36 



DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME 



Treed mountain lion. 



-Fish and- Game Photo 



tion of 7'/2 miles of access road at King's Peak, Hum- 

 boldt County, which was financed by county fine 

 moneys. Twenty-two miles of previously constructed 

 access roads were maintained. 



Appro ximatel}- 1,350 acres of brush was control 

 burned in small plots. In addition, department person- 

 nel have activel}' participated in control burns initiated 

 by the U. S. Forest Service. 



Plantings of shrubs and trees for benefiting game 

 totaled 4,821. Seven hundred fifty acres of burned 

 areas were seeded to herbaceous plants. Other miscel- 



laneous activities consisted of upland game brush pile 

 construction and collection of seeds for planting de- 

 ficient areas. 



Considerable effort was expended in surveying the 

 pending land withdrawal areas for future habitat de- 

 velopment work and access road sites. 



PREDATOR CONTROL 



Mountain lions bountied during the biennium totaled 

 330. Of these, 86 were bountied by the three state lion 

 hunters and 244 by private individuals. The bounty is 

 $50 per male and $60 per female lion. 



The department's predator control program was re- 

 duced during the biennium. There are no longer any 

 employees whose full time is devoted to trapping 

 predators. 



Predator control now is strictly tied in with specific 

 game management programs. For instance, predators 

 are reduced on waterfowl management areas just prior 

 to the nesting season. On these areas local management 

 personnel trap predators as part of regular assigned 

 duties. 



The old system of using full-time trappers was not 

 producing sufficient game management benefits rela- 

 tive to the e.xpenses incurred. 



FUR RESOURCES 



The number of licensed trappers and amount of fur 

 taken is influenced by economic conditions more than 

 the natural supply of animals at the present time. Dur- 

 ing the biennium, fur prices were low, except for 

 mink, otter and beaver. The muskrat, which furnishes 

 the bulk of the fur taken in this state, was priced 

 under one dollar per average ra^\' pelt. As a result, fur 

 trapping reached its lowest point in recent years. 



During 1956-57 trapping season, the best of the two- 

 year periods, 858 licensed trappers took 85,252 pelts 

 with an estimated value of $96,000. 



Fur buyer demand has been for the short-haired 

 luxury type furs such as mink and otter. Buyers \\ere 

 taking muskrat, but at a low price. Such common 

 furbearers as raccoons, coyotes, bobcats and skunks 

 were practically unsalable. 



WILDLIFE INVESTIGATIONS 



LABORATORY 



The laboratory staff continued its investigations on 

 the broad front of disease, food habits, nutritional and 

 physiological studies, and on economic poisons as they 

 are related to the welfare of wildlife. 



Botulism 



Several outbreaks of this condition occurred dur- 

 ing the biennial period. One of the more serious situ- 

 ations was the continued mortality of waterfowl in 



