GAME REFUGES 
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The system of game refuges, as established in Pennsyl¬ 
vania, is serving as a model for many other states.- This plan 
is being copied everywhere.. ih 1913 we had only Six ( 6 ) game 
refuges; now we have thirty-two (32). ■ Of these thirty-two ( 32 ) 
game refuges now under our control,, twenty (%Q) of them are on 
State forest lands, five (5) on lands leased for a long tepm of 
years, and seven ( 7 ) on lands purchased from the sportsmen’s funds 
for that purpose.. ,.The area within the refuges now under. cut con¬ 
trol is about 75 ,000 acres, and the balance of about 135,000 acres 
under oUr control is open to.hunting. In addition the Forest 
Department owns about 1,l^O,0Q0 acres all open to hunting. Each 
t^gfugQ has plenty of free shooting ground around j. t ? 
Indications are that we will be unable to increase the 
number of gam© refuges very materially because the present avail¬ 
able annual revenue will not permit us to assume additional annual 
liabilities and at the same time conduct other phases of the work 
on anything like the scale that has prevailed during the last 
three years* The game refuge system qf Pennsylvania Is a most 
importan t facto r in wild life conservation and should be extended 
y ...... — I ...I - ... - r I —I I P --r— T- - I - . 1 -. 1 , 
if possible* 
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We also have eight ( 8 ),auxiliary game refuges, ranging 
in area from 300 acres Up to 2,DO0 acres, on which the hunting 
rights are given to the Commonwealth for a term of ten or more . 
years, so that a portion may be set aside as a refuge and the bal¬ 
ance left open to hunting. The Board at this time deems it inad¬ 
visable to take up for this purpose tracts of land of. less than 
1,000 acres so that a refuge of reasonable size may be set apart 
y 
and leave sufficient public shooting ground. Although the cost of 
these refuges to the Department is negligible, the administration 
of them is quite a problem. They are, however, producing splen¬ 
did results, and in gome cases we have been able to trap off more 
than 200 rabbits in a. single season to be Used for stocking pur¬ 
poses in surrounding territory* 
Due to the regrettable and rapidly growing tendency of., 
sportsmen who are financially able torelub together and buy up or 
lease extensive tracts of wild lands to create private preserves, 
whereon only they and their invited guests hunt, and all other 
sportsmen are excluded, it is imperative that the-state take 
to purchase, as quickly as possible, upwards of 5, 0 . 00 ,, 0G0 
acres of available wild land, not only to supply territory for 
game refuges and plenty of free public shooting and recreational 
grounds , but also much needed protection for our watersheds and 
future forests. 
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