412 



Bird - Lore 



creased results. He feels that the always prompt and generously rendered 

 encouragement and support of the Headquarters office at New York has much 

 to do with such success as his own efforts have met, and, assured of this support 

 and encouragement, goes forward hopeful of increased results during the coming 

 year. 



REPORT OF WILLIAM L. FINLEY, FIELD AGENT FOR 

 THE PACIFIC COAST STATES 



The greatest blow at the conservation of wild birds on the Pacific Coast is 

 the almost certain destruction of our two large Federal wild-bird reservations, 

 Lower Klamath and Malheur Lakes. The destruction of Klamath Lake 



WILLIAM L. FINLEY TAKING MOTION PICTURES OF YOUNG WHITE PELICANS, 

 MALHEUR LAKE RESERVATION, ORE. 



Photographed by Irene Finley 



Reservation has been accomplished by the drying up of the water, caused by 

 cutting off the flow of water from Klamath River. The Reclamation Service 

 has done this by building a dyke across the river. 



Lower Klamath Lake was a stretch of about fifteen miles of open water, 

 surrounded on all sides by miles of tule marsh. Untold thousands of Ducks, 

 Geese, Pelicans, Terns, Herons, and other birds made this place one of the great- 

 est wild-fowl nurseries in the United States. Because of this. President Roose- 

 velt, at the request of the National Association of Audubon Societies, made 

 it a national bird-reservation on August 8, 1908. It was a great living monu- 

 ment to his memory, but now it looks like a desert waste. To complete the 

 devastation, fires were started months ago in the vast tule marsh. Not only 

 the surface, but below the surface into the tule roots and the peat, the tires 

 are burning continually. 



