Vol. 21, No. 5 
Page 2 
No significant difference was detected (P> 0. 10) in farmer and nonfarmer 
attitudes regarding the seven GMP questions. Licensees indicated that, in 
order of diminishing importance,-control 1ing bag limits for upland game, 
stricter enforcement of game laws, controlling the length of the hunting season, 
stocking upland game on private lands, increasing hunting license fees, put-and- 
take shooting on state areas, and removal of predatory animals would result in 
more upland game. The 63 licensees (farmers and nonfarmers combined) ranked 
delayed roadside mowing eighth in importance. The hunters considered five of 
the seven GMP to be less important for increasing upland game than delayed 
roadside mowing. 
The restricted sampling technique of this study prohibits making definitive 
conclusions about the attitudes of licensees, but some thought-provoking questions 
arise with regard to differences evident in farmer and nonfarmer thinking. 
Relative to more traditional GMP, licensees considered delayed roadside mowing 
to be important for increasing populations of upland game. The findings of 
this study could be helpful in devising a more sophisticated study of the 
views of the rural sector regarding delayed roadside mowing. Such a study 
could be the basis for developing an educational thrust that would significantly 
alter roadside mowing patterns in Illinois. 
Ecology and Management of Squirrels C. M. Nixon, 
L. P. Hansen 
Body composition, organ weights and condition indices, all useful indicators 
of the health of an organism, have not been reported for the fox squirrel. In 
the course of our squirrel studies, we have had the opportunity to collect and 
autopsy fox squirrels during each month of the year, although the bulk of our 
samples occur either in the fall (August-October) or spring (February-Apri1). 
We found that adult male and female fox squirrels had almost identical 
average external body measurements and body weights. Adult females had an 
average body weight of 780.5 g and adult males a weight of 775.1 g. 
Body fat was highest in February (12.6 percent) and lowest in August 
(4.5 percent). Fox squirrels averaged 6.9 percent carcass fat for specimens 
that appeared in good condition. 
In fox squirrels, liver fat does not appear to be as good an indicator 
of body condition as carcass fat or a kidney fat index (the ratio of the 
weight of surrounding fat to the weight of the kidneys). 
Winter is usually considered to be the critical period for fox squirrels. 
We compared body condition of squirrels collected in fall with that of squirrels 
collected in early spring. Only two comparisons between spring and fall were 
significant. Adult fox squirrels collected in the fall (N = 30) had a 
significantly (P<0.05) higher percentage of liver fat than those collected in 
the spring (N = 81), whereas adult fox squirrels collected in the spring (N = 67) 
had a significantly higher percentage of carcass fat than the fall sample (N = 34). 
