CONCEPTS IN CONSERVATION—GABRIELSON 
utilized permanently only if the vege- 
tative cover is not destroyed by exces- 
sive use. 
It is hoped that this brief discussion 
of the role of vegetation has pointed 
out the importance of plants in the 
management of lands and waters. 
Plants are one of the great natural 
controls since they are highly effective 
in retarding erosion and regulating 
run-off. They furnish an indispensable 
part of the mechanism by which a 
suitable water table is built and main- 
tained; they build continually toward 
a more productive soil and they 
manufacture all the basic foods utilized 
by all animal life, including man. 
Can there be any questioning of the 
belief of conservationists that all land 
not immediately needed for other pur- 
poses should be kept continuously 
vegetated as a part of any intelligent 
program of natural resource manage- 
ment? 
Wildlife Management 
Biologists and naturalists realize 
keenly that the ultimate fate of wild- 
life is tied up inextricably with the 
management of the lands and waters. 
They realize that a good crop of wild- 
life cannot be produced on poor and 
worn-out land any more than a good 
crop of cattle or corn could be pro- 
duced on the same land. There is a 
popular belief that any piece of waste 
land is adequate for wildlife produc- 
tion. This belief prevails because 
wildlife, often crowded into such 
areas, survives in minimum numbers 
on marginal areas. That does not 
mean, however, that good crops of 
wildlife can be produced profitably on 
such land. For this reason wildlife 
biologists are keenly interested in 
maintaining the highest possible pro- 
ductivity of the lands and waters. 
There are types of wildlife fitted to 
live under almost all possible normal 
variations in vegetative cover and 
under varying climatic conditions. A 
reforestation program cannot but help 
certain types of forest animals. If 
that reforestation program is wisely 
289 
carried out, the wildlife values are 
enhanced. As the timber grows, con- 
ditions become better for some forms 
of wildlife and worse for others. A 
forest slows down run-off as duff accu- 
mulates. Streams which had become 
intermittent because of forest destruc- 
tion, often become permanent streams 
once more as reforestation progresses. 
Likewise, in areas suffering from exces- 
sive erosion any sound program of soil 
conservation cannot but help wildlife 
to some extent. If some thought is 
given to wildlife at the time this pro- 
gram is laid out, this benefit can be 
multiplied many times. 
Many flood-control programs, hy- 
droelectric developments and _ recla- 
mation projects have been very de- 
structive to fish and wildlife. Often 
this has been needless since experience 
shows that some consideration would 
have provided an opportunity to sal- 
vage many fish and wildlife values. 
The greatest single benefit of wild- 
life, although one which it is difficult 
to evaluate in a monetary sense, is the 
incentive it affords man for wholesome 
outdoor recreation. The outdoors still 
has a major appeal. People go out- 
of-doors not only to hunt and fish, 
but to look at and _ photograph 
birds, mammals, and scenery. ‘Their 
methods of enjoying these resources 
are diverse and that is one of their 
most wholesome values. There has 
been a saying circulated for many 
years that more film is utilized in 
photographing wildlife than is used 
on any other subject except babies. A 
total of 9,854,314 hunting licenses 
were sold in the United States during 
1946 and 11,068,717 fishing licenses 
were recorded in addition. This is a 
record amount, but the number of 
such licenses has grown steadily each 
year since 1918 when records first 
began to be kept on a wide scale. 
Yet these numbers represent only those 
who are required to obtain a license 
to hunt or fish; they do not include the 
great many who can hunt or fish 
without licenses, nor those who get 
their fun out of wildlife in other ways. 
