B®QJ)QSD&KL&IT

Number 6

Legal Opinion

Restricts Use

Df Refuge Funds

The Attorney General has ruled

hat all funds received from min-

;ral exploration on the Roeke-

'eller Foundation Wildlife Refuge

md Game Preserve must be ex-

>ended for the purpose of mainte-

lance and policing of the preserve,

rhis was announced recently by

Conservation Commissioner Joseph

j. McHugh in answer to consid-

irable speculation that funds from

)il that may be discovered on the

Preserve could be used for the

>peration of the Conservation De-

jartment.

The opinion was requested by

Hale Boggs, Attorney for the Con-

servation Department. The At-

torney General's opinion stated

;hat proceeds from the Preserve

shall be deposited in the State

Treasury earmarked into a spe-

jial fund to be used for the ex-

slusive purpose of preserving the

wild game life on the refuge. The

Act of Donation by the Rocke-

feller Foundation to the State

provided also that any available

surplus above the amount neces-

sary for policing and maintaining

the preserve, may be used for

public education and public

health.

The Conservation Department

has received $89,350.00 from the

granting of a permit to conduct

mineral exploration on the pre-

serve, and this has been deposited

in the State Treasury in a special

fund. This is the amount bid by

the Humble Oil and Refining Com-

pany for the exploration lease

on the 85,000 acre Rockefeller

Foundation Wildlife Preserve. The

lease became effective March 1

and is for 100 days, at the end

of which time the State Mineral

Board is expected to offer it for

public bidding for development

purposes.

.. .

Louisiana's official Bird, The Pelican. This picturesque photograph

was taken at the bird's natural breeding ground, Brown Pelican Hatch-

ery on North Island in St. Bernard Parish.

Southern Foresters Urge Public

Aid to Curb Forest Fires

(PHOTOS ON PAGE 7)

Adoption of resolutions urging

the public to actively support the

appropriation of four million dol-

lars in the national agricultural

appropriation bill as approved by

the bureau of the budget for

co-operative forest fire control and

urging passage of Senate Bill 45

which provides authorization for

the federal government to give

stronger financial assistance to the

extension of forest fire control to

all of the state and privately

owned forest lands in the United

States, were features of the an-

nual convention of Southern State

Foresters held in New Orleans,

Thursday, Friday and Saturday,

April 15, 16 and 17.

In the resolution the 12 South-

ern state foresters said, "having

passed through the most severe

spring fire season of record is

self-evident that adequate forest

fire control continues to be the

most pressing forest problem need-

ing immediate attention."

The Forestry Division of the

Louisiana Department of Conser-

vation was hosts to the gathering

and M. H. Anderson, Louisiana

State Forestry, took an active

part in the proceedings.

Feature of the Friday session

was an address by Governor SamJones. Forester Anderson intro-

duced Conservation Commissioner

(Continued to Page 7, Column 1)

State's Natural

Resources Cited

By Gov. Jones

Speaking before the annual con-

vention of the Louisiana Police

Jury Association in Lafayette,

Wednesday, April 28th, Governor

Sam Jones, outlined an eight

point program for the future of

Louisiana and its people.

Placing the conservation of

Louisiana's vast natural resources

first in importance, the Governor

urged, among other things, utili-

zation of additional marsh lands

so that the fur industry of the

State may be doubled. He stated

that continued protection and de-

velopment of Louisiana's resources

to its greatest advantage would

result in increasing oil reserves

and the establishment of greater

refineries within the State.

He urged the replenishment and

restoration of fish, oyster, shrimp,

game and other wild life, both for

commercial and sporting purposes

in order to increase the attrac-

tiveness of the State for out-of-

state tourists and visitors, as well

as creating new business.

The first two points in the Gov-

ernor's suggested program for a

Greater Louisiana pertaining to

conservation and utilization of

natural resources are as follows:

'First. I suggest that we adopt

program of land utilization.

Louisiana has a total of 29,000,000

acres of land, only 6,000,000 of

hich is now in cultivation, I

therefore propose:

"(A) That a drainage program

be inaugurated which will bring

into cultivation an additional 5,-

000,000 acres of the richest allu-

vial lands in Louisiana.

"(B) That the fur industry be

doubled by utilizing additional

marsh lands providing the proper

j

vegetation and fresh water.

(Continued to Page S, Column 3)

LOUISIANA CONSERVATIONIST

SAM H. JONESGovernor of Louisiana

JOSEPH L. McHUGHConservation Commissioner

LOUISIANA CONSERVATIONISTPublished Monthly in the interest of conservation by the

Louisiana Department of Conservation126 Civil Courts Building, New Orleans, La.

John L. Conner Isaac D. ChapmanExecutive Assistant to Commissioner Editor

Permission for publication of all material in this issue is granted on condition that we receive marked copies and that credit be givenany illustrations reproduced. Contributions and photographs will be welcomed. Each should be accompanied by stamped return enve-lope. Proper credit will be given on all material accepted.

