no rabbit could have hidden . . . right beside us as we crashed our way through the weeds and brush . . . and far out in front as they were scared up by our clumsy feet. It was a day to remember. By noon we had four rabbits each, more than enough for our small families, so we called it quits. We had missed dozens of shots apiece, but we were exhilirated from a hunt in which game was extremely plentiful, all the shooting a hunter could ask for, and some meat to bring home to the cooks.

And speaking of cooks, that was the part of the proceedings that really OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 4   swung my friend around to rabbit hunting. We gathered our dependents around a communal board that evening for a small feast, and it was a sight to behold.

THE RABBITS had been fried until nearly done, then switched to a stew skillet to steam for awhile in a barbecue sauce of sorts. The sauce had as its main ingredient tomato paste, but a sprinkle of garlic had been added, as well as chili powder, celery salt, lemon juice and a slice or two of onion.

The newly-born rabbit hunter pushed his plate back at last with a sigh like a broken bellows, rapped a knuckle on his oldest boy's head for silence, and announced in a formal manner that would have done credit to an elder statesman, "Friends, I want to say here and now that this is the best eating I ever had in my life . . . following one of the most enjoyable hunts that I have ever had . . . and I just want to say for all to hear that I can now be classed as a rabbit hunter. Thank you."

After considerable ceremony the rabbit-eating meeting was adjourned, but I'm looking forward to the first snow. I'm expecting a call from a certain EX-hater of rabbit hunting.

THE GAS PEDAL IS A PREDATOR TOO

Everyone recognizes that the automobile plays an important, but indirect, part in harvesting the annual wildlife crop by transporting sportsmen to and from the hunting fields. But comparatively few give much thought to the devastating wildlife tool the automobile itself takes on America's highways.

Everybody who drives on highways or rural roads sees the dead bodies of rabbits, opossums, skunks, and other game species but generally accepts these occurrences as natural tragedies of the road with no thought of the total effect.

CERTAINLY sporting firearms, next to nature itself are the most important tools in harvesting the annual wildlife crop. This is proper as the kill is clean and the meat is seldom wasted. But game killed on the highways by automobiles is almost always a total loss, a loss that mounts in importance because most of the deaths occur during the breeding and rearing seasons.

While no accurate figures are available, and it would be hardly possible to obtain them, it would be no exaggeration to say the total for the entire country runs into staggering numbers. The Kentucky State Division of Game and Fish released some figures several years ago that might well apply to any similar period. These figures are admittedly incomplete as a few of the 108 observers in all districts of the state were not employed during the entire eight months' period of the survey. But they show that 13,267 edible game birds and animals are killed on Kentucky's highways during two-thirds of "that year. These figures do not include the toll taken from the state's population of red and gray foxes, skunk, mink, or song birds, not generally considered as part of the sportsman's larder.

IF KENTUCKY'S conservation figures were to be used as a measuring stick for the whole country and thus multiplied by 48, the loss in edible game to highway deaths would be well over 600,000 game birds and/or animals for the period. Disregarding the remaining four months of the year and using 600,000 as a total, which would certainly be an ultra-conservative figure, this represents a considerable poundage of delicious and highly-prized meat lost to the sportsman's table through the carelessness of thoughtless drivers.

It would be again conservative to estimate this meat loss at 1,200,000 pounds, or two pounds to the bird or animal. Placing a value of $2 per pound on it would bring this monetary figure close to $2,500,000.

IN THIS ANALYSIS no consideration has been given the loss in clean healthful sport to the hunter or in breeding stock to wildlife resources, either of which is a more important item than the actual loss in edible meat. The considerate motorist will do well to scan these figures with a thoughtful eye. If they cause him to slow down the next time he sees game in the road ahead, he will be making a contribution to his own pleasure, the pleasure of sportsmen and conservationists in general, and, in a small way, to the nation's economy. And he could be saving his own life.

FALL ISSUE 5

THE CENTRAL FLYWAY

Man has been constantly pushing himself forward toward an easier way of living. In North America, where an abundance of natural resources has made it all so possible, the rate of progress has been rapid. Within a relatively short span of history, miracles have been performed in the development of power, transportation, production of foods and other goods, and in practically all other fields. Up to the present time the advance toward a push-button world and a lot of leisure time has given little consideration to the impact it is having on several important heritages. One of these which is being influenced most is the sport of hunting wild ducks and geese.

A cloud of uncertainty is being cast over the future of waterfowling as man surges ahead, increasing his own numbers, and exploiting just about everything and anything necessary to satisfy his restless motivations. There may come a day when developments such as power by cosmic rays and concocted foods would take the high premium off of water. Then, water which is the key to the existence and development of both human and waterfowl populations, would not be so important in determining the location and growth of cities and could be turned more to the benefit of wild things, including waterfowl, and man's enjoyment of them.

SUCH DEVELOPMENTS are not with us now. Instead, there exists a complex of circumstances which is eating away both at the habitat waterfowl need to maintain themselves and at the habitat necessary for public enjoyment of the resource. Coupled with these OUTDOOR NEBRASKA 6   problems of disappearing habitats is another of about equal importance—the problem of an increasing human population with more leisure time for hunting. A sort of chain reaction has developed:

1. The human population continues to grow and to concentrate in urban centers. As this trend develops so does the demand increase for water for purposes other than waterfowl and waterfowl hunting. More water for food, goods, power, and urban development means more drainage of areas producing waterfowl, more concentration of available river water into huge impoundments, and more potholes, marshes, and river sections dry when needed most by waterfowl and hunters.

2. As a result of present trends in water distribution and use, the normal distribution of waterfowl is being compressed or concentrated on reservoirs and on sanctuary impoundments provided by conservation agencies. With concentration of waterfowl, come concentration of hunters, disease, lead poisoning, and other mortality factors. Firing line problems arise. Then, too, because few large reservoirs have sufficient food to supply needs of the waterfowl, the birds range out into adjacent agricultural fields for food, thus frequently creating severe crop depredation problems. There are too many waterfowl in some places for the economy of the land and the welfare of the birds, and too few in other places for the recreation of sportsmen.

3. While the trend in waterfowl habitat is downward, the demand for more waterfowl continues upward. This is brought about not only by the growth of the human population, but by the fact that the increased leisure time is making waterfowl hunters out of a greater percentage of the population. A recent prediction by a recreational authority says the average worker will be working only 30 hours per week by 1975, and only 7 hours per week in 100 years. Consider this in the light of some facts on the increase in waterfowl hunters in the Central Flyway. During the period 1940-1950 people in the Flyway increased 11 percent; waterfowl hunters, 83 percent. If these indicate a general trend, then the waterfowl population will have to increase materially over the years or there will be fewer birds per hunter.

4. The redistribution of water on the breeding, migration, and wintering grounds of waterfowl is changing land values. In many sections, the value of land affording opportunity to hunt is now many times that of adjacent crop land. The demand for hunting land grows as the areas become fewer; and the rich and smart sportsmen, recognizing the trend, are acquiring the water rights and land as fast as opportunity develops. Meanwhile, conservation agencies are hamstrung with outmoded regulations of ideas which dictate that hunting land must have a lower value than crop land. One need not look far for the end product — fewer places where John Doe can hunt, and these of marginal quality.

ALL OF THESE circumstances and many other related ones point up to the fact that if the John Does of future generations are to enjoy the sport of hunting wild waterfowl, it will take the combined and cooperative efforts of both Federal and State conservation agencies, as well as the backing, financial and otherwise, of individual sportsmen interested in retaining the sport for the many instead of for the few.

Recognition that civilization was doing more against than for waterfowling is not new.

As early as May 1900 Congress passed the Lacey Act which recognized the need for control of interstate traffic in game birds and other animals. Then in 1918, the much debated Migratory Bird Treaty with Great Britain and the Enabling Act were upheld by Supreme Court action. Under these Acts, the Federal Government was made responsible for the protection and welfare of the birds migrating between Canada and the United States and was authorized to develop and enforce regulations to that end.

