PART II— CAMPAIGN FOR GAME SANCTUARIES 



THE CAMPAIGN IN THE WEST FOR GAME 

 SANCTUARIES IN NATIONAL FORESTS 



DURING the whole of 1915-16 our greatest concentra- 

 tion of effort has been upon the cause having for its 

 object the enactment of a new federal law, whereby an al- 

 most unlimited number of game sanctuaries can be created 

 by quick and satisfactory methods. This cause seemed so 

 large and important as to dwarf all others. 



At the very threshold of this movement, we realized that 

 the task to be performed was a most serious one. No really 

 great measure for the conservation of wild life, of far- 

 reaching importance, ever goes far in its course without 

 encountering in turn apathy, inertia, and finally opposition. 



Previous to this effort four bills had been introduced in 

 Congress for the making of game preserves in national for- 

 ests. The first was that of Representative John F. Lacey, 

 in January, 1902, and the last was that of Senator Per- 

 kins, introduced in May, 1902. All these bills failed to make 

 progress; and for the same reasons. They were too brief 

 and incomplete ; not one of them took into account the graz- 

 ing and agricultural interests, none of them provided for 

 State concurrence, and none of them was pushed with vig- 

 or and persistence. 



But all those previous efforts had lapsed. For two years 

 nothing had been brought before Congress on this subject, 

 and in January, 1915, the field was wide open to anyone who 

 chose to enter it. 



All previous bills had clothed the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture and the President with unlimited powers, but they had 



