Conservation Charley Cont. 

 any of these supplemental pastures must also be 

 carefully managed to get the most out of them. 

 But their use in conjunction with native ranges 

 makes for better ranges and fatter cattle year 

 after year. 



Good range management of native grass is con- 

 siderably easier with some help from these seeded 

 grasses. 



PUBLIC FIELD 



TRIPS 

 CONDUCTED 

 THIS SPRING 



by 

 Steve Bayless 



Page 4 



Two grandmothers were bragg- 

 ing about their grandchildren, and 

 one, quite impressed, asked the 

 other: 



"How old are your grandsons?" 

 "Well," replied the other with 

 great personal pride. "The doctor's 

 two and the lawyer's four." 



Montana Fish & 

 Game Department 



During the spring of 1963, the Montana Fish and 

 Game Department initiated a new program of in- 

 formation for the benefit of the state's general 

 public. The program, confined generally to south- 

 central Montana, was one of conducting field trips 

 into key winter range areas for the purpose of 

 explaining some of the aspects of deer management. 

 Actually, the Fish and Game Department has been 



conducting field trips into deer winter range 

 areas for a number of years. But last year's 

 were the first ever held specifically for the 

 general public. 



This year, the program was again undertaken 

 by department personnel, only on a much larger 

 scale. Trips were scheduled over most of the 

 state last April and May, with the U. S. Forest 

 Service and Bureau of Land Mangement cooperat- 

 ing. Letters of invitation were sent to sportsmen, 

 businessmen, farmers, ranchers, and state and 

 government agencies and service organizations. 



Although bad weather kept some interested people 

 at home, the 14 scheduled trips were, in general, 

 well attended. 



Each trip was kicked off with a short slide series 

 given by fish and game personnel. The series 

 explained some of the things which would be seen 

 on the field trip as they related to the over-all 

 management of deer. Emphasis was also given 

 to the different problems associated with manag- 

 ing a deer herd successfully. 



Following the slide series, the group was trans- 

 ported to the field where they got a first-hand 

 look at deer management from the grassroots 

 level — condition of the range. 



In the field, trip discussion leaders showed the 

 group why winter range is so important to good 

 deer management. The various types of vegita- 

 tion which made up the wintering area were 

 pointed out, and the group saw which of the plants 

 were favored by deer for food. The undesirable 

 and starvation species of plants were also noted. 



On the field trips, such management tools as the 

 two deer season and early opening or lengthened 

 hunting season were discussed. These tools are 

 used when more deer must be harvested from an 

 area in order to bring the herd in balance with its 

 food supply. 



The trips answered a lot of questions asked by 

 the public in relation to the management of 

 Montana's deer herds. In future years, the trips 

 promise to be a popular annual event for interested 

 Montanans. 



This summer, public field trips will be scheduled 

 in various areas of the State on fish management. 

 Details of these trips will be announced later by 

 the Fish and Game Department. 



Wife to husband: "Vish you 

 had the spunk the government 

 has. They don't let a little 

 debt keep them from spending." 



