182 



Illinois Natural History Survey Hulletin 



Vol. 27, Art. 2 



Following passaj^e of the Federal Aid in 

 Wildlife Restoration Act in 1937, Frison 

 undertook to arrange a co-operative wild- 

 life research program with the Illinois 

 Department of Conser\ation and the 

 United States Hureau of Biological Sur- 

 vey (now the U. S. Bureau of Sport 

 Fisheries and Wildlife). The first co- 

 operative project, "Illinois Fur Animal 

 Resources Survey," with Louis G. Brown 

 as leader, was approved on May 23, 1939 

 (Frison 1940:8-9). In 1940 a Coopera- 

 tive Wildlife Restoration Program, em- 

 hracing interagency co-operation in Fed- 

 eral Aid, was listed on the staff page on 

 the section level. Of this program Frison 

 (1940:8) recorded: "General program 

 planning and supervision of projects deal- 

 ing with wildlife research have been as- 

 signed to the Chief and various other 

 members of the scientific staff of the Illi- 

 nois Natural History Survey." In evi- 

 dence of its success this co-operative ar- 

 rangement has survived through the years, 

 and in 1956 the Conservation Advisory 

 Board (Mann 1956:6) included, in a 

 statement of policies, provisions for the 

 development of an adequate game re- 

 search program "through cooperation 

 with and support of the Illinois Natural 

 History Survey Division." 



Thus, by 1940 Frison had stimulated 

 and obtained support for a wildlife re- 

 search program which involved the pri- 

 mary activity of four sections within the 

 Natural History Survey's organizational 

 structure. This compartition of the work 

 was believed by those who knew Frison 

 to have grown out of his extreme interest 

 in wildlife resources and his desire to 

 give each facet of study his personal 

 direction. 



There was little change in the wildlife 

 research program while Dr. Leo R. le- 

 hon served as Acting Chief, December 10, 

 1945, through February 28, 1947, follow- 

 ing Frison's death on December 9, 1945. 



Dr. Harlow B. Mills, who became 

 Chief on March 1, 1947, proved to have 

 the same consuming interest in wildlife 

 research which had marked Frison's lead- 

 ership. In August, 1947, the Cooperative 

 Wildlife Restoration Program was more 

 properly designated Cooperative Wild- 

 life Research, and a Section of Migratory 

 Waterfowl was added to the orjianiza- 



tion. The latter section had been discon- 

 tinued by June, 1948. 



Dr. Thomas G. Scott was appointed 

 the Head of the Section of Game Re- 

 search and Management on January 1. 

 1950. He was the first person to bear 

 this title. Soon after that date, arrange- 

 ments were made for formal co-operation 

 in wildlife research between the Natural 

 History Survey and Southern Illinois 

 University, where Dr. Willard D. Klim- 

 stra was guiding the program in wildlife 

 research and education. That part of the 

 Survey's organizational structure. Co- 

 operative Wildlife Research, which em- 

 braced the Federal Aid research, was 

 dropped, and the personnel and admin- 

 istrative responsibilities of this program 

 were transferred to the Section of Game 

 Research and Management in March, 

 1950. On September 1, 1954, the Section 

 of Forestry was abolished, and all of its 

 wildlife activities and personnel trans- 

 ferred to the Section of Game Research 

 and Management. Thus, by 1954 all 

 wildlife research had been assigned to one 

 section. The name of the section was 

 more appropriately designated the Section 

 of Wildlife Research on May 1, 1956. 

 The area of research assigned to the sec- 

 tion was similar to that of its predeces- 

 sors : the biology of warm-blooded verte- 

 brates except that associated with taxo- 

 nom\ and classification. In 1956 the 

 extensive activities of the section were 

 divided and were assigned to branches to 

 provide for more effective supervision. 

 The new branches were Nongame Birds, 

 Upland Game Birds, Migratory Game 

 Birds, Mammals, Co-operative Wildlife 

 Research, and Environmental Research. 



As the first centur\' of the Illinois Nat- 

 ural History Survey ends, interest in 

 wildlife resources of Illinois and other 

 parts of the United States is greater than 

 e\er before. The number of people en- 

 gaged in the wildlife management pro- 

 fession is at an all-time high and promises 

 to go higher. Frison's North Central 

 States Fish and Game Conference has 

 so grown in attendance and extent of in- 

 terest that its facilities no longer seem 

 to meet the needs seen at the outset. As 

 a consequence, there is a tendency for 

 specialists to draw apart in committees 

 or "councils." Some of those who look 



