STATUS OF THE PRONGHORNED ANTELOPE, 1922-1924 
13 
up to within a year they had been strongly opposed to its establish- 
ment; but tliat, after studying the matter carefully and learning 
the facts as to the policies that would be followed by the Govern- 
ment, they had become convinced that such a refuge Avould be to the 
advantage of the residents of that section of Oregon, as well as to 
the antelope and other wild life there. 
In the discussion with these stockmen it developed that in the 
period when they were opposing the establishment of the refuge 
they believed that it would involve the elimination of livestock 
within the area and the destruction of their interests; but when it 
was understood that if such a refuge should be established there 
Avould be no elimination of the livestock of resident stock growers 
or other interference with their freedom beyond that of stopping 
the shooting of game within the area and the limitation of the num- 
ber of livestock to the capacity of the forage production of the range, 
they approved the plan. 
After discussion of the suggested antelope refuge in southeastern 
Oregon the conference adopted a resolution authorizing a committee 
made up of representatives of the conservation organizations present 
to meet in the offices of the Biological Survey during the afternoon 
of December 14 to confer with those interested and draft a bill 
for the creation of an antelope and sage-hen refuge in southeastern 
Oregon. Since then a bill has been introduced in the Oregon Leg- 
islature for the establishment of a State antelope refuge covering the 
area recommended. 
The exclusion of hunters from the area and the prevention of de- 
structive overstocking cover the only restrictions contemplated in 
the proposed Federal refuge. It was planned that the control of the 
grazing should be under the supervision of the Forest Service, in 
order to provide for the best utilization of the forage practicable. 
It will be of interest to know that the first suggestion for estab- 
lishing an antelope refuge in southeastern Oregon appears to have 
been made by L. Alva Lewis, an agent of the Biological Survey, in 
a letter dated January 22, 1913. In October of the same year Harry 
Tilford, inspector of State game refuges for the State Game Com- 
mission of Oregon, made a similar recommendation. 
In 1916 E. Lester Jones, Director of the United States Coast and 
Geodetic Survey, made a trip into eastern Oregon, where he ob- 
served the antelope in the vicinity of Desert Lake, Jacks Lake, and 
Guano Lake, the principal herd being in the vicinity of Jacks Lake 
and containing about 800 animals. In all, he saw more than 1,000 
antelope, including a number which had been apparently wantonly 
killed and then left to lie undisturbed where they fell. On his 
return from this trip Colonel J ones advocated the establishment of a 
Federal antelope refuge in Lake County, Oreg., in order to try to 
prevent the destruction of these herds, and at the National Parks 
Conference held in Washington, January 4, 1917, he delivered an ad- 
dress on " The future of the antelope," which was printed with a map 
showing the proposed refuge and distributed as a circular by the 
. National Park Service. His recommendation included the country 
from Hart Mountain east to the Lake County line and south to in- 
clude Guano Lake. Colonel Jones w^armly advocated the holding of 
