OftEGON WILDLIFE ;t. SEPTEMBER

advertisement
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OREGON
WILDLIFE
Balderdash
September 1 977
Volume 32 No. 9
OREGON FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION
Mrs. Allen Bateman, Chairman .... Klamath Falls
Jack Steiwer, Vice Chairman .............. Fossil
John Boyer........................ Bellfountain
Allan Kelly .......................... Portland
Walter Lofgren ....................... Portland
Herbert Lundy..................... Lake Oswego
Frank Pozzi .......................... Portland
JOHN R. DONALDSON Director
Oregon Wildlife is published monthly by the Oregon
State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Volumes 1
through 28 were entitled Oregon Game Commission
Bulletin.
RON E. SHAY, Editor
Permission to reprint is granted; credit would be appreciated.
Oregon Wildlife is circulated free of charge. Please
report change of address promptly giving both new
and old addresses and zip codes.
Second-clast postage paid at Portland, Oregon.
ALI
correspondence should be sent to:
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife
P.O. Box 3503
506 S.W. Mill
Portland, Or. 97208
The Cover
Bull Prairie Lake. A cooperative development of Kinzua Corporation, the
Wildlife Commission, and the U. S.
Forest Service. See feature story.
Photo by Ron Shay
HUNTER EDUCATION
PROGRAM
INSTRUCTORS APPROVED
Month of June
21
Total Active
1,509
II
Several months ago we wrote an editorial entitled BALDERDASH! As you
may recall, we addressed ourselves to the subject of harassment of wildlife
by individuals in aircraft and, more specifically, with the charge that ODFW
employes do this before the season.
We usually get some sort of response to our comments and we do appreciate
people taking time to write and let us know how they feel and what they
would like to see in the magazine. However, some of the responses we received
as a result of the Balderdash editorial were a bit unexpected. Several readers
wrote and called and said they were certain we were wrong. In one case the
individual had some facts plus some second-hand information that we followed
up on. There really wasn't enough actual information to be able to nail down
the incident and indications were that the report was a case of misidentification.
In another case an individual asked that his subscription be cancelled because our editorial had destroyed his faith in the credibility of our whole
publication. He indicated he was sure he saw an aircraft with the State Police
emblem on it harassing game prior to the elk season. Unfortunately, he didn't
have the number of the aircraft. The State Police planes do not have their
emblem on them and if there was such a plane, it was illegally labeled.
It is against Department policy for employes to harass game prior to the
seasons. It is against state law for anyone else to use aircraft to harass game
or to hunt game from. Additionally, it is illegal to hunt game with the aid
of an aircraft or to transmit from an aircraft to a person not in the aircraft
information regarding the location of game mammals or game birds.
Use of helicopters is restricted in another way. No person may hunt any
game mammal within two hours after having been transported by a helicopter
to or from any place other than a designated place.
What constitutes actual harassment may be open to interpretation. The
deep canyons in northeastern Oregon may make it appear that a pilot is flying
quite low when he isn't, if you are looking from a ridge or two away. If an
aircraft is right overhead, there should be little question about its elevation
and it should also be possible to get the identification numbers if it is indeed
harassing game.
We would like to put the story at rest concerning ODFW use of aircraft
for this purpose and the State Police would like to be able to follow up on
actions of private aircraft if they have the necessary information. However,
such information must be accurate and complete before it is of value. A cornplete description of the aircraft such as number of engines, wing placement,
colors, and, most importantly, the numbers on the fuselage or wing, plus the
date and time of the incident are needed.
If you can get the information to the State Police or Department personnel
as soon as possible, the aircraft may still be in the area. But don't pass along
rumors, misinformation, stories someone else gives you, or general gossip. Let's
have the facts!
RES
..............
...............
STUDENTS TRAINED
Month of June
Total to Date
............. 572
........... 242,241
HUNTING CASUALTIES
REPORTED IN 1977
Fatal
Nonfatal
........................
..................... 5
Page2
O
COMMISSION MEETING
The Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet on Saturday, September 24,
starting at 9 a.m. to receive proposals on the 1978 sport angling regulations.
The meeting will be held at the Lloyd Center Auditorium located on the lower
level of the shopping center. Written suggestions concerning the rules should
be sent to the Commission prior to the meeting. The final rules will be adopted
at a meeting in October.
