What Constitutes a Good Game Refuge 
It is a common error that national, state and municipal forests are per se 
good game refuges, President John B. Burnham of the American Game 
Protective Association points out, that this is not necessarily true. In order 
to serve any good purpose as game refuges, forests must be attractive to 
wild animals and bird life. They must contain food as well as shelter. 
The tendency in management of public’ forests is to plant and promote 
the growth only of such trees as will in time make merchantable timber, 
with no thought of such other free growth, shrubbery and other plant life 
as is necessary to an attractive home for birds and animals. 
Game cannot live without food. “The reason’, says Mr. Burnham, “why 
many game refuges are absolutely worthless (aside from the question of 
vermin control) is that, to put it figuratively, they provide only a safe 
house, with no kitchen and no order in the grocery store, You cannot 
expect wild animals and birds to flock to foodless refuges just because they 
are planted with commercially attractive trees. Of the conifers, hemlock, 
white cedar and balsam, when small, furnish food for deer and hares in 
the winter season. Pine has practically no food value and spruce none 
whatever. In summer, even deer and rabbits will find nothing they can eat 
in the typically planted forest’. 
Mr. Burnham points out that for every coniferous tree planted there 
should be a number of deciduous trees—including fruit and nut-bearing 
trees. Game want sun-light too, and plenty of it. So openings and gaps 
in the forest must be left which will encourage undergrowth, At least half 
for the forest area should be left unoccupied by commercial trees if it is 
to be a good game refuge. 
Quoting again from Mr. Burnham: We should let Mother Nature have 
something to say as to what happens on this 50% so-called wasteland. 
There is nothing more valuable for our primary object, than weeds and 
berry briars, sumacs, wild apples and grapes, barberries and thorn apples, 
and where Nature leaves the ground bare, give her the benefit of the 
doubt and believe that she may know something after all. Partridges need 
places to dust and wild grasses and plants are important to the game’s 
dietary. Some refuges should have no forest at all. We must not forget 
the wild grass swamps for pheasants. 
GAME FOOD NURSERIES : OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN 
