REPORT OF TTIE SECRETAEY. 85 



Semiannual visits by cutters of this service will prevent molestation 

 of the birds, as poaching will thus be made unprofitable. 



GAME PROTECTION IN ALASKA. 



At the close of the fiscal year new regulations were issued under 

 the Alaska game law to afford additional protection to deer, prevent 

 the excessive traffic in moose on the Kenai Peninsula, and to suspend 

 deer hunting on five islands in southeastern Alaska, thus practically 

 making them game refuges. The suspension of the sale of vension 

 in 1911 has been continued through the season of 1912. Through 

 cooperation of the Secretary of the Treasury, special instructions 

 were given to the revenue cutters patroling Bering Sea to insure a 

 strict enforcement of the law protecting walrus. 



Under the appropriation of $15,000 for the protection of game, 

 wardens appointed by the governor were stationed at several of 

 the more important points. Sixteen permits were issued for the 

 collection of specimens for scientific purposes or for exhibition. 



INFORMATION CONCERNING GAME. 



Through cooperation with the Forest Service, comprehensive data 

 were collected for the first time regarding the number of big game 

 animals killed on the various national forests, and as these forests 

 include the principal hunting districts in the Western States the 

 data thus collected furnish a practically complete basis for esti- 

 mating the total number of big game killed in several of the Western 

 States. 



The index of game legislation has been almost completed. Dur- 

 ing the year the laws of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 

 Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and most of those of New 

 York were indexed. At the present time the only gaps in the index 

 are a few years in New York, Maryland, and North Carolina. The 

 work had advanced to a point early in the year which warranted the 

 publication of a summary of some of the more important provisions 

 under the title " Chronology and Index of American Game Protec- 

 tion from 1776 to 1911." 



Data on the i:)rotection of migratory birds have been summarized, 

 and likewise information brought down to date on the subjects of 

 hunting licenses. National and State game preserves, bag limits, game 

 commissions, and similar topics concerning which frequent requests 

 for information are received. As in several previous 3'ears, data 

 concerning the number and details of fatal hunting accidents were 

 collected. These data show a regular increase in the number of 

 fatalities in the United States from year to year, but it is believed 

 that a certain proportion of these accidents can be obviated by 

 special legislation. 



