FOREST AND RANGE RESOURCES OF UTAH 



97 



The coyote, although classed as a predatory animal, has a valuable 

 pelt, which offers an inducement for its capture. The same may be 

 said of the bobcat. 



Minks, while destructive of fish, are not particularly objection- 

 able in waters where nongame fish are abundant. They furnish a 

 valuable fur. 



Otters are valuable fur bearers, but are rare and are very destruc- 

 tive to fish. 



Foxes, though never numerous in Utah, are not uncommon, and 

 their fur is valuable. Badgers and skunks have a value as fur bearers 

 but are probably worth 

 more in the destruction of 

 rodents and insect pests. 



The laws in Utah pro- 

 vide for the licensing of 

 trappers and give an open 

 trapping season when the 

 furs are prime and the ani- 

 mals are not breeding. 



STATE FISH AND GAME 

 DEPARTMENT 



Utah maintains a State 

 fish and game department 

 consisting of a fish and 

 game commissioner, a chief 

 deputy, a construction su- 

 perintendent, a force of 

 deputy wardens or game 



and fish protectors, a crew of trained fish culturists, and an office 

 force. There are some 60 fish and game protective associations organ- 

 ized and functioning throughout the State to encourage fish and game 

 conservation and otherwise assist the State fish and game department 

 in carrying on its work. 



The State fish and game department is financed by the proceeds 

 from the sale of fishing and hunting licenses, and no general tax 

 money is used for this purpose. This department operates 10 fish 

 hatcheries, together with a suitable number of nursery or rearing 

 ponds, where 12,000,000 trout are hatched annually, reared to a length 

 of from 4 to 7 inches, and transferred to various streams and lakes 

 to assist nature in maintaining the supply necessary to meet present- 

 day demands. Approximately 12,000 adult rainbow trout are main- 

 tained at these hatcheries for the sole purpose of furnishing a reliable 

 and adequate egg supply. Eggs in large numbers are also stripped 

 from wild fish and placed in the hatcheries. The department oper- 

 ates a game farm which, during 1928, produced 10,000 ring-necked 

 pheasants to be used in stocking the valleys for hunting purposes. 

 Utah has also constructed and is successfully operating a public 

 migratory-bird refuge and shooting grounds, the first of its kind in 

 North America. 



Details of game laws can be secured from the State authorities 

 and from the annual compilations by the Bureau of Biological Sur- 



4166°— 30 7 



Figure 51. — Marten, a valuable and interesting 

 fur-bearing animal of the high mountains 



