54 MONTANA STATE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



only a few. Many reports of lion tracks, when investiprated, have proven to be 

 the tracks of lynx or bobcats. 



Deer have increased in great numbers in localities where the mountain lion 

 has been killed off. Where the coyotes have been poisoned by state and govern- 

 ment hunters in the Thompson country, reports have been received that deer are 

 rapidly increasing. Coyotes are reported to have killed between 1000 and 1500 

 deer there in one winter before steps were taken to get rid of them. No reports 

 of deer killed by coyotes have been received from that district for several years. 



Many times people who are uninformed ask the question: "Why doesn't the 

 bounty system work better than the plan of employing paid hunters?" We agree 

 with them that the cost per animal is higher. The cost to capture Jesse James 

 was greater than the cost of apprehending an ordinary criminal. The reward 

 was about $50,000 while that on an ordinary stickup man might be $25, yet they 

 were both men. The bounty system has been tried in every conceivable manner 

 during the last 40 years, or since 1883, and between that year and 1923 something 

 like $2,856,981 has been paid out by the state in bounties. 



No later than 1917 I recall that a bounty of $200 was offered on adult wolves 

 in and adjacent to the Jefferson forest. A short time ago it was called off. 

 After unsuccessful efforts to kill the wolves made by bounty officers, leaders 

 were then forced to call on state and government hunters to do the work. In a 

 few months the work was completed by paying a skilled hunter $120 per month. 

 Where is there a place in Montana today where a bounty of $100 is offered on 

 a wolf? The bounty hunters worked for 40 years to clean up the wolves, yet it 

 has remained for state and federal hunters to clean up the job. The work of 

 these trappers and hunters has brought about almost total extermination of the 

 grey wolves. These same hunters employed by the state fish and game commis- 

 sion and the biological survey will soon have the mountain lion situation under 

 such control as will allow the deer and elk to roam the forests unmolested. 



FRAUD IN WOLF BOUNTIES 



GAME wardens in northern Minnesota recently unearthed a well organized 

 system of wolf bounty frauds. The state and county each pay $15 bounty 

 on wolf pelts. It was found that coyote pelts were being imported from 

 Wibrux, Montana and the Minnesota bounty of $30 was being collected on them. 

 After collecting the bounties the importers marketed the skins in Minneapolis. 

 Sixteen of the fraudulent pelts were obtained in Minneapolis by the wardens, 

 who first detected the deception by noticing that the pelts appeared to differ 

 from Minnesota skins in color and (juality. 



HOY SCOUTS CONSERVE GAME 



The Great Falls Sportsmen's Association has put on a membershij) drive 

 bringing its membership uj) to 1000. Plans have been made to instruct Boy 

 Scouts in conservation of wild game, fisii and forests. 



