THIRD BIENNIAL STATEMENT 165 



and inevitably spread to the public forest lands from which 

 no hunter is barred. 



It was thought wise to locate the Preserves in sections 

 where the game had formerly been plentiful but had been 

 practically exterminated, to gain by such action the support 

 and assistance of the hunters in that region rather than to 

 locate in territory containing plenty of game, thereby in- 

 curring the resentment of the hunters, who would feel that 

 their best hunting grounds had been taken away. 



When the location of a Preserve has been decided upon, 

 the first thing necessary is to exterminate the vermin, which 

 destroys more game than the hunters. The wild-cat, weasel, 

 fox, skunk, mink, and the prowling house cat are, through 

 the careful use of strychnine and by other means, killed off. 

 The next step is to guard against the danger from fire and 

 the brush is cleared from a strip of land fifteen to twenty 

 feet wide around the outside of the Preserve. In some 

 instances where the danger from fire is pronouncd, it is 

 also crossed with fire lines, thus creating open roads where 

 fires may be met and extinguished. 



Vermin having been exterminated and provision made 

 for fighting forest fires, we next surround the Preserve with 

 a single marking wire, fastened to trees or posts, about 

 waist high on a man, the object being not to enclose the 

 game but to define the limits of the Preserve. This wire 

 is usually nine miles long and is placed inside the fire line 

 surrounding the Preserve. At frequent intervals notices 

 printed upon muslin are tacked up along the line of wire 

 on trees or posts, calling attention to the fact that the lands 

 inside the wire are a State refuge for game, and asking 

 for the cooperation of all in seeing that the game is not 

 disturbed. The sanctity of these preserves in almost fifteen 

 years has only been violated once and then it was claimed 

 by mistake, showing that our sportsmen appreciate their 

 value. 



The Preserve is now ready for the game, and if it is not 

 already sufficiently stocked, game of various kinds, such 

 as deer, elk, wild turkeys, fox squirrels, varying hares, etc., 

 are purchased and placed in it. A State Game Keeper is 

 in charge of each Preserve. His duties are to fight fires, 

 see that the game is not molested, keep the Preserve free 

 from vermin on which, as an incentive, he is paid the regu- 

 lar bounties. In order to supplement the natural feed in 



