MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON
THURSDAY. OCTOBER 25, 19C2
Habitat, Numbers Determine
Amount of Game, Writer Notes
By MILT GUYMON
Oregon State
Gam Commission
You can't stockpile game.
U would be nice if we could
eo every hunter would find
a bull elk on every ridge, a
beautiful buck deer behind
every mahogany thicket, or a
bag' limit of pheasants every
time he. went afield.
There is little doubt Oregon
Is one of the finest hunting
states In the nation and will
continue to be so. But hunters
thould remembpr that game
numbers will fluctuate from
year to year with the amount
of game produced depending
on the quantity and quality
of habitat.
In addition, as the hunting
nressures and competition be.
tween hunters increase - and
It has at about 3 per cent an
nually - the individual hunt
er's chance to score will de
crease proportionately.
Creared to Losses
Most game birds and ani
mals are geared to heavy an
nual losses, whether hunted
or not. Small game is espec
ially so. with spring popula
tions winding up at around
the same levels. Big game,
because of slower reproduc
tive potentials, are a little
slower in bouncing back fol
lowing a disastrous winter.
But come back they do, pro
viding the habitat is there in
which they can live.
Game habitat is the com
plex of soil, water, and
plants commonly called cover
lit which game birds and
mammals exist. It is the life
range that must Include
escape cover, winler cover,
food and water, cover to rear
young, and even cover to
play. A lack of one or more
of these cover requirements
will materially reduce the har
vestable game numbers an
area will support.
'One of the most important
concents in both fish and
game management is that of
carrying capacity. Sportsmen
end even fish and game de
partments, too often forget
that a given piece of land or
body of water can support
and maintain from year to
year only so many pounds of
animal life. -Constantly
On Alert .
.The fish and game manager
must be constantly alert to
avoid overstocking and to
recognize the danger signals
of overpopulation.
When he examines the fish
population of a lake and finds
(Hat a large per cent of the
specimens are too small for
their age, his first suspicion
will be that there are too
many fish for the carrying
capacity of the lake.
'Similarly, he will be more
concerned about finding too
many deer in an area than too
few, since he knows that the
excess deer will reduce the
fdod supplies to the extent
that In future years that same
range will have a lower carry
ing capacity for deer. On the
other hand, a smaller number
ot deer would have meant
larger animals and these
would produce more fawns
per year.
Unfortunately, most hunt
ers remember only the bump
er years In the production of
pame, he It bird or mammal,
and use this as a yardstick
from season to season.
Look Back io 19SB
In Oregon, pheasant gun
ners look back on the sudden
mushrooming bird population
of 1958 and the heavy bag of
birds brought home during
that season. This is the yard
stick by which they measure
succeeding seasons, and any
thing less results In grum
bling. Last year Oregon deer hunt
ers recorded a record break
ing harvest of almost 165.000
deer and in the future will
undoubtedly accept anything
less as being a poor season
and evidence of depleted deer
herds. However, mild winters
of the past eight years failed
to take its annual toll, allow
ing hprds to build beyond the
carrying rapacity. They forget
that In 1953 more than 1 05.
nno doer were taken - con
sidered by all to be an excel
lent season - and that in 1948
less than 40.000 animals were
taken, also considered a good
season at the time.
The peak in Oregon's mule
drpr herd population was
probably reached in 1955
while the hlack'ail herds con
tinue to climb Data tolhered
o:i all ranges show these
trends.
Averaae Deer Density
In 1947 on the blacktail
ranees of western Oregon the
averace deer density overall
was 1 1 deer per mile as re
corded on the permanent sam
ple route. The trend has been
generally upward since, reach
ing the highest ever recorded
at 4 8 deer per mile in the
19fi2 census. .
Mule deer herd trends
show a similar pattern, peak
ing in 1935 at an average
density of 14 5 deer per mile
on t'ie winter ranges of east
ern Orecon, compared to 1947
censu nf 9 9 drer per mile,
and he l!r,2 census of 113
dper p r niiie.
F'ttc'natmns hvp occurred
en all ranges during the years.
but the general trend was up
until 1835, followed by
tapering trend to the present.
For the first time In eight
years, eastern Oregon game
populations suffered a severe
winter, with temperatures
dropping to 35 below. It re-
Castro Tightens
Controls Over
Consumer Goods
Havana -IUPD- Premier Fi
del Castro's revolutionary re
gime tightened controls on
consumer goods today to halt
a wave of panic buying ap
parently inspired by the U. S.
arms blockade.
