ADMINISTRATION 



With an income of nearly one and one-quarter million dollars, and 

 a capital evaluation of $1,700,000, the Fish and Game Department is 

 definitely in the category of a substantial business. Wise expenditure 

 of this money must be directed toward maintainmg and improving 

 wildlife resources for the people of Montana, and the responsibility 

 and power for this expenditure as set forth in the laws of Montana are 

 given to tlie Fash and Game Commission. 



A five-man commission, meeting two days each month, sets up 

 the basic policies and regulations of the department. The State Game 

 Warden, who is the executive director, is appointed by the Commission. 

 It is his responsibility to put these policies into action and to supervise 

 the activities of the department. The State Game Warden's assistant is 

 the Chief Deputy, who acts in a supervisory capacity under the direc- 

 tion of the State Warden. 



Department finances are all obtained either from the sale of 

 licenses or from moneys made available to each state from a tax 

 collected from sportsmen who buy fishing tackle, arms and ammuni- 

 tion. In other words the Department of Fish and Game is financed 

 entirely by the people who participate in the sports of hunting and 

 fishing. 



Services put out by the Fish and Game Department are of more 

 general benefit. For example, predator control benefits the stockman, 

 and the wildlife is enjoyed by many who do not hunt or fish, such as 

 photographers, tourists, and nature hobbyists. 



Licenses form the backbone of department finance. These are dis- 

 tributed to 475 bonded dealers over the state of Montana. A rather 

 complex system of bookkeeping and accounting is required to keep 

 necessary records of the department. Seven persons handle the financial 

 recoids and reports of the department. 



License sales continue to climb year after year. In our last 

 biennial report we were almost certain that the saturation point had 

 been reached in selling rosidenl hunting and fishing licenses in Mon- 

 tana. This observation was based upon an analysis of the total number 

 of resident bird and fishing licenses sold to the total number of resi- 

 dents in Montana which at the time was estimated to be 591,000 per- 

 sons. The increase during the past two years over the preceding two- 

 year period has amounted to 5.9 per cent. 



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