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RE you one of the hundreds of
Oregon hunters who go out each
year and bag a deer, a few pheas
ants or ducks or some other kind of
game bird or animal life?
Have you ever, then, thought as you
worked your way along through the
;, brush in the hills, or marshes, or
-through the stubble in the fields, how
tllong the hunting would keep up in this
i, modern day of perfected arms, in
creased numbers of sportsmen, de
creased expanse of wild country and
, general advance of civilization?
; In the enthusiasm of good hunting
i perhaps you haven't given It much
; thought, but luckily the proposition
, has been looked into by the state. As
j. a result of this and thi3 alone the
sportsmen of the future are to be able
Ji to enjoy good hunting.
Perpetuating wild animal life is a big
ij undertaking and one which has been
H overlooked by the majority of states.
Oregon has been one of the first to
j heed the necessity of keeping game
i life extant and therefore this state
holds the lead in the amount of work
:r and good accomplished.
!I It is being done by game reserva
! tlbns, refuges and farms where ani
!'j mals and birds are being protected and
. propagated and then liberated to grad-
;! llallv Hnrenrl Intn th himMncr rnnntrv
to compare wits with the nimrod and
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The' state now has under guard a to
J. tal of 143,789 acres of land surrounding
ifstate institutions; 2654 square miles or
1.689,320 1 acres in other parts of the
,( state; thousands of acres of privately-i-owned
farms and lands and all the ter.
! ritory within incorporated cities and
j; towns. The Federal Government has
ij four large reservations closed to hunt
fine and hundreds of farmers have
3 closed their premises to the nimrod un
Jier ' contract with the state. Not a
tbird nor an animal can be molested in
(' these reserves and steps have been
'ftaken even to protect them from their
own enemies such as snakes and pred-
atory creatures which prey on eggs,
, young birds and the young of game
, animals.
The protection and propagation has
been extended to dozens of varieties of
: birds and animals, including deer, elk,
i aiitPpes, mountain sheep, ducks,
geese, brant, pelicans, grouse, pheas
i' ants.' Boh Whites, forked-tailed petrels,
'i tufted puffins, pigeon guillemots and a
few black oyster catchers.
j Guards patrol the reserves, warding
; off hunters, trapping and shooting of
! predatory animals, posting "no hunt
! ing"' signs and promoting other pre
! cautionary measures to prevent inter
i ference with the animals or birds which
' the state and Government are trying
to protect.
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The refuges are veritable incubators"
I of wild lifo which would need no
guarding if the sportsmen understood
their Importance in building up the
hunting. As the refuge plan has grown
, intrusions and violations have been less
i frequent and it is probable that in the
" future the campaign of education now
being promoted by the state will have
1 gained sufficient strength to make pos
sible the elimination of the policing of
the reserves.
It was in 1905 that the need of
refuges was first Been. At that time
W. I Finley and others interested In
the work of game protection and propa
. gatlon took a trip into the game re
gions and made a study of conditions.
. It was concluded that the refuge plan
' was the most feasible and accordingly
1 recommendations were made to the
state and to the Federal Government
that refuges be established.
In 1907 and 1908 lour bird reserva-
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tions were established
tion of the President
' proclama
the United
States. Gradually year by year the
game life was being driven back by
the advance of settlers, the draining
of marshes, the cutting of timber, the
clearing of wild land, the building of
roads into the wilds, making entrance
by automobile easy and the making of
Improvements in guns and ammunition
and the means of transportation. And
all this in addition to- the natural en
emies of game life; which In Itself is
enough to seriously hinder the spread
of game. '
Eliminate all the natural enemies of
birds and turn a. pair of bob whites
or pheasants loose In a favorable coun
try, and it will be but a short time
before they will overrun that country,
game authorities say. But as it is
with the woods and hills alive with
preying predatory creatures, the game
bird and animal has a hard time in
creasing. Add'to the natural struggle
the devastation by hunters and the end
of wild life can be seen unless steps
are taken to protect it from hunters
and its own enemies.
It was in 1911 that the State Legis
lature first took up the refuge propo
sition. An act was passed giving the
Governor the power to set aside land
surrounding state institutions for game
reserves or refuges. Under this law,
143.789 acres of land was set aside and
the work of propogating animals and
birds was started. ' It has Increased
rapidly since, until now there are thou
sands of square miles on which hunt
ing is absolutely prohibited and on
which the task of perpetuating animal
life is well under way.
In 1913 the State Legislature took an
other step in advance by passing a bill
establishing six large game reserva
tions in different parts of the state. In
cluded in the tracts are vast areas of
state land far out in the mountains
where animal life will increase rapidly.
Not only are the animals which were in
these places at the time the reserves
were established fully protected but
many new forms of life have been In
troduced and are increasing rapidly.
In the meantime the statn Antnhliahmi
a big-game farm at Corvallls. where
birds and animals are being propogated
and liberated on the reservations. At
the farm are a number of elk, deer,
and antelope. The principal work of
the farm, however, is the propogation
of wild birds such as Chinese pheas
ants, quail, bob whites and Hungarian
partridges. These birds and animals
are propogated and released on the re
serves and refuges, there to increase
and gradually spread into the sur
rounding country.
The extent of operations of the game
farm is shown in the reports for 1913.
A total of 2363 pheasants were raised
and liberated during that year. A total
of 708 quail and Hungarian partridges
were liberated, making a total of all
kinds of birds of 3071 for the year.
An elk farm has been established in
what Is known as Billy Meadows, in
Wallowa County. In 1912 a herd of
12 elk was liberated on this farm and
reserve by the state, the animals being
secured from Yellowstone National
Park. In 1913 another herd of 15 was
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, APRIL, 26, 1914.
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received. Of the number 24 survived.