Volume 1 MAY, 1943 Number

By JOS. L. McHUGH

During recent weeks, it has been incumbent upon me as Com-missioner, to attend two national conferences pertaining to the im-portant problem of increasing the nation's oil production. At boththe Interstate Oil Compact Commission Conference held in Wichita,Kansas, and the National Conference of Petroleum Authorities heldin Washington, the seriousness of the oil situation was impressed uponus. To help alleviate this situation, and to stimulate the search fornew oil reserves, Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, who is Pe-troleum Coordinator for the nation, has been trying to get a sub-stantial increase in the price of crude oil. The OPA has not doneanything about it, and in view of the President's recent "hold the

line" order, reports from Washington indicate that the OPA will turndown the request. The seriousness of this oil problem cannot be over-emphasized. Many high petroleum authorities share the opinion that

the nation faces a critical shortage of current producible oil whichwill hamper the war effort. The crux of the problem lies in the fact

that drilling and operation costs have constantly risen while the price

of crude oil has remained at a low level. Under these circumstances,the oil drilling business, which at its best, has always been a big

gamble, has now become even less attractive to independent oil

operators and investors, with the result that many oil operators havecurtailed their activities, putting their money into farm lands andother investments. In addition, the oil industry is confronted withthe problems of obtaining necessary materials, such as steel, and like-

wise the manpower shortage, both of which are equally as serious in

other industries throughout the nation. The solution of such prob-lems in a democracy naturally takes time, but I am confident thatthey will eventually be worked out for the best interests of the entire

nation.

The Louisiana Press Association is holding its annual conventionin Opelousas on May 7th and 8th, and I want to take this occasion to

again express my appreciation to the newspapers of Louisiana fortheir fine cooperation in helping us to publicise the importance of con-servation in time of war. Time and again in this war the press of thenation and of Louisiana have performed outstanding feats of publicservice. To the newspapers goes the credit for the tremendous successof the nation's scrap drive and the more recent history-making thirteenbillion dollar war bond drive. The Louisiana Press performed public

service of the highest type in both of these undertakings. My hat I]

off to you, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Fourth Estate.

Considerable publicity has been directed recently toward thli

apparent pending doom of the Singer Preserve in Northeast Louisianaas a wildlife refuge due to the fact that the virgin timber on thsPreserve is rapidly being cut out for use in the war effort. Thl)

Conservation Department is thoroughly conversant with the situationand has not been asleep on the job. Repeated efforts have been madto save this tract of land without success. We know, for example, tha;

the highest authorities in Washington, including the President of thl

United States, have been acquainted with the situation, and have bee?unable to do anything about it. The President personally wroteletter to Secretary of the Interior Ickes, who is in charge of thl

United States Fish and Wildlife Service, asking him to do whateve^possible under the conditions to save at least a part of this uniquotract. Pressed by war time demands, Congress has refused to apprcjpriate any funds for this purpose, and there again the matter has bee:stymied. We are making an effort of our own to purchase some parof this tract for a State Wildlife Refuge with Pittman-Robertson lan.i

acquisition funds, and the matter is still in the negotiation stagei

During the years that the Department has protected the Singer PreJ

serve, large concentrations of deer and turkey have been developeeon these lands. The cut-over lands are supporting this wildlife asresult of the protection given by the Department. We have mad!every effort to save and protect this area but conditions beyond oujcontrol make it impossible for the Department to do any more.

CHINA ASKS FOR ANDRECEIVES SOMELOUISIANA SLASHPINE SEED

The Division of Forestry of the

Louisiana Department of Conser-

vation recently received a request

from the Director of the National

Bureau of Forest Research, Chung-king, Szechuan, China, asking for

a small amount of Louisiana Slash

Pine Seed to be used for experi-

mental purposes by the Chinese

Government.

The request came through the

Southern Forest Experiment Sta-

tion.

In accordance with this request,

M. H. Anderson, Director of the

Forestry Division, stated that twopounds of Slash Pine Seed has

been forwarded to the United

States Forest Service who will

send same to the Chinese Embassyfor shipment to China.

GAME COMMISSIONERSTO MEET IN ATLANTAThe Southeastern Association o<

Game and Fish Commissioner!will hold a meeting in Atlantai

Georgia on May 24, 25 and 261

according to word received by thi

Louisiana Department of Conser J

vation.

Federal officials of the Unitei

States Fish and Wildlife Serviiand conservation officials fronthe States of Louisiana, ArkansasTennessee,- Alabama, Kentucky!Mississippi, Florida, GeorgiaSouth Carolina, North Carolina

and Virginia are expected to atl

tend the meeting.

Major James Brown, Directo:

of the Wildlife and Fisheries Division and Captain J. G. AppelDirector of the Enforcement Division, plan to attend the meeting

as representatives from LouisianaW. F. Dearman, Director of th<

Fish and Game CommissionMississippi is President of the Association.

LOUISIANA CONSERVATIONIST Three

Commercial Fishing in State)uring First Year of the WarA report on the take of the

•esh and salt water fishery prod-

its of Louisiana for 1942, the

rst year of the war, just corn-

led by the Conservation Depart-

ent gives an interesting sidelight

: the effect of the war on com-ercial fishing in Louisiana, whenimpared with the record for the

evious two years.