Following these Acts, it became apparent that regulations alone were not sufficient to manage the migratory bird resource. Preservation and development of habitat for the birds also was a prime need. Attempting to meet this need, the Norbeck-Andreson Act (Migratory Bird Conservation Act) of February 1918, authorized appropriations for habitat development and maintenance. Appropriations under this Act, however, were never sufficient to cover the needs and it became evident that other sources of funds would have to be found. The Duck Stamp Act of 1934 was an outgrowth of this need.

IT REQUIRED every waterfowl hunter over 16 years of age to purchase a one dollar duck stamp annually before hunting ducks or geese. An amendment in 1949 raised the price of a duck stamp to two dollars. Under this Act and its amendments, 15 per cent of the funds is available for administration and enforcement of regulations; and 85 per cent for habitat acquisition, development, maintenance and research; also that habitats acquired in the future may be so managed that 25 per cent is open to controlled public hunting.

Meanwhile, in 1937, an agreement similar to the Migratory Bird Treaty with Great Britain was reached between the United States and the Government of Mexico. Also, in July 1938, the Federal Aid Act, a very important conservation move, became effective. This Act, plus current amendments, places an 11 per cent excise tax on arms and ammunition, the moneys so obtained to be used by the various states to protect and restore game. A Coordination Act (Public Law 732) also was an important step forward in conservation for waterfowl. This Act, passed in 1934, and amended in 1946, aimed at giving both state and federal conservation agencies a part in the planning of all (excepting those in the Tennessee Valley) important water-use projects built with federal funds.

ALL OF THE ACTS mentioned reflect the growing concern for the future welfare of waterfowl and waterfowling.

Only in recent years have administrators and sportsmen's associations realized the magnitude and complexity of the waterfowl management problem and taken serious interest in implementing the efforts of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The active interest was fine, except that as it spreads from one state to another, there developed wide differences in views between states and between individual states and the Federal Service. This was because each state was having to view management needs on conditions within its own boundaries and, in most instances, was using different survey methods to arrive at an idea of conditions. Since circumstances vary widely between flyways and sections of flyways, circumstances in one area are not at all indicative of conditions elsewhere or of over-all conditions. Even if survey procedures had been uniform, a wide separation of ideas of what should or should not be done in management would be expected; unless, of course, all agencies were looking at the same survey data.

THE SITUATION was one in which the potential for progress in waterfowl management was going off in many different directions, even though all agencies were after the same end result. It became quite evident that if the desired goal was to be reached, the Service and the states in each waterfowl flyway would have to get together on principles, objectives, plans, procedures and the review and dissemination of information.

FALL ISSUE 7   8 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA  

THE NEED for coordination of effort finally became widely recognized and served as a catalyzer to bring into existence a new era of waterfowl-management — one having a keynote of cooperation. The era was ushered in formally in Dallas, Texas, at the Fortyfirst Convention of the International Association of Game, Fish, and Conservation Commissioners. At that convention resolutions were passed focusing nationwide attention on the problem and calling for organizational steps to be taken by both the States and the Fish and Wildlife Service to effect better working relations. While the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas had made some strides toward an organization of Central Flyway States, such organization was not firmed up until representatives of the above states met in Oklahoma City in May of 1952. At that time there was established:

1. A Central Flyway Waterfowl Council — composed of the official heads of the wildlife conservation agencies for the states in the flyway. Its job would be to implement the waterfowl program of the Central Flyway by providing, through surveys, urgently needed management information; by assistance in law enforcement; and by supplementing Federal work in the restoration, development, and management of waterfowl habitat in the flyway. In carrying out its function, the Council would be furnished flyway-wide research and management information, and have the responsibility and authority for review and interpretation of the data, and for making recommendations on flyway projects, regulations and other management measures.

2. Technical Waterfowl Committee —an organization of state waterfowl technicians within the flyway. The Committee would be the main tool by which the Flyway Council would implement the program of management. It should furnish the technical manpower and know-how needed in conducting surveys, reporting on results, interpreting evidence, and advising the Flyway Council.

3. Procedures for appointment of two Flyway Council members to the National Waterfowl Council. The function of the latter is to consider flyway management problems on a national basis; and through annual meetings with the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service and his advisory staff to make such recommendations on regulations, policies, and management measures as seem appropriate.

THE SERVICE also took steps to gear its thinking and organization more in line with the needs of waterfowl management in the Central Flyway. At the meeting in Oklahoma City at which the Central Flyway Council and Technical Committee were firmly established, the Service announced its moves toward cooperative management:

(1) The appointment of a Central Flyway Representative with headquarters in Denver, Colorado, but functioning directly out of Washington as a staff member and adviser to the Director and the Branch of Game Management. It would be his job to work with the Flyway Council, Technical Committee, and the three Regional Offices involved in the flyway in developing principles of management for the flyway, and in planning flyway-wide coordinated programs. While he would assist in the planning of the over-all continentwide program, his attention would be focused primarily on conditions in the Central Flyway and on bringing Council and Regional Office thinking and management activities into channels most beneficial to waterfowl and waterfowling in that flyway;

(2) the addition of two Assistant Game Management Supervisors to the existing staff of personnel in each Region already engaged in waterfowl management. One Assistant Supervisor would coordinate regional law enforcement activities and one would handle regional technical waterfowl problems and projects. It would be the responsibility of each Regional Director, assisted by these men, and by the others of his staff in the Branches of Game Management, Wildlife Research, Wildlife Refuges, Federal Aid, and River Basin, to coordinate Regional activities into the flyway-wide programs and to carry the operational ball with the states in the region.

This then is the machinery which has been set up to improve waterfowl management in the Central Flyway.

THE SOIL BANK PLAN - DAWN OF A NEW DAY

By MEL STEEN PART I Before the Dawn

In this land of ours there originally existed environmental conditions that we call climax. This simply means that Nature, left to herself, had established a relatively stable and enduring production of plants and animals which were adapted to the conditions under which they lived. That was the land of the Indian and the buffalo.

Into this virgin land came civilized man with his axe, his match, his cow and his plow. He promptly set to work to convert the production of the land from Nature's climax crops to the food and fiber that civilization demands, and for which it pays the producer good American dollars. That was land-use, which always brings great environmental change. From that day to this, evolution of environment has swept relentlessly on. Throughout it all man has given little thought to wildlife environment; his concern is to build environment for himself, his family and his kind. This we cannot change; this we would not change if we could. No one really wants to turn this evolution back.

ALTHOUGH we are concerned primarily with our own environment and have no particular intent to modify wildlife habitat, we cannot manipulate our own living conditions without farreaching effects on other life. The changes we bring about may be either beneficial or detrimental to wildlife, depending on the state of the evolution, and the wildlife species involved. At one point or another, we usually reach a set of conditions that is more favorable to a given species than were the climax conditions of nature. Unfortunately, evolution rarely stops on such a ''plateau," but moves relentlessly on down the far slope, carrying environment and the species with it. The manipulation of wildlife habitat may be unintentional, but that does not alter its progress or impact—we deal with continuous and catastrophic environmental evolution.

The stage of the evolvement and the speed of change are governed by several factors, chief of which are human populations and current economics. Conditions vary widely across the nation; they vary even within a given state. In general, the more populous the area the more intense is the land use, and the greater the change. But whatever their population density may be, all people in all areas are governed by economics, and the force of this factor is reflected in all their activities, including the use of the land. In truth, the economic factor is the real manager of wildlife in America, and the most potent force in the entire field of conservation.

Part I consists of excerpts from Mel Steen's stirring and trail-blazing "Essay on Evolution" which first appeared in the March, 1954, issue of the "Missouri Conservationist," and was widely re-published. We present these excerpts as background for Part II which is equally thoughtprovoking, and takes the reader on a new trail-blazing jaunt still further into the future. EDITOR

AT PRESENT we have before us an old problem of American economics that many seem to think is new. We speak of it as our "farm problem" but this is a misnomer. It is, in truth, the peoples' problem!

We speak here of America's most productive acres, the source of our food and fiber, the land that guards us from poverty and famine. We speak of America's land, from whence comes raw material to feed our factories and keep our labor gainfully employed; that resource which makes possible the greatest industrial colossus this world has ever seen. We speak of the "soil bank" that "financed" the growth of this nation, and which still supports us in our way of life. We speak of the greatest resource we possess, our land, in which every living American has a stake as do all the generations yet unborn—we speak of that land as though it were a liability, and we call its bountiful production "our farm problem." I say that is a misnomer! This problem is as All-American as any issue this nation has ever faced!

