THE STORY OF OUR PUBLIC DOMAIN 81 



character that they have never been attractive of 

 acquirement for individual ownership. 



"One of the attractive game birds of the United 

 States is the grouse, which used to exist in vast 

 numbers throughout the sage brush lands of the 

 West. These birds which have afforded food and 

 recreation to hundreds of thousands of our citizens 

 have literally been swept away over millions of acres, 

 much of which is still Public Domain. Should those 

 lands that are in national ownership be so admin- 

 istered as to prevent the destruction of the food and 

 cover plants attractive to the sage chickens, these 

 birds, together with the antelope and other game, 

 will afford recreation to the citizens of this country 

 that can be valued at many millions of dollars. The 

 State of Nevada has seventy-seven millions of acres 

 that have produced untold millions of sage hens. 

 Ninety per cent or more of this acreage is of such a 

 character that it cannot be cultivated. Its greatest 

 value will always be production of native plants to 

 support animal and bird life." 



Wild life problems, of which we here get a 

 couple of intimate glimpses, to-day invade the prin- 

 cipal divisions of land service of all kinds. They also 

 enter intimately into the administration both of Na- 

 tional Forests and National Parks from widely dif- 

 fering points of view, and the Bureau of the Bio- 

 logical Survey finds its most conspicuous function 

 the study of American game birds and game ani- 

 mals, and their conservation on Federal Lands. We 



