206 
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY 
The Forest Service has an agreement with the Wyoming State 
Game Department which provides that all applications for trapping 
permits will be submitted to the forest supervisor concerned for con- 
sideration and recommendation before action is taken. Now it is 
true that the present state game warden, dealing in generalities, has 
expressed himself in favor of the destruction of all fur animals because 
he claims they prey upon game birds. Upon the other hand, the 
Wyoming law is so worded that the issuance of trapping permits is 
discretionary and there are some eight forest supervisors supported by 
observant rangers conversant with all animal range types in the state. 
Surely an active force of such size in a fertile field should be able to 
bring forth sufficient evidence to convince one man of the unsoundness 
of his position. Game birds were plentiful in the Shoshone National 
Forest when I first knew it fifteen years ago at a time when fur animals 
were much more numerous than they are now. Food and seasonable 
weather have far more to do with the prevalence of game birds, say 
the grouse family, than the presence of fur animals. Continued cold 
wet weather when the chicks are just hatched plays havoc with game 
birds just as a scarcity of food in any section may cause the birds to 
migrate. The weasel, I have no doubt, is most destructive to all bird 
life; however he is not much sought by the average fur trapper. 
My idea would be the preparation of maps of the Forests for the 
state game warden designating certain watersheds where trapping of 
stated animals should be prohibited for a given period of years. There 
must be sound reason for this recommendation, set forth in detail. 
Such elimination of the taking of fur animals to let them reach a normal 
production should not in any way interfere with trapping wolves, 
coyotes and cats. 
Certainly the subject of fur production offers an excellent field for 
action with obligations for initiative upon the proprietors of the land 
best suited to such purposes. 
Washington, D. C, 