From the 21 there are now 30. In an
other year there will be 45 or 50 and
from then on the growth will be very
rapid. In many of the reservations
great success has been had in rearing
birds. Large districts have been
stocked with birds from a few pair
turned loose from the propogation
farm.
The 1913 Legislature passed laws
creating refuges or reservations of
every incorporated city and town with
in the state. In Portland and other
cities game birds are seen in large
numbers in the suburbs and. often
times close to the center of the city
as a result of this policy. Many of
them are very tame as a result of the
protection afforded them. The 1913
Legislature also passed a law prohibit
ing any person from shooting from a
public highway or railroad right-of-way.
Inasmuch as the ocean beach
has been declared a .public highway,
shooting is prohibited 'from the Colum
bia River to the California line along
the ocean front.
The work of guarding the reserva
tions is becoming more extensive each
year. The guarding is not only
against hunters, but also against the
r v.,
mals. Trapping of skunks, weasels.
lynx, cougars and killing of snakes
and other creatures is a big part of the
work. Professional trappers are de
voting their time to this phase of the
work in an effort to hasten the up
building of the game bird and animal
kingdom, and much success is being
reported.
Although the reservations are fre
quented by guards and the animals, or
many of them at least, have been
raised by man. they are wild, their
natural life soon removing their
tameness. This is true not only of
the birds, but of the animals as well.
This element is being promoted as
much as possible, so they will have a
better chance when they venture into
the hunting grounds.
The six game reservations estab
lished comprise 2654 square miles, some
being reserves for particular kinds of
birds, and others being set aside for
all varieties of birds and animals. In
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Baker and Union Counties and the
southern part of Wallowa County is the
Imnaha Reservation, taking- in 560
square miles or 358.400 acres. This
reservation is devoted to the protection
principally of mountain sheep, deer
and Franklin grouse. There are a few
elk also in this reservation.
In the southern part of Crook County
and the northern part of Lake County
is the Deschutes Reservation, compris
ing 1296 square miles, or 828.444 acres.
This is the largest reservation "of the
six. " It is for the protection princi
pally of mule deer and antelope on the
Winter range. It is also the natural
home of the sage hen or sage grouse.
In Southern Oregon, taking in most
of Steins Mountain range, is the Steins
Mountain reservation, comprising 6814
square miles, or 435,920 acres. In this
reserve there are being protected
mountain sheep, mule deer, antelope
and sage hens.
Sturgeon Lake Reservation is - on
Sauvies Island in the Columbia River.
It has an area of 6V4 square miles, or
4160 acres, and was set aside for the
protection of waterfowl. It is a rest
ing place for ducks, geese and other
game birds, which are shot at all along
the Columbia River. In their flight
during the hunting season they can
rest on this reservation. It Is also a
large feeding place and propagation
ground.
Til a capltol reservation takes in the
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city of Salom and vicinity in Marion and
Polk Counties. It contains 56 square
miles or 35.840 acres. It was created
to afford a large central refuge where
game birds may be propagated and dis
tributed over the country surrounding.
In the Coast range in the. western
part of Lane County is the Grass Moun
tain reservation comorlsine 54 sauare
17ns State Has Taken the Lead in EslabHshing
Game Reserves Where Wild Animals and Birds
Are Protected Against Their Enemies. Deer,
Elk, Antelope, Ducks, Geese, Pelicans and Many
Other Kinds of Game Find Refuge in Thousands
of Acres of Guarded Country. Other States Now
Follow Oregon's Lead for the Benefit of Sports
men in the Future.
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miles or 34.560 acres. On thi reserve is
a large herd of elks and many deer.
The Federal Government reserves are
for the protection principally of birds.
The first reserve of the kind to be set
aside on the
Arch Rocks,
Pacific Coast was Three
comprising a group of
rmall islands from a half mile to a mile
off tho Oregon Coast, a few wiles south
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of the entrance to Tillamook Bay. Im
mense colonies of sea birds are found
on these rocks. Included in th varie
ties are California murres. Western
gulls, brant. Balrd and Farallone cor
morants. Kaeding and forked-tailed pe
trels, tufted puffins, pigeon guillemots
and oyster catchers. .
On Lower Klamath Lake, lying partly
In Oregon and partly in California, is
the Klamath Lake reserve, taking in
132 square miles or 83.000 acres. On
this reserve are hundreds ot thousands
of wild fowl which propagate in thou
sands m the marshes of the reservation.
For the protection of water fowl the
Government has established a reser
vation taking in Malheur and Harney
Lakes. This is called the Lake Mal
heur reservation and takes in 143
square miles or 90.000 acres. Klamath
and Malheur Lake reservations are two
of the largest and best refuges ever
established for the protection of wild
birds. They are the Fall and Spring
feeding grounds for myriads of migrat
ing water fowl and untold numbers re
main to nest and rear their young.
Among the game birds that nest on
these two reservations are Canada
geese, various kinds of ducks, avocets.
black-necked stilts. Western willets,
klldeer and many others.
The fourth of the Government reser
vations Is that known as the Cold
Springs reservation comprising a reser
voir site of the reclamation service
where water is stored for irrigation.
It is in Umatilla County and takes in
2500 acres. When the reservoir was
built a certain number ot seepage lakes
were created outside the reservoir eite.
The large body of water attracted
ducks, geese and other wild water birds
during the migrating season. Many of
these remain to breed., Formerly there
was no duck shooting in this dry area.
Now there is good hunting In season.
' In protecting and propagating wild
life the state fish and game depart
ment considers that a great commer
cial good is being done as well as the
hunting being kept up. From an eco
nomic and business standpoint it is said
the game and other wild creatures of
the state are worth over J5.000.000 an-
nually. The saving is attributed to the
protection from pests which i afforded
by the wild life
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