SEPTEMBER 1977
'.
A Good Neighbor
Kinzua Corporation
by Glen F. Ward
District Wildlife Biologist, Heppner
The old adage "you don't get something for nothing" is not necessarily
true. The case in point is what one
corporation is accomplishing, mostly
at its own expense, to enhance all of
its potential natural resources with
a deep concern for the welfare of the
The company is the Kinzua
Corporation, a timber corporation.
Management goals as stated by Allen
Nistad, general manager, are "to provide a perpetual supply of usable
wood fibre while striking a compatible balance with other resource values such as grazing, wildlife, water-
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shed, and recreation" and the
statement is backed up by action.
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History
Kinzua Tree Farm, founded in
Grant, Morrow,
Gilliam, and Umatilla Counties in
northeastern Oregon. Presently the
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corporation owns or manages 240,000
acres of timber-producing land and
purchases additional timber from the
national forest and other adjacent
landowners. Company-owned sawmills are located at Spray, Kinzua (a
company town), and Heppner. Also,
a newly completed plywood plant is
in operation at Heppner. Total employment is nearly 600 workers with
an annual payroll of $7,000,000.
Lake Development
Newly logged areas on Kinzua lands are
seeded to slow water runoff and also to
provide forage, protective cover, and
habitat for wildlife.
OREGON WILDLIFE
Bull Prairie Lake, 24 acres in size,
located in the northwest corner of
Grant County, was developed after
20 acres of land were donated by Kinzua Corporation in cooperation with
the U. S. Forest Service and Oregon
Wildlife Commission. No lakes existed in a large surrounding area prior
to the construction of the impoundment in 1961 and since that time
600,000 public visits have been recorded. Fish stocking on an annual
Page 3
basis is carried out by the Department. The U. S. Forest Service con-
structed and maintains the camping
facilities. The lake area is also used
by the sixth grade outdoor school
from a three-county area as a
classroom each fall and a large number of deer and elk hunters camp
there during the hunting season.
The fisheries management of Wineland Lake, located near Kinzua in
Wheeler County, was obtained for
public use through a cooperative
agreement between Kinzua Corporation and the Oregon Wildlife Commission. The lake had been constructed for a log storage pond, was
disbanded, and was being managed as
a private fisheries prior to this agreement. The year-round use on this
small 6-acre pond has reached 12,500
man-days of recreation annually. Annual stocking of trout takes place
and a bass fishery is being estab-
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Ice fishing ¡s a popular sport at some of the
jointly developed lakes.
lished.
Range Reseeding
All of Kinzua lands are valuable
for the production and survival of
many species of wildlife found in the
eastern Oregon area. In order to increase production and survival of
these wild species of mammals and
birds, a cooperative range reseeding
project has been planned and carried
out on an annual basis between the
Kinzua Corporation and the Department. After the slash is removed from
the logged areas, grass is seeded to
the disturbed soil to slow water runoff. New forage production provides
valuable food for domestic livestock
and habitat, food, and protective
cover for wildlife species.
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Two of the parks developed on donated lands are popular with summer tourists
and are used in the fall by deer and elk hunters.
Page 4
SEPTEMBER 1977
Grass mixtures include interme-
Logging Practices
cliate and crested wheat, orchard and
It was no accident that two of Kin-
timothy grasses purchased by the
company, and yellow blossom sweet
clover, sainfoin and ladac, nomad and
rhizoma alfalfa purchased by the
Department. These grass mixtures
are then flown on the soil by helicopter at 8 pounds per acre at a cost
of $4 per acre. Kinzua Corporation
outlay for seed and flying time some
years exceeds $30,000. In the past
years, depending on weather, soil,
and growing conditions, these seeding
projects have produced up to 600
pounds of forage, dry weight, per
year. Not only are these reseeded
areas being used by livestock and big
game animals but they serve as a
haven for upland game birds and
many nongame birds and mammals.
In addition, the company plants
30,000 tree seedlings each year which
provide additional wildlife cover after
the vegetation has been established.
zua Corporation logging contractors
received statewide recognition and
awards for outstanding performance.
This is a result of hiring well-trained,
experienced, and dedicated personnel
and the insistance of the administrative people to do a good job.