WE SHOULD know that our way of life is possible only because our farmers are efficient and our land productive. We should know that all our people in all walks of life are sustained by this fertile land of ours; that every facet of American life rests upon and survives by reason of this fortunate foundation. We should all have a deep and very personal interest in America's land—it is the stuff of which our own environment is made. We should know that we are history's luckiest people, that we own the best environment this material world has given any nation! We should all know this, but we should also know that we can easily dissipate this great inheritance of ours—that our environment is a perishable thing!

There is a way, a simple way, by which we can save our inheritance and solve our production problem. We can pay the American farmer for devoting surplus acreage to the production of soil building rather than soil-depleting crops.

Immediately, someone will say that we do not pay the farmer for growing soil-depleting crops. Granted, we do not make direct payments, but we do support the prices of soil-depleting crops at levels that make their continued 10 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   production profitable. By so doing, we provide incentive for the production of surpluses, and end up with rigid crop controls as the best alternative in the dilemma we have created.

I SUBMIT that there is a much better way—take surplus acres rather than surplus products out of circulation. Deposit our public funds in the soil bank of America; stop making withdrawals from that bank in the form of products we do not currently need.

Such a program should require that the surplus acreage be withdrawn from the production of cash crops, and devoted to soil-building practices. The growing deficiency of nutrients and organic matter in our acreage cropland is, in my opinion, a dangerous threat to future production from our best land. The obvious answer to our needs, therefore, is to plant surplus acres to soil-building grasses and legumes, particularly deep-rooted legumes. But whatever the details, the program should insure continuing deposits in our soil bank, and the prohibition of withdrawal therefrom until the depositors require it. In return for this, the nation should pay the American farmer adequate rental for the retired acreage.

We have adequate justification for doing so in the fact that we will be using our tax money to enforce soil conservation, a national must in which we all have a stake. Our present expenditures accomplish little more than to buy surpluses and soil depletion, plus inadequate and inequitable protection for the American farmer. Under the proposed program we would deposit these funds in a joint savings account in the nation's soil bank; we would be building up, not tearing down our own environment; we would be paying the premiums on insurance that will stabilize farm economy and protect the future well-being of all America!

IF THAT is not enough, there is one more benefit—a bonus that has social, recreational, and economic values. The program, once in operation, will work wonders for wildlife. Thirty million acres of grasses and legumes, permanently in place, is a windfall beyond the wildest dream of the average wildlife manager.

I was born and reared in North Darkota and spent many years in wildlife management work in that state. I took an active and official part in the distribution and establishment there of the ringnecked pheasant, and studied the bird closely through all those years.

Many people are familiar with the irruption of the pheasant in South Dakota, but not as many know that a similar irruption occurred in North Dakota. In the eyes of the wildlife manager, the Dakota pheasant irruption was an unbelievable thing—pheasant so abundant that densities approaching ten birds per acre were censused over substantial areas.

My studies convinced me that this phenomenal population came about because of extremely favorable environment. At the height of the irruption in North Dakota, an average of 15 per cent of the land in the better pheasant ranges lay idle, untouched by the cow, the plow, the match or the mower. One acre in six was undisturbed pheasant habitat from January 1 to December 31. Most of the unused acreage was covered with legumes or succession annuals, both very favorable for the ringneck. The pheasant habitat was wonderful!

THIRTY million acres is more than 8 per cent of all the cropland in America. Remember that only 15 per cent of the cropland in North Dakota was idle when the pheasant hit his alltime high. The potential for wildlife is obvious. Thirty million acres of retired cropland in America would bring great increase in wildlife populations, especially farm game such as pheasants, quail and rabbits. Fifteen million American hunters will appreciate this bonus, and will support the program vigorously. In short everyone will benefit by the proposed change, and the benefits will grow through the years.

May I repeat here that we are history's luckiest people—we own the best environment this material world has given any nation. May I also repeat that our environment is perishable!

From the dawn of history down to the present moment, man's known record is one long story of exploitation the continuous depletion of the natural resources that sustain him in the better way of life. The pages of history tell a startling story of man's failure to evolve intellectually to a stage which permits him to properly protect his own environment. Given time to complete FALL ISSUE 11   the cycle, civilized nations have squandered the reserve on deposit in every soil bank under their stewardship, and have been forced to rebuild these assets by conquest or great austerity; failing which they have passed on into national decay or oblivion.

REVIEW the record, my fellow citizens, study history critically. When you do you will become quite humble; you will acquire serious misgivings about the vaunted intellectual superiority of your own species. You will begin to understand what that able historian Hendrik Van Loon meant when he said: "The history of man is the story of a hungry animal in search of food."

PART II After the Dawn

The soil bank concept of conservation and farm-surplus control has now been written into national law. Under this law, direct application of this concept is rapidly swinging into action. In taking this unparalleled step, the American people have embarked on a united national effort that holds promise of progress and accomplishments never before attained by any people in all of recorded history!

In the final analysis, America's wealth and strength consists of just two things—human resources and natural resources. Because we are an energetic and ingenious people, and because we own the world's best storehouse of natural resources, we have become the wealthiest and the most powerful nation in all the world. Our great problem and our great need is to stay that way!

THE greatest natural treasure we possess is our fertile lands. The renewable products of these lands provide more than two-thirds of all the natural resources that sustain our American economy—that make our way of life possible. From these fertile lands come also, the nutritious foods that insure our physical well-being—that keep us an energetic and ingenious people. So far as we now know or can foresee, our economic and biological well-being as a growing nation depends on our ability to conserve, restore and increase the quantitative and qualitative production of our land for all time!

The soil bank is the best vehicle yet conceived for doing just that. Plain logic, applied to the problems of the present, says this is so. The history of the past, likewise, says this is so. In truth, the problems of the present are really old stuff—no more nor less than history repeating itself here in this new land we call America!

Down through all human civilizations, nations have used their lands to produce more specialized food and fiber for human consumption than is available under climax conditions. They have manipulated their lands so as to produce these things; they have steered production into channels very different from those Nature would follow. This human manipulation we call, simply, agriculture.

IN THAT manipulation (agriculture) all civilizations have made the same fatal mistake. They have maintained production—as long as they could—out of their soil banks, out of the fertility reserves stored up down through the ages by Nature under her own form of farming—climax manipulation.

This has been a primary cause for the decline or fall of empires. It is suicidal, in the long run, for any nation to maintain production indefinitely out of fertility reserves. It is suicidal because it is biologically unsound. There is no escape from the final accounting, because Nature earmarks for ultimate destruction all things that are biologically unsound. To state it another way, any nation that engages in and persists in biologically unsound living, signs its own death warrant. Execution may come slowly, but it comes as certainly as time itself!

All life—plant or animal—is a part of a food chain. In other words, all life lives because of a nutritional cycle, wherein life-giving nutrients pass from one form of life to another, until finally these nutrients end up back where they started, only to begin the cycle all over again. Stated yet another way, life consists of a continuous cycle of birth, growth, death and decay. Article I of Nature's Constitution says that this nutritional cycle must be maintained without impairment, else all life that is a part of the cycle will suffer.

IN THE case of the land, this means that the nutrients taken out of the soil by plants, and then from the plants by animals and humans, must be returned to the soil, else that life-line (food chain) will be impaired. Any process which does not return to the soil those nutrients, or their equivalents, is biologically unsound.

If the foregoing sounds involved or profound, let me say that it really is not. All it adds up to is an effort to tell you that natural laws say we must put back the nutrients we borrow from the land if we want to escape ultimate punishment for defaulting on our loan. In fertile Nebraska long-term loans have been and are available but even here we must repay in the end—or else!

