FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 



21 



WILDLIFE PROTECTION 



Of all the activities of the department, probably none was so directly affected by the huge increase 

 in hunting and angling license holders during the biennium as was the Wildlife Protection function. 

 The increased work load was brought about by the greater numbers of hunters and fishermen on 

 almost every section of California's more than 150,000 square miles and its 1,200-mile coastline, and 

 by the addition of a new activity, the hunter safety training program. 



Increased hunting and fishing activity was reflected 



in a 27 percent increase in the number of arrests over 

 the previous biennium. Addition of patrol boats, com- 

 munications equipment and more use of aerial patrol 

 and reconnaissance bulwarked operations of the 

 branch. 



Departmental reorganization brought administrative 

 changes in that the assistant chiefs of patrol, fornierlv 

 in charge of six patrol districts, were assigned as ^\■ild- 

 life protection supervisors, reporting to the five re- 

 gional managers. Marine Patrol, headquartered at 

 Terminal Island, reported to Region V. All members 

 of the Bureau of Patrol, with the exception of the 

 Chief Staff Officer, Wildlife Protection Branch, one 

 staff assistant, and a clerical assistant, were transferred 

 to the various regions in January, 1953. 



HUNTER SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM 



Faced with several years of mounting hunting cas- 

 ualty lists, and the prospects of even more hunters in 

 the field in the future, the 1953 California Legislature 

 enacted a measure, now embodied in Section 424 of 

 the California Fish and Game Code, providing that 

 * * * "no hunting license shall be issued to any per- 

 son under the age of 16 years unless he presents * * * 

 either evidence that he has held a hunting license in 

 this State during a prior year, or a certificate of com- 

 petency as provided by law. * * *" 



Intent of the act was primarily to prevent hunting 

 casualties which annually mar the sport, to prevent 

 many gun accidents not directly resulting from hunt- 

 ing activitv, and secondarily, to instill in the young 

 hunter the principles of conservation, good sportsman- 

 ship and proper conduct in the field. 



Prohibitive measures designed to prevent accidents 

 had long been on the books but still the number of 

 casualties increased in direct proportion to the number 

 of untrained people in the hunting field. However, in 

 New York, where a hunter safet>' program based on 

 education and legislation requiring junior hunters to 

 present evidence of competency to handle firearms, a 

 decrease in casualties of 75 percent was recorded dur- 

 ing the five years prior to 1953. 



The original bill was introduced by Assembly- 

 woman Pauline Davis of Portola, and a companion 

 measure introduced in the Senate bv Senator Pressley 

 Abshire of Sonoma. 



Under terms of the legislation, to go into effect ^\■ith 

 issuance of 1954-55 hunting licenses, the Director of 

 the Department of Fish and Game was assigned the 



task of translating the measure into action. Administra- 

 tivelv, the function was assigned to the Conservation 

 Education Section, with the field work to be accom- 

 plished by members of the warden staff. Work of 

 preparing the program began in the fall of 1953 and 

 some classes were graduated in iMarch of 1954. Leg- 

 islation also provided that the department could coop- 

 erate with an\' reputable organization whose purpose 

 is promotion of gun safety. 



Ideal Safety Course 



Consideration of material available showed that the 

 National Rifle Association of America hunter safety 

 course was ideal. It required only four hours of in- 

 struction for the student, utilized the services of vol- 

 unteer instructors qualified by NRA and approved by 

 the department, and excellent textbooks, reference 

 materials and charts were available at low cost and on 

 short notice from the National Rifle Association. 



The department approved the recommended course 

 of training, and an agreement was made with NRA 

 to certify and service instructors, provide materials at 

 cost to instructors and report to the department the 

 number of instructors qualified and students trained. 



Response to the new program was immediate ,and 

 enthusiastic. Sportsmen's and educational organiza- 

 tions offered wholehearted cooperation from the start. 

 All Wildlife Protection Branch personnel were quali- 

 fied as hunter safety instructors and instructional ma- 

 terials prepared by the headquarters conservation 

 education staffs. 



At the close of the biennium, when certificates of 

 competence were first required, 3,195 hunter safety 

 instructors had been certified by NRA, and about 

 1,000 junior hunters trained and ready to present evi- 

 dence of competency as required by law for the 1954 

 hunting season. Indications were that 15,000 to 20,000 

 juniors would be checked out during the 1954 hunting 

 season. 



The junior hunter is taught reasons for the course, 

 and is shown that all hunter casualties stem from either 

 ignorance or carelessness. Next step is the mechanics 

 of shooting safely, and acquisition of a working knowl- 

 edge of weapons and their proper care. 



He also hears discussion of danger of becoming lost 

 in the woods and how to conduct himself if lost, fish 

 and game laws with emphasis on the intent of con- 

 servation measures, safe hunting techniques, fire pre- 



