Dec. 28, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
807 
California Associated Societies for 
the Conservation of Wild Life. 
Representatives from the following organi¬ 
zations met recently in the rooms of the Sierra 
Club, 402 Mills Building, San Francisco, for the 
purpose of effecting a permanent organization to 
unify work in behalf of a wise conservation 
policy with regard to the wild life of the State 
of California: Sierra Club, Tamalpais Conser¬ 
vation Club, State Humane Association of Cali¬ 
fornia, Cooper Ornithological Club, Paleontologi¬ 
cal Society of the Pacific Coast, Biological So¬ 
ciety of the Pacific Coast, San Francisco Society 
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Cali¬ 
fornia Academy of Sciences and California State 
Audubon Society. The nine societies here listed 
constitute the charter members of the new or¬ 
ganization. The Associated Societies is thus in¬ 
augurated with a membership of more than 9,000 
persons in different parts of the State, includ¬ 
ing many persons of considerable influence along 
game legislation lines. 
A constitution was adopted and Mr. William 
F. Bade, director of the Sierra Club, was elected 
president and W. P. Taylor, of the Cooper Orni¬ 
thological Club, Secretary. 
Others prominent in the organization of the 
new Associated Societies are: John W. Mail- 
liard, California Academy of Sciences; J. Grin¬ 
ned, Director California Museum of Vertebrate 
Zoology; Prof. L. L. Burlingame, of Stanford 
University; J. H. Cutter, President of the 
Tamalpais Conservation Club; Matthew Mc- 
Currie, Director of the State Humane Associa¬ 
tion of California; Bruce Martin, of the Pale¬ 
ontological Society, and W. Leon Dawson, au¬ 
thor of ornithological works. 
The following are some of the reasons for 
the organization of this large California Asso¬ 
ciated Societies for the conservation of wild life: 
(1) Several species of California birds and 
mammals are now approaching extinction, as the 
woodduck, land otter and California condor; 
others are already practically extinct, as the 
white-tailed kite and Southern sea otter; still 
others are altogether gone, as the Columbian 
sharp-tailed grouse, trumpeter swan and grizzly 
bear. 
(2) Every species of game bird and mam¬ 
mal within the State, with the possible excep¬ 
tion of quail in certain localities, is decreasing in 
numbers. 
(3) Multiple additions to the numbers and 
effectiveness of the army of wild life destruc¬ 
tion are continually taking place, and as civiliza¬ 
tion advances, an army of occupation keeps 
crowding more and more the native species of 
birds and mammals. 
Objects to be subserved by the California 
Associated Societies are as follows, particular 
attention being called to the fact that it will con¬ 
stitute an efficient aid to the securing for San 
Francisco in 1915 an International Congress for 
the conservation of wild life: 
(1) It will serve to fix the attention of 
the members of the constituent societies on the 
great necessity for immediate action if we are 
to save what remains of our native fauna. 
(2) It will operate so that a solid front may 
be presented when, during the coming legisla¬ 
tive session, measures concerning wild life are 
introduced. Great possibilities of effectiveness 
undoubtedly pertain to a non-political organiza¬ 
tion of this type. 
(3) It will be able to give its aid to national 
problems in the conservation of natural re¬ 
sources, especially wild life. 
(4) It will give to each society concerned 
something of the viewpoint of the others along 
conservation lines. 
(5) It will tend to draw the recognition of 
legislators of the State to the fact that the wel¬ 
fare of the wild life is of interest and concern, 
not only to the comparatively small element in 
the State constituted by the sportsman, but also 
to the comparatively large element represented 
by the average citizen, nature student, farmer 
and scholar, which element has hitherto had little 
recognition at the hands of the legislators. 
(6) It will constitute an efficient aid to the 
securing for California in 1916 of an Interna¬ 
tional Congress for the conservation of wild life. 
Among the recommendations made were: 
1. A law prohibiting the sale in California 
of any American-killed wild game, except jack 
rabbits. 
2. A law prohibiting the use of automatic 
‘‘pump” guns and silencers. 
3. The abolition of the game districts as 
at present outlined within the State, and if neces¬ 
sary a redistricting according to life zones and 
faunal areas. 
4. A law providing for the establishment 
of State game refuges. 
5. A law providing for the breeding of 
game in captivity, and the sale of such game 
under license. 
6. A law placing the assistants and game 
wardens of the Fish and Game Commission on 
a civil service basis. 
7. Discouragement of county game laws ex¬ 
cept where a county desires to extend restrictive 
measures and encouragement of a strong cen¬ 
tralized administration of game laws by the 
State Fish and Game Commission. 
8. The shortening of the season on certain 
game birds and the placing of certain birds now 
considered game birds on the protected list. 
9. Reduction of the bag limit on certain 
game birds. 
10. A law providing for the protection of 
the bear, raccoon, mink, badger, marten, fisher, 
otter, red fox, wolverine, skunk and ring-tailed 
cat during all seasons except during the winter 
when their fur is prime, the seasons to be de¬ 
termined on the basis of the facts of the case 
in the different species, provision to be made in 
the law permitting the killing of these mam¬ 
mals by the owner or tenant of any premises 
when found doing damage. Cases of this neces¬ 
sary killing to be reported to the State Fish and 
Game Commission. 
These measures the California Associated 
Societies intends to fight for during the next 
legislative session. Perhaps the most important 
one is the “no-sale of American-killed wild 
game” law, which would unquestionably be a 
most efficient measure in favor of game protec¬ 
tion. A tremendous advance in wild life con¬ 
servation was marked by the passage of a law 
of this kind in the State of New York, the fight 
being led by Dr. W. T. Hornaday against a 
powerful lobby in opposition. California still 
allows the sale in the market of ducks, geese 
and rabbits, all of which species are rapidly de¬ 
creasing in numbers. 
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