FORTY-FOURTH BIENNIAL REPORT 



15 



merit, and a considerable effort was made to interest 

 hunters in areas where large populations of coots pre- 

 sented problems. 



During 1954 it was difficult to generate any interest 

 among the hunters, but during the second opening in 

 1955 interest in the bird was increasing. The campaign 

 continues, and it is possible that eventuall\' this bird 

 may become a valuable resource instead of a nuisance. 



Upland game hunters found conditions better than 

 ever during the biennium. The quail bag in the 1954 

 season was above normal, but poor hunting weather 

 was the big factor in a below-normal 1955 season. 

 Otherwise, the shotgun hunters had a fine time. Near 

 record takes of doves, \\ hich run a close second to 

 ducks for popularity among sportsmen, occurred dur- 

 ing both years. 



PHEASANT BAG INCREASED 



Total bag of pheasants increased nearly 25 percent, 

 largely because of liberalized regulations which length- 

 ened the season from 10 to 16 days and permitted the 

 taking of one hen in the seasonal bag limit for the first 

 time. Also for the first time, pheasant hunting was 

 permitted on weekends on federally owned waterfowl 

 lands. 



While the pigeon take was below normal, the blame 

 should be placed on poor distribution of the birds and 

 not on a decrease in the population. The 1955 nesting 

 period was above average. 



Upland game enthusiasts found another target during 

 the period with the introduction in arid areas of the 

 chukar partridge. Installation of guzzlers has created 

 a habitat for this new game bird, which is reproducing 



Fish screen at Tracy Pumping Plant of Delta Mendota Canal on San 

 Joaquin River. 



(Fish and Game Photo) 



well and should provide good sport in numbers for 

 Southern California hunters. Two open seasons were 

 held during the biennium and a third was authorized, 

 to coincide \\ ith the 1956 quail season in chukar areas. 



INLAND FISHERIES 



California's growing population and its ever-increas- 

 ing interest in outdoor activities have been felt in the 

 department most strongly by the Inland Fisheries 

 Branch. 



Angling license sales have jumped 235 percent in 

 only 15 years, from a prewar figure of 390,342 fisher- 

 men to 1,302,927 in 1955. In five-year increments, the 

 number of anglers went up 42 percent by 1945, up a 

 whopping 76 percent in the five-\'ear period following 

 the end of the war, and it jumped 43 percent in the 

 next five \'ears. Currentl)', the annual trend is an in- 

 crease of 5 percent, with no end in sight to the post- 

 war boom that has just about doubled California's 

 population in 10 years. 



The steadily mounting demand for fishing, as re- 

 flected in license sales, has resulted in stepped-up activ- 

 ity in all of the department's fish-increasing programs. 



More fishing opportunities were created by two 

 Wildlife Conservation Board programs. One is con- 

 cerned with opening formerly inaccessible areas by 

 providing access sites, and the other is the warm- 

 water fisheries program. 



The department's continuing program of habitat 

 improvement has created still more fishing opportuni- 

 ties for the sportsman. Protection of existing fisheries 

 occupied considerable attention during the biennium. 

 The department continued its efforts to establish 

 screens and ladders on important streams and stepped 

 up its investigation of new water projects and the 

 growing pollution problem. 



TRACY FISH SCREEN 



The Tracy Fish Conservation Facility, which em- 

 bodies a new concept in fish screening, was completed. 

 The department cooperated fully in the project. The 

 structure was built by the U. S. Bureau of Reclama- 

 tion at a cost of about $2,000,000 after research had 

 shown the desirability of saving millions of small 

 striped bass and salmon which would otherwise be 

 lost. The tiny fish, which drift with thp current, tail 

 downstream, seem to sense obstructions in their way 

 and are able to avoid them. With this knowledge, 

 engineers designed a vertical system of louvres which 

 the fish avoid by means of their built-in "radar" and 

 thus pass along the obstructions into a safe diversion 

 channel. 



Construction of new screens and replacement of 

 older screens either in need of repair or obsolete be- 

 cause of changing conditions kept the screen shops 

 at Elk Grove, Red Bluff, and Yreka working at 

 capacity. 



