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R. W. LARSON 



explain their value. However, rhinoceros auk- 

 lets (Cerorhinca monocerata) do drive herring 

 into ball-shaped schools, which attracts sal- 

 mon in search of food which in turn provides 

 a signal to fishermen that salmon may soon be 

 in the area. Explaining value to the hunter is a 

 bit more difficult, but anyone who has taken 

 the time to go out on our marine waters and 

 observe the many species of seabirds and 

 watch them flying and feeding cannot help 

 but be fascinated by them. The flight of thou- 

 sands of murres skimming over the water sur- 

 face and somehow managing not to dash 

 headlong into a wave is a fascinating sight. 



We who are in fish and wildlife work have 

 had to readjust our thinking and values dur- 

 ing recent years. Our primary programs and 

 concerns for many years were with the fish, 

 birds, and animals that were of value to fisher- 

 men and hunters. Species of wildlife that we 

 now classify as nongame received incidental 

 benefit from programs related to game fish, 

 game birds, and game animals, but we did not 

 do badly in maintaining and enhancing these 

 incidental wildlife species, mostly by indirec- 

 tion. However, in the last few years our De- 

 partment, at least, has taken on a new respon- 

 sibility and a new look as related to nongame 

 wildlife. 



Our first positive step in this direction was 

 to develop a funding source for nongame wild- 

 life programs. Our funding attempt charted 

 its way through stormy waters, but finally 

 ended up being voted on by the citizens of the 

 State. Our citizens passed Referendum 33, 

 which provided funds to the Department for 

 nongame wildlife programs from the sale of 

 personalized license plates. Although the 

 funds have not been adequate, they are a step 

 in the right direction and have permitted the 

 Department to engage in a modest program of 

 research and management. We have placed 

 one person in charge of our program to do the 

 planning and programming so necessary for 

 developing an effective, growing program. 

 During the 1st year of operation, we con- 

 tracted studies on the rhinoceros auklet, the 

 tufted puffin (Lunda cirrhata), and the black 

 oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani). These 

 studies have provided a basic knowledge of 

 some of the problems facing these seabird 

 species. As funds increase, additional studies 

 will be made to provide more information on 



these birds and others. 



During the 1975 legislative session we were 

 successful in amending the personalized 

 license program to include automobiles other 

 than passenger cars a step which should 

 further enhance our funding. We anticipate 

 that funding will increase from the sale of 

 these license plates each year. They serve as 

 their own advertisement, and as more plates 

 are sold, the exposure to the public increases. 

 We anticipate that within the next few years 

 the funding should reach $150,000 per year a 

 modest sum to be sure, but nevertheless ade- 

 quate to establish a viable program. 



We have been involved in studies funded 

 through other agencies that involve seabirds. 

 The principal reasons for the studies are not 

 seabirds, but they become an integral part of 

 any analysis that must be made of our salt- 

 water environs. One such study involves a 

 comprehensive status survey of the marine 

 shoreline fauna of Washington. The Depart- 

 ment of Ecology has provided the funding as 

 a part of their analysis of resources that may 

 be adversely affected by oil spills and eco- 

 nomic development of our shorelines. This 

 study will be the first one designed to compre- 

 hensively identify wildlife species associated 

 with our shorelines and will determine the 

 species, their status, location, and habitat. 

 This study will provide a basis for readily 

 identifying visually the results of oil spills and 

 of the economic development of critical habi- 

 tat areas, and provide sound basic data for 

 use in combating destructive projects in the 

 marine environment. 



We are finding that you cannot separate 

 functions of other governmental agencies that 

 deal with marine waters from seabird analy- 

 sis. Pollution responsibilities, shoreline man- 

 agement, coastal zone management, clam 

 dredging, channel dredging, erosion control, 

 housing development, industrial expansion, 

 shipping port development to name a few- 

 all must have some effect on our seabird 

 species. Therefore, we must concentrate on 

 obtaining an adequate data base to insure the 

 perpetuation of these valuable marine species. 



As I indicated earlier, the Department of 

 Game has not had a special program to man- 

 age seabirds in the past, but this should not 

 indicate that we have not assisted in main- 

 taining the seabird resource. Our basic land 



