This icene on the Son Gabriel River on opening day of fhe J 954 Irout 



svoson illusirolei Ihe kind of fishing pressure California's streams and 



lakes are getiing. 



hunting pressure on a da\-to-day basis reaches pro- 

 portions w hich are hard to visualize. In two years the 

 number of licensed hunters and fishermen has in- 

 creased b\- 300,000. Many of them are trout fishermen 

 who expect to fill their creels in spite of the fact that 

 natural reproduction of wild fish has reached the 

 point of no return in many streams and lakes. Thou- 

 .sands are pheasant hunters expecting success in areas 

 where agriculture and urban expansion have cut 

 natural habitat alarmingh". Duck hunters increase 

 while more and more marsh land, absolutely neces- 

 sar\' to the species, is being reclaimed and developed. 



Habitat Improvement 



To keep apace with these pressures, the department 

 has embarked on programs of habitat improvement in 

 field and stream; game management to attain a balance 

 between numbers of deer, existing range forage, and 

 hunter harvest; a vast program of planting catchable 

 trout in roadside waters where fingerling planting has 

 reached the point of no return; constant efforts to 

 improve streams through flow maintenance dams, 

 clearance of obstructions, removal of trash fish and 

 restocking with desirable species; a program of screen- 

 ing irrigation water diversions to keep all fish in the 

 rivers, and ladders to preserve migratorv fish such as 

 salmon and steelhcad; watering devices for quail, main- 

 tained game farms, and developed waterfowl manage- 

 ment areas. 



The problem of reducing waterfowl depredations on 

 agricultural crops has been attacked with increasing 

 success. Land and water development agencies now 

 are working more closely with the department in plan- 

 ning for future water conservation structures and 

 developments. 



A stepped-up program of hunter safety was inaugu- 

 rated during the latter part of the biennium as a result 

 of far-sighted action by the State Legislature. This leg- 

 islation required hunters under the age of 16 years, 

 applying for a license for the first time, to show evi- 

 dence of at least four hours instruction in handling 

 firearms, and in the rudiments of hunter safety and 

 courtesy. 



Plans were completed for a department-wide train- 

 ing program designed to increase the operating effi- 

 ciency of Fish and Game personnel and thus save thou- 

 sands of dollars of license fees and other funds which 

 can be diverted to more productive channels. 



This is the picture of the past two years. It is a pe- 

 riod of notable gains in many wildlife fields, reverses 

 in some others. It is a period of constantly expanding 

 hunting and fishing pressure, of lessons learned the 

 hard way, and of lessons learned in the field of depart- 

 mental research. It has been two years of new, bold 

 steps by the commission and the department in the 

 fields of fish and game management. Above and be- 

 yond all of these things, it has been a "shakedown 

 cruise" for departmental reorganization, and a period 

 for looking ahead. 



10-year Estimate 



Near the end of the biennium several legislative 

 groups, cognizant of all of these factors, requested that 

 the director prepare a 10-year estimate of future needs 

 of California fish and game. The estimate was pre-' 

 sented at a joint meeting of the Assembly Subcommit- 

 tee on Public Lands, Grazing and Forest Practice, 

 Assemblyman Lloyd W. Lowrey, Chairman; Senate 

 Interim Committee on Public Lands, Senator Edwin J. 

 Regan, Chairman; Assembly Committee on Agricul- 

 ture, Assemblyman George A. Clarke, Chairman; 

 Assembly Committee on Conservation, Planning, and 

 Public Works, Assemblyman Francis Lindsay, Chair- 

 man, on June 23, 1954. 



This estimate, to be discussed at length in other parts 

 of this report, poses problems and implications directly 

 affecting millions of Californians, whether they be 

 hunters or fishermen, students of nature, photographers 

 of wildlife, disciples of Audubon, skin divers, or 

 merely lovers of the out-of-doors. 



Needless to say, a fish and game department which 

 confined its efforts to problems of the day, season, or 

 biennium, would not be properly discharging its trus- 

 teeship to the people. The California Department of 

 Fish and Game has endeavored to, through research, 

 common sense and hard work, to meet and solve to- 

 da>'s problems. At the same time it is attempting to 

 anticipate those of the future. California's wildlife 

 heritage of today is worth hundreds of millions of 

 dollars annually to present residents of the State. With 

 an intelligent program for the future, carried out by 

 Lin enlightened citizenry, the value of that heritage to 