The soil bank is one means by which this may be done. It enables the American farmer to stock-pile nutrients in his soil against the day when American life-lines have need to borrow those nutrients. The soil bank gives the farmer an option wherein he can choose to stock-pile the raw resources used in his agricultural factory at times when it is desirable to reduce the output of the factory. It does this by reducing the farmer's economic need to draw upon fertility reserves for the production of farm commodities which he sells to stay out of the red even when the nation does not have current need for those commodities. Moreover, the soil bank is the first substantial attempt in all history to adjust a nation's economy to the biological law. In the past, civilized man has tried to cram his economic systems down nature's throat; he has failed to see that he is attempting to do the impossible—that any system that is biologically unsound is also economically unsound.

THIS is true in our case; America's history reveals an unrealistic approach to agricultural economy. We believe 12 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   that we are paying a fair and adequate price for farm commodities whenever the average farmer makes enough to stay in business. We do not understand that (except for war-time economy, etc.) the average farmer must live on credit (fertility reserves) and not on any profit we give him; he is borrowing from America's soil bank to stay in business.

A farm is an agricultural plant that produces farm commodities. The production process is biological; in other words, all the products of a farm are living things. Those living things are part of some food-chain (nutritional cycle) on the farm. Corn, wheat, cattle, hogs, cotton, tobacco, and other farm commodities are not raw materials, they are the finished products of the agricultural factory. The raw materials that were used in this production (in addition to water and sunlight) were calcium, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, copper, cobalt, iron, and other nutrients that were borrowed from the soil. These nutrients or their equivalents must be put back, or else all of us will suffer in the end.

THE farmer cannot put them back and stay in business if we pay him no more than a scant return on his capital investment in the agricultural plant, plus the labor cost involved in operating that plant. We must also pay for the raw materials that he uses in the production of the commodities we need. The way to do so is through the soil bank plan. By so doing, we give the farmer the option of either producing or stock-piling, whichever fits our current need for farm commodities. The system is self-regulating—if surpluses exist and prices decline, it will profit the farmer to stock-pile; if shortages exist and prices rise, it will profit him to produce.

Let me make it very clear here, that the need to stock-pile in times of excess production is of far greater import to the American consumer than to the American farmer. At the present time we have about two and one-half acres of productive cropland for each American citizen. In other words, a farmer who owns or operates two hundred and fifty acres of such land, controls and manipulates the life-line of one hundred other Americans! If that farmer chooses to do so, he can convert the fertility reserves of that land into money that he can bank in his own lifetime. In so doing he has maintained his own economic (cash) security, but he has also cut or greatly impaired the life-line of one hundred other Americans. They are the ones who will suffer; they are the ones who will pay in the end. They and their children!

THE soil bank is far more than an attempt to reduce our present surplus of farm commodities, although the acreage reserve is designated primarily for that purpose. The soil bank's conservation reserve is the beginning of a new concept and a new era in America. It is a realistic and biologically sound answer to a multitude of problems, through the most compelling of all incentives—the economic approach. It is manna out of heaven to the wildlife manager; it is a long-delayed acknowledgement of the fact that we owe American agriculture more than we now pay for farm commodities. It is assurance to coming generations that we will not whittle away their lifelines; it is the beginning of a new and better day for all Americans. The adoption of the soil bank concept is a breakthrough by the American people into a field of new and united national effort that holds promise of progress and accomplishments never before attained by any nation in all history!

A new day dawns in America. A bright, new morning moves across the prairies, over the mountains, and down to the ocean, white with foam. A new day dawns over the land of the free and the home of the brave; the most promising day, say I, in all our history!

FALL ISSUE 13

COTURNIX

The quail of the Old World, to be tested in Nebraska soon. These birds have the widest distribution of any game bird in the world, and are well liked by everyone. The landowner likes Coturnix quail because they eat insects in large quantities, do not need "ready-made" cover in which to live, and are a pretty bird.

The hunter will like him because he is a tricky target, lies well to a hunting dog, and is one of the best eating of all wild game.

(See story* page 16.)

14 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   FALL ISSUE 15   Coturnix Quail To Be Tested Here

"And it came to pass, that even the quails came up and covered the camps," to quote Exodus 16:13.

And in Numbers 11:31, 32: "And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on the other side, around about the camp, as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth ... And the people stood up all that day and all that night and all the next day and they gathered the quails. He that gathered least gathered ten homers and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp."

The quail first referred to in the Old Testament are Coturnix quail, to be tested in Nebraska as soon as it is possible, according to Mel Steen, Director of the State Game Commission.

FIRST introduced into Missouri by Steen when he was Chief of the Fish and Game Division of that state, Coturnix quail may work in this state.

The Biblical record in Exodus refers to the large population of birds, while the Numbers reference gives more detail. The quails came on a wind at night and crossed the Mediterranean Sea from south to north. They arrived in an exhausted condition, flying about two cubits off the ground. The people scattered them about the camp, which may have meant that the birds were dried in the sun, a method of preservation in those times, according to the "Bible Dictionary."

In size the Coturnix is smaller than the more familiar Bobwhite quail, averaging about four ounces to the Bobwhite's six. Coturnix are about the size of a mourning dove, with a coloration that is more gray than the Bobwhite.

The Coturnix inhabits a range that is in direct contrast with the Bob. Coturnix live in the open pasture and range land, so there is little possibility of the two species competing for cover. Interbreeding is very unlikely since the two are not closely related. All attempts to cross Coturnix and Bobwhites have failed. The two species get along well together in captivity, with no fighting of any sort.

ACCORDING to Steen the chances are about one in three that Coturnix will catch on in the United States. According to a plan that he worked out while in Missouri, a number of states are planning "mass releases" in the spring of 1957. In this way the bird will get a better break, although it is still unknown whether or not he will be successful in America.

Coturnix have tremendous reproductive capacity. They are extremely prolific, with a natural clutch of eggs consisting of about eight to fifteen speckled and mottled brown color on a light olive background. There seems to be a great deal of variation in the egg coloring. Some are coated with a bluish haze, giving specks and all a camouflage job that is nothing short of terrific.

Young Coturnix mature rapidly and may start to lay at seven or eight weeks of age, while Bobwhites mature at 16 weeks and do not reproduce until the following year. The incubation period of Coturnix is 16 days, compared with 23 days for the Bobwhite.

ACCORDING to Steen the Coturnix is a good target on the wing, and lays well to the dog. In general, shooting him is similar to shooting "singles" of Bobwhite. He makes a fluttering sound in flight which is more muffled that the Bobwhite's sharp whir. They are found in singles or small groups, but not in coveys like the Bobwhite. The flesh of the Coturnix is light and delicious; better, some say, than that of the Bobwhite.

The possibilities of this exotic are unlimited, Steen says, although he warned Nebraskans that stocking of this bird is a calculated risk. If Coturnix "catches on" in Nebraska we are in for a bonanza in hunting in the future, but it is also possible that he will find things unsuitable for him here.

Steen called attention to other stockings of exotics in this country, and cited the ringneck pheasant as one of the most outstanding examples. This bird occupies range which the cow and the plow have made unlivable for the prairie chicken and other native species. The ring-necked pheasant now provides most of the upland game bird shooting in half this nation.

THE Hungarian partridge is another example of a European game bird that has become established in the United States and Canada. More recently the chukar partridge of India has been liberated in the rough semi-desert areas of the west where native birds are scarce* or absent.

And as cover and food or natural habitat decreased in favor of extensive clean farming and expanding civilization, game people began searching for a new bird that would "answer the need." Steen picked the Coturnix quail.

He could be right—Coturnix may "cover the camps" of America, too!

16 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Safety Poster Award Won By Illustrator

Miss Barbara Meadows, an illustrator for the Girl Scouts of the U. S. A., has been declared winner of a hunting safety poster design contest sponsored by the Sporting Arms & Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI).

The contest was conducted by The Art Students League of New York for SAAMI—the national trade association of America's leading makers of sporting rifles, shotguns and ammunition. Miss Meadows was one of nearly 4,000 League members eligible, and was the only woman entrant. She was awarded $500 and her choice of an American made sporting firearm.

Humans Still Top Destroyer Of Woodlands

Man-caused forest fires occurred at the rate of 380 a day during 1955, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. A compilation of fire reports on private, State, and Federal lands shows that about 92 per cent of all the fires recorded in the nation resulted from human activities. The remaining forest fires were caused by lightning. Actually the total number of fires during 1955 was a post-war low.

