April 12, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
4 G 1 
The Weeks-McLean Bill and What it Means 
N ow that the Weeks-McLean bill, giving Fed¬ 
eral protection to migratory birds, which 
was characterized on the floor of the House 
as “the most radical legislation ever proposed in 
this country,” has become a law’, the American 
Game Protective and Propagation Association, 
which engineered the passage of the measure, is 
being swamped with inquiries as to how and when 
it will be put into effect. In answer to these, the 
following statement has just been issued: 
“An amendment to the Weeks-McLean bill, 
which was made just before final passage, makes 
mandatory the adoption by the Department of 
Agriculture of suitable regulations prescribing 
closed seasons, having due regard for zones of 
temperature, breeding habits, and times and lines 
of migratory flight. The bill provides that when 
these regulations are prepared they shall be made 
public, and that a period of three months shall 
be al-low’ed before final adoption, in order that 
they may be examined and considered, and that 
public hearings may be granted if this is deemed 
advisable. 
“At the present time it is impossible to say 
how much time will be required to draw up 
these regulations. The matter will be entrusted 
to the Biological Survey, which is a bureau of 
the Department of Agriculture, and while much 
of the requisite data has already been collected 
in connection with the Survey’s other activities, 
it will at least be necessary to compile available 
information on migrations and breeding habits 
in different sections of the countrt’, and co¬ 
ordinate it w’ith the proposed regulations in view'. 
It may be found advisable to make more ex¬ 
haustive investigations of these problem’s to sup¬ 
plement those w'hich have been carried out for 
other purposes. In any case, it will be impos¬ 
sible for the new law to take effect in time to 
protect the birds during the breeding season 
which is at hand, and unless unforeseen difficul¬ 
ties arise, it w'ill unquestionably be in operation 
Itefore the migrations of 1914. 
“The regulations imposed will prohibit ab¬ 
solutely the killing of those song and insectivor¬ 
ous birds whose value to agriculture greatly out- 
w’eighs their food value. Notable members of 
this class are robins, blackbirds and bobolinks. 
In a general way it is safe to say that migra¬ 
tory game birds such as ducks, geese, sw'ans and 
shore birds wall be protected from the time they 
mate in the spring until their young are full 
grown. As these birds mate earlier in some 
parts of the L^nited States than in others, hard 
and fast rules governing open and closed sea¬ 
sons cannot be made for the whole country, but 
zones will have to be created and shooting sea¬ 
sons determined in accordance w'ith conditions in 
each zone. Additional protection in certain zones, 
or for the whole country, will probably be given 
to some species which are now threatened with 
extinction, until they have increased beyond the 
danger point. Likely candidates for this special 
consideration are the woodcock, in many locali¬ 
ties the woodduck, trumpeter sw'an, whooping 
and sandhill cranes and many varieties of shore 
birds. 
“An important provision in the bill which 
should not be lost sight of says: ‘That noth¬ 
ing herein contained shall be deemed to affect 
or interfere with the local laws of the States and 
Territories for the protection of non-migratory 
game or other birds resident and breeding with¬ 
in their borders, nor to prevent the States and 
Territories from enacting laws and regulations 
to promote and render efficient the regulations 
of the Department of Agriculture provided under 
this statute.’ As most States already have laws 
W'hich will fulfill the requirements of the Federal 
law, no new restrictions will be placed on their 
citizens, unless in the matter of better enforce¬ 
ment, and as the laws were made to be enforced, 
there can be no logical objection to this. In 
the fight to secure this legislation it was plainly 
shown that the better sentiment in those States, 
which now’ allow spring shooting and the slaugh¬ 
ter of song birds, is decidedly against these prac¬ 
tices, and it was made evident that all real 
sportsmen and all thinking people w'ill welcome 
Federal action to put a stop to them where it 
has been impossible to secure State action. Be¬ 
sides gratifying such people, the new' measure 
W'ill remedy a great injustice which is at present 
suffered by sportsmen in States which have ade¬ 
quate game law's through the fact that gunners 
in neighboring States have greater opportunities 
to shoot, and, therefore, get more than their 
rightful share of birds. 
“The details connected with the enforcement 
of the Weeks-McLean law are yet to be per¬ 
fected, but the State authorities will probably 
take the most active part in making it effective, 
as in the case of the Lacey act. The latter is a 
Federal statute which prohibits traffic in game 
under the interstate commerce clause, in States 
where it is unlawful to sell it. When this act 
was under discussion its adversaries maintained 
that a large and expensive force would be neces¬ 
sary to make it effective, but experience has 
proved that a very small appropriation- was 
needed, as the local w'ardens were glad to en¬ 
force it. The same will be true of the legisla¬ 
tion just passed. The appropriation of $10,000, 
wdiich it carried, w'ill prove sufficient for imme¬ 
diate needs, and considering the importance of 
the law and the money it w'ill save the countr}’, 
there is no doubt that Congress will increase the 
appropriation when necessary. 
“Besides the one already mentioned, another 
amendment W'as made just before the bill be¬ 
came a law. This was to satisfy constitutional ob¬ 
jections, and it provides that the imposition of 
Senator (formerly Congressman) Weeks of Massachusetts. Senator McLean, of Connecticut. 
FRAMERS OF THE WEEKS-McLEAN LAW FOR FEDERAL PROTECTION OF MIGRATORY BIRDS. 
