T7ith Uncle Srn's Naturalists 



3 



10/21/Z2 



Such groat refuges vdll do r.iuch toward preserving oiir wild ducks and geeso» 

 Sone of you nay ra.ieuber back to the days when ducks by the ml lions were 

 slau^tered by the uarket hunters to supply hotels and restaurants with duck 

 neat. Then you saw the nui.-iber of ducks further decreased as a result of drain- 

 ago operations. Then just about the tine that oxir bird conservation act went 

 into effect, nany parts of the country began to suffer fron a drou^t that con- 

 tinued for three years. 



Yes, sir, it was so dry during those three years tha,t nany diock ponds and 

 Inlces sl^ra;ilt alarcdngly. Duck feeds in r:.any sections were killed off. Mr. 

 Riener says that sone shallow lalces including Lalie Malheur, which is several 

 tiles across, have at tir.B8 been corjipletely dried up. 



To neet the energency situa.tion that faced the ducks, the Biological Sur~ 

 vey proposed a plan for sr.:irll privately owned waterfowl refuges to supplenant tie 

 big Federal and State refuges. T7ildi-life organizations, sportsnen's clubs, Boy 

 Scouts, famors organizations, and individual landowners have taken up the idea 

 in nany parts of the country. By reflooding old pond sites and narshes, or 

 building sinple low dans across sr'iall streans or branches individual farraers and 

 sportsnen nay create ponds or snail lalces up to three feet in depth, with narsh 

 borders, which v/ill greatly increase feeding, breeding and resting areas for the 

 birds. 



In addition, sone of the r efuge builders have seeded the nargins of the 

 ponds with food and cover plants for the ducks-. 



In nany cases, however, the job is one of sirjply protecting sone local 

 waterfowl area fron trespassers, involving no other expense or activity^ 



On all such areas it is inportant that the water level should stay about 

 the sone all the year round, ao as to preserve the vegetation needed to naice the 

 place attractive to hungrj^, tired ducks and geese and to other foms of wild 

 life. 



Sone of these water areas will be quite snail, but Mr. Rier.ier says that 

 ducks and geese nake thenselves at hone even on potholes and ponds. Tlie Biolog- 

 ical Survey states that in the aggregate these snail auxiliary areas are of 

 great inportance in supplencnting our bigger v/aterfowl refuges. 



ilJIJOUNCHAEITT; Uncle San' s Naturalists will be back with us two weeks fron today. 



This feature is prepared for Station by the United States Departnent of 



Agri cul ture . 



