Cover Page

Contents

Preface
Letter

SECTION I

Orientation
Summary

SECTION II

History
Needs
Geography
Historic Sites
Competitors
Economic Aspects

SECTION III

Federal Lands
State and Interstate
Local

SECTION IV

Division of Responsibility
Local
State
Federal
Circulation

SECTION V

Educational Opportunities

Lands Administered for Game and Other Wildlife

Bureau of Biological Survey.—The Biological Survey is authorized to acquire areas to be administered as sanctuaries for the purpose of restoring and conserving various forms of wildlife. The objective is to preserve or develop on these areas favorable environmental conditions as to food, water, and cover; to protect the valuable species from man, and to control the natural enemies when necessary to do so. It is definitely known that any species—migratory game, upland or big game, song and insectivorous birds, fur bearers, and fishes—will increase wherever a suitable environment is available, and some of the more serious hazards are removed.

Refuge areas now administered by this Bureau and those planned for future acquisition are of two classes: In the first class are included those lands acquired by purchase or lease under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, those set aside by Executive orders, or those tracts purchased under the authority of special acts of Congress. Lands in this class are selected primarily because of their known suitability as wildlife sanctuaries. This purpose is the determining factor in the examination, purchase, and withdrawal of this class of land.

There are 878,854 acres administered by the Biological Survey properly classified in group 1.

In the second class are those lands acquired by the Government for any other purpose, but placed under the administration of the Survey for wildlife uses. This class will include submarginal land acquisitions or areas in drought zones, etc., which can be developed for wildlife and which will be more profitable when so administered than when put to any other use.⁷

---

⁷ National Resources Board, Federal Agencies, Their Organization and Research Accomplishments in the Field of Land-planning, pp. 25 and 26.

---

There are 1,131,586 acres administered by the Biological Survey properly classified in this second group, making a total of 2,010,440 acres administered by the Biological Survey in 1934.

Field.—Whereas all the organized Federal lands give some degree of protection to wildlife and some of them such as the national parks, are true sanctuaries, those Federal hands where the primary use is that of providing refuge for wildlife are administered by the Bureau of Biological Survey.

The principal value of these refuges is recreational. Though no hunting is allowed on them, they exist to conserve wildlife in order that it may be hunted outside the reserve, or otherwise enjoyed. The refuge areas themselves are not recreation areas, but by protecting wildlife they provide recreation elsewhere.

The following statements are taken from a tabulation of land in the United States dedicated to migratory bird and upland game refuges.⁸

---

⁸ Land in the United States Dedicated to Migratory Bird and Upland Game Refuges, prepared by the U. S. Biological Survey and transmitted by letter from Mr. J. N. Darling, Chief, under date of Aug. 30. 1034.

---

The wildlife refuges administered by the Biological Survey number 104, of which 65 are maintained primarily for migratory waterfowl, all located in the continental United States. The total area of refuges devoted to migratory waterfowl as nesting, resting, and feeding grounds is 1,152,079 acres.

There are under Federal jurisdiction 24 areas in various States—under the control of the Forest Service, War Department, and Navy Department—totaling 1,638,748 acres devoted to the protection of upland game mammals and birds. In addition to this acreage there are many thousands of square miles of land embraced within national parks and monuments under the Department of the Interior on which the various forms of wildlife find sanctuary.

The most recent available information on land under local and State jurisdiction shows 7,342,427⁹ acres dedicated to migratory birds and 34,940,372⁹ acres affording sanctuary to upland game.

It will be noted that there are 104 federally owned wildlife refuges administered by the Biological Survey, of which 65 are migratory bird refuges. The remaining areas are principally for the protection of other species of birds and mammals and are not included in the above totals.

---

⁹ Includes some Federal lands. Extract from tabulation, Land in the United States Dedicated to Migratory Bird and Upland Game Refuges, op. cit.

---

In addition, the National Association of Audubon Societies administers 32 wild fowl refuges. For map see appendix, p. 250.

Bureau of Fisheries.—The primary function of the Bureau of Fisheries is the conservation of aquatic resources by means of— (1) artificial restocking; (2) biological investigations of habitat and life history of aquatic animals; (3) technological studies of marketing, preservation, and the collection of statistics; (4) regulation of the Alaska fisheries.

Of these, the first two functions have a relationship to land utilization programs. The production of fish at the hatcheries is a means of restocking public waters, particularly areas within the public domain such as national parks and national forests. These plants of food and game fish amount to several billions each year and are important from the standpoint of recreation and the maintenance of commercial fisheries. The stocking program does not ordinarily become effective except in existing waters already suitable for fish life, or in the stocking of impounded waters established through the activities of some other agency. Hence this feature has not previously been of importance in preliminary planning.¹⁰

---

¹⁰ National Resources Board, Federal Agencies, etc., op. cit., p. 32.

---

Field.—The number of Americans who enjoy fishing for sport has been increasing rapidly, and it is estimated that there are about 10 million anglers in this country today.

In order to maintain the supply of game fish in the inland waters of the United States, fish hatcheries are operated by private enterprise, by sportsmen's organizations, by most of the State game and fish departments, and also by the Federal Government through the Bureau of Fisheries.

The work of the Bureau of Fisheries includes the production and distribution of fish for two purposes—the maintenance of commercial fisheries (marine, Great Lakes, and inland waters), and the culture of noncommercial game fish of inland fresh waters.

As of June 30, 1934, the Bureau of Fisheries administered 87 fish cultural stations and substations. (For map see appendix, p. 252.) During the preceding 12 months, a total of 4-1/2 billion fish was distributed, while for the year ended June 30, 1933, the number was in excess of 7 billion.¹¹ Forty species were propagated, and a total of 46 species was handled.¹²

---

¹¹ Leach, Glen C., Propagation and Distribution of Food Fishes, 1933, Bureau of Fisheries, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1934, p. 453.

¹² Ibid., p. 452.

---

The Bureau of Fisheries cooperates closely with the various State hatcheries so as to coordinate the work and secure the best results from the combined activities. The Bureau also cooperates with the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Biological Survey, and other Federal bureaus, supplying fish where they are most needed, The Bureau of Fisheries also assists sportsmen's groups by rendering advice on fish cultural problems, making inspections, and by other means.

The game fish propagated include several species of trout, grayling, pike, pickerel, crappie, bass, sunfish, perch, and others. In the fiscal year 1933 the output of the Bureau hatcheries was 115,000,000 game fish.¹³

---

¹³ Leach, Glen C., Propagation and Distribution of Game Fish, 1933, Bureau of Fisheries, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1934, p. 471.

---

Of the hatchery production and distribution for the fiscal year 1933, game fishes accounted for approximately 2 percent of the total, five marine species amounted to about 87 percent of the total, commercial species of the interior waters represented over 8 percent; fish which migrate from salt to fresh water for spawning, and are largely of a commercial classification, represented about 3 percent of the total.¹⁴

---

¹⁴ Leach, Glen C., Propagation and Distribution of Game Fish, 1933, op. cit., p. 454.

---

Although the game fish produced are only about 2 percent of the total fish production of the Bureau of Fisheries, it is estimated that about 65 percent of the Bureau's funds and activities are devoted to game fish production and only about 35 percent to the production of commercial fish. Commercial fish are distributed at a comparatively small size a short time after hatching, but with game varieties the present practice is to rear them for as long a period as feasible, so that when planted they are exposed to natural enemies for only a short period before being large enough for the angler. The retention of game fish requires added facilities, expenses for food and care, and transportation costs are larger.

Continued >>>

Last Modified: Fri, Sep. 5, 2003 10:32:22 am PDT
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/recreational_use/chap3-1a.htm