The most important Federal conservation laws 

 enforced by the present staff of 126 United States 

 game management agents, in cooperation with State 

 enforcement officers, are the Migratory Bird Treaty 

 Act, as amended, which gives effect to the treaties 

 with Great Britain (on behalf of Canada) and Mexico 

 for the protection of birds migrating between Canada, 

 the United States, and Mexico; the Migratory Bird 

 Hunting Stamp Act; and the L,acey Act, regulating 

 interstate and foreign shipments of game. 



In addition, U. S. game management agents check 

 hunters* bags, make midwinter inventories of migra- 

 tory game birds, and nesting- ground surveys of 

 waterfowl, study nesting conditions on the northern 

 breeding grounds, band birds, assist in wildlife 

 extension programs, investigate damage to agricul- 

 tural crops by injurious waterfowl, demonstrate 

 depredation-control techniques, and otherwise assist 

 and advise farmers and agriculturists on problems 

 arising from depredations to agricultural crops. The 

 Federal agents maintain a close working relation 

 with the States, for the Bureau emphasizes a Federal- 

 State game enforcement program that involves en- 

 forcement of both Federal and State hunting regula- 

 tions. 



An important management responsibility of the 

 Bureau for migratory game birds under the treaties 

 with Canada and Mexico is that of recommending to 

 the Secretary of the Interior the necessary amend- 

 ments to the annual regulations for the hunting of 

 migratory waterfowl. These amendments include 

 length of the season, bag and possession limits, and 

 shooting hours. 



The basic data used to guide the Bureau's tech- 

 nical staff in making decisions on changes in the 

 hunting regulations come from migratory gamebird 

 surveys on the breeding grounds, midwinter inven- 

 tories and banding projects. These surveys are con- 

 ducted by Bureau biologists and game management 

 agents, technicians of State game departments, wildlife 

 experts of the Canadian Wildlife Service, the Provincial 

 Game Departments, and field personnel in Canada 

 of Ducks Unlimited and the Wildlife Management 

 Institute. 



For management purposes, the waterfowl popula- 

 tions within the United States are divided into four 



36 



