LAND FOR WILD LIFE AND RECREATION 211 



hunted out of existence. And such laws were once necessary. 

 In 1913 there were but seventyfive elk in the Sitgreaves herd, 

 and about eighteen in the Santa Fe herd in 1915. Today with 

 this state protection the Sitgreaves herd has grown to about 

 3,300 head and the Santa Fe herd to about 1,100. From the 

 point of view of those who wanted to save the elk, this is fine. 

 But the Sitgreaves herd lives in an area where there is food 

 for but 2,000 head of elk, and the maximum that should be in 

 the Santa Fe forest is 1,000. 13 



WILD LIFE AND WATER 



Just as the westward movement of people destroyed the 

 native homes of the deer and other animals, the growth of agri' 

 culture, particularly in the upper Mississippi region, destroyed 

 the important stations along the traditional migration routes of 

 the waterfowl, which are called flyways. Swamps, lakes, and 

 river areas provided shelter and food. The swamps were drained 

 to make fields, many of which never paid the cost of drainage. 

 Pollution destroyed much of the natural food. And on top of 

 these troubles, the increased number of hunters cut a deep hole 

 in the ranks of the migratory birds. 



Another problem arose when oil became widely used. On the 

 flyway that follows the east coast, ships throwing out the 

 sludge from their oil tanks would leave the water coated with 

 a kind of slime out of which a wild duck or goose could not 

 rise if he should chance to light in it. Then in the oil fields 

 themselves, some of which lie in the central flyway, pools of 

 waste oil collect, drain into swamps and other bird waters, 

 and catch the unwary birds. 



The Klamath Lake region in northern California and south' 

 ern Oregon had once been a great nesting ground for ducks and 

 geese. When the Pacific Coast land boom got under way, it was 

 decided that the Klamath Lake should be drained. The federal 



13 The Western Range, p. 352. 



