8 FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



qualifications and integrity of those people seeking permits. The plan 

 has worked exceptionally well. 



The establishment of the trout hatcheries at Hot Creek, Mono 

 County, and Fillmore, Ventura County, marked a new milestone in fish 

 culture in California. Mr. Nate F. Milnor, President of the Fish and 

 Game Commission, through his intense interest and practical knowledge 

 in this field encouraged the change in technique that is responsible for 

 increasing the efficiency of the division 's hatcheries. 



Under the Chairmanship of Commissioner Lee F. Payne, an intensive 

 study was made of the game management area law and out of a committee 

 appointed for this purpose, came a series of recommendations to be acted 

 upon by the commission and presented to the Legislature to bring about 

 more workable legislation. 



During the biennium, the first antelope hunt in over 40 years was 

 held under a new section of the Fish and Game Code enacted in 1941. 

 Commissioner W. B. Williams of Alturas took a personal interest in the 

 rules and regulations governing this hunt and it was through his intimate 

 knowledge of these animals and the country that the hunt was made a 

 success. 



Commencing with December 7, 1941, a close check was kept upon the 

 daily license sales of the Division of Fish and Game without regard to 

 the calendar or fiscal year so that we could readily gauge the effect the 

 war was having upon our revenue. This study has been continued, on 

 that basis and it is interesting to note that the sale of angling licenses 

 decreased only six per cent for the comparable period between December 

 7, 1941 and with that commencing with December 7, 1940. The sale of 

 hunting licenses showed greater decrease and with the sale of deer tags 

 went down about 21 per cent for the comparable period of the preceding 

 year. This, it was felt, was brought about by lack of gasoline, control of 

 travel due to the war emergency, and inability of hunters to obtain shells. 



Foundation for better and more intimate relationships with the 

 administrators of fish and wildlife of our sister states of Oregon, Nevada 

 and Arizona was initiated during this period. The problems of the West 

 as they pertain to wildlife are common problems and differ from those 

 . throughout other sections of the country. It is through the fullest 

 cooperation with our sister states that we can best achieve the maximum 

 benefits arising out of rational, wildlife management. 



The competition for the use of the waters of California for agricul- 

 tural, industrial and other purposes and the effects of the disruption of 

 the natural flow of streams as the result of it has begun to manifest 

 itself. The necessity for a rational program of water conservation is 

 becoming more evident as the effects of building such dams as the great 

 Shasta Dam on the Sacramento and the Friant Dam on the San Joaquin 

 rivers begin to materialize. The studies of what these dams will do to 

 the anadromous fishes, particularly salmon, point to the losses that will 

 be sustained by the commercial fishing industrj^ and those who take this 

 fish for recreational purposes. The closest cooperation must be obtained 

 between the agencies of government and those who benefit from the 

 storage of water, and a program of education undertaken that will estab- 

 lish with these groups the full value of the fish life in our streams. 



As the war progressed, the Division of Fish and Game began to feel 

 tlie pinch in both personnel and material. Many of our people were 

 taken into the armed forces because of special training, education or other 