The 1955 figures reveal that 145,180 forest fires, of which 134,800 were caused by man, burned about 8,068,600 acres. In 1954, 176,891 forest fires, with 166,278 caused by man, burned 8,832,963 acres. The number of forest fires by major causes in 1955 were attributed, in order, to arsonists, debris burners, smokers, campers, lumbermen, railroads, miscellaneous man caused, and lightning.

The U. S. Forest Service reports that people "still deliberately set fires for their own reason, good or bad. They set 25,773 forest fires on lands receiving organized protection, which are the only lands on which figures are available. About 94 per cent of the 'set* fires occur in the South, where the States have just started a vigorous campaign against incendiarism.

FALL ISSUE 17

Our Vanishing Shoreline -- Must It Continue To Go?

The seashore — one of the nation's greatest recreation resources—is rapidly vanishing from public use, Director Conrad L. Wirth of the National Park Service reported in releasing results of a recreation area survey of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast from Calais, Maine, to Brownsville, Texas.

"The facts uncovered by the survey are alarming," Director Wirth declared. "Only a fraction of our long seacoast is left undeveloped for potential public use, and much of this small portion is rapidly disappearing before our eyes. The survey will have served its purpose well if public-minded citizens and local, state and federal governments are stirred to take necessary steps— before it is too late—to preserve this priceless heritage."

The survey report disclosed that:

ONLY 240 miles of the 3,700 miles of general coastline from Maine to Texas are now in Federal and State ownership for public recreation purposes. About half of the 240 miles are embraced by three areas of the National Park Systems—Acadia and Everglades National Parks and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The major remaining opportunities for conservation of seashore resources are largely confined to 54 undeveloped areas comprising 640 miles of beachfront.

The supply of undeveloped seashore is dwindling fast under pressures of a booming market for beachfront holdings. The number of persons seeking to acquire seashore property is skyrocketing and so is the price.

THE REPORT recommends that "prompt action" be taken to acquire at least half of the remaining 640 miles of seashore suitable for recreation by Federal, State and local agencies.

"The critical situation," the report stated, "deserves the attention of all persons and organizations in a position to give aid—women's clubs, Chambers of Commerce, historical societies, service clubs, universities, conservation groups, etc."

The report recommended further that acquisition of areas should be related as directly as possible to the distribution of population except where biological, historical, or other values supersede.

The 640 miles of seacoast in the 54 areas finally selected by the survey party as worthy of potential public development range in size from one mile long to 100 miles. Eighteen of the undeveloped areas, embracing 118 miles of coastline, lie within the most densely populated section of the seashore between Massachusetts and Delaware. Six of the areas and one-third of the total beach mileage are in Texas.

THE SURVEY report points out that a similar seashore recreation area survey of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast was made by the National Park Service in 1935. At that time the Service recommended that 12 major strips with 437 miles of beach be preserved as national areas. Only one of the 12—Cape Hatteras, North Carolina—was actually acquired as a national seashore. All but one of the remainder—the Great Beach at Cape Cod, Massachusetts— have long since gone into private and commercial developments.

The current survey report notes that the 1953 report provided valuable comparative data, but added: "For the most part it represented the ghosts of departed opportunities."

The current report lists three unspoiled areas of special significance which should be preserved for public recreation and cultural enjoyment. They are:

1. Cumberland Island in southeast Georgia, recently recommended for establishment as a national park by the Advisory Board on National Parks and Monuments.

"THIS 'sea island,' " says the Survey Report, "is thought to contain practically all the desirable features for public enjoyment. It is sufficiently 18 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   large to maintain community conditions of its plant and animal life. Most of the beach is exceptionally attractive. It has fresh water ponds. The dunes are splendid and fairly well under control by vegetation. The ocean waters are warm with normally dramatic surf effects."

2. The undeveloped area of Fire Island, New York. The western end of Fire Island is occupied by the Fire Island State Park.

"The south shore of Long Island, New York, is the most convenient seashore recreation area for the largest population center of the United States," the report stated. "Within a small geographical radius are grouped not less than nine million people. Already, of course, the State has done much to provide facilities for satisfying the yearing for a day at the ocean edge, but even now overloaded conditions are to be observed at such places as Jones Beach, Gilgo Beach and Captree State Park."

3. Cape Cod, Massachusetts: The current report repeats the analysis of the 30-odd miles of the Great Beach area of Cape Cod made following the survey of 1935:

"THERE IS NO longer any comparable area in the New England region that exhibits all the outstanding values desirable and suitable for extensive seashore recreation. For these reasons alone, the Great Beach area of Cape Cod merits preservation as a major public seashore of the North Atlantic Coast."

The newly issued report points out that Great Beach is not more than 300 miles distant by highway from all six capitals of the New England States and adds:

"Great Beach contains, in its shoreline and the adjacent land, practically every feature desirable for preservation for ordinary recreational purposes and for the additional use of the historical and nature study. In spite of its ready accessibility, it has the priceless feel of remoteness. It is the longest stretch of beach in the New England shoreline."

The report summarizes the extent of general shorelines in each of the 18 Atlantic and Gulf Coast States and indicates the areas selected by the survey as especially suited to public use.

A CONDENSATION of the State-by-State studies follows:

Maine: 228 miles of general shorelines. Outstanding areas include Roque Island, Castine, Popham-St. John, Pemaquid, Prouts Neck-Scarboro, Crescent and Crescent Surf.

New Hampshire: 13 miles of general shoreline, all major portions of which are developed.

Massachusetts: 192 miles of general shoreline, including offshore islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Selected areas: Plum Island, Duxbury Beach, Great Beach (Cape Cod), Sandy Neck, Monomoy Island, Nantucket Island, Martha's Vineyard, Washburn Island, Naushon Island, Horseneck.

Rhode Island: 40 miles of general shoreline. Selected: Charlestown Beach area.

Connecticut: No area recommended although the report points out there are two small areas between New London and the Rhode Island State Line which possess some of the features necessary for public seashore.

New York: 127 miles of general shoreline. Selected areas: Gardiners Island, Shinnecock Inlet area, Fire Island.

New Jersey: 130 miles of general shoreline, most of which is intensively developed. FALL ISSUE 19   An area north of Atlantic City is well suited for wildlife refuge purposes and about two and one-half miles of undeveloped beach south of Ocean City is adaptable to public recreation.

Delaware: 28 miles of general shoreline, about one-half of which is State-owned. An area now occupied by Fort Miles adjacent to State property and a second area in the south-central portion were selected for consideration.

Maryland: 31 miles of general shoreline contained in portions of two islands, Fenwick and Assateague. The former is fully developed and it appears that most of the Maryland portion of Assateague soon will be.

Virginia: 112 miles of general shoreline. No areas were selected on the mainland but portions of the offshore islands of Assateague, Parramore and Hog Island were recommended for consideration.

North Carolina: 301 miles of general shoreline. Six offshore areas were selected for consideration: Core Banks, Shackleford Banks, Bogue Banks, Onslow Beach, Federal Point, Smith Island.

South Carolina: 187 miles of shoreline. Selected areas: Waiter Island, Debidue Island, Kiawah Island.

Georgia: 100 miles of general shoreline. Four offshore islands selected for consideration: Ossabaw Island, St. Catherines Island, Sapelo Island, Cumberland Island.

Florida: 1,197 miles of general shoreline. Selected were two areas along the Atlantic Coast between Daytona Beach and West Palm Beach and two areas along the Gulf Coast south of Fort Myers and south of Panama City. Four keys between Key Largo and Key West were believed to be of national wildlife significance.

Mississippi: 44 miles of general shoreline. No major undeveloped areas with public recreational potentialities were located along the Gulf Coast. Two offshore islands, Horn Island and Ship Island, were selected for consideration.

Louisiana: 397 miles of general shoreline. Grand Terre Island, selected because of its historical interest, was the only area singled out in the report.

Texas: 367 miles of general shoreline. Six areas with approximately 206 miles of shoreline was selected. They are East Coast, Galveston Island, Stephen Austin Island, Matagorda Peninsula, Padre Island, and Brazos Island.

