*.**.- 





^y^SSfiSL 



There are no year-round quarters for wildlife on the Center's Control Farm which lacks protective cover. 



^Wildlife management on the farm 



Three-fourtlis of tlie liarvest of sinall gsime and 

 fur animals in tlie T'nited States is on farm- 

 lands. Many fariiuMs want to encourage game 

 on their farms, and they can be very effective 

 game manager's. However, they need to know 

 more ways to comi)ine good farming with good 

 wildlife management, and there aiv too few con- 

 crete facts to give them. To |)i-ovide needed in- 

 formation, scientists <if tiie Soil Conservation 

 Service and Patu.xent l)iologists set up a nuxlern 

 conservation farm at tlie Center where t he}- I'onid 

 test the effects of soil conseivation practices on 

 wildlife. This demons! rat ion farm has conloni'ed 

 Helds, sodded drainage channels, mult itlora-rose 

 hedges, (ield-l)order i)lantings, and a farm pond. 

 A coiUrol farm was established at the same time, 

 in which wire fences separated the (ields, ditch 



banks and corners were clean, and all farm prac- 

 tices were aimed at crop i)roduction, none at 

 iinpi'o\'ement of food or co\er for wildlife. Later, 

 a third farm area was de\eloj)ed as a proving 

 groimd for promising new farming practices that 

 may benelil farm game. 



iiiologists began studies of the wildlife popu- 

 lations while the fai'ms were l)eing altered. They 

 trapped rabbits, (piail, do\es, and racc(M)ns alive 

 in bo.x traps and marked t.hem with sinall metal 

 tags or bands. From i-ecaptnres they learned how 

 far I 111- animals ti-aveled, which were their 

 fa\()|-ite ai-eas, when tliey had their yoinig, and 

 ai)onl how many of tliem lived on each farm. 

 When they found that rabl)its were reluctant to 

 enter the traps, they developed a combination of 

 drift fences and traps that was more ellective. 



18 



