OCR Text |
Show The Wildlife Resources Are Big Source Of The Local Income BY DR. J. B. LOW peiatue, our wildlife resources provide a tremendous source of income authunzod and dc by the hunts weie depaitment. for both the state and private concerns. During 1948 and 1949 Deer Herds the state received nearly $500,000 from the sale of of the spot tana n, not Many licenses alone, as well as $102,000 from the sale of beaver furs. the necessity for understanding From total licenses and fees for the same period it received over such action and having been con$1,600,000. Just how much money has been spent in this state ditioned for more than 20 yens for arms and ammunition, fishing tackle, special equipment, against the killing of does, bitnon-reside- nt terly opposed these antlerless hunts. This opposition, which has continued up to the piesert time, has made it difticult for the game olficials to regulate the enough birds to go around, and herds properly. Many thousands the lew bad apples which me of our game animals which should bound to turn up among 150,000 have been killed by hunters, have hunteis create considerable fi'c- - j perished miseiably from staiva- tion with the landowners rights tion. and privileges. This unnecessary waste of a Reaults of the hunter invasion valuable resouice is not as stu-ou- s as the ii reparable damage is an increase in posted areas, with a fuither increase in crowdthat has been done to the foiage ing problems. To combat this, plants upon which the deer denunters and sportsmen, under pend for food. Given a suitable state authorization, have set up range, a deer herd can be doubled posted hunting areas to regulaie in several years, but a range that burner numbers on certain aiea3. has been destioyed by overuse Growth of such areas has been may require many times as many rapid For instance, in Cache years to build back up again. county such areas have grow n Fur Bearers from 2i,000 acres in 1945 to an estimated 120,000 acres for the-faAmong the fur beaiers of the of o' 1951 or almost 65 the total pheasant habitat of the nation the muskrat ranks first. The yearly Income to the nations country farmers and trappers is m the I he present system of posted neighborhood of $15,000,000, and areas has its disadvantages, but the return to the faimers and 9 with the landowners, sportsmen trappers of Utah during the season was estimated at and Game department working togethei, solutions agreeable to $205,000. The value of the finishthe majority can be reached. ed product to the fur trade is Were it not for some such at- over a billion dollars yearly. special clothing, gasoline, oil and tires, food and lodging, transportation, and a host of other items, as a direct result of hunting and fishing activity, is difficult to ascertain. l.aih year since the end c.f World War II mote than 100,000 fishermen have taken to the takes and streams of this state and soent over $2,000,000 annuaUv in then effort to obtain fish and relaxation Our neighboring sta e Coloiado as a result of a survey his placed the economic value of her wildlife resouiees at $50,0ou 000 ildlife, like our forests, rangis, and soils, is a valuab'e, perishable resource and must be preserved m the future, as it has been increasingly in the re ent past, by conservation through sound management From an economic standpoint, that is only good business. Other alurs VVhUe a dollars and cents approach .to wildlife conservation may bring home its value moie fo.cihly, there is another value derived that is not so easily seen nor evaluated, but is equally important. The relaxation afforded by hunting and fishing, or just observing our wildlife in Its natural habitej, has provided a safety valve for the mounting pressure and tension cl modern living. photo-giaphm- g, Each year an increasing number of men and women are taking to the mountains, fields and streams for their recreation. The Logan River drainage is a recreational area typical of many in the state. The district office of the Forest Service, based on a car eount, estimated tat there were 370,000 visitors Into that area for recreational purposes In 1918. A very substantial number of them were sportsmen. A similar count in 1939 gave an estimate of 205,000. The trend is geneial throughout the state. A brief account of each of the various categories of wildlife may help to illustrate the problems that lave confronted those reu sponsible for managing these i res re-so- Fishing Firhing is one of the most popg forms ular and of lecreation in Utah. A comparison of the 25,418 fishing licenses sold in 1916, with the 103,465 sold in 1949, clearly indicates that, more and more, people are seeking relaxation on the lakes and streams of the state. On the Logan river alone, for example, ti e fishing pressure has increased 500 per cent since 1920, yet in 1949 there were nearly 50,000 game fish caught by an appioxi-mat- e rapidly-growin- ll al Pioneer Progress Centennial lilHoit duublc that of 10 jeais pievious The water fuvvl population, on the otlur hand, has lemained somewhat the same or even declined thiough these jeais. Thus, in the need for mote obis jective management badly needed in the field In Utah the pintails weie the most numerous duck killed, followed by the d teal, mallaid, baldpate, gadwall, and canvasbai k. green-winge- The man managed