ATTI2UIIE .^AVOPJlBLS TO RESTOEAITION 



- - ■■■■■""AS GOVESMEIJJT HMCTIOII 



■ Within the past fev; years a change lias, taken place in the American atti- 

 tude to>-.rard legislation designed '^t 6' regulate the use of game and other v.'i-ld- 

 lif e , and a --ne v.' and -more v.'holesonie sentinent is rapidly developing,- The ■- 

 reasons are '^nany,- and- some of then are otscure ,. "but among the -most iiaportant 

 harS TDeeh--the general realization, by. the States of the great value of their.; 

 se^oiirces of f'ish and game , accompanied' "by a determination to remove v;ildlixe 

 .adm-inistrati-on from the danger of political interference.. Another reason for 

 the grov/th o"f nevr conf i'dence is that in many, parts of the country it has "been 

 demonstrated' 'that lav/s controlling the utilization of v-ildlife need not he 

 ineffective;' that they are, in fact, , indispensahle in programs for the resto^- 

 rat ion -and- maintenance of this great resource. . .Wherever game animals have 

 he'eh-' established in suitable environment and the kill has "been regula.ted so 

 •as •t-d-''be"s-ome-what less than the rate of production:, the species has invari- 

 ahly^iner 'eased. ' . '.-. 



■ ■■ ' ■ In the past,' and even at the present time, the major part of- laws and 

 •regulations to control utilization of wildlife is of a sort that a.t tempts 

 to restrain the- individual from taking more than a specified number of birds 

 or mammals'in a day, or a week, or during an entire open shooting season. 

 These laws prohibit the use of certain weapons and devices; they prescribe 

 certain hoiirs each day' when the taking of game is permitted; and in many 

 other- ways thoy v;ork to" reduce the kill by limiting the activities;-of the 

 individual --hunter or trapper. The principle is quite similsj to a -system. 

 of physical handicapping, and like such a system it is not invariably equi- 

 table or satisfactorj'". ' .. - 



There is novr a noticeable tendency to. modify :the principle of conserva- 

 tion lav.'s. Administrators have disco-v-ered tha-t if a.deq-aate areas are set 

 aside and ■ manage d a"s wildlife reservoirs they vd 11 produce surplus - stocks 

 of game, which move outward from the' protected lands to occupy adjacent re- 

 gions. Such surpluses on open areas' 'may Ve s.afely used v:ithout reducing the 

 annua.1 supply from the productive sanctuary. ZPJIPS.. The closedr-area- system 

 of 'game protection greatly reduces law-enforcement problems. -It is much 

 easier ta prevent all shooting or trapping on a number of sanctuaries than 

 it is to maintain supervision over the p.erso.nal- activities of a.larg-c number 

 of giohners in such way as to compel each- of them to obey. every requirement 

 »f a complex code. The decision to extend .the open season on v,'aterfcv;l to 

 80 days in 1944 was based partly .upon evidence of an increasing number^ of 

 birds and partly up«n the realization that -there arc .now almost 200 S'ed^rall^^ 

 owned- viaterfo^'-l sanctuaries .6stabli'shc.d at' stra.tegic- points throughput the . • 

 country to give security against the dangers' of overshooting. ■- ■ . 



It' is not at all likely that tl—.s .ncv/ method, to govern -utilization of 

 game birds -and' fur 'and other animals by means'. of closed or sanctuary zonGs.-' • ', 

 will replace: the established tj^e of restricted, seasons and. -bag- limits as 

 prescribed- by game arid fur lav.'&, .but it should ■eventually permit simplifi- 

 cations of those codes end the repea-l'^of . raajxy of the &o.-rcalle.d nuisance regu- 

 lations, ■ - ■' ■ • •■ .' 



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