Show meld S stream tream by vernon W shields there is one thing that Is sadly lacking in our present fish and game department I 1 a am in edition s speaking p e aking of education especially y education tion of our boys an ana a girls so that the next generation will know the fun dament als of our wildlife and na tural resources the wise use of our natural resources is a basic lem of american democracy if we are going to protect our wildlife we need a punier junior program of in st ruction in shooting conservation and sportsmanship mr lee kay who is educational director for the state fish and game department tries to get around to all schools school s at least once a year with his wildlife movies and lectures on conserva tion and safety this is fine mr kay has some of the best wildlife pictures in the country but it Is not enough we need a complete program of education I 1 think a game warden s job should be some thing more than just enforcing our fish and game laws it should in elude meeting with our boys and girls in the schools and lecturing on the proper handling of firearms conservation game management and all the fundamentals of soil water and wildlife he lie should also meet with the boy scouts and give them all the dope pertaining to our fish and game problems such a program could be conducted dur ing the slack season when the war dens are not busy in the field some states are including courses in wildlife conservation into their school curriculum several states have also set up summer camps to t 0 teach boys and girls how to handle canoes safely how to cast a fly or plug and what to wear for the greatest comfort out of doors in michigan last summer four hundred and thirty boys were sent to a conservation camp for a week apiece they learned how to handle guns how to fish and they also received demonstrations in wood craft and outdoor equipment they were taken on deer counts and range surveys the boys learned that deer need both cover and food and that these are not the same in winter and summer they gained understanding of the part which hunting plays in taking the annual increase they got an inkling at least of the inter relationships of birds animals forest and soil they were taken to the state fish hatch enes eries and given a lecture on fish management food and habitats various michigan sports sportsmen mens s clubs helped pay the expenses for these boys but the major cost was born by the fish and game de apartment part ment why cant the state of oil utah come out with such a pro grania maybe it is because they are too busy playing politics in stead of doing something construe tive for our sportsmen of tomorrow in illinois there are over five hundred junior sportsmen clubs i many of them are sponsored by the isaac walton league and other groups of sportsmen in the state of utah we have none nearly ev er state in the union but utah provides some form af activity a ong long this line for our young peo pie I 1 think our sportsmen s organ izat ions would be doing something if they got together and forced the fish and game department to a adopt a program of junior aduca tion such a program would not be too expensive and in the long run it would pay for itself in many many ways the basic trouble with our fish and game department today Is rotten politics and as long as our fish and game department are dictated to by political bosses we will never have proper manage ment of our fish and game ties last year the utah sportsmen s association spent their last red cent initiating legislation to return the fish and game department to the people this legislation fail fall ed but it did open a wedge for continued effort to take the de apartment part ment out of the hands of politicians itic ians this legislation failed because certain legislators said they could not vote for the bill because the officials of the fish and game department were opposed to it ten thousand sportsmen in the state of utah wanted the bill passed but the legislators they are sup posed to represent the people listened to the political bosses sure the fish and game depart ment opposed a bill of this kind its passage would have meant that the governor would make no further political appointments into the fish and game came department none of our present legislators are in crested rested in what the sportsmen of utah want they are only interest ed in pleasing the officials of the fish and game department the sportsmen of this state have got to learn to stick together and demand their rights well get a junior program of education only when and if we holler loud enough and well get our fish and game department out of politics only when we instruct our senators and representatives to vote for what the pe people ople want instead of what a few pressure groups want |