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Published Quarterly by the 
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ROOSEVELT ROAD AND LAKE SHORE DRIVE, CHICAGO 5, ILL. 
Number 103 September, 1957 
Our New Hawk and Owl Law 
By ELTON FAWKS 
EARLY IN JULY Governor William Stratton signed into law House Bill 
#1063. This bill not only protects all hawks and owls but also protects the 
blue jay, cowbird, and grackle. If my reading of the new bill (a copy of 
which has just been received) is correct, then the crow is also protected. 
At this writing I am disturbed and surprised by this addition. I have 
nothing against the crow, but only hope that groups that hunt them will 
not reopen the new law in the next General Assembly in order to permit 
crow shooting. 
Credit is due to many people and groups for the success of total protection 
for all our hawks and owls. All were protected before except the sharp- 
shinned and Cooper’s hawks and the great horned owl. With so few people 
able to tell them apart, no law enforcement was possible. Now with all 
hawks and owls protected, law enforcement should become a reality. 
A brief history of the path to success is in order. The matter had been 
discussed at various board meetings of the J.A.S. At the Annual Meeting of 
the I.A.S. in Dixon in 1956 a motion was made for us to try for a “Model 
Hawk and Owl Law” similar to the ones in Michigan, Connecticut and 
Indiana. The writer was appointed chairman of the organizing committee 
by Ray Mostek, then Conservation Chairman for the I.A.S. When he left 
for his trip abroad, LeRoy Tunstall, the new Conservation Chairman, again 
appointed the writer. 
Acting on the theory that support from sportsmen and the Izaak Walton 
League was needed, and that the leaders of those groups were conservation- 
minded, an attempt was made to enlist support on a local level where trouble 
could start. In October of 1956 the Izaak Walton League, under the able 
leadership of President Frank Marquis, passed a resolution in their Rock- 
ford Convention supporting the I.A.S. They were listed as our co-sponsors. 
Ray Mostek had contacted the Department of Conservation, who in- 
formed us that they would not oppose us but would not actively help us. 
However, when the bill was presented in the House Conservation Committee 
they gave the measure full support. 
Much credit must go to Dr. Thomas Scott, Head of the Section of Wild- 
life Research, Illinois Natural History Survey, whom I first met at the 
Natural Resources Council of Illinois meeting last October. He gave an 
outstanding paper on predation and had much to do with the Council rec- 
ommending to member clubs that they give the bill favorable consideration. 
Letters of support came from many clubs and groups. Dr. Scott had Dr. 
Richard R. Graber, Associate Wildlife Specialist, Section of Wildlife Re- 
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