Participation' Makes Fishing Enjoyable

Some take 'em out . . . some put 'em in, but either way it makes the fishing more enjoyable.

Shown after taking a pretty good one out is E. F. Stava, (picture at right) Missouri Pacific railroad depot agent at Crete, who grins as he hefts his 30 pound yellow cat.

While not a record breaker, Stava's yellow cat or flathead was 44-inches long, and according to Conservation Officer Roy Owen of Crete had just completed spawning and therefore had lost considerable weight. Stava caught the big cat on a bank line, fishing in the Blue River this summer.

State record for a yellow cat is 46 pounds, caught by Leo Wozny of Columbus and Roy Hamilton of Lincoln in the Loup River power canal at Columbus in 1950. There is no national record available on this species of catfish.

And shown putting some of them back in (picture below) are Officer Owen and a group of his "freckle-noses," as he calls them. Under Owen's supervision the boys are stocking the Doane Lake at Crete, a "kids' only" fishing spot. Owen says the boys assisted in several stockings of the lake this summer, and have had a great deal of enjoyment in the process.

20 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Conservation Legislation 'Generally Good

WASHINGTON, D. C—Where it took definite action, the record of the 84th Congress on natural resources conservation was "generally good," according to a summary released by the National Wildlife Federation.

The "dark spots" were mostly "sins of omission, in failure to face up to certain pressing problems," the Federation said. It listed the following major conservation accomplishments of the Congress which adjourned July 27:

1. Soil bank legislation that included forestry and wildlife objectives, and the supplementary Great Plains conservation program.

2. A new water pollution law that has stronger enforcement teeth and provides federal grants to municipalities to help build sewage-treatment plants.

3. Long-needed reform of the outmoded mining laws of 1872 for the purpose of preventing and eliminating fake mining claims on the public lands.

4. Actions to strengthen and improve the National Park System. These included defeat of Echo Park dam, a reclamation project proposed for construction in Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah, and appropriations to start "Mission 66," a ten-year program of rehabilitation and improvement of the parks and monuments.

5. Elevation of federal fish and wildlife functions by creation of a new Assistant Secretary of Interior and reorganization of the Fish and Wildlife Service into two major bureaus, one for sport fisheries and wildlife, the other for commercial fisheries.

6. Legislation to release $13% million of federal-aid wildlife funds that had been tied up in the treasury for ten years.

7. Revision of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 to cut red tape, broaden the objectives and accelerate the small watersheds program.

National Wildlife Refuge Speed-up Plan Urged By Director Swift

WASHINGTON, D. C. — Executive Director Ernest Swift of the National Wildlife Federation has urged the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a plan for the national wildlife refuges similar to the ten-year improvement program sponsored by the National Park Service and dubbed "Mission 66."

The Fish and Wildlife Service has estimated a minimum of 12 V2 million acres of waterfowl marsh will have to be taken into public ownership in order to guarantee future waterfowl populations. Some 5 million acres would be acquired by the states, the balance by the federal government. The federal goal of 7V2 million acres has been less than half attained in the present system of waterfowl refuges.

In a signed article appearing in the Federation's CONSERVATION NEWS, the executive director quotes Harold Titus, conservation editor of the magazine FIELD AND STREAM, to the effect that at the present rate of acquisition the goal of 12 V2 million acres will take 130 years instead of ten.

"There is unanimity of thinking that if action is not taken at once and at the latest within the next five to ten years," Swift wrote, "the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Engineers and farm drainage subsidies will have wiped out any suitable waterfowl habitat that is now left in the United States."

A national wetlands inventory completed by the Fish and Wildlife Service last year disclosed less than 23 million acres of wetlands remain that can be classified as high-value or moderate habitat for waterfowl. These wetlands are rapidly being drained, filled in or otherwise destroyed.

"Mission Wetlands" should be a planned campaign of acquisition with a specified budget allocation over a given period of years, Swift declared. He recommended that all conservationists give the idea serious consideration.

The Federation listed the following "serious problems left unsolved" by the 84th Congress:

1. Encroachments upon and threats to the National Wildlife Refuges through pressures for military land acquisition, oil development, mining, and "other forms of exploitation." The Federation recommends legal safeguards for the refuges similar to those Congress has erected for the National Parks.

2. Neglect of recreational and wildlife resources in the National Forests, where booming public use—more than 40 million visits in 1955—have turned picnic areas and campgrounds into "outdoor slums." Conservationists have advocated earmarking a portion of National Forest operating receipts for development of recreational facilities and wildlife habitat.

3. Federal subsidies through farm programs and others that encourage the drainage of marshlands without which waterfowl and other kinds of wildlife cannot exist. Conservationists recommend eliminating the subsidies for unnecessary drainage and speeding up the acquisition and preservation of wetlands.

4. The problem of securing adequate recognition of, and protection for, wildlife and recreational values in connection with federal river development projects.

The "major black mark" on the conservation record of the 84th Congress, according to the Federation, was approval of an Army Engineer project called Bruces Eddy Dam on the Clearwater River in Idaho. This "black mark" was erased by President Eisenhower, however, in his veto of the omnibus rivers and harbors bill, which included the Bruces Eddy along with 112 other projects.

Conservationists have opposed Bruces Eddy Dam because it would eliminate spawning runs of migratory fish and flood out winter feeding grounds of elk and other big game.

The National Wildlife Federation, the nation's largest conservation organization, is composed of state federations and sportsmen's leagues representing more than 3 million members. It distributes regular reports on conservation legislation while Congress is in session.

FALL ISSUE 21

Catching and Eating Carp Can Be Enjoyable

By Bob Munger

Call him "sewer trout," call him "mud sucker," call him almost anything, you still have to call him when the list is made of the major fishes in Nebraska.

And although Shakespeare thought that a "rose by any other name would smell as sweet," this just isn't true of the carp. Because this poor overgrown brother to a minnow gets more cussing than all the other members of the finny family put together. . . . and he couldn't deserve all that hate.

The truth is that a growing number of experts all over the country are developing a deep-seated friendliness for the big-scaled "street cleaner" of the ponds and rivers, part of which comes when they realize that he is fun to catch and tasty to eat.

WHOA, NOW, DON'T rear back so fast. He is fun to catch on the right type of equipment, and he is tasty to eat if cooked and prepared correctly.

Most carp fishermen recommend tackle on the "rugged" side. A 15 or 20 pound test line is a must, and you can use a bobber or fish a tight line, either method will have its favorite followers. A good husky leader is a must, and most agree that it should be six to 10 feet long.

"The hook is the most important thing," one expert says. "A sinker should be attached to the line about 8 to 10 inches above the hook, and this hook should be no larger than a #1/0, although the smaller the better."

"Spinning tackle is top drawer stuff for carp," another claims. "The monofilament line doesn't bother the fish. It must be remembered that the carp is a very wary fish. Knowledge of the depth of the water is essential, for the bait must rest exactly on the bottom.

"Either a long cast is necessary, to get the bait beyond the point where a fish inspecting it would see the angler, or else provision must be made for hiding, as the carp is very shy, and will not touch the bait if anything arouses his suspicion.

"ON GETTING A touch from the fish, give it time to get it well in his mouth, even letting him move off with it at first. Then strike firmly, for the carp has a strong mouth and a firm strike is necessary to set the hook."

One angler of my acquaintance uses a flyrod and no weight at all. He uses a small red bobber, and sets it high enough on the line so that the bait is sitting on the bottom. He gets results.

Although carp are caught on almost any kind of bait, doughballs still seems to be a favorite of the experts. Here is a favorite doughball recipe of Art Williams, carp fisherman cum laude of Des Moines, la.

1 1/2 cups yellow corn meal 2 heaping tablespoons of Quick Quaker Oats 1 level tablespoon of sugar 1 cup of cold water Water, sugar and oatmeal are stirred together. Two-thirds of the cornmeal is then added and stirred in. Place on a medium to hot fire, stirring constantly for 5-7 minutes, until the dough works up into a stiff ball. Remove the pan from the fire. Sift the rest of the cornmeal into the cooked dough and work it well into the mixture. The resulting dry dough is placed on a paper and thoroughly 22 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   kneaded. Before wrapping the dough in paper for a fishing trip, allow to cool, otherwise the dough will sweat and soften.

