its reserves or sanctuaries has never closely cooperated 

 chiefly because there are no important game sanctuaries 

 in the State. It is the interdependence of these three de- 

 partments which has lead many of the States to consoli- 

 date its natural resources and the administration of thent 

 under a Conservation Commission, a single headed re- 

 sponsible person of recognized ability as an organizer and 

 administrator, thus fixing the responsibility and insuring 

 complete coordination. The beneficial results obtained 

 from this centralized authority, in conserving and direct- 

 ing the natural resources of a state are almost incredible. 

 The results obtained by New York, Massachusetts ajid 

 Louisana under the direction of a conservation commis- 

 sioner illustrate what excellent results can be accom- 

 plished in a comparatively short time. 



This is an ideal toward which Connecticut should per- 

 haps work but it is beyond the province of this report, 

 although it is the firm conviction of the writer that the 

 sooner there is a complete consolidation of the Forest, 

 Park, Fish and Game interests under an expert adminis- 

 trator, the sooner the people of Connecticut will realize 

 the wastefulness and inefficiency of the old methods and 

 secure the benefits, physical and ethical, which the inten- 

 sive centralized methods bring. 



This report preliminary in its nature does not attempt 

 to criticise former commissioners believing that they have 

 been the victims of an antiquated method which could 

 never rally to its support either public sentiment or good- 

 will. Even vision and enthusiasm vanish when subdivided 

 eight times — so for the sake of brevity and directness 

 more than for the sake of argument, let us forestall fur- 

 ther comment upon the County Commission system and 

 determine if possible what can be accomplished in Con- 

 necticut and how. Can the State of Connecticut furnish 

 its citizens with fair shooting and fishing? What are the 

 obstacles which today stand in the way of accomplishing 

 this? If fair fishing and hunting can be supplied, is it 

 a desirable thing? 



The wide divergence of opinion even among those best 

 qualified to advise, the lack of standardized reports and 

 carefully itemized accounts which would enable one to 

 determine the unit costs of game farming, the total ab- 

 sence of any figures on game killed and the fact that no 

 scientific estimate or survey of the game and fish of the 

 State has ever been made, greatly increases the difficulty 

 of placing before Your Excellency enough accurate data 

 to give you a clear picture of the existing state of affairs 