Don Hardwick, Kinzua, received
the State Board of Forestry Award
for the Eastern Oregon Forest Practices Operator of the Year in 1975
and 1976. He was commended for the
following practices: access roads
planned to stay out of the canyon
bottoms, stream bank cover maintamed and skid trails kept away from
the streams, an overall effort to minimize water runoff problems which
foul fish-bearing streams with sediment and debris. Buffer strips were
left to screen operations from passing
traffic, thus preserving the aesthetic
value of the area. Consideration is
also given to snags that are being
used by cavity-nesting birds. A road
closure program has been instituted
to cut down on wildlife harassment
and to prevent or alleviate soil erosion. Unused roads are seeded back
to grasses to produce additonal cover
and forage.
Another Kinzua contractor, Nor-
Public Access
In order to properly harvest a wildlife resource and to
prevent deterjoration of habitat from overutilization
by animals, it is necessary to have a
proper harvest. This can be accomplished through hunting regulations
but public access is needed to get the
desired harvest results. Kinzua's policy has been to allow free public
access during the entire year. There
are a few exceptions whereby lands
leased to livestock permittees are regulated by the permittee. Many outdoor enthusiasts take advantage of
this generosity by using company
lands for hunting, angling, camping,
picnicking, snowmobiling, rock hunting, sight-seeing, bird watching,
swimming, and golf. Users are
cautioned to be careful with fire and
firearms, pack out litter, and respect
company property as well as obey the
game laws. Nevertheless, fires and
vandalism have occurred and the
company continues to be tolerant,
knowing that most of the people
using their lands appreciate the opportunity to do so.
man Patterson, received a merit
award for excellence in slash disposal
from the Eastern Oregon Regional
Forest Practices Committee in 1974
and 1975.
A new concept of timber and other
resource management has been initiated by Kinzua Corporation
whereby the company will lease private timber lands and provide technical assistance and carry out a management program with guaranteed
financial payments on an annual
basis. Present day financial costs are
prohibitive for most private landowners to establish an economical resource program. Included in this plan
is total resource management: soil,
water, forage, and watershed with
emphasis on producing timber on
what is now stagnate timber growing
areas.
OREGON WILDLIFE
Several thousand acres of small
and scattered tracts of timbered
lands are now being exchanged between the national forest and Kinzua
which will incorporate lands in larger
blocks and make management in a
more productive manner possible.
This will also pertain to a better wildlife management plan. For example,
if a road closure plan was needed to
provide quality hunting and to prevent wildlife harassment, it could be
expedited more effectively and efficiently.
Parks
Three overnight camping parks
have become a reality because of Kinzua's actions. Parcels of land were donated by the company for each park
site. Shelton Park is located in
Wheeler County along State Highway 19 and is maintained by the
State Highway Division. Anson
Wright Park is located along State
Highway 207 in Morrow County and
is maintained by Morrow County
Park System. Both parks are very
popular and heavily used by summer
tourists and elk and deer hunters in
the fall. Bear Hollow Park, located
south of the town of Fossil, has been
more recently completed. Kinzua donated 19 acres for this development.
Also, Kinzua Golf Course, located
near the towns of Fossil and Kinzua,
was constructed, developed, and is
maintained by the corporation. This
recreation center is open to the public although it was originally constructed for the employes. Various
golf tournaments are held in competition with neighboring communities.
In addition to all the other worthwhile programs carried out by Kinzua Corporation, employes have installed nest boxes for nongame birds
arid they have an active wild turkey
rearing program. Adult birds have
been released in the wild and it is
hoped that they will be successful
nesters and produce additional turkeys. A few wild turkeys have been
held in captivity so that the propagation program can be continued.
All in all, "Big K" fits the role of
a good neighbor to Oregon recreationists. EI
Page 5
The problem. An improperly placed road
culvert with a 16-inch drop blocked upstream fish passage.
Large logs were placed in trenches dug in the banks and stream bed. Each
log forms a small dam or weir plus a resting pool.
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Fish
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A Hand
Fish will find life a little easier in
a section of Deardorf Creek, thanks
to the efforts of the Lake Creek
Youth Conservation Corps. Working
in cooperation with the Department
of Fish and Wildlife, the YCC group
constructed a fish
on the creek, a tributary of the John
Day River east of Prairie City. The
structure was designed to correct a
16-inch waterfall at the lower end of
the culvert, thus allowing the upstream movement of native Dolly
Varden, cutthroat, and steelhead.