But with a, good doughball recipe and carp on the stringer there remains one more chore—cooking the catch. Here again, listen to the experts.

"First," they say, "skin the fish and remove the dark meat line along both sides, along with the featherlike bones near the head. Cut the meat into chunks about one and one-half inches thick by not more than three inches square and soak these for two or three hours in milk to which salt has been added. Roll these pieces in good yellow cornmeal, generously spiced with both red and black pepper, salt, a pinch of chili pepper, and you're ready to do the frying.

"COOKING SHOULD be done in an IRON dutch oven or deep skillet, filled about two inches deep with medium hot bacon drippings or lard. Fry until done."

Many carp fishermen prefer to fillet their fish instead of cutting them into chunks to fry. This is a simple method of skinning a fish, and consists of five steps:

1. Grasp the fish by the tail fin and insert the knife under the scales at the tail. Then, moving the knife with a sawing motion toward the head, slice off the scales in strips. There will be about three strips of scales on each side. 2. Cut the flesh to the bone around the base of the head. 3. Lay the fish on its side and holding the knife blade horizontally, cut to the bone the full length of the back, one-fourth inch each side of the center. 4. Following close to the backbone and ribs with the knife, cut flesh away from the bones, one side ai a time. 5. Cut the flesh free from tail, remove abdominal fins.

And finally, the meat should be "scored." To do this take a very sharp knife and cut horizontally down through the meat, almost all the way through to the other side. The cuts should be made no wider apart than V2 inch, and many persons prefer to make the cuts about Vi inch apart. This allows the cooking grease to work into the meat and cook up the many small bones.

The otter is a playful animal and one of the common manifestations of this playfulness is the "otter-slide" which is a steep slope down which the animals coast on their breasts and bellies, with their forelegs bent backward out of the way.

Fish and Wildlife Service Retained as Single Agency

WASHINGTON—Congress ended the attempts to turn back the clock on conservation progress in its closing hours, when both Houses passed the amended Bonner-Magnuson bill, S. 3275, which retains the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a single agency in the Department of the Interior for administering the Federal Government's responsibility in the management of fish and wildlife resources, according to the Wildlife Management Institute.

While this final action by Congress is a complete victory for the conservationists, sportsmen, and others who have been demanding that the Fish and Wildlife Service be kept together as one agency for the administration of those interrelated and inseparable natural resources, the Act provides immediate relief for commercial fishermen in the form of low-interest loans and an extension and expansion of the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act.

THE threats to overthrow the many years of combined management of fish and wildlife resources in one agency of the federal government and in practically all of the States mushroomed in the 84th Congress with the introduction of nearly 40 bills for the purpose of "doing something for the depressed segments of the commercial fishing industry." These fishermen are having hard times because they have not been able to compete on the domestic market with foreign fishermen who are being benefited by low import duties and favorable reciprocal trade agreements.

As sent to the President, the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 provides for an Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife in the Department of the Interior. Serving under the Assistant Secretary will be the Commissioner of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Both of these top level positions will be filled by Presidential appointees, subject to Senate confirmation. Under the Commissioner are created two new bureaus, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, each headed by a Director.

WHILE the Bonner-Magnuson bill defines the general responsibilities of the two Bureaus in the Service, it gives the Secretary of the Interior broad authority to set up those interrelated and coordinated activities—such as the Office of River Basin Studies, the Federal Aid programs for fisheries and wildlife restoration, and fiscal and accounting offices—which will service both bureaus. Such authority will permit establishment of cooperative operations between the two bureaus and obviate unnecessary and expensive duplication and overlapping of effort.

Practically everyone interested in the Federal fish and wildlife management program is satisfied with this new Act.

FOR the first time, fish and wildlife resources have been elevated to sub-cabinet status by the creation of an office of Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife. This improved stature should bring benefits to commercial fishermen through more influential representation at foreign meetings and on fisheries treaties commissions as well as participation at high-level discussions of tariff and trade agreement problems here at home.

The Act provides a $10 million revolving loan fund to help commercial fishermen finance and refinance "operations, maintenance, replacement, repair, and equipment of fishing gear and vessels, and for research into basic problems of fisheries." The Saltonstall-Kennedy Act will be extended and make approximately $2 million more available each year.

The new Act recognizes 4the importance of sport fisheries and wildlife in the national economy. No longer will the Fish and Wildlife Service be forced to take a back seat in discussions of matters affecting these invaluable resources. The Assistant Secretary will be in a position to give high-level representation to conservation on matters like big dams, destruction of fish, waterfowl and game habitat, wildlife refuges, and progressive wildlife restoration and management programs.

PASSAGE of this Act assures the nation's 40 million sport fishermen and hunters that their interests will receive attention. Instead of relegating Federal sport fishing and wildlife programs to an inferior role as actually would have been done by all of the earlier bills that were introduced, the approved bill provides equal representation.

FALL ISSUE 23

RIFLE SIGHTS CAN RUIN HUNTING TRIPS

Jim Jones failed to get his buck last year. Missed him clean! And a standing still, broadside shot at that. No, he didn't get buck fever. Jim's too old a hand for that. Had plenty of time and held for a heart shot. . . . but Jim's buck went scot free.

Jim Jones is usually not the kind of a fellow to overlook details. He'd checked his foot gear, ammunition, wearing apparel, compass, matches, emergency rations, etc. But this time he forgot the most important detail of all. ... he failed to check the sights on his rifle! Somehow, in the long layoff between seasons, the sights of Jim's rifle had been jarred out of alignment. He thought he was holding right when the Big Moment came, but the bullet went somewhere else.

RIFLE SIGHTS are not easily jarred out of alignment, but it can happen in transportation or otherwise without being too obvious. And when it does happen, a whole hunting trip can be spoiled. So, whether your rifle is new or old, be sure to sight it in to suit your eyes or manner of holding before you leave on that big game trip this season. And then be very careful in transporting it to your 'happy hunting grounds.'

In testing a rifle for accuracy, the shooting should be done from the prone position using a sandbag rest. This rest can be made by simply putting enough sand in an ordinary feed bag so that it will be solid against your wrist and the back of your hand which holds the fore-end when you are in the prone position. Never rest the rifle barrel across the sandbag, log or any solid object.

AIM CAREFULLY, take a breath, release a bit of it, hold it, and squeeze the trigger. The correct way to squeeze the trigger is to increase the pressure on the trigger so smoothly and steadily that you do not know exactly when the rifle is going to fire. Shoot three to five shots for a group. If the shots are not in the bull's-eye, then move your rear sight in the direction the group would be moved to place it in the center of the target.

If the rear sight is fixed, adjustment for sidewise errors may be made by moving the front sight. If the rifle is shooting to the right, move the front sight to the right or the rear sight to the left. Remember this rule: Always move the rear sight in the direction in which you desire the rifle to shoot. Move the front sight in the opposite direction. The front or rear sight can be moved in its notch by placing a short rod of brass or copper against it and tapping the rod with a hammer, while the barrel itself is supported against a hard block of wood. Set your rifle sights to hit where you aim at the average distance of most shots at deer or other game in your hunting territory. Carefully check the exact position of your sights as soon as you have 'sighted in' so that they may be returned to proper adjustment if accidentally jarred out of alignment.

ANTI-AIRCRAFT SHOOTERS JUST SPOIL SPORTS

An intimate knowledge of distances in relation to effective shotgun ranges is one of the most important factors in successful wing shooting.

A huge amount of sporting ammunition is wasted every season because many shooters have never taken the trouble to learn to judge various distances. They think a game bird is within shooting range as long as they can identify it as such, and blast away until their guns are empty. This is particularly true in duck hunting and thousands of what would have been excellent chances are tossed away simply because the hunter is so impatient and excited that he cannot wait. Or else he doesn't know any better.

THESE FELLOWS are Spoil-Sports for the other fellow, for they not only shoot at impossible ranges, but, in doing so, ruin the chances of more experienced and efficient hunters who know enough to hold their fire until the game is well within range.

