STATE CONSERVATION DEPARTMENTS 187 



duty of the legislature to sketch in broad outline the general 

 policies under which the wild life resources are to be man- 

 aged and to leave to the administrative agency, whether a 

 single commissioner or commission of several members, the 

 filling in of the details in accordance with the general poli- 

 cies outlined by the legislature. 



Statutory Requirement as to Procedure for Exercise of 

 Rule-Making Power: The rules most commonly made by 

 conservation agencies are those regulating the length of the 

 open season on game or fish, and those establishing game 

 preserves or closing certain areas to fishing. The initiation 

 of such rules in about half the states depends upon petition 

 from the residents in the area affected. In the remaining 

 states the administrative agency may initiate action of its 

 own accord. 



Before a rule goes into effect a public hearing is required 

 in about one-third of the states. 28 In the remainder of the 

 states publication in the newspapers is taken to constitute 

 due notice. Appeal, of course, from such rules lies with the 

 courts, whether the statutes expressly provide for it, as they 

 do in some states, or not. 



Financing the Conservation Department: The conserva- 

 tionists, in attempting to divorce the department from politics, 

 at an early date urged that a separate fund be established 

 in the state treasury made up of license fees and that this 

 fund be appropriated for the sole use of the conservation 

 department. It was argued that sportsmen paid these fees 

 and therefore they should be used solely for the benefit of 

 sportsmen in increasing the stock of wild game and fish. 



28 Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New 

 Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Vir- 

 ginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin. 



