FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 



51 



wild rose, willow, and other species have been used. 

 Local ranchers and sportsmen have taken an active 

 part in the program in the form of furnishing tractors 

 and labor for the work. 



6. Deer "Guzzlers": Two deer-watering devices 

 have been constructed in the Andesite area in Siski- 

 you County. The locality is in an excellent stand of 

 bitterbrush which is at present little utilized by deer 

 because of a lack of water in the area. It remains to be 

 seen whether these guzzlers will accomplish their pur- 

 pose. 



SPECIAL DEER SEASONS 



Ten special deer hunts were authorized by the Cali- 

 fornia Fish and Game Commission, with a variety of 

 objectives. Some were for relief of farmers who had 

 suffered crop depredations, some to protect winter 

 ranges from over-browsing, others to provide better 

 harvest of deer herds which were unreachable during 

 the regular season, and still others to provide hunting 

 in areas of fire hazard during the regular season. 



Special hunts may be sponsored by local groups, or 

 by the department, but in each case open public hear- 

 ings are conducted and if local opinion is favorable, 

 plans for the season are drawn up. Commission policy 

 has been to authorize special hunts only if they have 

 local backing. A total of 2,776 deer were taken in the 

 special hunts held during the biennium. A summary of 

 the special hunts: 



Los Angeles Archery: These hunts, held from July 

 26 to October 19, 1952, and from August 8 to Decem- 

 ber 31, 1953, were set up for the purpose of allowing 

 deer hunting in the heavily populated Los Angeles 

 area where rifle hunting was felt to be too dangerous. 

 With either sex provisions, 16 males and 14 females 

 were bagged by archers last year. No data was avail- 

 able on the previous season's hunt. 



Southern California Winter Season: Fire closures in 

 Southern California national forest areas for many 

 years have denied a major deer territory to Southern 

 California hunters. In January of 1953 a 16-day season 

 for either sex was set up, with a kill of 700 males, 427 

 females and 26 unclassified for a total of 1,153. The 

 following special season, for bucks only, saw a kill 

 of only 191. The second season was for 11 days only, 

 and was held during a period of high winds and fire 

 danger. Because of postponements, interest lagged. 

 There was an antler drop during the period, further 

 cutting down the number of animals taken. Hunter 

 success was low for both years, with a 13 percent 

 success ratio in 1942 and only 6 percent the following 

 year. Despite these figures, the majority of sportsmen 

 participating appeared to favor continuing the winter 

 seasons. 



Fillmore-Ojai Hunt: This hunt for antlerless deer 

 was authorized as a result of local crop depredations 

 by deer. During the 15-day hunt in September, 1952, 

 190 deer were bagged in the Ventura County areas. 



Coloma Hunt: This hunt, authorized for the foot- 

 hill area of El Dorado County around Coloma, re- 

 sulted in 191 antlerless deer being taken. Its purpose 

 was to give relief to orchard and pasture land which 

 had been suffering from deer damage. 



Barton's Flat: (Fresno and Tulare Counties) No- 

 vember 16 to November 29, 1952; November 15 to 

 November 29, 1953. These two hunters' choice hunts 

 were authorized in order more adequately to harvest 

 the deer that winter on the Barton's Flat winter range. 

 Many of these animals summer in the King's Canyon 

 National Park and are usually unavailable to hunters 

 during the regular season. During the two seasons 319 

 males and 329 females were bagged; total 648. Hunter 

 success was good with 89 percent successful the first 

 season and 56 percent the second. 



Glenn-Colusa Area: This antlerless deer hunt was 

 conducted from October 31 to November 16, 1953, in 

 order to relieve crop damage in the Stonyford area. 

 A total of 271 deer were bagged. Hunter success was 

 a high 82 percent. 



Camp Pendleton Marine Base: This hunt November 

 28 to December 5, 1953, was on Marine Base property 

 for service personnel. Hunter success was 100 percent 

 as 102 antlerless deer were taken. 



Licensed Game Bird Clubs 



Originally the plan for these areas was adopted by 

 the 1939 State Legislature to stimulate the landowner's 

 interest in the game crop. Through this plan it was 

 intended to foster and increase the supply of upland 

 game through land management and stocking of pri- 

 vately raised game farm birds. 



Backers of the plan believed that the income derived 

 from the game crop would provide an incentive to the 

 landowner to manage his land for game production, 



clearing stripi of brush allows access by game, and provides food in 

 the form of new sprout growth. 



