56 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



The fact that the numbers of Modoc mule deer held up well in the 

 face of greatly increased hunting; effort from 1920 to 1928 may 

 probably be explained by the additional restrictions that were placed 

 upon the hunters in that period. From 1911 to 1925, Modoc and 

 Lassen counties were included in Fish and Game District 1 which still 

 embraces most of the Sierra Nevada country and prior to 1919 also 

 included Del Norte, Humboldt and Siskiyou counties. In 1919, District 

 1^ was formed, composed of the last-named counties. During this 

 period the following open season on deer obtained in District 1: 1911 

 to 1914, August 15 to October 31 ; 1915 to 1920, August 15 to October 

 14; 1921 to 1924, September 1 to October 15. The bag limit was two 

 buck deer per season throughout the period, but after 1915 it was 

 illegal to kill spike bucks. 



District If was formed in 1925 when it consisted of Modoc and 

 Lassen counties. Here a 30-day open season was declared, September 

 15 to October 15 in contrast to the six -weeks' season that persisted 

 in District 1 until 1927. Forked-horn deer were also protected in Dis- 

 trict If, but the limit was two bucks with more than two points on a 

 side per season. The next Legislature (1927) reduced the limit to one 

 such buck per season in Modoc and Lassen counties and changed the 

 open season to September 16 to October 15, which season was also 

 adopted for District. 1. 



The boundaries of District If were enlai'ged by the 1929 Legisla- 

 ture to include in this district that portion of Siskiyou County lying 

 east of the easterly bank of the Klamath River between the Oregon 

 line and the Siskiyou line of the Southern Pacific Railway and south 

 along this railway to the south line of Siskiyou County. This, from 

 a biological standpoint, was an excellent boundary line, for it would be 

 difficult to locate an artificial one more nearly paralleling the western 

 boundary of the mule deer's range. It is a pity, therefore, that the 

 1931 Legislature changed this boundary to that portion of Siskiyou 

 County lying east of the Pacific Highway (U. S. 99) between the 

 county's southern line and the town of Weed and east of the Weed- 

 Klamath Falls Highway between "Weed and the northern line of 

 Siskiyou County (see Fig. 15). The latter is the present boundary of 

 District If and no changes have been made in season or bag limit since 

 1927. It is unfortunate that the above mentioned boundary change 

 was made for a six-weeks' season (September 1 to October 15) and a 

 two-buck bag limit, with no forked-horn protection, now exists in the 

 mule deer range west of the Weed-Klamath Falls Highway. This mat- 

 ter should be corrected by our next Legislature and it is suggested that 

 the Pacific Highway would provide an excellent western boundary to 

 District If from the soutliern Siskiyou County line north to the 

 Oregon line. Other westward enlargements to District ]f further 

 south, especially in eastern Plumas, Sierra and Nevada counties are 

 apparent from the accompanying map and we hope will be made in 

 1935. The Division endeavored to have such legislation enacted in the 

 1933 session, but was unable to accomplisli this. 



Senator Harold J. Powers, Eagleville, introduced a bill into the 

 1933 Legislature to shorten the open season in District If to the 

 period October 1 to 15. This measure was supported by many 

 sportsmen in IModoc County but mo.st of the local hunters in Lassen 