Under the direction of Errol Claire,
district fisheries biologist for the
Department, four log weirs were built
by hand to stairstep the culvert approach. Logs were anchored four feet
into each bank and heavily riprapped
to prevent washout during high
spring flows. In combination with the
riprap, pools up to three feet deep
dug between the weirs will produce
excellent rearing habitat for native
trout. The resulting utilization of an
additional two miles of Deardorf
Creek above the culvert will enhance
the fisheries value of the stream already estimated at $16,000 annually.
During the project the young people not only acquired practical skills
while working closely with Department personnel but also gained valuable insights into fisheries management concepts and techniques.
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Photos by Julie Black
Page 6
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Several stages of construction are shown. In all, four logs were placed to
form the ladder permitting passage to upstream areas.
Close-up of the completed result. Each of the four logs raised the creek slightlv, permitting upstream passage. Also, the pools formed provide excellent
rearing habitat for resident trout. The project allowed migrating fish to reach
two miles of spawning area above the previous block at the culvert.
SEPTEMBER 1977
1977 Legislation
by Rouie Rousseau
Executive Assistant to the Director
The 1977 legislative session was the
first for the recently merged Department of Fish and Wildlife. Nearly 80
measures were introduced that either
directly affected the Department's
programs or closely related natural
resource matters.
Making the bobcat a furbearer and
the classification of certain fish and
wildlife violations as Class "C" felonies are two important bills that did
receive approval by the 1977 Legislature. Some of the more important of
the 22 measures passed are discussed
here.
In recent years the legislature has
been reluctant to protect the bobcat
because of the concern that increased
numbers would create problems with
,l__' livestock production or that legitimate harvest by some users would be
eliminated. However, because of soaring fur prices, up to $300 per pelt,
bobcat populations have become
dangerously low in some sections of
the state. The legislature, recognizing
that a management program was
needed to provide protection to bobcats, passed the enabling act. The law
becomes effective October 4, at which
time the Commission will adopt seaSons.
The illegal taking during closed
season of all big game animals or
game fish with a value of $200 or
more was made a Class "C" felony.
This legislation grew from repeated
blatant violations of some fish and
wildlife laws. Particularly concerning
to the legislature was the increase in
illegal netting of salmon. Poachers
can harvest several thousand dollars
worth of fish in a very short time. The
new law makes out of season violations on big game animals a felony
charge only upon a second conviction
of a similar violation. A Class "C" felony carries maximum penalties of
OREGON WILDLIFE
$2,500 fine and a five-year jail sentence which is served in the State
Penitentiary. It is hoped that these
more severe penalties will reduce the
illegal harvest of Oregon's fish and
wildlife resources.
Several minor license fee adjustments were made. One authorizes
free licenses for certain foster chilthen and other persons under jurisdiction of Children's Services Division and a special $2.50 Columbia
River gillnet license was created. The
legislature also authorized the
Department to prescribe fees up to
$250 per year for falconry licenses.
The Commission recently approved a
falconry program for Oregon and the
appropriate rules are now being considered. The Department may now
charge a small application fee for
controlled hunt permits with passage
of HB 2098. The revenue obtained
from this new fee (probably $1 charge
per application) will allow the
Department to offset the rapidly increasing administrative costs associated with an expanded permit
hunting program.
Several bills were passed that
streamline procedures for processing
and sale of illegal gillnets. These
changes, among other things, will
prevent "unusable" nets from re-entering illegal fishing channels.
Numerous bills were considered
and several passed that related to
fish and wildlife habitat. Senate Bill
570, which amends the controversial
land use planning law, did, among
other things, provide that a state
agency can appeal a county or city
planning decision if the local decision
is inconsistent with the Land Conservation and Development Commission's statewide planning goals. With
the enacted change, the Department
became the first state agency to ap-
peal to LCDC a local planning decision when it filed action involving the
platting of several recreational subdivisions in Deschutes County.
