30 Second Annual Report of the 



DIVISION OF FISH AND GAME. 



Chapter 318 of the Laws of 1912, which went into effect April 

 15, 1912, revised and consolidated into the Conservation Law all 

 the laws relating to fish and game. In the preparation of this 

 chapter, the Commission consulted with organized sportsmen 

 throughout the State, and after it was introduced into the Legis- 

 lature there were several largely attended hearings held by the 

 Legislative Committees. In its progress through the Legislature 

 the original bill underwent many changes, some of them of con- 

 siderable importance. 



The net result is a codification in which the underlying prin- 

 ciple is that of uniformity, the endeavor having been to do away, 

 to the utmost extent possible, with confusing and at times utterly 

 inconsistent local provisions relative to the taking and possession 

 of fish and game. In actual operation the new law has in the main 

 vindicated the expectation of its framers, and it has marked a 

 decided improvement over conditions existing prior to its enact- 

 ment. It is not to be expected, however, that the first draft of a 

 uniform law covering so large a field should be perfect ; and this 

 Commission expecfs to submit to the present Legislature a number 

 of amendments intended to simplify the language and to clarify 

 certain portions of the law, preserving, however, the underlying 

 principle of uniformity. 



Additional Protection. 



It was recognized, in the framing of this portion of the Con- 

 servation Law, that there are, in so large a State as New York, 

 involving so many different climatic conditions, certain local exi- 

 gencies which require special treatment as to the close season. The 

 law, therefore, vests the Conservation Commission with power, 

 upon due petition, and after a hearing and proper publication, to 

 give additional protection to fish and game by an extension of the 

 close season as to any particular species. 



Under this provision of the statute, the Commission, on May 8, 

 1912, issued an order prohibiting the taking of black bass in the 

 waters of Lake George except from the first day of August to the 



