>7ith Uncle Scun^s Nc.turnlistg 



- 3 ^ 



12-2-32 



nnd W)lves, and coyotes, and other destructive aniaols get "bad on public lands, 

 Uncle S3a*s hunters have to take a hcnd to protect the livestock grazing there 

 and on the nei^boring ranches. Last year, in cooperation with stoclanen those 

 men trapped and otherwise destroyed raore than 17,000 aniraals in Texas alone. 



Trapping work, by the way, brings' up a problem, A trapper sets a trap to 

 catch a lion, or a bobcat, or a wolf. However, when he goes to his trap the next 

 d£jy instead of a lion or bobcat he may find a harmless bird or skunk in the trap, 

 if he has not gone about it in the right way. That not only means the loss of 

 a harmless beneficial bird or cniraal, but also a waste of the trapper's time. 

 To avoid such waste A.M. Da;/, of the Biological Survey, devised a little spring 

 to attadi to the traps. The spring fits ri^t under the trigger, 'Tith that 

 spring on the trap a "oird or small animal can walk on the trigger in safety. But 

 when a big animal like a lion or bobcat steps on the trigger, the trap springs. 



This work of controlling destructive animals in cooperation with local land- 

 owners is only a small part of the Biological Survey's activities. A still bigger 

 part of the job is to study and apply methods for protecting our harniess and bene- 

 ficial wild life. 



For instance, the naturalists are studying a disease that has killed mil- 

 lions of waterfowl and shore birds in the TVestern States in the past 20 years. The 

 naturalists now know the cause of the disease. They also have found a means for 

 remedying the conditions producing the disease. — The remedy is to control the 

 depth of water on mud flats. TThere you can't control these water levels, the 

 remedy is to scare the birds away. 



Another phase of the work is to provide refuges where our ducks, and geese, 

 and other ndgratory birds can rest, feed, and breed without being routed out by 

 the work of a steam shovel or a dredging machine. The Biological Survey was in- 

 strumental insetting aside 7 new Federal migratory bird refuges, diuring the past 

 year, and enlarging 5 others. That brings the total number of wild-life refuges 

 under the jurisdiction of the Biological Survey to 100, and many of them axe en- 

 joyed by ducks, geese, md other gcjne birds. 



The birds can live in these refuges undisturbed as long as other public 

 agencies take the same attitude as has the State of Nebraska. A certain concern 

 asked the ITebraslca departirient of public works for permission to carry out a piece 

 of drainage work that would have had a baxi effect on the Federal migro.tory-bird 

 refuge at Crescent Lake. But the ITebraslca authorities turned down the request. 

 They oaid it w^uid be "detrimental t ; the public welfare." 



As a further step to protect our bird life, the Biological Survey collects 

 the fa.cts about the habits and abundance of waterfowl and the need for shortening 

 or lengthening the hunting season. This year the hionting season was kept shorter 

 than in former years because of the serious affect on the birds brou^t r.bout by 

 the excessive shooting, drainage operations, and draughts of the past few seasons. 



ANITOUITCEISITT: And that concludes toda^-^'s visit with Uncle Sam's Naturalists 

 in which you have heard some of the hig^i lights fror^ the annual report of the 

 United States Biological Survey, You will hear another storj^ from the naturalists 

 over (sta.tion) at this some tine two weeks from todai'. 