Storekeepers were instruct
ed to limit sales of emergen
cy lighting supplies to one
quart of lamp alcohol and
three candles per family with
infant children. Even in these
limited quantities, storekeep
ers were allowed to sell only
to their regular customers.
Neigh borhood vigilante
committees were alerted to
help enforce the order.
Ration List Extended
The new restriction extend
ed a ration list which already
included milk, many foods,
soap and other staple house
hold goods In shortage-ridden
Cuba.
Housewives flocked to su
permarkets and neighborhood
groceries Wednesday to stock
up on lighting supplies de
spite President Kennedy's
statement that the blockade
would not affect the necessi
ties of life and Castro's state
ment that his regime could
furnish the people's needs.
The buyers apparently fear
ed that the blockade might
soon be extended to cut off
the oil imports needed to run
the power plants which sup
ply electricity o Havana's
homes.
Shelves Almost Bare
Grocery shelves also were
swept clear of unrationed
foodstuffs despite government
broadcasts warning against
hoarding.
Even coffee was unavaila
ble in this coffee - growing
country.
The general pace of mili
tary preparations in Havana
accelerated Wednesday, with
the emplacement of machine
guns and other .antiaircraft
weapons on rooftops in many
parts of the city.
A Russian-made tank which
had been stationed outside
armed forces headquarters
was moved elsewhere, and
the patrol boats which had
been operating about a mile
off the waterfront disappeared.
mained cold for two weeks or
more, and snow in some areas
was heavy.
Qual Hard Hit
Quail populations were hird
hit in southeastern Oregon,
destroying entire coveys In
some areas and in general re
ducing bird numbers to a bare
minimum. However, this sea
son brood production was
good and hunters are finding
good numbers of quail, illus
trating how populations snap
back with determination.
.Other game was equally
hard hit. Frigid temperatures
took a toll of pheasants and
partridge. Even rabbits in
some areas had a hard go of
it. Deer, too, were hard hit on
several winter ranges. Some
winter losses were felt In cen
tral Oregon and in the Klam
ath area, but hardest hit were
the ranges in Malheur and
Harney counties of southeast
ern Oregon and on some
ranges in the northeast part
of the state.
Hunters were advised of
these losses late last spring
when they were informed that
forked-horn deer and year
lings would be found in fewer
numbers on these ranges this
fall.
Not Without Disaster
You can't stockpile game
without disaster. A combina
tion of favorable circum
slances resulted in the stock
piling of deer on all ranges in
eastern Oregon for the past
eight to ten years. The in
evitable Is bound to hanpen,
and for the first lime since
the stockpiling began a severe
winter on some of these
ranges may have accomplish
ed what game managers have
been trying to accomplish for
a number of years.
Habitat and carrying capa
city being what they are the
bumper crops are the excep
tion rather than the rule.
If any species could stock
pile, the accumulated annual
gains would produce a plague
within a few year's time. But
it doesn't happen that way for
the annual fall surplus, ex
cept under unusual circum
stances, cannot survive to the
following spring. And hunting
does no more than take part
of the annual surplus. As a
result, hunting success will
vary.
BREAKS RECORD
L o n d o n-WPII-Shin Keum
Dan of North Korea cracked
the existing record for the
women's world 400 meter run
Wednesday with a time of
51.9 seconds. The clocking,
which eclipsed the 53.4 sec
onds held by Russia's Maria
Itkina. will, not be officially
recognized because North Ko
rea is not a member of the
International Amateur Ath
letic Federation.
Low Accident Rate
Noted Last Year
Salem (LTD Oregon record
ed the second lowest accident
frequency rate in Its history
in the fiscal year which end
ed In June, the Industrial Ac
cident commission said today.
The rate was 36.3. The low
est rate on record was 36.1 In
the 1960-61 fiscal year.
The quequency Is based on
each one million man hours
worked.
The low figures are more
significant coupled with the
fact that Oregon has expand
ed industrially, the commis
sion said. It added thta "in
dustry and labor have caught
the significance of planned
safety procedures."
The accident frequency in
1932 was a high 72.2 per mil
lion man hours, and has been
declining since.
Oregon's biggest Industry,
lumber, records the largest
number of industrial deaths,
but the commission noted
thta in the 1961-62 fiscal year
fatalities totaled 48. Ten years
ago the total of lumbering fa
talities was 86.
Total fatalities In 1961-62
were 116, compared to 143 a
decade ago.
