Somewhere under this pile of togs and slash is Hunter Creek. Careless log- 

 ging practices have rendered this stream useless for spawning. 



(Fish and Game Photo) 



sportsmen's organizations, and other volunteers. Cali- 

 fornia's instructors made up nearly half the number 

 certified bv the NRA to teach such courses in the 

 United States. 



Outstanding Record 



Only two trained junior hunters were involved as 

 shooters in accidents during the 1955 hunting season, 

 which was the first full opportunity to view the re- 

 sults of the training program. Including a junior 

 hunter victim of an unidentified shooter, the casualty 

 rate among the trained junior hunters was only 1 in 

 11,000. 



Of the some 9,000 untrained junior hunters afield in 

 1955 (who previously held licenses and were not re- 

 quired to take the safety course), 14 were involved in 

 casualties, of which four were fatal shootings. The 

 casualty rate among untrained juniors was one to 

 every 650 untrained junior hunters afield. The trained 

 junior was almost 17 times as safe as his untrained 

 counterpart, and nearly twice as safe as the adult 

 hunter. 



A study of hunter casualty reports indicated that 

 thev were occurring not only because of careless gun 

 handling but also because of some visual deficiency on 

 the part of the shooter. This led to participation by 

 the department in laboratory and field tests of visual 

 acuity, particularly in regard to visibility of various 

 colors of clothing under hunting conditions. The de- 

 partment cooperated with the National Rifle Associ- 

 ation and the California Optometric Association in set- 

 ting up and carrying out the tests. Preliminary results 

 indicated that the traditional red is not as readily dis- 

 cernible in the field as many other colors, and that 

 yellow may be the easiest color to spot. 



IN-SERVICE TRAINING 



Under the direction of the Conservation Education 

 Section, a department-wide in-service training pro- 

 gram was organized during the biennium. The pro- 



gram provides new employees with basic orientation 

 training and offers functional on-the-job training as 

 well as cross-functional training in all activities of the 

 agency. With the organization and much of the con- 

 tent of the training program completed, responsibilit\' 

 for the program was to be transferred from this sec- 

 tion to the personnel section in the next biennium. 



The program got under wa\' in late November, 

 1954, with the appointment of a full time training offi- 

 cer. Preliminary groundwork included establishing 

 contacts with cooperating agencies such as the State 

 Personnel Board Training Division and the Depart- 

 ment of Education, collecting a basic training library 

 and making a review and report of post-training activ- 

 ities. 



Training the Trainers 



The program was inaugurated in three phases. First 

 was the "train the trainers" phase, in which top level 

 supervisors, in four groups of 10 each, were given a 

 72-hour course. This was followed by 48-hour ver- 

 sions of the same course given in the regions to second 

 line supervisors who had taken the 72-hour course. 

 First line supervisors were the students in the third 

 phase. Leaders were supervisors who had been trained 

 in the first two steps. 



The training policy is to provide the opportunit\' 

 for maximum development of the capabilities of all 

 employees so they may progress individually and to 

 provide for maximum efficiency within the depart- 

 ment. The training policy also includes emphasis on 

 the importance of the employee's relationship with the 

 general public. 



LOGGING POLLUTION 



Special efforts were made during the period to make 

 known to members of the logging industry the serious 

 effects on fish life in Northern California streams re- 

 sulting from careless logging practices. A surve\' 

 showed 925 miles of steelhead and salmon spawning 

 streams were lost by logging, slash and silting pollu- 

 tion, or by removal or destruction of riparian vegeta- 

 tion. 



Proceeding on the thesis that an informed public 

 is the best guarantee of good conservation practices, 

 this section inaugurated a series of bulletins designed 

 to inform the logging industry of the needs of fish life. 

 Three bulletins were published and a fourth was under 

 production. These were augmented by direct con- 

 tacts with industry leaders. The program was coordi- 

 nated with law enforcement activities and public 

 meeting presentations. A start was made on a motion 

 picture on the subject and at the close of the biennium 

 the program was beginning to show results in the pre- 

 vention of further damage and in the cleaning up of 

 debris filled streams by logging operators. 