Oregon's fill and removal law was
amended to require that small
stream channel changes require a
permit from the Division of State
Lands. Also, for the purposes of requiring a fill and removal permit for
channel alteration activities, the legislature defined "a constantly flowing
stream" to include intermittent
streams which contain game and
food fish. Both of these amendments
close loopholes that had been used to
circumvent the aquatic resource protection stipulations that regulate fill
and removal activities on state waterways.
Although most of the 22 conservation bills that passed will assist our
management program, several key
bills did not receive favorable consideration from the legislature. Passage
of the controversial "Kelpie" coyote
bill and the high legislative interest
in two Governor appointments to the
Fish and Wildlife Commission created enough political controversy to
kill the bills allowing Idaho into the
Columbia River Compact and the
change from a poundage fee to an ad
valorem tax on commercial fish landings. Along with the two Department
bills, a third bill sponsored by sportsmen groups requiring an angling license for all fish, including nongame
marine fish, failed to receive necessary committee action.
Although we were diappointed
that several key bills died in the last
days of the session, most of the 22
conservation bills that the 1977 Legislature enacted will make a positive
contribution to the state's fish and
wildlife management program. J
Page 7
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This and That
compiled by Ken Durbin
Acid Rain
Acid rain caused by pollutants
spewed from factory smokestacks
may be a threat to fish and wildlife.
A recent study by Cornell University
revealed that more than half the
mountain lakes at altitudes over 2,000
feet in New York State are highly
acidic and 90 percent of these have
suffered severe losses of fish life. Some
scientists fear that acid rain may
eventually destroy entire aquatic
ecosystems.
Fish and Wildlife News
*
Idiot Knifes Sturgeon
Some human acts simpiy can't be
explained. Dan Barrett, foreman at
the Department's Bonneville Fish
Hatchery, reports someone apparent'y practiced his commando tactics on
a captive sturgeon one night earlier
this summer.
Workers found the 9-foot sturgeon
in the hatchery's display pond one
morning suffering a severe cut. Someone apparently had taken a knife and
slashed the helpless fish, inflicting a
wound about 8 inches across and
2 inches deep. The hatchery crew
treated the fish and then put it back
into the Columbia River, feeling it
would be able to recover better there
than in the pond.
*
Arabia On Ice
Parched Saudi Arabians are planning to haul an 85-million-ton iceberg
5,000 miles from Antarctica at a cost
of $90 million. As the iceberg melts,
according to the plan, the fresh water
can be used for drinking and irrigation at approximately half the cost
of desalination.
International Wildlife
"Bitter" Mousetrap
One day, while patrolling in the
Vantage area along the Columbia
River, I was flagged down by a disabled motorist on Interstate 90. As is
so often the case, unsightly litter was
scattered about along the roadside.
While I was radioing for assistance,
we noticed that one beer bottle lying
nearby was moving on its own power.
A close check revealed the two tiny
eyes and furry brown nose of a field
mouse peeking out from within the
bottle. It seems he couldn't get
enough leverage inside the smooth
bottle neck to force himself back out.
A hard rap on the bottle set him free
and sent him wobbling on his way,
looking a little worse for wear and
probably nursing a hangover. I don't
suppose he appreciated having his
world cluttered up with litter any
more than we do.
Mike Bireley
Washington Wildlife
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*
Can Bass See Colors?
From the variety of colors available in fishing lures, it would seem
that question had been conclusively
decided long ago
but not so. An
-
experimental psychologist at the
University of Kentucky recently conducted tests with bass in 30-gallon
tanks. The bass were trained to strike
a clear, circular target to obtain food.
The target colors were changed during the tests and bass were timed on
making strikes at the targets. The researcher concluded that bass can see
colors and that they can use colors
in learning. If an undersized bass was
caught several times on, say, a red
plastic worm, he might eventually
learn to avoid red lures.
Missouri Conservationist
Page 10
PCB's Will Travel In Air
Until recently, the industrial
chemical Polychlorinated Biphenyl,
known as PCB, was not known to
travel by air. It was believed the main
pathway of PCB's into the environment was through water.
But recent research has located
PCB's in snow and penquin eggs at
the South Pole and researchers condude the only way the chemical
could have arrived there was by air.
PCB's have been found in sizable
amounts in the Great Lakes and are
a suspected danger to human health.
Michigan anglers have been warned
to consume only moderate amounts
of Great Lakes fish because of this.