Police Check Two
Accidents in City
Vehicles operated by Rob
ert Leroy Larson, 30, of 1024
East Jackson St., and Kay
Louise Saffell, 26, of 524
Pearl St., collided about 7:55
o'clock this morning on Jack
son st. between Hawthorne
ave. and Genessee st. No in
juries were reported, police
said, and no citations were is
sued. Richard Douglas Larson, 16,
of 3278 Madrona ave., was
cited for failure to yield the
right of way after his car col
lided with a vehicle operated
by Keith Gordon Thompson,
29, of 531 Haven St., about
2:55 p.m. Wednesday at Oak
and Haven sts. No Injuries
were reported, police said.
Short on Agriculture
'Hall of Fame' Board
Salem flTPD Oregon Agri
culture! Director James F.
Short has been named to the
board of governors of the pro
posed agricultural "Hall of
Fame" near Kansas City, Mo.
Purpose of the facility, not
yet constructed, is to memo
rialize U.S. agriculture.
Chairman of the board of
governors is Oliver S. Will
ham, Kansas City, Mo.
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Key West Outpost
Ready for Attempt
To Run Blockade
Key West, Fla. - OTD - This
small but lethal U.S. outpost
only 90 miles from Cuba was
wrapped In a watch-and-wait
atmosphere today with the
Army, Air Force and Marines
in apparent readiness to halt
any attempt to run the Cuban
blocokade.
The city baseball sladium,
under preparation for the past
four days, was occupied by a
large convoy of Army trucks
which rolled in Wednesday
night with weapons and equip
ment - but few troops.
The Air Force and Marines
were hidden behind high
fences and tight security at
the Boca Chica Naval Air Sta
tion and the Navy seaplane
base here.
Train Arrives
A long train, which Includ
ed Pullman cars with troops
and flatcars loaded with
equipment pulled into Home
stead Air Force Base (Miami)
early today. Although no of
ficial announcement would be
made, it was understood that
they would be sent here to
day. Military officials still re
fused to discuss troop or
equipment shifts, but it was
apparent Wednesday that
equipment for the thousands
of troops here was still com
ing on strong.
"Scrambles" by supersonic
jet fighters, however, appar
ently slacked off Wednesday.
The jets had been taking off
in pairs, about every 30 min
utes earlier in the week.
Wednesday night's convoy
was the third lo arrive during
the day. Another group of
trucks bearing equipment ar
rived shortly after midday,
and a small group of civilian
trucks arrived later. The
civilian vehicles had "explo
sives" marked on the side in
big letters.
Photographers Retained
Security tightened even
more than during the first
part of the week Wednesday
when news p h o t o g raphers
were retained at a Navy se
curity building in front of the
seaplane base and released
after they were told not to
take any mora photographs of
the area.
The Federal Aviation Au
thority has clamped down on
all civilian flights in the area
and required flight plans be
approved by military authori
ties before takeoff.
Armed Forces in France on Alert If Crisis Spreads
Paris -ilW- France nut lis
armed forces on alert today
to be ready for action should
the Cuban crisis spread to
Europe.
No. 2 alert orders went out
lo French forces after a half
hour meeting of the Defense
Council Wednesday night un
der the chairmanship of Pres
ident Charles de Gaulle.
No. 2 alert is the final stage
before general mobilization.
It includes preparing list of
key reserve officers who
would he recalled lo the col
ors at once in case of general
mobilization.
French air force units, par
ticularly those In the Hheims
and Dijon regions of eastern
France, were ordered to stand
by for a possible full alert.
Similar orders were flashed
to airborne troops and marine
units.
Ordered at Precaution
French government sources
said none of these moves
could be considered as spec
tacular and that they were
ordered simply as a precau
tion. The sources said De Gaulle
has voiced optimism that a
nuclear conflict is unlikely.
He was said to have told
the cabinet that he Is hopeful
the Cuban crisis ultimately
will he settled wilhou' war.
He is reported to feel that
President Kennedy will
emerge with increased pres
tige from the situation.
SHIP IT USME
to or from Otklind, San Fran
eiuo. Lot Angelet and other
California points.
Call
Jack
Fitzgerald
Effective, Responsible Leadership
ED
BRANCHFIELD
crn for State
Representative
'Vote for three, including me'
Pi. Pet. Ad., Brenchfleld lor State Rep. Comm., Sam Harbiien, Chmn., 2125 Orchard Heme Drive.
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D
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