lU 



\ 



Wood products plani on Sacramento River near Antiocb pumps waste 

 materials directly into sfreom, creating condition highly toxic to fish. 



(Fish and Game Photo by John Skinner) 



future in outdoor recreation. Existing reservoirs which 

 have been built without consideration for recreation 

 present a valuable lesson to the people of California. 

 It is extremely expensive to provide for this purpose 

 after a dam is built. 



THE GRASSLANDS BILL 



Probably the most important single accomplishment 

 for conservation of California wildlife during 1954 

 was passage of legislation by Congress of the so-called 

 Grasslands Bill. 



The Grasslands of the San Joaquin \'alley were a 

 major waterfow 1 wintering area on the Pacific Flyway 

 before they were dried up by the U. S. Bureau of 

 Reclamation as part of the Central \"alley Project 

 water development plan. The Grasslands Bill was 

 based on results of a joint survey by the bureau, the 

 Department of Fish and Game, and the U. S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. 



The new law authorized the Secretary of the In- 

 terior to contract for delivery of water, if and when 

 available, to public organizations and agencies for 

 waterfowl purposes in the Grasslands at a cost not to 

 exceed the charge for Class 2 water. The law also pro- 

 vided for investigation, planning and construction of 

 works by the U. S. Government to provide \\ ater for 

 the public waterfowl management and refuge areas in 

 the Grasslands Region, the cost to be borne by the 

 government on a nonreimbursable basis. The expendi- 

 ture of 1400,000 was authorized for the purpose and 

 when completed the works were to become the prop- 

 erty of the State of California. A substantial start had 

 been made on the rehabilitation of the wildlife needs 

 of the area during the biennium. 



OTHER PROBLEMS 



While the department was busy with its primary 

 water problems, there were many other matters that 

 also commanded its attention. Chief among these were 

 finances, deer management, and still another water 

 problem, pollution. 



Possibly the most serious, insofar as the immediate 

 future is concerned, was the fiscal problem. 



For five years, increasing revenues have failed to 

 keep pace with inflation, costs of wildlife conservation 

 programs and services to the public. 



The $6,000,000 Fish and Game operating reserve of 

 1951 will be about $2,760,000 by June 30, 1957. It will 

 be about 11,700,000 a \ear later at the present austere 

 rate of spending. 



In 1947 the State Legislature, supported by sports- 

 men, gave California a new opportunity to catch up 

 with losses to wildlife management sustained during 

 World War II by providing additional dollars for fish 

 and game. 



W. C. B. Help Invaluable 



The Wildlife Conservation Board, which has since 

 spent about 113,000,000 in capital outlay for fish and 

 game production and maintenance facilities, provided 

 an important shot in the arm for California wildlife. 



A Sl.OO increase in license fees, authorized by the 

 1947 Legislature, actually was more than absorbed by 

 the increased cost of doing business. 



Neither of these aids to wildlife anticipated the 

 tremendous inflation spiral which devalued the new 

 S3. 00 license fee to fl.92, nor the continuing over- 

 v\'helming boom in population creating terrific new- 

 pressures on wildlife. 



While the number of licenses sold annualh' in- 

 creased the number of dollars received by the Fish 

 and Game Preservation Fund, the cost of materials, 

 equipment, salaries and transportation went up at a 

 much faster rate. 



L^nlike tax revenues based on market values or per- 

 centages of income, fixed fees such as hunting and 

 fishing licenses do not provide increased numbers of 

 revenue dollars to Fish and Game in terms of buying 

 power. 



At the close of the current biennium it w"as appar- 

 ent that the operating reserve fund, which has cush- 

 ioned the shock of inflation, would soon be gone, and 

 that either it would be necessary to find new sources 

 of revenue or to cut back drastically on the present 

 program. 



THE DEER PROBLEM 



The continuing failure of California's growing 

 hunter army to harvest a number of deer sufficient to 

 keep animals and range in balance has created a serious 

 problem in practical management of the State's valu- 

 able herds. 



