DEVELOPMENT OF WIIDLIEE-PEOTECTIV^ LE&ISUTIOlf ' _■' . -.■•.; 



In addition to the regular appropriations made to the T-S:e-rvice;;for- te-.' 

 search, game management, and regulatory 'activities,,' two a-<5ts. of Congress 

 now provide moderate "but continuing, funds for a .land- utilization and deve.l-^' 

 opment program. The first of these is the Federal M'igratoryBird' Hunting- • / ' 

 Stamp Act of 1934, vrhich annually supplies more than- a million "dollars for; - 

 land acquisition and use in the waterfowl-restoration program". The second,- 

 enacted in 1937, is the Federal- Aid to' Wildlife Ilestoration Act, authorizing 

 the annual appropriation of amounts eq.ual to 'the , revenues received from the 

 tax on sporting arms and ammunition,^ 'The revenue from this excise -^ax has 

 amounted to more than $3,000,000 annually. Funds appropriated under this 

 Federal-aid measure are allotted tothe Sfates or^ a cooperative -hasis where^by 

 each participating State pays at least, one-fourth of the total cost of the 

 projects undertaken under the terms of the ' a.ct-. Inasmuch as the 'act princi- 

 pally requires and specifically encourages the, State conservation agencies 

 to use' these Federal allotments to acquire and. develop ''lands for- vrildl if e - 

 purposes, it is apparent that over a period of yea'rs many millions of .acres 

 of land will "be gradually added to the total area now available for wildlife. 

 In addition, surveys and investigations int-o prohlems of wildlife management 

 form an important part of this cooperative wildlife-restor.ation program. 



The development of land-use p.olicies favorahle to. wildlife is gradually 

 bringing ahout an important change. 'in the. utilization "ef wildlife itself. ■ 

 LawsV-regulations , and ordinances concerned, v/ith. the ta.king of game , fur' 

 animals., and fishes constitute a class- of legislation' that .is nearly ap-old 

 as the history' of .-the white -man -iji. America* By such "measures the colonists, 

 tried to maintain an abundance,-, of . vdldlife .v/ithin easy reach of their set- ■ : 

 tlements, Unahle as ..yet to depe.nd entirely- upon 'their crops and domestic 

 animals for food and clothing., it. was important". that the settlors he.ahle -• 

 to supplement their supplies from, tiae adjacent vrilderness. They endeavored 

 to conserve conveniently availahle resources 6.f game and fish 'by regulating 

 individual use. This form of regulation ^jhov/ever, did not produce the der- .• 

 sired results," ■' Game ,and fur soon'became scarce in the vicinities of the 

 settlements, and hunters' and trappers were compelled to go farther and far- 

 ther into the wilderness." 



Since that, early effort .thousands 'and thousands of similar laws .have 

 "been enacted and many millions of dol.lars- have _heen spent in attempts, to 

 prevent the individual from taking-mo-fe than speisified quantities o'f game i. 

 fishes, and fur from the common supplies. It has "been only in recent years 

 that results have heen even partially satisfactory or have seemed to Justify 

 the trou"ble and expense involved. Many thoughtful and informed conserva- 

 tionists reached the conclusiort that game laws v.^ere utterly ineffective to 

 check the decrease of wildlife; Tiie^hunters and trappers, the courts, and 

 the public alike regarded such legislation as "being of little consequence, 

 politicians were interested in the game codes only "because they gave wild.- 

 life a market value in exchange for votes and preference- — va].ues that v/ould 

 otherwise have "been lacking. Even the individual sportsman found it hard 

 to convince himself that his o'bservance of the lav^s would "be "beneficial in 

 perpetuating game "birds and mammals. 



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