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And we have hardly had what you yri^uld call good Weather' for dniiks 

 and duck food in this country or in Can^a4 past svmcr. The dtLcks that 



don't breed in Canada, hfeed in the United Statfes or Alafeka, Recently it has 

 been going hard with ducks in Alaska fof tlhother reason. Coyotes have invaded 

 wild-fowl breedirg gl-ounds, and killed off lor^e irumbers of the birds. 



You might figure that Nature left to herself might possibly repair the 

 damage in timo. The trouble with that theory is that ITattre is not being 

 left to herself. While the duck p<ipulation is being killed off by adverse 

 naturr>,l conditions, we have been crowding in from all sides, as it were. We 

 have drained m^shlands to make way,. -for farms and homos for our human 

 population. 



That kind of thing has gone so far that in order to preserve our 

 wild fowl we have had to set aside "landing fields" for ducks and geese 

 along their chief m.igration routes. Cainada is doing her part along that 

 line too. Duriig the past year, she has established five bird sanotuar^es 

 and one public shooting gtound in the important duck regions of four 

 Canadian provirces. Our Biological Survey, Mr, Henderson tells, is now buyirg 

 up lands for additional refuges. States, and conservation organizations, and 

 individuals have also begun to attack this problem of providing feeding and 

 resting grounds where large numbers of ducks may be safe from shooting at til 

 seasons of the year. 



That is cdrtainly a big and in5)ortant step if good duck hunting is to 

 continue. But such a program takes time. In the meajswhile, we are e. 'tting 

 more and more hunters, sind fewer and fewer ducks and geese. Automobiles 

 and good roads these days enable hunters to get to the shooting grounds more 

 easily. 



In recent years, Mr. Henderson s{i;-,s, thate has been considerable growth 

 in the number of commercial shooting clubs. These clubs get the shootiig 

 privileges over areas of marshland. Then they install ecjiipment to house and 

 entertain hunters. They advertise the quality of the shooting, and resell 

 the privilege of h-onting to visiting gunners. Sone times the ov.-ners of such 

 resorts put immediate profit above everything olse. What it amounts to, is 

 that they encourage intensified shooting and bigger destruction of the birds. 



That is not all. There are also the pot-hunters. Not the individual 

 small pot-hunters we have always had, but the coramerdial pot-hunfeers and duck 

 market bootleggers have invaded our hunting grounds. 



In the last ten years, Mr. Henderson says, the small force of game 

 protectors of the United States Biological Survey hr.s been too small. The 

 losses of ducks and geese through poaching, and snaring, and night shooting, 

 and other illegal practices have increased. 



Well, that gives you some idea as to wliat is behind tha5 lowering of 

 the daily bag limit from twenty-five to fifteen ducks and from eight geese 

 to four and setting the possession limit as two-days' bag. 



What is ahead, of course, is going to depend a lot on how our hunters 

 help, and how the new regulations v;ork out. -"-s lir, Henderson outlines the 

 situation, there are just three things that can be done to maintain the great 

 sport of duck hunting: 



