phases of the department's Information and 

 Education program, but gi\es the local people 

 benefit of closer contact and therefore more 

 complete services from the department. 



The district educator in District 4 is also 

 a qualified pilot and does much of the flying 

 for the district staff. The success of the dis- 

 trict education program indicates the desirabil- 

 ity of eventually increasing this service to in- 

 clude a similar specialist in each of the seven 

 areas. 



General Services 



General ser\'ices include a broad field of 

 activities which cannot be simply classified, 

 but which contribute to the overall wildlife 

 information and education effort. 



The department's live wildlife exhibit 

 grows in popularity each year. A regular sched- 

 ule of fourteen state and county fairs is fol- 

 lowed each year, and about 150,000 persons 

 view the collection of native Montana fish and 

 game. Conflicting fair dates restrict the extent 

 to which this feature can be expanded since 

 equipment and the number of animals limit 

 the exhibit to two major units. Appreciation 

 and understanding of Montana's wildlife is 

 stimulated at each showing. 



In cooperation with the Enforcement Divi- 

 sion, an In-Service Training School for law 

 enforcement personnel was developed through 

 the cooperation of Montana State University. 

 This school was held to keep field men in- 

 formed on new and changing enforcement mat- 

 ters and is essential in keeping a staff operat- 

 ing at maximum efficiency. 



A similar In-Service training in general 

 game management has also been conducted in 

 cooperation with Montana State College at 

 Bozeman. 



A technical library is maintained by the 

 divi-sion in which current writings and reports 

 are available as references to all employees. 

 An inter-department news letter is prepared 

 to keep employees posted on the activities of 

 various .sections of the organization. 



Photography in the preparation of moving 

 pictures, colored slides and illustrative black 

 and white pictures is handled largely by the 

 Information and Education Division. Al.so a 

 lending library of outdoor moving pictures is 

 available to sportsmen's clubs, schools and 

 civic groups. 



Expansion of the Department's Education 

 and Information v/ork is expected in the future 

 as the public demand for this service has in- 

 creased in all parts of the state. The depart- 

 ment has a definite obligation in contributing 

 to the state-wide effort to promote interest and 

 education on all conservation matters. This 

 will be met by all Fish and Game employees 

 and the Information and Education Division. 



No citizen can overlook the fact that the 

 prosperity of the state and nation is tied di- 

 rectly to our natural resources, and basic 

 education is an essential in creating the knowl- 

 edge necessary to support and maintain this 

 resource. 



WILDLIFE KDICAIION EXTENSION 

 FKOGKAM 



Adult Education 



During the past two bienniums the Fish 

 and Game Department has financed a program 

 of adult education in cooperation with Montana 

 State University and Montana State College. 



Under terms of a memorandum of under- 

 standing between these institutions, a series 

 of educational lectures on wildlife and resource 

 management is presented to the public. 



As stated in the original agreement, the 

 purpose of this program is to: "develop a bet- 

 ter understanding of advanced management of 

 the natural resource base, to the end that a 

 more fa\orable en\ironment for wildlife spe- 

 cies may be attained and maintained." 



This program which dexelopcd at Montana 

 State University m 1949 was adopted by the 

 Montana Wildlife Federation in 1952. Since 

 the goal of this series is to further the objec- 

 tives of good wildlife management, the Fish 

 and Game Commission agreed, in 1954, to 

 underwrite the cost of conducting the work. 

 Originally, $7,500 was deposited with the treas- 

 urer of each school. With the current increase 

 in operation thu program now amounts to 

 $19,000 annually. 



Men operating from the two univereily 

 units present forum lectures to groups in many 

 .sections of the state. 



Location of r«niiiii I'o>mi>. 



U)5t)-.')7 Hi'ii l.ud.L^L-, Hardin, Houndup, 

 Harlowton, Three Forks, Stun- 

 foni. Lewistown. Havre, Ovando- 

 Ilelniville, IMulip.sburg. 



-14 



