later realized that the reason they get so many birds for the shells used 
is that they just do not take risky shots, but wait until the birds are 
within close range before firing. If more white hunters did this we 
certainly would reduce the crippling of waterfowl." 
During this work on James Bay countless thousands of ducks and gee > 
were found gathering to feed in the immense expanse of coastal marshes, 
In addition to the blue, snow, and Canada geese, pintails were abundant 
with black ducks and green-winged teal in good numbers. Good proportions 
of young were present in the flocks of blue and snow geese. As a direct 
result of this expedition, the Canadian Government has set aside (early 
in 1941) two-thirds of Akimiski Island as the largest bird sanctuary in all 
of Canada, consisting of 600 square miles of land with many more miles of 
fringing shallow water. The Government of Quebec also has reserved Boat— 
swain Bay on the eastern side of James Bay, as a waterfowl sanctuary much 
needed to protect geese and ducks from ever increasing hunting pressure as 
airplanes and boats bring in more whites to hunt in this wilderness area, 
With the previously established Harmmah Bay Sanctuary and Twin Islands Game 
Sanctuary, the refuge system of James Bay gives adequate protection to the 
important wildlife resources of the region. 
Nesting Conditions in the United States 
The situation in the United States during the breeding season of 1940 
was generally favorable if we may judge from results on the Federal migra- 
tory waterfowl refuges. 
From a report compiled by Robert H. Smith of the Sectior -/ Habitat 
Improvement, Division of Wildlife Refuges, the following account of the 
season is substantially quoted: 
"Due to a peculiar set of conditions the surface water runoff in the 
Great Plains area was not as great as the previous year, although the 
precipitation had been comparable. This was due primarily to the dry un- 
frozen state of the soil at the time of the first snow fall and to the 
nature of the precipitation, i.e., there were no periods of concentrated 
rainfall resulting in flash floods. These conditions, while not particu- 
larly ‘favorable to the maintenance of marsh areas, were very favorable to 
good vegetative growth, particularly on areas surrounding marshes and lakes, 
encouraging cover for waterfowl nests and a good growth of food plants. 
Marshes on refuges in the main did not suffer from lack of water due to the 
management of impoundments. Water levels, however, diminished often to the 
detriment of waterfowl on refuges not having a reserve water supply and on 
those areas not under administration. Despite these conditions the over-all 
picture of nesting showed some improvement over that of 1939. 
"The Souris areas had less runoff from Canada during 1940 than in 1939 
but with careful control of the available water, satisfactory conditions 
were maintained. The manager of the Upper Souris Refuge, North Dakota, 
reported the finest growth of native vegetation on that area since its 
establishment as a refuge, due to the heaviest rainfall experienced in the 
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