12 



DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME 



omong the medio for conservation education. This hatchery 

 model was shown o* the California State Fair. 



monthly bulletin Outdoor California to license agents, 

 officials of organized sportsmen's groups, and others 

 whose positions require an up-to-date knowledge of 

 conservation matters, servicing of outdoor writers, 

 providing abstracts of angling and liunting regulations, 

 publications of angler's guides to promote fishing in 

 areas where heretofore pressure has been light, publi- 

 cation of pamphlets on various species of fish and 

 game, providing information to schools and civic or- 

 ganizations and explanation of various cooperative and 

 public hunting programs. 



In addition the section mailed more than 100,000 

 pieces of literature in response to direct inquiries from 

 throughout the State concerning conservation and 

 wildlife questions, and distributed nearly 2,000,000 

 pieces of literature through license agents and other 

 outlets. 



.Another development of importance was the visual 

 aids program, in which seven motion pictures suitable 

 for showing both at public meetings and for television 

 were produced. Old film alread\- on hand was revised 

 and edited and two entirely new films were under way 

 at the clf)se of the bicnnium. Other visual aids included 

 exhibits for use at fairs, sports shows, and organization 

 gatherings. Also operated by the conservation section 

 is the library which contains conservation materials 

 for use of the staff, re.search people, and sportsmen. 



One basic change in the program was elimination of 

 a procedure under which conservation pamphlets were 

 produced for distribution, on request, to schools 

 throughout the State for elementary classroom use. 

 This uas on the recommendation of the Senate Interim 

 Committee on Fish and Game. 



Publications on Sale 



Another major change was that of a revised distribu- 

 tion policy and reduction in size of the California Fish 

 and Game scientific quarterly publication, and placing 

 of many department publications on sale at cost. It was 

 estimated that many thousands of dollars per year in 

 new revenue will be realized from the sale of depart- 

 mental printed materials. A portion of the savings real- 

 ized by reductions and cutbacks in technical publica- 

 tions was placed into the new monthly bulletin Out- 

 door Calif or7iia. 



Total expenditures of the section during the first 

 full 12-month period of full operation were $151,309, 

 or 2 percent of the total department expenditure for 

 the period. This represented a cost of about one cent 

 per citizen. This percentage is the lowest of any com- 

 parable states, whose -wildlife resources are far less 

 valuable than those of California. 



New Program Organized 



During the biennium the section organized and su- 

 pervised a new program for hunter safety training 

 pursuant to action by the California Legislature. The 

 new law required that each hunter under 16 who had 

 not previously held a license must obtain a certificate 

 of competence in handling firearms by taking a course 

 of instruction supervised by the department. The 

 hunter safety training program of the National Rifle 

 Association was adopted and the NRA contributed its 

 services in developing the California program. 



Efforts were continued to interest school administra- 

 tors and curriculum people in bringing conservation 

 instruction into the public schools of the State. At 

 present conservation is not recognized by state law as 

 a subject required in the curriculum, and there are 

 relatively few teachers trained to teach the subject. 

 The conservation education director became an active 

 member of the Conservation Education Committee of 

 the Department of Education during the biennium. 



With California leading the Nation in rate of license 

 increase, and in decrease of \\ildlife habitat due to agri- 

 cultural and urban encroachment, the need and de- 

 mand for conservation education activity has spiraled 

 since World War II, and will continue to increase if 

 the human pressure on wildlife continues to increase. 



WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD 



In accordance w ith a request of the Fish and Game 

 Commission in January, 1954, the Wildlife Conserva- 

 tion Board concentrated its activities on completion of 

 existing projects, and financing new projects requiring 

 low operation and maintenance costs when completed. 



The commission at that time requested that the 

 board not approve additional projects which would 

 impose appreciable outln\s for operation and mainte- 

 nance until the Department of Fish and Game had 



