SPORTSMEN AND FOREST FIRES 



By Hon. Jefferson Butler 

 President Michigan Audubon Society 



R. HENRY FORD, the automo- 

 bile inventor of Detroit, has a 

 farm ten miles out at Dearborn, 

 containing 2,100 acres. I have super- 

 vision over the work being done for the 

 protection of birds. Before Mr. Ford 

 came into possession, this land was 

 farmed by many small owners. They 

 pastured the land, including the woods, 

 with the result that we will spend five 

 or six years in trying to get this land 

 into proper condition for bird life. If 

 pasturing causes so much trouble, what 

 would a fire mean? 



We have about 60 bob-whites that 

 do nicely, they having quadrupled their 

 number during the past two years, but 

 no part of the farm is in condition for 

 grouse and prairie chickens. We did 

 have Hungarian pheasants but they left 

 the farm and were probably shot. I 

 think the growth was not dense enough. 

 If we have a light growth, we will not 

 have our game birds and the same is 

 true of many varieties of our song and 

 insectivorous birds, also. Our forest 

 fires are for the most part wanton de- 

 struction and bring irreparable injury, 

 not only to the sportsmen, but to every 

 member of the community. State and 

 nation. 



During the past three or four forest 

 fires in Michigan, I received communi- 

 cations from naturalists concerning the 

 destruction of bird life. One swampy 

 place near Alpena, which was sur- 

 rounded by woods, had ducks, quail, 

 coots and some of the plovers that had 

 nested and reared their young. A wit- 

 ness wrote that he saw the old birds 

 come out in large numbers toward the 

 lake, circle around and go back, prob- 

 ably for their young, and he was cer- 

 tain that they had all perished, as he 

 afterwards found remains that showed 

 that at least large numbers had been 

 destroyed. 



Professor Hill, of the Forestry De- 

 partment of the University of Michi- 

 gan, informs me that we are using two- 



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thirds more of our forests than we 

 plant, which of course means famine in 

 the future. He also informs me that as 

 much timber has been destroyed by for- 

 est fires as has been used for building 

 and every other purpose in this coun- 

 try. If we had the forests that have 

 been destroyed by forest fires, we 

 would not be in the midst of a strug- 

 gle to save our land game birds from 

 destruction. 



Our water birds prefer to follow the 

 water along the woods because they 

 find a greater variety of food and of 

 course in greater abundance. The 

 sportsmen should not only take active 

 measures to prevent forest fires, but 

 should use their whole influence in set- 

 ting adequate measures to institute the 

 work of reforestation. Much of our 

 land, especially in the Upper Peninsula 

 and the northern portion of the Lower 

 Peninsula, is better suited for that pur- 

 pose than for agriculture, although I 

 know that some products grow in 

 abundance. The States of Ohio, In- 

 Jiana, Illinois, are populous and cannot 

 now give the land for great forests. 

 The more northerly States should reap 

 a harvest from their forest preserves. 



Most sportsmen I have met are fond 

 of their wild songsters and they are 

 generally acquainted with the chick- 

 adees, woodpeckers, blue jays, the owls, 

 hawks and other varieties of useful 

 birds. Many of them tell me they go 

 not so much for the outing as for the 

 shooting. I have kept closer records in 

 legard to the song and insectivorous 

 birds and know that many thousands 

 have perished in forest fires. Sports- 

 men go out to commune with nature, to 

 get acquainted with wild life. Man un- 

 acquainted with wild nature soon be- 

 comes superficial and artificial. What 

 does a devastcd forest present? I 

 know of no sadder sight in nature. 



In my judgment, Michigan should 

 follow the United States Forestry 

 Service in providing for a patrol. The 