Michigan Natural Resources
magazine
Xerox Cuffed For Wildlife Distortions
For a second time the Montana
Department of Fish and Game has
cuffed Xerox Education Publications
of Middletown, Connecticut for an
"attempt to present misleading and
biased information for consumption
by young and unsuspecting minds".
The Department got on Xerox for
reportedly misinforming young
readers about bighorn sheep in the
company's publication, Weekly
Reader Eye, which is made available
for use in school systems. The
Department said a recent issue of the
publication stated, "Vast herds of
bighorn once roamed the U. S." and
"Today only a few small herds remain." The article reportedly went on
to cite "uncontrolled hunting" as a
reason for the bighorn decline.
The Department informed Xerox
that "Vast herds of bighorns did not
roam the U. S. as you state. As a
matter of fact, bighorns were histori-.
cally restricted to the western U. E
You might be interested in the fact
that in Montana bighorns occupied
an estimated 3,553 square miles in
1975, as compared with approximately 2,183 square miles in 1942. In
other words, in 35 years of management by this department management supported by hunters
occupied mountain sheep habitat has
increased at least 58 percent. Another
fact is that in 1941 bighorns occupied
15 locations, as compared to 25 to 30
-
-
areas in 1971."
A Xerox employe, as a result of an
earlier letter from the Department,
replied, "I'm continually amazed and
pleased at the number of non-fifth
grade readers we have." This time
Montana responded, "Hopefully, you
will again be ' . . . amazed and pleased
. . , that some parents take extreme
interest in what their children are
subjected to in the schools. It's unfortunate that more don't do so, because
if they did, it would certainly help
ensure that publications such as
yours do, in fact ' . . . present newr
in as factual and objective manner as.
possible.'."
Wildlife Management Institute
.
SEPTEMBER 1977
1977
GAME BIRD SEASONS
Daily BagPossession
Limit
Limit
Open Season
(all dates inclusive)
Blue & Ruffed Grouse
Chukar &
Hungarian Partridge
Sept. 1-Sept. 30
Sept. 17-Nov. 6
Oct. 1-Dec. 31
Oct. 15-Nov. 20
Cock Pheasant
9
am.
Oct. 15-Nov. 20
9 a.m.
Oct. 15-Nov. 20
Sept. 17-Nov. 20
Valley
and Mountain
Quail
Turkey
Mourning Dove
Band-Tailed Pigeon
Duck
Open Area
Eastern Oregon
3
3
Western Oregon
Eastern Oregon
Western Oregon and
Klamath County
Western Oregon
6
6
6
12
4
8
2
4
2
8
Eastern Oregon
am.
10
Western Oregon
10
Eastern Oregon
No fall season. Controlled gobbler season April 15 through April 23.
9
Oct. 15-Dec. 31
Sept. 1-Sept. 30
Sept. 1-Sept. 30
15-Jan.
15-Jan.
15-Jan.
15-Jan.
Oct. 15-Jan.
Oct. 15-Jan.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Coot
Merganser
Goose
15
22
15
15
15
15
Entire State
Entire State
Entire State
Columbia Basin Counties
Entire State
Entire State
Western Oregon
Eastern Oregon
Black Brant
Common Snipe
Nov. 19-Feb. 19
Oct. 15-Jan. 15
New Regulations For Managment Of
Wild Horses And Burros
The U. S. Department of AgriCulture has adopted new regulations
which allow for the use of helicopters
and other motorized vehicles in the
management of wild horses and
burros on the national forest system.
To ensure humane treatment of the
animals, helicopters will be used
only for inventory, observation, surveillance, and in capture operations
where they can assist ground crews
in locating and moving animals,
transporting personnel and equipment. Fixed-wing aircraft may be
used for inventory, observation, surveillance; however, they are prohibited in capture operations. Motor vehides, which must be carefully
operated and maintained, may be
used to transport captured wild
horses and burros, but under no circumstances can they be used to chase
animals during capture operations.
Conservation News
*
Baker & Malheur Counties
Wasco, Sherman, Gihiam,
Morrow & Umatilla Counties
Entire State
Entire State
5
5
7
7
14
25
25
5
10
2
6
2
6
14
drk/3 snow)
2
2
6
6
(3
drk/3 snow)
4
8
8
16
Landscape Bulletin Available
Copies of "The American Landscape: 1776-1976, Two Centuries of
Change" are available from the Wildlife Management Institute. The publication documents in photographs
and text the dynamic nature of
America's landscape as it has been
molded by nature and humans during
the past 200 years.