lefuges located in the state, m addition to the thousands of aoies of unmarshes, affoids the managed duck hunter fo Utah unparullehd hunting oppoi tunnies found or equalled in few if any other areas of the United States. Has Hefty Knife PONTOTOC, Miss 1 Hon Mont 12, can do just about anything he wants to with his pocketmfe It has a screwdriver, a pair of scissors, a bottle opener, a can opener, a leather punch, a file and corkscrew and two cutting blades, one of them 3 inches long The knife weighs more than half a pound. gompr.v, BACK IN 1917, Logan's tabernacle square served for the a whole winter as a feeding ground for a better part of sizeable herd of elk. In the Yellowstone Park area, heavy snows had repeatedly driven large numbers of elk down into Gardner, Montana. With the cooperation of railroad officials at Cache Junction, arrangements were made to ship a large herd of elk from Montana to Logan. Upon arriving in Logan, the elk were herded into the tabernacle square and kept .'here and fed for the remainder of the winter. A high wire fence around the square kept them in. The following spring they were turned loose and headed straight for the mountains east of town. Their descendants are still bagged occasionally by hunters fortunate enough to get an elk permit. , 1948-194- n tempt at easing Muskrats are adapted to a fr'ction, all Tree hunting as we home, hence the larger know it now, might well disapy numbers are found in close pear to marshes and streams that More Pheasants maintain a fairly stable water Can more pheasants be raised level. On many farms the muskrat population represents the on Utahs limited pheasant habigreatest cash value of any kind a tat? Probably substantial, of wildlife and utilizes swamp though not phenomenal, increase areas and marshlands that are of can be realized. The Game depart- little or no value for agricultural ment is always working toward purposes. that end, and as they come up It is well known that muskrat with tested plans, the farmer and activities, such as digging runs can sportsman working together and clearing out areas of dense carry cut their recommendations. condition" marshes vegetation, inThe stocking of adult birds for for greater waterfowl production. creasing numbers is of questio- Perhaps the best method to innal value, but habitat improvecrease muskrat activity on a ment. or plans to reduce the less marsh , is to dense cf hens by hay field mowing may stands of cattailintersperse and bullrush with prove very beneficial. ditches. The object here is to creEffoits are also being mad to ate permanent water for the Ease the heavy hunting load car- muskrats. The owners of marshlands can ried by the pheasant by distributing it to other species. The des- often increase the muskrat popuert quail are being helped by con- lations by stabilizing water levels, of unique struction watering and in doing so, increase his bank troughs in their desert haoitat, account. In the middle west, a and it is hoped that the quail managed marsh produced $7 00 will respond by increas ng in worth of furs per acre while the numbers and range. Experiments take on an unmanaged marsh in are being conducted to see if the the same vicinity is worth only about $2.75 per acre. sage grouse can provide a shoor-absurplus, and if results are The Beaver favorable, the grouse will carry a hunting load in proportion io Another fur bearer ts numbers. Introductions are in Utah is important the beaver. This imfarmer-sportsme- semi-squat- ic piox-imit- 1, le 25,000 anglers. Each year the total catch- of fish on this river far exceeds the number stocked. A similar stsry can be told of almost all of the estimated 6,700 miles of fishable stieams, and hundreds of lakes and ponds throughout the state. Utah anglers may seek a wide variety of fishes. There are brook, brown, cutthroat and rainbow trout in the mountain streams t nd lakes. Lake trout can be taken from Fish Lake and Bear Lake. Kobanee, or little redfish, are found in Strawberry Reservoir and Bear Lake. High in the Uintah mountains hardy fishermen cm try their luck with the gamey giayling, as well as cutthroat and lair.fcow trout. Whitefish are caught in several of the rivers, and Bear Lake has two species Herald-Journ- always being considered as ble additions to Utah. possi- The Chuckar partridge, a bird of rough and arid lands, is especially encouraging as a possible immigrant, and may fill a now empty spot in Utahs game pic- ture portant fur bearer inhabits our mountain streams. It is only is a source of furs which are yearly valued at more than $50,000 to the state, but also is an important agent in conserving both soil and water on the vital water sheds of our state. Through the damming activities of the beaver the water cn our water sheds Is retarded flora from the unimpeded flowing mountains to the valleys. By holding the water back during the entire year a more constant supply of water is assured, in periods of drought. Occasionally the beaver leaves the mountain streams and migrates into the valleys. Here they may become harmful in their activities by damming up irrigation canals and burrowing into and through the water control structures of the farm lands. The state has a corps of trained men who trap these nuisance beavers and either return them to the higher mountain areas