BUREAU OF THE BIOLOGICAL SURVEY 



103 



The Division of Land Acquisition in the Biological Survey 

 was set up to do the actual work of selecting suitable areas 

 and making the necessary arrangements for acquiring them. 



Biologists speak of the four flight areas of migratory 

 North American birds. They may roughly be defined as 

 the Atlantic Coast, the Mississippi Valley, the Great Plains, 

 and the Pacific Ocean areas, running from Canada through 

 the United States to the south, in some cases as far as the 

 northern part of South America. It is the aim of the Com- 

 mission to provide a series of refuges in each flight area, 

 of such size that they can be conveniently and efficiently 

 administered. 43 



When the Division was established in 1929 it sought the 

 advice of conservation associations asking that they make 

 suggestions with regard to suitable refuges. With the in- 

 formation thus obtained together with that already possessed 

 by the Survey regarding known points of bird concentra- 

 tion, the Division was able to begin work. Since that date 

 the Food Habits Research Division has made examinations 

 and suggestions regarding suitable land and occasionally 

 private individuals have written offering to sell their prop- 

 erty for refuge purposes. 



In case the Division thinks a certain parcel of land worth 

 considering seriously, after a favorable report on its bio- 

 logical features made by the Food Habits Research Division, 

 a land valuation crew is sent out from the nearest field head- 

 quarters, which are located at Kansas City, Ogden, and 

 Washington, D. C., to make an examination of the prop- 

 erty. A map is first made showing the type of land, that is, 

 agricultural, grazing, hay, timber, brush, or marsh, and 

 under various subheadings, the quality of each type. 



appropriated $75,000 for the fiscal year 1929, $200,000 for 1930, $600,000 

 for 1931, $1,000,000 for 1932, and the same sum for the next six years. 

 43 This generally means blocks of from twenty to fifty thousand acres. 



