TWENTY-SEVENTH BIENNIAL REPORT. 109 



and Bueiia Vista Lake, centers of intei-cst anionic flu- " iniattaelied 

 majority," also call for closer attention than lliis ( 'oininissioii as yet 

 has been able to finance. 



In western Orange County particularly, concentration of duck pi-c- 

 serves within an area of some six or seven mib^s square, tj-avcr'scd by 

 intersecting roads every mile, inevital)ly has brought a considerable con- 

 flict between clul)men and their "uninvited guests", witli which of 

 course this Commission has only incidental concern; but the common 

 interest of the law-abiding sportsman must be served by seeing that the 

 opening of sliooting is enforced to the legal minute, since the sport of a 

 thousand nuiy l)e spoiled for the day by rash selfishness of a few. Stop- 

 ping shooting in the dusk when guns flash, is one of the most important 

 means to maintain ducks in any locality which for reasons of food and 

 fresh water they wish to frequent. Like most forms of conservation, 

 sport as well as wild-life must benefit by the same action. A large bell, 

 tolled at the legal minute, removes from the careless, any color of excuse 

 for "early-shooting", which drives out the ducks for everybody. 



The amounts of money wealthy sportsmen are paying to preserve duck 

 shooting within an hour's drive of business is a very interesting sidelight 

 upon wildfowl conservation, whose practical benefits speedily would be 

 lost upon everybody were drainage and subdivision to deprive the ducks 

 of any inducement for stopping oflf and wintering in our coastwise over- 

 flows, whose value now finds oil excitement added to the previously spec- 

 tacular increase in acreage adjacent to the city incidental to southern 

 California's growth. In one favored instance, development of oil, 

 instead of destroying a world-famous duck preserve, appears to have 

 perpetuated the sport by turning the property into an immense dividend 

 payer of spectacular magnitude with duck shooting an additional, self- 

 supporting and seemingly uninjured "interest". But in most eases, the 

 sport is costing more and more. 



FISHING CONDITIONS. 



Importance of keeping pace with the rapid development of power and 

 irrigation projects incidental to the unprecedented population growth of 

 the southern division counties early was appreciated. While at first 

 thought the menace to natural fishing might seem prohibitive, the possi- 

 bilities of "wise laws well enforced" have been invoked to make in 

 behalf of the angling licensees, best possible use of these water-impound- 

 ing projects. 



Of power and irrigation projects in these days of phenomenally grow- 

 ing populati(ni, there can be no end. One of the problems of this 

 sportsmen's commission must be the maintenance of all possible public 

 access to the fishing that it is developing therein. Throughout low- 

 land valleys, bass lakes will become more and more plentiful: the black 

 bass is the sporting fish of the future so far as the general public is 

 concerned ; and indeed that future is very nearly upon us now. Our 

 mountain lake trout possibilities naturally are limited ; but every water 

 impounding scheme suggests bass possibilities. 



After considerable negotiation, the city of Los Angeles finally 

 arranged to continue the excellent sport of bass fishing on the large 

 irrigation .storage reservoirs of upper San Fernando Valley, and of 