Part I of the 96-page bulletin provides a historical overview of the new
nation created in 1776, the century
of change that followed, the gasoline
revolution (1877-1926), the explosive
change between 1927 and 1952, and
the environmental age that has developed since 1953.
Part II is a pictorial history of
landscape changes. It shows then and
now photographs, many taken more
than loo years apart, of various effects on specific land areas. It includes
color illustrations of changes resulting from both nature's forces and
man's activities.
Copies of the bulletin are available
from the Institute, 709 Wire Building,
Washington, D. C. 20005 for $2.50
each (lower prices for quantities).
*
OREGON WILDLIFE
20
10
(3
Oct. 15-Dec. 25
Oct. 15-Jan. 22
20
20
Endangered Feces Afire
For the last year the National Park
Service has been trying to put out a
fire in a 25,000-year pile of Shasta
sloth dung in a remote Grand Canyon
cave.
The prehistoric pile, apparently ignited by hikers, has been a treasure
trove for paleobiologists and botanists since Rampart Cave and its
contents were discovered in the 1930s.
The arid Arizona climate has preserved the dung intact, along with
other remains of the giant Shasta
sloth which became extinct 12,000
years ago.
Last summer Park Service and Interior Department officials pumped
the cave full of carbon monoxide and
dioxide gases and sealed it, hoping the
fire would die out. But when the cave
was reopened last January it was
found to be full of smoke, the dung
smoldering like a peat fire. The frustrated officials are considering other
expensive alternatives like filling the
cave with firefighting foam or hiring
crews to shovel out the burning dung
and to shore up the cave's roof, which
has been weakened by the fire. To
date, the dung is still smoldering.
Colorado Outdoors
*
Some Skunk!
Giant skunks as large as German
shepherds, and reputed to be able to
climb trees, have been reported living
in the jungles of north central Java,
where authorities theorize the animais had survived from prehistoric
times.
Colorado Outdoors
*
Page 11
NATIONAL
HUNTING & FISHING
SEPTEMBER
DAY
L
There are 796 species of birds in A
Only 74 are hunted. All benefit from
sportsmen-financed conservation p
-.
24,
1977
JOIN WITHSPORTSMEN IN SUPPORTING CONSERVATION
None of the 101 animals
on the official
Endangered Species
List are hunted,
according to the Office
of Endangered Species,
U.S. Department of
the Interior.
Ducks Unlimited,
just one of many
private sportsmanfinanced organizations,
has raised over $50
million to finance some
2,000,000 acres of prime
waterfowl nesting habitat
There are 914
species of
mammals ¡n
North
America. Only
35 are hunted
in the United
States. None
of these is in
any real
sense
endangered.
lt was sportsmer) who
were behind the
organization and
development of nearly
all major conservation
groups. Sportsmen
continue to back the
National Wildlife
Federation, lzaak
eague FIU
many others. Even John
VVdILOfl
James Audubon, patron
saint of bird lovers, was
an enthusiastic hunter.
lt was the
of this
nation, afield in
outdoor recreation,
t1j/'portsmen
..,,_
,.,
.
Fishermen have provided about
$240 million for fisheries research
through a special tax on their equipment
and annually swell that total by about
$20 million.
ravages expanding
civilization had brought to
our forests, fields and streams,
and it is the sportsman who
continues to serve as the major
guardian of our natural resources.
Thanks to sportsman-supported management
programs:
There are now some 15 million deer in the
United States. There were only 500,000
in 1900.
There are about 1,000,000 elk in the nation
today Compared to only 42,000 in the
early 1900's. There are over half a million
pronghorn antelope today compared to
12,000 only 50 years ago.
Turkeys numbered less than 100,000 as
recently as 1952, now total well over
1,250,000.
OREGON
Fish & Wildlife
506 SW. MILL STREET
P.O. BOX 3503
PORTLAND. OREGON 97208
Through
a self-imposed tax on sporting
arms and ammunition, hunters and shooters
have provided over $700 million for wildlife
management in the last 40 years and
continue to add over $60 million annually.
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