56 FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF GAME REFUGES 



By J. S. Hunter, Chief 



Under the provision of the hunting license act providing for the 

 appointment of an Advisory Refuge Committee and for the purchase 

 of refuge areas from a portion of the hunting license fund, four areas 

 totaling over 8000 acres have been purchased. The Advisory Com- 

 mittee has had frequent meetings and has been of great assistance to 

 the commission. The committee is composed of the following members : 

 Nathan Moran, Chairman, Manley S. Harris, Jacob Baum, Dr. K. F. 

 Meyer, Dr. Barton W. Evermann, C. Don Field and Orval Overall. 

 The last named members were appointed in May, 1932, to fill vacancies 

 created by the resignations of J. Dale Gentry and H. L. Betten, the 

 former to become president of the Fish and Game Commission. These 

 men have given freely of their time and to them credit is due for the 

 advance that has been made in our State in acquiring breeding and 

 loafing grounds for waterfowl. At the present time the committee is 

 working on a plan to reflood an area in the northern part of the State 

 which in past years has been the breeding place of thousands upon 

 thousands of ducks. There are many details to be worked out and 

 many difficulties to be overcome, but it is hoped that this will be accom- 

 plished within the next biennial period. 



LOS BANOS EEFUGE 



The Los Banos Refuge, an area of 3000 acres, was purchased in 

 the fall of 1929. In the development of this area it has been necessary 

 to move many hundreds of yards of dirt in the construction of levees 

 and dams in order that water might be held in natural drainage ways. 

 It is necessary, on account of our dry summers, to provide a depth of 

 water that will take care of the heavy evaporation when agricultural 

 interests require all available water and it is not possible to get water 

 for the refuge from irrigation ditches. The season of 1931 was 

 unusually dry with practically no snow pack and only a fraction of the 

 water necessary for irrigation. For weeks there was no water in any 

 of the ditches. In order that some surface water might be maintained, 

 it was necessary to put down a well. 



At a depth of 205 feet a sufficient flow was obtained to provide 

 by pumping approximately four second-feet. The water was not of the 

 best quality but is much better than no water at all. Through this 

 well we are able to provide a considerable water surface for the south 

 bound birds when they appear in the fall. The water on the refuge 

 represented practically one-half of the total surface area available on 

 the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. 



GRAY LODGE REFUGE 



The second area, Gray Lodge Refuge, of 2541 acres was purchased 

 in the spring of 1931. This area is located in the Sacramento Valley 



