Fisheries Restoration Section 



INTRODUCTION 



Another milestone in the Fish and Game Department was passed 

 this biennium when, on July 1, 1951. the first funds from the Federal 

 Aid in Fish Restoration Act of 1950, commonly known as the Dingell- 

 Johnson Act became available to the Fisheries Division. This act 

 channels federal excise taxes derived from the sale of fishing tackle 

 back to the states to set up fisheriee conservation programs. Many 

 sportsmen and citizens alike believe that fish stocking from hatcher- 

 ies is the answer to all fisheries problems, but, unfortunately, the 

 answer is not as simple as this. Fish, being a product of their environ- 

 ment, prosper and fail directly as environmental factors present are 

 favorable or are not favorable. While the Fisheries Division delved 

 into the problems of productive fishery management prior tc July 1, 

 1951, the added federal funds have enabled the Department to expand 

 its efforts. 



The various projects undertaken during the biennium are briefly 

 described under the following headings: 



RANCH FISH POND STUDY 



Many landowners as well as sportsmen have indicated an inter- 

 est in the management of small ponds for production of sport fish; 

 therefore, in cooperation with the Montana State College Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station, the Fish and Game Department has during 

 this biennium completed the first phase in a ranch fish pond study. 

 This study has the widest state interest of any of the Department's 

 fishery studies since it concerns the larger portion of the state's land 

 area. This initial phase dealt mainly with the physical aspects of a 

 pond suited for sport fish. A bulletin' which has been prepared and 

 printed, dealing with the construction and management of Montana's 

 ranch fish ponds, is available free of charge from the Fish and Game 

 Department or the Montana State Experiment Station. 



' Brown, C.J.D.. and Nels A. Thoreson. 

 1951. Ranch fish ponds in Montana, their construction and man- 

 agement. Mont. State College Ag. Exp. Sta., Bull. No. 480, 30 pp . 



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