24 



DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME 



ing specific water releases to maintain fish life ade- 

 quatei>- in streams below these structures. 



While many of these A\ater projects are easily ac- 

 cessible and flows may be measured \\ithout difficulty, 

 others are in remote areas and inspection requires 

 considerable time and effort, particularly during the 

 winter months. This function is considered extremely 

 important to safeguard fish and wildlife habitat as 

 more and more \\ater projects are developed on pre- 

 viously untouched watersheds. 



Wardens continue to regulate late-summer water 

 releases from stream flow maintenance dams in the 

 Sierras, but their tasks have been made easier in many 

 instances bv the installation of weir-board water meas- 

 uring devices. With these accurate measuring facilities 

 wardens are now able to insure the maximum bene- 

 ficial use of stored water over the desired release 

 period. 



Radiation Defection 



In co-operation with the statewide Civil Defense 

 program, the W^ildlife Protection Branch was assigned 

 the responsibility of radiation fallout detection which 

 would be required in the event of any atomic explo- 

 sion. A number of wardens attended radiological 

 detection meter operator schools, learning the proper 

 use of detection instruments provided by Civil De- 

 fense. These devices, designed to measure the radio- 

 active intensity of any fissionable materials fallout as 

 would occur after an atomic bomb detonation, have 

 been assigned to wardens throughout the State. 



Civil Defense plans also call for the use of wardens 

 to man the base radio stations which will gather fall- 

 out reading data from the mobile monitoring units. 



Captains districts were readjusted during the early 

 part of the biennium with the addition of six new cap- 

 tain positions. This increase in supervisory personnel 

 resulted in a more desirable distribution of districts 

 of reduced size, enabling the captains to have better 

 working relationships with their wardens. 



New Wardens 



The warden complement was increased 13 percent 

 in the earl\- part of the biennium, when in October, 

 1956, 25 new men were assigned to the force. 



Before taking over duties in their respective districts, 

 these men attended a comprehensive and intensive 

 rvvo-week departmental training program held at 

 Strawberry Lodge in El Dorado County. Indoctrina- 

 tion and orientation sessions were held, as well as 

 classes covering patrol practices, court procedures, 

 law interpretation, rules of evidence and arrest, and 

 laws governing search and seizure. Experience has 

 shown the lessons learned in these schools of instruc- 

 tion are invaluable to both the wardens and the 

 department. 



During their first year of emplo\ment, wardens re- 

 ceived interbranch assignments which gave them the 



opportunity to participate in other functions, learning 

 first-hand the duties and problems of their fellow 

 employees in other branches. 



Reserve Wardens 



Units of reserve wardens contributed thousands of 

 hours of their time and performed invaluable service 

 in enforcement work during the biennium. Working 

 with department wardens, the unpaid reserves enabled 

 regular patrols to cover greater areas and resulted in 

 a more thorough check of hunters and anglers. 



In many areas where it was suspected that violations 

 were occurring, reserve wardens were assigned to out- 

 of-uniform patrol and surveillance, and succeeded in 

 bringing a number of violators to justice. 



These men also devoted many additional hours to 

 the hunter safety training program, conducting classes 

 for junior hunters and teaching them the proper use 

 of firearms by practical instruction on rifle ranges. 



With the addition of a new class of reserves in the 

 San Francisco Bay area during the latter part of the 

 biennium, the department now has a reserve force of 

 appro.ximately 277 men. 



GENERAL TRAINING PROGRAM 



Greater emphasis was placed upon training during 

 the biennium and wildlife protection supervisors, in 

 close co-operation with the department training officer 

 and regional training co-ordinators, formulated basic 

 training goals for newly appointed wardens and ex- 

 perienced wardens alike. 



Wildlife protection men gathered frequently during 

 the last two years, usually on a monthly schedule, to 

 discuss topics of current interest relating to their work. 

 Representatives of other department functions also at- 

 tended these meetings, keeping the wardens informed 

 of developments and progress of game and fish man- 

 agement programs, administration and personnel pro- 

 cedures. 



While most of these one-day training sessions drew 

 wardens from two or more captains' districts together, 

 several regionwide meetings were also conducted. At 

 these regional training classes representatives of other 

 law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Bureau 

 of Narcotics Enforcement, California Highway Patrol, 

 Attorney General's Office, and District Attorney Of- 

 fices, appeared and discussed their law enforcement 

 practices, court rulings on recent appeals, and proper 

 methods of arrest and handling of prisoners. 



Instruction in public relations and public speaking 

 was also stressed at interbranch training meetings, 

 aimed toward the effective presentation of department 

 programs and policies to sportsmen's groups and civic 

 organizations. 



Wardens gained valuable information from these 

 training meetings and the end of the biennium found 

 our enforcement men better qualified to perform their 

 varied daily duties than at any time in the past. 



