founded information is essential as groundwork 

 upon which to base the management of this im- 

 portant resource. In a state the size of Montana, 

 with its wide variety of big game, game birds and 

 fur bearers, the collection of this fundamental in- 

 formation presents a difficult problem. A lack of 

 finances has been a serious handicap to this work 

 in the past. Fortunately the passage by the Legis- 

 lative Assembly of 1941 of an assent to the pro- 

 visions of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration 

 Act made funds available for setting up within 

 the Department adequate facilities for the collec- 

 tion of this basic data. 



It has been encouraging to note that several 

 of the big game species which had reached a 

 serious low by the early 1900's are now building 

 up to substantial numbers. These increases have 

 of necessity brought about important problems 

 in game management. There are now areas with- 

 in the state in which concentrations of game ani- 



mals are leading to undesirable heavy use of 

 critical winter ranges on public lands and even, 

 in some cases, damage to natural or cultivated 

 crops on privately owned lands. There are, on the 

 other hand, desirable ranges which are as yet 

 decidedly understocked by game animals. It may 

 be seen, therefore, that the Department in its 

 work is confronted with two distinct types of 

 problems — those of scarcity requiring a program 

 of propagation, and conversely, those of abun- 

 dance necessitating adequate control measures. 

 The fact that we are engaged in a war which 

 is taxing our national resources and man power 

 to the utmost has added a more critical aspect 

 to the present problems. The demand for increased 

 production of agricultural products of all kinds 

 places a responsibility upon the Commission to 

 manage wildlife so that unnecessary damage to 

 agricultural production will be avoided. 

 (Continued on page 95) 



ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSIONERS 



During: the past biennium the Montana Fish and 

 Game Commission was confronted with an additional 

 responsibility beyond those of the regular duties of 

 fixing policy, passing regulations, and supervising the 

 administration of the wildlife resources of the state. 

 This was necessitated when the 1941 Legislative As- 

 sembly assented to the provisions of the Federal Wild- 

 life Restoration Act. Upon the Fish and Game Commis- 

 sion rested the obligation of wisely expending the 

 funds allocated to the state under the provisions of 

 this act. The time devoted to the planning of desirable 

 projects, and then following the development of those 

 plans, has materially increased the responsibilities of 

 the commissioners. 



The creation of commission districts in the state 

 by the 1941 Legislative Assembly seems to be a wise 

 provision of the law. Each commissioner is coming to 

 know in detail the various problems which arise in 

 administrating fish and game withn his home district. 

 This gives the commission a clear picture of the wild- 

 life resource and the problems connected with its man- 

 agement throughout the state as a whole. 



The commissioners have, insofar as possible, made 

 field trips into critical big game areas of the state. 

 During the summer of 1941 two commissioners and 

 the State Fish and Game Warden made an extended 

 inspection trip through the South Fork of the Flathead 

 River area. Later in the summer one commissioner 

 went as a member of a party on a trip through the 

 Absaroka Plateau in an effort to gain a better picture 

 of the relationships between recreation, wildlife and 

 domestic stock in that area. 



In the summer of 1912 three commissioners and 

 the State Fish and Game Warden made an inspection 

 trip through the Sun River drainage and over the 

 Continental Divide into both the South Fork and North 

 Fork drainages of the Flathead River, studying man- 

 agement problems connected with both big game and 

 fur bearers in those areas. 



During the same summer three commissioners 

 and the State Fish and Game Warden attended the 

 twenty-first annual meeting the Western Association 

 of the Fish and Game Commissioners held at Jack- 

 son Hole, Wyoming. This was an especially valuable 

 trip since these representatives of the Department had 

 an opportunity to discuss and understand problems of 

 law enforcement as well as the management of wild- 

 life in the various western states. 



With the above duties the Commission has found 

 it necessary to meet every month, except one, in order 

 to properly handle the affairs of the Fish and Game 

 Department. The monthly meetings last from one to 

 three days. As all members of the Commission are 

 engaged in either business or a profession, their time, 

 so freely given, has nevertheless entailed personal sacri- 

 fice. If their combined efforts lead to better distribu- 

 tion and utilization of the wildlife resources of the 

 state of Montana, if improved fishing, hunting and 

 trapping results, they will have been rewarded for 

 the time and effort devoted to their work. 



An inspection trip on the North Fork of hte Sun Biver 

 elk ranges. 



