July 15, 19 ”-] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
93 
Progress of Game Protection in 1910 
By T. S. PALMER and HENRY OLDYS, Assistants, Biological Survey 
T HE year 1910 was marked by steady pro¬ 
gress in the movement for the increase of 
game by propagation and the establishment 
of game preserves. The demand for game birds 
for restocking was, as usual, much larger than 
the supply. Comparatively few quail were avail¬ 
able, and the popularity of the Hungarian par¬ 
tridge, despite an increased importation, shows 
a tendency to decline somewhat, on account of 
the high cost of the birds and the uncertainty 
as to their successful acclimatization. A much 
larger number of pheasants than usual was im¬ 
ported from abroad, and many birds were reared 
on State and private preserves. In general the 
game wintered well, except that the deer in 
Alaska suffered severely on account of deep 
snows and the elk in Wyoming were threatened 
with starvation, which was averted by an un¬ 
expected thaw early in March. 
The summer was marked by severe drouth, 
particularly in the northern plains and Rocky 
Mountain region and other parts of the West. 
In consequence forest fires, the most extended 
and destructive ever known, occurred in Mon¬ 
tana, Idaho, Oregon and some parts of Califor¬ 
nia. How great a destruction of game was 
caused by conflagration is unknown, but un¬ 
doubtedly both deer and grouse suffered severely 
in certain localities, and game of all kinds was 
temporarily driven out from the burned areas. 
In Vermont, to avoid danger of fire in the 
dry woods, the governor postponed the deer sea¬ 
son one week. Wildfowl shooting was affected 
in several localities by drouth and in Utah and 
locally in Colorado and California by diseases 
diagnosed as cholera and coccidiosis. In Michi¬ 
gan the light fall of snow preceding the open¬ 
ing of the deer season furnished the best hunt¬ 
ing known for years, and the Northern woods 
were consequently filled with thousands of hun¬ 
ters. As might have been expected, the record 
of hunting casua’ties was unusually high. The 
number of fatal accidents, more than 150, very 
largely exceeded that of any previous year. The 
increased popularity of the automobile in hunt¬ 
ing was very marked, and the possibility of 
utilizing the aeroplane in duck shooting was 
demonstrated by an experiment in Southern 
California in November. 
In the administration of the game laws im¬ 
portant changes were made in California, Louis¬ 
iana and South Carolina. Kansas was handi¬ 
capped, as in the previous year, through failure 
of the necessary appropriation, and in North 
Carolina the division of responsibility between 
the Audubon Society and the boards of super¬ 
visors of certain counties rendered uniformity 
of action in enforcing the laws impossible. In 
South Carolina faiiure to confirm the chief war¬ 
den and lack of adequate appropriation deferred 
the successful inauguration of the new warden 
system. 
In legislation the record of the year was small, 
as is usual in even-numbered years, when com¬ 
paratively few State Legislatures meet. I11 New 
Jersey an attempt to exempt the warden force 
*From circular No. 80, Bureau of Biological Survey, 
Department of Agriculture. 
from the State civil service law resulted in the 
veto of an important game measure. The num¬ 
ber of game cases appealed to the higher courts 
was larger than in 1909. Comparatively few 
novel points were decided, but it is interesting 
to note the construction of the provisions of the 
law governing interstate commerce in game ren¬ 
dered by the circuit court of appeals for the 
eighth circuit, and the first decision of the 
higher courts on the law prohibiting the use of 
automatic guns rendered by the Supreme Court 
of Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania also the law 
prohibiting possession of firearms by aliens was 
upheld in the lower courts, and in consequence 
the disarming of aliens has made rapid progress. 
In one of the Maine courts a fine was imposed 
for possession of a silencer, the first penalty of 
the kind under the recent law. 
CONDITION OF GAME—BIG GAME. 
The condition of big game throughout the 
United States continues to present many diverse 
and important problems. In the East, where 
game is largely free from natural enemies, and 
particularly where hounding is prohibited and 
females and young are protected throughout the 
year, deer are increasing. In the West, where 
game is exposed to the attacks of wolves, coyotes 
and mountain lions, and its natural range is en¬ 
croached upon more and more by settlement and 
the demands of grazing, conditions are far from 
satisfactory. Apart from these general condi¬ 
tions, special or local conditions frequently re¬ 
quire consideration. The deer of Alaska suf¬ 
fered severely during the deep snow of the 
winter, and the elk in Jackson Hole, Wyo., for 
a time were threatened with starvation from the 
same cause. In Maine, for some unexplained 
reason, a scarcity of large moose occurred, no 
notable heads apparently having been secured 
during the year. The large number of deer 
killed in some sections was probably due to the 
unusually favorable hunting conditions rather 
than to unusual abundance. The problems pre¬ 
sented by the maintenance of big game in thickly 
settled States, particularly in New England, New 
Jersey, Iowa or in sections where the range has 
recently been limited, as in Wyoming, require 
thorough investigation in order to reach an equit¬ 
able adjustment of the demands of the game 
protectionists and the farmers. 
During the year an important step was taken 
in securing more accurate information regard¬ 
ing big game in the West. Through the co¬ 
operation of the Forest Service, data were col¬ 
lected on the distribution of game on all of the 
national forests, and in Washington the material 
was prepared for the use of a committee ap¬ 
pointed by the governor to revise the game laws. 
This material contains the best account thus far 
prepared on the big game of the national forests, 
which include the ranges of most of the big 
game of the State. 
The deer season on the whole was favorable. 
In Maine it was apparently somewhat above the 
average. In Vermont, owing to drouth and the 
consequent danger of fire in the woods, the 
hunting season was postponed by proclamation 
of the governor.* In New York, notwithstand¬ 
ing the shortening of the season by fifteen 
days in November, the number of deer shipped 
was 2,343 as compared with 3,025 in 1909, while 
the number killed was probably as great as in 
1909. In Wisconsin the number of deer shipped 
by rail (4,137) showed an increase over those 
of the previous year (3,985), and in Minnesota 
there was a similar increase, 2,547 as compared 
with 2,130 in 1909. In Michigan the season was 
a record one, owing to the presence of track¬ 
ing snow on the ground every day of the season. 
This condition has not prevailed since 1903, and 
as a result there was an increase of about 100 
per cent, over the number of deer killed in 1909. 
As in former years, information has been col¬ 
lected from all the States possible regarding the 
number of deer killed. Statistics are available 
for all the Eastern States except North and 
South Carolina and Louisiana. In the West, 
*This postponement of one week cost the State several 
thousand dollars for extra warden service and expenses 
incident to notifying hunters. 
MAP SHOWING STATES WHICH HAD BIG-GAME HUNTING IN IQIO. THE ELEVEN STATES NOT SHADED 
HAD A CLOSE SEASON OR ARE NOW DESTITUTE OF BIG GAME. 
