22 ALASKA I'ISHEEIES AND FUR INDUSTRIES, 1911. 



Kansas; Lee R. Dice, of Washington; and Fred H. Gray, of Alaska, 

 deputy wardens. 



In selecting persons to fill these positions the department endeav- 

 ored to secure men possessing special fitness for the duties which they 

 would be called upon to perform, and among the qualifications that 

 were regarded as important, if not essential, were the following: 

 Strong physique and ability to take care of oneself in the woods and 

 afield; sufficient biological education and training and field experience 

 to enable them to have an intelligent conception of the many biolog- 

 ical problems with which they will have to deal, to carry on investi- 

 gations regarding the habits, abundance, and distribution of the 

 animals with which they will be concerned, and to prepare reports 

 thereon; experience and skill in methods as collectors of mammals 

 and other natural history specimens; real interest in the problems 

 relating to the habits and conservation of fur-bearing animals; and 

 especially intelligence, judgment, tact, and courage in dealing with 

 hunters and trappers and in the enforcement of the law and regula- 

 tions. They should also possess some knowledge of the fur business 

 and be able to distinguish the different grades of furs. 



PROBLEMS OF PROTECTION OF FUR-BEARING ANIMALS. 



The proper and efficient regulation of the fur industry and the 

 conservation of the fur-bearing animals require knowledge of the 

 habits of the animals, their food, age of maturity, rate of reproduc- 

 tion, season of birth of the young, ratio of sexes, and family habits; 

 diseases, adaptability to domestication, etc., and particularly the 

 season when the fur is at its best and the effect of certain regulations 

 upon its successful and profitable capture; the present abundance and 

 distribution and probability of extinction or essential impairment in 

 number; and the interrelation of species. 



Auxiliary to these main problems is the question of the dependence 

 of the natives upon certain species for food and clothing. Not only 

 are certain animals a prominent, if not principal, element in the 

 domestic necessities of the Indian, but traffic in fur is at times his 

 only resource for the procurement of articles which he has learned 

 from the white man to use and need. 



The most immediate question demanding regulation is the takmg 

 of unprime furs. This reprehensible practice is perhaps most largely 

 to be attributed to the native. When it is considered how recently 

 ideas of conservation have entered the minds of civilized Americans 

 it can hardly be hoped that the native will at once appreciate the 

 ultimate beneficence of a withdrawal of his license to kill at any and 

 all times when suited to his convenience or when he may do so with 

 the least expenditure of energy. 



