REPORT OF FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



During the past biennium the Fish and Game Commission was com- 

 posed of the following : 



Nate F. Milnor, President 

 Dom A. Civitello 

 Lee F. Payne 

 H. L. Ricks 

 W. B. Williams 



Personnel changes in the commission were effected during the past 

 two years as follows : 



Harvey E. Hastain appointed May 23, 1945, vice Nate F. Milnor, 

 term expired. 



William J. Silva appointed March 20, 1946, vice H. L. Ricks, 

 deceased. 



Dom A. Civitello, resigned March 19, 1946. General H. H. Arnold, 

 retired, was appointed March 20, 1946, vice Dom A. Civitello. However, 

 because of War Department Regulations, General Arnold was unable 

 to officially accept the appointment until July 1, 1947. 



Thus at the close of the biennium the commission was composed of 

 the following: 



Lee F. Payne, President Los Angeles 



W. B. Williams Alturas 



Harvey E. Hastain Brawley 



William J. Silva Modesto 



General H. H. Arnold, (Tentative) Sonoma 



It will be noted that the commission is now geographically repre- 

 sentative of the sportsmen of the State. 



The Division of Fish and Game felt the same effects of "war time" 

 and "reconversion" as commercial agencies experienced. The shortage of 

 personnel, material, supplies and equipment greatly hampered the opera- 

 tion of the division. However, with few exceptions all propagation facili- 

 ties were operated at normal capacity and when the activities of the 

 biennium are summarized it is found that the established trend of con- 

 tinued advancement w^as maintained and that progress was made in all 

 fields. In spite of the numerous difficulties encountered during the period, 

 more fish were planted and more game birds released than during any 

 previous similar period. 



The enactment of Chapter 648— Statutes of 1945, (Assembly Bill 

 No. 395) by the State Legislature delegated to the commission certain 

 regulatory powers. These regulatory powers, in effect, allow the com- 

 mission to establish the seasons, bag limits and other regulations affecting 

 the taking of the sporting species of fish and game. This is considered to 

 be the most outstanding step of the biennium in the advancement of 

 the management of these resources. Season, bag limits and regulations 

 can now be established annually on a sound biological basis, so that the 

 fish and game resources ^of the State can best cope with the demand 

 placed upon it. 



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