BUEEAU OF BIOLOGICAL bURVEY. 369 



or team from Devils Lake and undoubtedly the number of visitors 

 will be greatly increased. This reservation is becoming increasingly 

 popular among the people of the surrounding region and the im- 

 provements being made there will add much to their comfort. The 

 herd of seven buffalo, the nucleus of which was presented by the Port- 

 land City Park, has done remarkably well considering the change 

 in climate; besides these animals there are on the preserve 32 elk and 

 6 deer, an increase of 10 over last year. 



Niobrara Reservation^ Yalentine^ Nehr. — As already stated, the 

 boundaries of this reserA'^ation were modified during the year by the 

 addition of a strip which w^ill afford protection to grouse and other 

 birds. There are now in the inclosure 28 buffalo and 47 elk, 2 mule 

 deer, and 4 Canada geese. 



During the past winter a serious menace to the resei*\'ation de- 

 veloped in the leasing of four private holdings within the reservation 

 boundaries and of the school section in the central part to certain 

 interests which insisted on pasturing sheep and driving them to and 

 from the river for water. This school section, belonging to the 

 State, was leased for sheep grazing and a large flock of sheep was 

 pastured there for some weeks, causing considerable destruction of 

 the forage and expense to the department. Negotiations are now 

 under way with the State authorities whereby it is hoped that danger 

 of further grazing on the school section can be eliminated, but so long 

 as the four private holdings remain within the boundary lines, there 

 will be danger of a recurrence of the trouble. Plans are under con- 

 sideration to increase accommodations for visitors and thus add to 

 the public usefulness of this reservation. 



BIRD RESERVATIONS. 



On 13 of the 70 bird reservations paid warden service was main- 

 tained throughout the year, viz, Key West, Mosquito Inlet, Pelican 

 Island, and Passage Key, Fla. ; Minidoka, Idaho ; Breton Island, La. ; 

 Big Lake, Ark.; Cold Springs, Klamath Lake, and Lake Malheur, 

 Oreg. ; Belle Fourche, S. Dak. ; Strawberry Valley, LTtah ; and on the 

 Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation. On several other resei-\^ations 

 warden service was maintained during the nesting period, the hunt- 

 ing season, and at other times when trespass was liable to occur. 

 Through cooperation of the Reclamation Service protection is af- 

 forded on the more important of the bird reservations located within 

 reclamation projects. Cases of trespass during the year have been 

 comparatively few, the more important occurring on Big Lake and 

 at Mosquito Inlet. Several arrests were made and convictions were 

 secured in most cases. 



Mosquito Inlet Reservation^ Fla. — On the Florida reservations con- 

 ditions have been most satisfactory at Mosquito Inlet, on the east 

 coast. An interesting feature of this reservation is the recent volun- 

 tary establishment of a heron rookery within the limits of the town 

 of New Smyrna, where the first birds nested in tlie spring of 1918. 

 This year reports indicate the presence of several thousand j^oung and 

 old birds all in good condition. The colonj^ is well protected and bids 

 fair to become within a few years one of the important heron rook- 

 eries of the State. An unusual number of pelicans were noticed 

 about the reservation during the winter of 1919-20, possibly due 



