WILDLIFE REFUGE PROGRAM — GABRIELSON 317 



original environmental conditions as is possible. This refuge pro- 

 gram has been fitted into others, being made to serve the purposes of 

 flood control, soil-erosion prevention, and the development of local 

 water supplies for people in the communities and other needs, pro- 

 vided that they do not interfere with the primary purpose for which 

 the refuges are being created. 



The Souris Kiver projects afford a good example of these multiple 

 benefits. There are three projects, one on the Des Lacs, a tributary 

 of the Souris, and one on each of the Upper and Lower reaches of 

 the Souris River as it enters this country from Canada and leaves 

 to return to that country. Our engineering operations have provided 

 not only one of the major nesting and breeding units in the whole 

 refuge system but have also furnished flood protection for the re- 

 mainder of the valley, storing the run-off water for summer use, and 

 restoring water levels so that wells are not going dry. They also 

 provide a limited number of recreational facilities in places where 

 these will not interfere with the birds. 



Although built for the primary purpose of restoring environment 

 for migratory waterfowl, these refuges are serving the same purpose 

 for countless other birds. While we talk in terms of migratory water- 

 fowl, because it is largely migratory waterfowl money that is being 

 used, we do not forget that we cannot restore marshes and lakes and 

 make other improvements without extending benefits to all forms of 

 wildlife frequenting such areas. There has been a tremendous in- 

 crease in the number of individuals and in the variety of species of 

 breeding birds within the Souris River area, and there have been 114 

 species of breeding birds reported in the Lower Souris project alone 

 since it was established and developed. Among other species that I 

 have seen there myself are colonies of Sprague's pipit and Baird's 

 sparrow (two varieties not too easily found by the average ornitholo- 

 gist). Numerous other species, including grebes, terns, gulls, and 

 herons are coming back in increasing numbers each year to utilize the 

 facilities made available to them. Both prairie chickens and sharp- 

 tailed grouse are found on some 25 of these waterfowl refuges in 

 numbers to make a fine breeding population and probably to insure 

 the perpetuation of the species. 



The Lower Souris refuge also has a population of some 500 to 600 

 white-tailed deer — more deer than I had thought were left in North 

 Dakota. This population has built up rapidly following the posting 

 and patrolling of the refuge and its development for wildlife. The 

 accomplishments of the past few years have been the most hopeful 

 ones in the history of the efforts to conserve American wildlife species 

 and to insure their perpetuation. Such organizations as the C. C. C. 

 camps, the W. P. A., and other relief agencies have contributed 



