management program is this comparison: At the 



time of the transfer there was no waterfowl use 

 of the area; in the fall of L953, more than 48,000 

 Canada geese made Crab Orchard their head- 

 quarters. Incidentally, this area also has become 

 the center for some of the Nation's most famous 

 hunting-dog field trials. 



Although there has been little in the way of 

 special appropriations for the acquisition and de- 

 velopment of new refuge areas since 1940. the 

 Service has continued to make great strides in ex- 

 panding the refuge system. This has been possible 

 largely through the use of suitable areas acquired 

 by other Government agencies for other public 

 purposes. 



Basic authority for Fish and Wildlife Service 

 use of areas impounded by other agencies of the 

 Government was first conceived in 1!>:54 through 

 what is known as the Coordination Act. This was 

 greatly strengthened and improved in 1946 and 

 has become an important element in refuge devel- 

 opment. The act provides that — 



Whenever the Federal Government through the I'.ureau 

 of Reclamation or otherwise, impounds water for any use, 

 opportunity shall lie given to the Fish and Wildlife Service 

 to make such uses of the impounded waters for fish-culture 

 stations and migratory-bird resting and nesting areas as 

 an- not inconsistent with the primary use of the waters . . . 



ruder this authority some excellent areas have 

 been made available to the Service without cost 

 for land. Duck Stamp funds have been used for 

 their development and for operation and mainte- 

 nance. A few examples are worthy of specific 

 mention. 



When Denison Dam was constructed across the 

 Red River, boundary between Texas and Okla- 

 homa, it flooded several shallow bays with excel- 

 lent waterfowl potentials. Two Federal refuges 

 \\ ere created : Tishomingo, of about 13,500 acres in 

 Oklahoma, and Hagerman, of about 11,500 acres 

 in Texas. Subsequent farming and other develop- 

 ments tor waterfowl have brought large numbers 

 of wintering ducks and geese into the Keel River 

 Valley for the first time within the memory of 

 local residents, and excellent shooting has resulted 

 over a wide adjacent area. 



The Santee Refuge on the Santee and Cooper 

 Rivers in South Carolina is a similar area, made 

 available to the Service for wildlife purposes as 

 a part of the Santee-Cooper Hood-control and 

 hydroelectric project. 



Two of the finest refuges in the South were 

 developed on lands acquired and flooded by the 

 Tennessee Valley Authority. The Wheeler Ref- 

 uge of some 35,000 acres in northern Alabama 



National Field Trials at Crab Orchard, in Illinois. 



