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FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



During the biennial period endiitg June 30, 1924. this division has 

 had to deal with many difficult conservation problems. Chief among 

 them, involving this division, has been the problem presented by a 

 cement power ditch on the American River which menaced the lives of 

 hundreds of deer passing between their winter and summer ranges. 

 It took considerable experimentation to figure out means of getting 

 the deer safely across the canal. The power company cooperated 

 splendidly in rescuing deer and immediately began the construction of 

 a fence which will prevent recurrence another year. 



One serious problem in this division is found in the numerous 

 projects where streams are wholly diverted from their channels for 

 power purposes. Seldom is proper consideration given the fish thus 

 destroyed. We sincerely trust that companies concerned will not divert 

 all the waters in the streams but will permit sufficient water to flow 

 in the main channels to insure the maintenance of trout life. The 

 South Fork of the American River is one of the best trout streams of 

 the state that is available to the large centers of population. It is 

 useless to plant nearly a million trout in this stream and its tributaries 

 if the water in its channel is allowed to be diverted. 



l'1(j. 19. Re.sfiiing deer from a power ditch on the American River. Until 

 provision was made for safe crossing of migrating deer many were 

 drowned or frozen and hundreds had to be rescued. Photograph by 

 Euell Gray. 



