568 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



of the crown was transferred to the 

 Colonies in a form that made wildlife 

 the qualified property of the State. 

 Consequently, the States, acting in a 

 sovereign capacity for all citizens, exer- 

 cised control over fish and game. 



The Colonists had to learn how to 

 hunt; in England they had had scarcely 

 any opportunity. In the new country, 

 wildlife was, so to speak, something 

 which belonged to all the people. 

 When game laws became necessary, the 

 State replaced the crown, and all per- 

 sons held an equal interest in the wild- 

 life resources. So today all citizens are 

 entitled to hunt and fish for resident 

 wildlife under the laws promulgated 

 by the States. 



The game laws in the United States 

 have created a situation wherein suc- 

 cessful game management hinges on 

 the cooperation of the States and the 

 landowners, because the State, although 

 it is responsible for the protection 

 and restoration of wildlife, depends 

 practically on farmers, timber owners, 

 and other landowners for a place to 

 produce the wildlife. The condition 

 and use of the land has a major influ- 

 ence on the kind and amount of fish 

 and game that can be supported. 



THIS COORDINATION of forestry and 

 wildlife brings us back to the all- 

 important point of habitat. 



The restrictive measures of the past 

 to protect breeding stocks and to plant 

 fish have turned out to be tools of 

 wildlife management that are likely to 

 help wildlife only if the habitat is fav- 

 orable. We know now that the basic 

 need for wildlife is a suitable habitat, 

 one that will carry all the animals 

 through the entire year and will vary 

 with the species, according to their 

 food preferences (whether browse, 

 grass, fruits, nuts, insects, or other ani- 

 mals) and their cover needs (whether 

 tree dens, thickets, brush, or weeds). 

 If these requirements are not provided, 

 the forest animals cannot respond to 

 protection given them by seasons of 

 hunting, bag limits, or other laws to 

 perpetuate the breeding stock. The 



land-management practices are there- 

 fore of direct importance to the ani- 

 mals. What is done to the land and its 

 cover determines how much wildlife 

 can be produced. 



In the national forests, attention has 

 been given to the relationship be- 

 tween forest management and wildlife 

 management. The method of cutting 

 the trees is one important factor : Light 

 selective cuttings have negligible value 

 for wildlife because they ordinarily do 

 little to open the forest canopy to 

 promote reproduction and develop- 

 ment of the shrubbery or herbaceous 

 growth. Light cuttings to remove dead 

 and defective trees can safeguard wild- 

 life interests fairly well if at least one 

 den tree is left on an acre. Heavy selec- 

 tive cuttings can improve wildlife con- 

 ditions by creating small openings in 

 the forest canopy; the grass, weeds, and 

 other vegetation come in under these 

 breaks and enhance the habitat. 



Of the various cutting methods now 

 in use, wildlife interests are best served 

 by fairly heavy selective cutting or clear 

 cutting in relatively small blocks. An 

 important consideration is the cruising 

 range of wildlife species and the length 

 of the cutting cycle, because the ad- 

 vantages of the system depend on 

 maintaining a broad range of timber- 

 age classes within the travel range of 

 game. If wildlife is not considered in 

 timber-stand improvement work, food 

 supplies may be depleted by the heavy 

 cutting of species like beech, dogwood, 

 sassafras, and persimmon, but appro- 

 priate consideration and planning can 

 serve both timber management and 

 wildlife management. 



Another factor is the maintenance of 

 the streamside forest cover. The forest 

 canopy provides shade, which governs 

 maintenance of water temperatures 

 favorable to trout. Moreover, the in- 

 sects that fall into the water from over- 

 hanging vegetation are food for fish. 

 Also, the roots of trees and shrubs on 

 stream banks bind the soil, hold the 

 banks in place, and afford retreats for 

 fish and habitat for aquatic life. 



Another point has to do with forest 



