REPORT OF THE PISII AND OAMK COMMISSION. 10? 



iii<,' sufficient settlement nl' intri'iuil 1 [■mililcs in that fevolution-rent 

 republic'. It is jn-oposed to iiiakc the lin.il an-anyenients as soon as 

 such ofdci- is i-fstiifcd tliat siicli a mission will ridt iinpcfil those dch'- 

 fi'ated to so important a scf\irc. In the meantime, investigation of the 

 living conditions and hal)its of these (piail has pi-ogressed far eiifjU'^h to 

 give every reasonahh' assur'anc*' that they are desicahle tVom the spofts- 

 man's point of view, as well as pi'oinising to succei'd in southern ('ali- 

 fornia becatise of the siiidhirity in eliniatic conditions with their 

 present hal)itat. No less an autliority tliaii Ivlward \V. Xel-on, ('hi(d" of 

 the Biological Survey, has advised the CalifVu-nia l^'isli and <lame Com- 

 mission to that effect, whicli brings probably the abh'st judgmeid in 

 the world to this (piest ion. 



Among the problems of those who seek to protect and increase game, 

 in sonthern California particularly, one of the foremost is the main- 

 tenance of suitable natural conditions that will encourage the residence, 

 and particularly the breeding of our indigenous game. Without this, 

 there is no foundation upon which to build in its l)ehalf. Settling up of 

 the countiy unavoidably means turning tillable land beneath the plow; 

 and the subdivision of the large land-holdings of but yesterday is 

 bound to bring a continuing menace to the maintenance of the game. 

 Smaller owners are almost certain to cultivate more intensively, where 

 the big proprietors left large ranges for stock, crops nowadays are going 

 in, often but not always to the deprivation of the sportsman of his most 

 desirable upUuul "hapi)y hunting grounds." There is some comfort 

 in the knowledge that nuiny crops add something to the food supply of 

 game; l)ut none can deny the curtailment in breeding u'rounds. notably 

 of (puiil. in the more thickly settled areas. 



In various ways the conservation authorities have sought to met't this 

 issue in the south following the general state i)l:in. Previous legislatures 

 provided the necessary enaljling acts prelinunary to the setting aside 

 of suitable ai'cas for the natural propagation of game, in the aggregate, 

 millions of acres in the national forests have thus been reserved in the 

 form of game refuges. These, under the Districting Act, must eaidi l)e 

 created separately and in a definite numerical rotation even as the 

 larger Pish and Game Districts, which were dictated by the desii'e to 

 harmonize open seasons with the wide variance in breeding habits inci- 

 dental to California's continental climatic range. 



The game refuges of southern California were altered somewhat 

 both as to l)oundarics and as to regulations by the last legislature, the 

 aim being to render them as efficient as possilile. Anti-vernun cam- 

 paigns were conducted in some of them, with very material results, 

 not only directly in the decrease of i)redatoi-y vermin but to the very 

 evident benefit of the game therein. While the area of the Ancreles 