where activities are beneficial or pelt them for sale to the fur markets Actually, the picture of Utahs upland game is a healthy one, both at present and in fu'ute fourj bow here else. For those who prefer warm prospects. Problems conni ctd water fishing, there are lage-mout- h with upland game are primarily black bass, bluegill and those of human populations and gieen sunfish, and ulack bullheads personalities.. These problems can Waterfowl in many of the farm ponds and be solved or greatly improved by v aters of lower elevation through- undcsUnding, rational reasoning, Waterfowl which migrate from out the north central and central and by wholehearted cooperation their breeding grounds in the part of the state. There are also between interested groups. north to their wintering grounds charnei catfish in the Green and in the south use the same flight Colorado rivers. Big Game lanes year after year. These are Not Native During the past 25 years the known as flyways. Utah, iocated number of big game hunters in on the line between the Central The fact that so many different Utah has increased 4 times. In and Pacific Flyways, contributes fishes can even reasonably satisfy 1949 there were over 103,000 waterfowl to both of these t.ne demands of the ever-i- r creaslicenses sold. For the past 10 ing army of anglers is not due to years Utah has been There are about 100, 0Q0 acres among the tharce nor to a policy of letting nation'll leaders in hunter sucof developed marshlands in the natuie take its course. This ran cess. Yet, there are more d and big state; five are be readily understood when it is game animals in the state today two are federally owned refuges. out with the excepthat, poinud than there were 100 years ago. The latter are administered by tion of the whitefish, not one of the Fish and Wildlife Service. is to the fishes native the waters During the 1949 season, Utah Each duck hunter must purof Utah. Even the cutthroat trout hunters killed 717 elk and more are introduced fish which have than 60,000 mule deer. The com- chase yearly a migratory duck stamp as part of his license. Based taken the place of the now extinct bined of these animals on the number of stamps sold, Utah cutthroat. The program of would weight be in the neighborhood of about '30 1)00 duck research, habitat improvement, 8,000,000 pounds; a rather sig- there w'ere hunters in Utah in 1950. and stocking has paid dividends nificant with steaks selling Important among the water-foti the angler by placing fish in at 90c a figure pound. In addition to the of the state are the his creel. deer and elk, 43 antelope were Bear refuges River Bird Refuge in Box It is hoped that when the sci- also killed. The story behind this Elder Countv, Ogden Bay Bird ence of sowing, controlling, and of big game in Weber County, and c: opping fish harvests is more large annual harvest Refuge animals is a story of the struggle Farmington Bay Bird Refuge In thoroughly understood by both for conservation. Davis County. There are additiontne technician and by the sportsmen. still greater progress can A little over 40 years ago in al refuges located in Box Elder, b made in the use and conservahad Uintah, and Millard Counties. 1908, our deer population tion of this resource. been so depleted by unrestricted Mill More hunting that the game departI pland Game ment closed the season throughLast season at Ogden Bay Bird Inn eased pressuie on Utah's out the entire state for a period Refuge 28,000 birds were bagged v ildlife species is felt no more of five years. At the end of this by 14 000 hunters. This kill was Swrongly than in the province of period, in 1913, the buck law was twice the number of that of 1942; upland game. The pheasant is the enacted by the Utah legislature. hence the waterfowl take in this primary upland game bird of Thus protected, dhe herds grad- area has doubled in tpe pari mre Utah, end the nngneck is a farm ually increased in numbers, and seasons. bird tody and ou found only by 1935, many of the mr.e suitThe number of hunters has conjo the Irrigated farmlands. When able areas were being seriously stantly increased over the last 10 750, X) Utah hunters all invade overused by herds in excers of the years. Since 1940 the number has the farms during the short season, carrying capacity of the range. nearly doubled throughout the deduction In numbers sas im- - country and lh 1940 Iigure uas troubles ar'se. There aren't 80 years young and still growing with Colorado and Utah, hub of the Rocky Mountain Empire, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad eagerly welcomes second half of the Twentieth Century. fly-wa- Grande has the best job on earth. ..it supplies dependable transportation for Colorado and Utah, both busily fulfilling prophecies of extensive new indus trial and agricultural development... it is n vital link in thfc transcontinental railroad chain, the tie that binds the United States. Looking ahead, Rio Grande fully realizes that its marshaling yards will be taxed to serve the combined needs of the domestic economy and national defense... Rio Grande is prepared in plant, in equipment, in manpower to carry its share of the load. Rio state-owne- a oft-repeat- 3 1: iiijnftlll OiJitD 0n(j ccit;l5i5K)l: (? Cjri5i;tiJi THE DIRECT CENTRAL TRANSCONTINENTAL ROUTE Pioneering for 80 Years |