leave the refuge, they have sufficient space in which to gain 
altitude before passing over the shooting grounds, 
The size of the Horseshoe Lake Cache on the other 
hand, is woefully inadequate for Canada geese, as experiences 
there and elsewhere have demonstrated so clearly. At present 
the petuge, because of roe small size, results not in-protec- 
tion for Canada geese, but in a kill greater than if there 
Were no'’refuge at all. As a goose refuge it has no: logical 
basis for existence unless it is enlarged very considerably. 
A program of purchasing additional lands Hae Deer planned by 
the State Department of Conservation for several years, but 
has been blocked by the inflated prices of lands in the area, 
caused by the commercialization of the goose hunting. 
Census data show that since 1942 the Canada goose 
in the Mississippi River valley has shown a marked decline in 
population. Kill records have shown an increase in the kill 
since 1939, and banding data have shown a concurrent decrease 
in goose survival for the same period. The sme usion must be 
reached that the Mississippi Flyway Canada goose population has 
been shot too heavily and that stringent protection is neces- 
sary to insure perpetuation of this population. 
Ce ee 
