2 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA [No. 55 



The first great attraction of the State was its wildlife, game for 

 food and clothing, and fur-bearing animals for trade and interna- 

 tional commerce. Agriculture, mining, and lumbering came later 

 and, with other industries, gradually absorbed the wildlife resources, 

 which were not inexhaustible, as they seemed at first. While Oregon 

 is still one of the leading States for hunting, there is today only 

 a fraction of the original supply of game. Some of the most valuable 

 species are extinct or nearing extinction, and others are in need of 

 suitable range and food, of better protection, and a definite plan of 

 management that will build up and insure a future supply not only 

 of game animals but also of the many other attractive and interesting 

 forms of wildlife that add so much to the value of any region. There 

 are great areas of publicly owned forest lands where game is next 

 to the timber in value and where it should always be maintained in 

 controlled abundance. Other types of open-land game, however, are 

 not protected by the national forests and have not been able to com- 

 pete with the overgrazing of domestic livestock. Much of this public 

 domain is of little or no value for any purpose other than its native 

 wildlife, and considerable areas could well be devoted permanently 

 to a gradual restoration of native forms, including the antelope, 

 desert mountain sheep, sage grouse, and in more elevated ranges the 

 blue grouse and mountain quail. 



Stock raising on extensive grazing ranges has been one of the 

 chief industries over much of the State east of the Cascades, but 

 this is gradually giving place to cultivation of the land, or to the 

 development of a greater volume of forage so that more stock can 

 be raised on a given area. The concentration in smaller units of 

 both grazing and agricultural activities does not mean less produc- 

 tion but greater returns per acre. The days of the big ranch and 

 easy-going methods are passing. Better grades of stock and more 

 careful management are taking their place. Application of scien- 

 tific methods will make this, as every other branch of agriculture, 

 more productive. A greater diversity of livestock, including some 

 of our native game animals, may be predicted for the future, with 

 the same advantages that other diversified types of farming have 

 shown. Some of the native animals of Oregon that might well be 

 domesticated or better managed for man's use are the elk, deer, 

 antelope, bighorn, beaver, and muskrat, some of the waterfowl, the 

 sage grouse, blue grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, and mountain quail. 



With the future development and progress of the industries, a 

 fuller knowledge of climatic and physiographic conditions will be 

 a distinct advantage. Also a more complete knowledge of the habits, 

 distribution, abundance, and economic relations of the native animals 

 of the State often will save losses of property and waste of time, 

 and will prevent the destruction of harmless, interesting, and useful 

 species. 



THE PRESENT STUDY 



The present report is based primarily on field work of the Bureau 

 of Biological Survey, carried on through varying periods since 1888, 

 in addition to such published information as has been found. The 

 systematic survey of the State was begun under the direction of 

 C. Hart Merriam, who in 1896 led in person a small field party 



