CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 343 



GAME MANAGEMENT 



Game management is primarily concerned in securing sustained 

 annual crops of wild game for recreational use. In order to accomplish 

 this, we must know the life history, food habits and other requirements 

 of the game species to be produced. 



In general, it may be said that food, shelter and safe breeding 

 places are three most essential requirements. In the case of mule deer 

 in California we must consider in our game management plan : 



1. Control of hunting. 



2. Control of predatory animals. 



3. Control of food and water, 



4. Control of disease and parasites. 



5. Control of game refuges and cover. 



6. Competition with domestic cattle, sheep and goats. 



I feel that control of hunting is fairly well provided for under 

 our existing California game laws, but constant watch must be kept 

 to see that closed seasons, bag limit and laws preventing killing of 

 does and fawns are observed by hunters. It may become necessary to 

 reduce the bag limit to one buck per season in districts 4, 4i and 4|. 



In regard to control of predatory animals, the fine work that has 

 been done by State Lion Hunter Jay Bruce and other men together 

 with the substantial bounty paid on mountain lions by our California 

 Fish and Game Commission has, I believe, been of greatest importance. 

 In southern California, certain counties have paid an additional bounty 

 which has brought the total up to over $50 per lion so that it is believed 

 that this greatest natural enemy of the mule deer is adequately cared 

 for. 



Experience may show that further control of coyotes on the ' ' fawn- 

 ing grounds" of the mule deer in California may be good game manage- 

 ment. In so far as concerns mule deer, I doubt if any further control 

 of wildcats and golden eagles is justifiable at this time. 



It has been my experience that in the Modoc region development 

 and protection of the relatively scant water supply is highly desirable 

 since in many places living springs are rare and far apart. There are, 

 in my experience, many areas in this region that would support a 

 decidedly larger deer population if an adequate water supply could be 

 provided. Ten miles is about the maximum distance that mule deer 

 naturally forage from water and I believe that for best results the 

 "cruising radius" of mule deer should be less than five miles. 



Under present grazing practice the salt logs which are provided 

 on the range for domestic sheep and cattle automatically provide suf- 

 ficient salt for deer also. However, I believe that on game refuges and 

 elsewliere where salting of domestic stock is not practiced, salt logs 

 should be provided especially for deer. 



The tragic experience and slaughter of over 22,000 deer in the 

 Stanislaus National Forest which were infected with the foot-and-mouth 

 disease from range cattle should be a constant warning to us of 