Many of the 'misses' that disappoint these fellows could well have been killing hits if these chaps hadn't tried to 'strain their guns.' It is quite likely that they pointed properly and that their leads were correct, but the range was too great for the loads they were shooting. A large percentage of the cripples which occur each season are due not to the fact that they were struck with the edge of the shot pattern or a so-called stray shot or two, but because the shot which struck them had traveled so far that the shocking and penetrating powers necessary for a clean kill had been lost.

QNE OF THE GREATEST contributions we can make to the future of hunting is to become proficient in judging distances, particularly those within the killing range of a shotgun and thus eliminate a sizable percentage of the annual loss from cripples. This particularly applies to game birds flying overhead, and over open water. Once we have established firmly in our own 'mind's eye' how large various game birds appear at various distances, our trigger fingers will act instinctively at the proper time.

24 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA

Thorough Cleaning Will Make Guns Last

Regardless of all that has been written on the cleaning and care of firearms, it still remains one of constant inquiry. It is but natural that the owner of a fine gun should wish to preserve its original factory condition or that a rifleman should endeavor to prolong the life of an accurate barrel. These men do not regard the cleaning of a gun as a penance, but as a ritual in the conscientious care of a precision instrument.

The introduction of non-corrosive priming mixtures some years ago added greatly to the enjoyment of the shooting sport by eliminating the necessity of cleaning the gun after each practice. Where the gun is in more or less constant use with modern smokeless noncorrosive ammunition, it does no harm to defer cleaning until the end of the season or when the gun is to be laid up for any extended period, providing the atmosphere is not excessively humid, in which case a thorough cleaning and the application of a protective grease is recommended without delay.

MANY SKETCHY notions prevail on the cleaning and care of firearms, some of them rather inadequate in method. Briefly and simply, the main requirements are, thorough cleansing of the bore and outer surfaces of the gun, application of a grease film against corrosion and a mere touch of oil on stiff bearing surfaces. More detailed procedure for the various types of firearms follow.

22 RIM FIRE RIFLES: Always clean barrel from the breech if possible. Remove bolt, breech block or barrel, according to the design of the gun. Pass a number of clean patches soaked with powder solvent through the bore until the last ones come out free of stain. Then several dry patches. If the dry patches show no stain, the bore may be assumed to be clean. Otherwise, repeat with wet and dry patches until no stain appears. Then fill another patch with gun grease and work this back and forth in the bore with short strokes until entire surface of the bore is coated. Clean face of bolt or breech block, or any other parts of the action that have become smudged with gas, smoke or other residue from firing with some solvent on a rag. Wipe these surfaces dry. Rewipe with oily rag, followed by dry rag. Reassemble the gun, wipe outside of barrel and other metal surfaces with oily rag, followed by dry rag. The remaining oil film is ample protection against corrosion for a long time. Before using the gun again, push two dry patches through barrel to remove grease and the gun is ready to shoot.

HIGH POWER RIFLES: First, push a dry brass brush of the same caliber through the barrel from breech to muzzle and completely out, before pulling the brush back from muzzle to breech and completely out. Two strokes each way will generally loosen the residue so that it can be wiped out with a couple of dry patches. Then proceed to clean the bore and other parts as indicated in previous paragraph.

REVOLVERS: Solid frame revolvers must be cleaned from the muzzle. Swing out the cylinder and remove any caking of residue or lead that adheres to the breech end of the barrel where it projects through the frame, or to the front face of the cylinder, with an old brass brush flattened for the purpose. Clean each chamber of the cylinder, the barrel, the recoil plate and all smudged surfaces with powder solvent. Then wipe off the solvent and oil the above surfaces, again wiping them practically dry. Over-oiling a revolver makes it a slippery thing to handle. As an emergency weapon it should be ready for instant use. The chambers in the cylinder should be perfectly dry, so that they grip the fired, expanded shell and prevent its being jammed against the recoil plate and interfering with the smooth rotation of the cylinder.

SHOTGUNS: Push a couple of closefitting dry rags through the barrel. If lead streaks show, remove them with a brass cleaner. Then follow the usual procedure in cleaning with solvent and applying oil or grease against corrosion. Before using the gun again wipe out the barrels. This will insure removal of any rags or cleaning tools that may have been inadvertently left in the barrel from previous cleaning, which is the cause of many bulged or burst barrels.

FALL ISSUE 25

Notes on Nebraska Fauna

COYOTE By GEORGE SCHILDMAN

This is the twenty-eighth of a series of articles and drawings depicting Nebraska wildlife. All drawings are prepared by staff artist C. G. "Bud" Pritchard.

Classification

The scientific name of this wild member of the dog family is Canis lairans. The coyote is sometimes referred to as the prairie wolf. The pronunciation of coyote in Nebraska is generally ki-ot. However, a few persons pronounce it ki-o-te, as is the custom in some western and southwestern states.

Description

This is the smallest of three North American wolves and the largest of Nebraska's carnivores. Its coat is long, fairly coarse and heavy, especially heavy in winter. The tail is large and very bushy with a black tip. The tail hangs droopily except in full flight when it trails out nearly straight behind. The erect ears symbolize the animal's alertness.

Males are noticeably larger than females. Exceptionally large males may weigh up to 40 pounds but the average would be nearer 30 pounds, with females averaging a few pounds less.

Distribution

The coyote occurs throughout western North America, from southern Mexico to Alaska and eastward across the northern United States and southern Canada to New York state. It is common to abundant throughout Nebraska.

Home and Habitat

Coyotes prefer brushy or wooded areas bordering open country, but live in a wide variety of habitats. They readily adapt themselves to changing conditions. Evidence of this trait is obvious when one considers their ability to not only survive, but maintain good populations. They have even increased their range in the face of settlement and today's intensive human occupation.

They are most active from sundown to sunrise, but do some moving about in the daytime. During the summer, their daytime loafing hours may be spent in the shade afforded by a thicket, hay stack or rock outcropping. During the cold months these same places may offer a sunny spot sheltered from the wind.

The coyote is capable of ranging wide for food. They may cover an area five to ten miles across—especially if food is scarce.

Reproduction and Development of Young

It's reproductive abilities are also an asset in maintaining its numbers. The den may be dug or may be the den of some other animal and enlarged to suit the coyote. The burrow is usually ten to fifteen feet long and without nest material. The eyes open when about ten or twelve days old. The pups may venture out of the den when they are approximately three weeks old, but do not abandon the den as a home until they are 8 to 10 weeks old. The parents may have two or three dens in the vicinity and move their family from den to den periodically. Both parents take part in feeding the young. They develop rapidly and by fall are nearly as large as the adults.

Economic Status and Habits

The place of the coyote in Nebraska's wildlife is varied and controversial. He has been blamed for many things and accredited with much. Probably both are exaggerated.

Certainly when all known facts are considered, we would not want this native of our prairies exterminated, nor would we want him around in excessive numbers. Actually, it would be nearly impossible to exterminate him, and natural conditions tend to keep his numbers within certain limits.

Since a great deal of the controversy arising from the coyote question involves his feeding habits, a consideration of these seems appropriate, at this point.

The coyote is omnivorous (eats anything) in his feeding habits. Anything he has been accused of eating, I am sure he has eaten, from mammals (including porcupine and skunk), and birds and eggs, fish, turtles, and snakes, to corn, melons, fruit, grass, insects, caterpillars, grubs and manure, even pieces of leather, rubber, and rope. There is a long list of items he has eaten. On the whole, however, he does feed principally on a few food groupings: rabbits, carrion, and small rodents.

As has been so aptly said, he is an opportunist. He is not particularly an ambitious hunter, unless pressed for food, but will take anything that, through chance, becomes available.

In summary we might say that: The list of coyote foods is a long one, but that rabbits, carrion, and small rodents form the bulk of his diet. That his diet varies with the season and locality. He is an opportunist. Where poultry and livestock losses occur, he should be controlled. He has little effect on game bird populations. His beneficial feeding habits, recreational values, and fur values make him a desirable part of our wildlife.

26 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA