10 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME 



Unit management of deer (by herds) was instituted by legislation in 1957. The department had 

 recommended this system following experimental management in several regions for several years. 



The Hunter Safety Training Program recorded the 100,000th student trained. 



Silver salmon were planted in the Sacramento River and a run appeared to be established as the 

 biennium ended. 



MANAGEMENT TOOLS PROVIDED 



Further advances were made in providing the department with the tools to perform its necessary 

 job of wildlife management. These include equipment, facilities and manpower. 



Re-codification of the Fish and Game Code was accomplished during the period. 



The department applied for withdrawal for recreation purposes of a half million acres of public 

 land. 



New offices in Region 2 (Sacramento) and Region 4 (Fresno) were provided and a start was made 

 on a laboratory building in Sacramento for statewide game and fisheries investigations. 



The department's Beechcraft, twin-engine airplane, obtained as war surplus shortly after the war, 

 was sold and a new plane of the same type purchased. 



The research vessel "Yellowfin," classified as unseaworthy because of dry rot, was sold and the 

 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service vessel "Alaska" was leased by the department and outfitted for 

 department duty. 



\\'ork began on a new ocean patrol boat to replace the old "Albacore" which was scheduled for 

 sale in the fall of 1958 and a new patrol boat, "Silversides," was purchased for duty in Humboldt Bay. 



The department was given increased personnel to deal with the highly complex problems involved 

 in water and pollution laws. 



Twenty-five new wardens, approved by the Legislature in the previous biennium, joined the 

 department in the fall of 1956. 



Persons who pollute streams are now required to clean them up at their own expense, thanks to 

 legislation passed in the 1957 session. 



A statewide radio network solely for fish and game patrol activities was placed in operation. 



A new warden training program went into effect when the 25 new wardens joined the department 

 in the fall of 1956. The department- wide training program was extended to all levels, from the 

 newest employee at the beginning level to the top administrator. 



An accident prevention program was started late in 1957, involving safety conferences at all levels 

 and designed to make all employees safety conscious. In a few months the accident rate dropped 

 sharply. 



A long-range planning program was instituted in 1956 by a planning committee consisting of top 

 level staff and regional personnel. 



Those are some of the highlights in the 1956-58 biennial period. Here are some of the details: 



stream Cleanup 



The 1957 Legislature enacted a law requiring those who pollute streams to clean them up at their 

 own expense. Heretofore, fines were the only punishment required legally. The new law also 

 provides for fines at the judge's discretion, but makes a cleanup mandatory. Already this has had a 

 deterrent effect on some who have come to realize that the price of cleaning a stream, to the satis- 

 faction of the department, can be many times greater (in the expense of wages, equipment and time) 

 than the amount of a fine. 



License Fees 



The same legislative session approved an increase in license fees to enable the department to con- 

 tinue its conservation work without resorting to deficit or emergency financing. It was the first 

 increase in such fees since 1948. 



