590 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



of Game and Inland Fisheries, it was 

 possible to purchase and release a total 

 of 1,783 deer. 



Wild turkeys were originally found 

 throughout the forests but vast areas of 

 former turkey range were no longer 

 supporting the birds at the time the co- 

 operative program was launched. Per- 

 sistent efforts to restore this fine game 

 bird have not been entirely successful, 

 because of the difficulty in obtaining 

 a strain of birds capable of retaining 

 wild characteristics. Some flocks have 

 been reestablished in depleted areas as 

 a result of restocking efforts, and it is 

 planned to continue work on the proj- 

 ect until a solution is found. 



Approximately 1,000 raccoons have 

 been planted in the national forests 

 and adjacent areas. Wildlife managers 

 report a noticeable increase in the 

 number of raccoon in recent years. 



Populations of small game such as 

 ruffed grouse and squirrel fluctuate 

 from year to year, and it is difficult to 

 recognize trends within a few years, 

 but we expect an increase in their 

 number as food supplies and other en- 

 vironmental factors are improved. 



Some good streams that can become 

 excellent trout waters flow from the 

 Blue Ridge, which, as the easternmost 

 range of the Appalachians, could pro- 

 vide accessible trout fishing for resi- 

 dents of many eastern cities. The 

 restoration and maintenance of Blue 

 Ridge trout streams as producing units 

 of aquatic habitat is a major objective 

 under the cooperative program. 



The heavy demand for trout fishing 

 in the national forest waters has re- 

 quired an intensive stream-stocking 

 program. State and Federal hatcheries 

 have supplied legal-size trout annually 

 for the streams. To provide even more 

 fish, an allotment of national forest 

 stamp funds has been made to Federal 

 hatcheries in recent years to purchase 

 fish food. Under that arrangement, 

 trout that would otherwise be planted 

 as 3- and 4-inch fish are reared to 8- 

 and 10-inch size for stocking purposes. 



In the cooperative area, forest-man- 

 agement plans for important water- 



sheds are being shaped to restore water- 

 retention capacity, to stabilize stream 

 banks, minimize soil losses through 

 erosion, and provide shaded channels 

 to keep water temperatures within 

 favorable limits for the native brook 

 trout. Already many forest streams 

 have responded to the fire-prevention 

 and watershed-management practices 

 which date from 1913. Under the 

 multiple-use concept of forest manage- 

 ment, increased emphasis is being 

 placed on harvesting timber in a man- 

 ner that will minimize damage to fish- 

 ing streams. Furthermore, man-made 

 stream-improvement devices, includ- 

 ing dams and other structures, have 

 been installed to create pools and hid- 

 ing places for trout. The ability of 

 many mountain streams to provide 

 shelter for fish has been greatly en- 

 hanced through this means and further 

 work may be undertaken as funds be- 

 come available. Stream improvement 

 of this type often requires a heavy out- 

 lay of funds for labor, but it has proved 

 popular with users of streams. 



The growing population of deer has 

 already demonstrated the need for 

 planned forage production. The devel- 

 opment of cleared areas at regular in- 

 tervals throughout the forest has added 

 materially to the forest edge, which 

 provides improved forage conditions. 

 Sawmill sites, log-loading areas, woods 

 roads, and "turn arounds" have been 

 seeded to orchardgrass and other foods 

 for wildlife. These permanent forest 

 openings also eliminate the need for 

 creating a fresh disturbance to soil and 

 forest cover with each new logging 

 operation. 



The wildlife managers were quick 

 to recognize the value of numerous ap- 

 ple trees in the young, second-growth 

 forest, particularly along old logging 

 railroad grades where the loggers of a 

 preceding generation had uncon- 

 sciously planted them. Fruit trees 

 around abandoned homesteads also 

 provided a valuable source of game 

 food; now the trees are being pruned 

 and freed from competition. Many of 

 them now produce annual crops of 