A complete compilation of the

•oduction for the years 1940,

)41, and 1942, is published at

e bottom of this page. The com-irison is very interesting.

Generally, it shows that the

ke and value of what is consid-

ed fresh water fish was higher

1942 than in the two years

evious.

Most salt water fish, with the

itable exceptions of such species

catfish, speckled sea trout, red

h and common salt water fish,

owed decreases over 1941.

Shrimp production in Louisiana

so showed a slight drop in 1942er 1941, although it was an in-

ease over the year 1940.Shrimp production in Louisianar the past three years, based onports kept by the Conservationjpartment, show the following;ures

:

1941 production, 108,210,133pounds.

1940 production, 83,409,675pounds.

1942 production, 107,513,463pounds.

While the take of shrimp for

1942 was less than that of 1941,

the value of the shrimp showed aconsiderable increase last yearover 1941.

The report on the sale of an-gling licenses for 1942 is not com-plete due to the fact that sometwenty parishes have not as yetreported their sales to the Con-servation Department. However,based on the reports already in,

and from indications the Depart-ment has received on the sale of

licenses for fishing in the variousparishes, there is every reason to

indicate an increase over the 47,-

000 fishing licenses sold in 1941.

SEVEN MINERAL HEARINGSHELD TUESDAY, MAY 4TH

The Commissioner of Conserva-tion and his staff of mineraltechnicians conducted seven min-eral hearings on Tuesday, May 4th,

at the Monteleone Hotel in NewOrleans.

The hearings included the ap-

plication of the Midstates Oil

Corporation for an exception to

Section 2, Order number 35; the

application of M. H. Marr and G.H. Vaughn for the issuance of an

order and permit to dually com-plete and produce oil or gas froma well in the Golden MeadowField; the application of the Car-ter Oil Company and Phillips

Petroleum Company for adoptionof rules and regulations andmethod of allocation of allowableproduction in the Elm Ridge Field

in LaSalle Parish.

Also heard was the application

of C. I. Production Company, Inc.,

for issuance of an order to duallycomplete and produce oil or gasfrom the Company's Samuel HaasEstate Number 2 well in the PinePrairie Field; the application ofRoy Lee, Trustee, for the issuance

of an order to dually complete the

Crowell-Spencer Number 2 well in

the Pine Pairie Field; the appli-

cation of the Midstates Oil Cor-

poration and T. L. James Com-pany for issuance of an integra-

tion order pooling these property

interests for production of oil andgas from the Pettit Zone of the

Haynesville Field.

ELEVEN PER CENTDECREASE IN FUR

Although complete figures are

not available, there is an indicated

1 1 per cent decrease in the pro-

duction of fur in Louisiana dur-

ing the 1942-43 season as com-pared with the previous 1941-42

season. This is considerable less

than was expected, due to the un-seasonably warm weather duringthe recent trapping season.

Tri-State Mineral

Hearing Scheduled

For Rodessa Field

A tri-state hearing of oil regu-latory bodies of Louisiana, Texasand Arkansas, will be held in

Shreveport on Wednesday, May12th, at 10:00 A. M. in the Wash-ington-Youree Hotel, for the pur-pose of adopting uniform rules

for the operation of the RodessaField.

The hearing will be conductedby Conservation CommissionerJoseph L. McHugh and represen-tatives of the Regulatory Bodiesfrom Texas and Arkansas will

join in the hearing with the ideaof adopting, as far as practicable,

uniform rules for the three states

as affects the Rodessa Field.

On the same day in Shreveport,the Minerals Division will also holdhearings on fields in Caddo Parish.

These include the application ofthe Stewart Oil Company for theissuance of an integration orderfor the pooling of property in-

terests for the production of oil

and gas from the Pettit Zone ofthe Shreveport Field; the appli-cation of the Bering Oil Companyfor a permit to drill Noel Unitnumber 2 well in Caddo Parish;and the application of J. M. Har-per, Jr., for permit to drill Lane-Jordan Number 1 well in CaddoParish.

VALUE AND "TAKE" OF FRESH AND SALT WATER FISHERIES OF LOUISIANA

esh Water Fish1940

Production

rtfish 2,671,553 lbs.Jspergou 835,588'oonbill 66,690iffalo 2,347,506•esh Water Turtles 126,655esh Water Shrimp 1,455,220ogs 1,286,016•ayfish 284,185iscellaneous 460,207

5aby" Green Turtles 2,961,514 Trtls.:rrapins 5,466 doz.irimp Hulls 406,485 lbs.

W. F. Species 9,533,620 lbs.

iscellaneous: includes Gars, German Carps, Drums, etc.

dt Water Fish:

1941Value Production

240,439.77 2,864,363 lbs.

41,779.40 842,54110,003.50 42,728

112,375.30 2,421,56718,998.25 123,857

145,522.00 1,041,715321,504.00 817,57522,734.80 172,11923,010.35 649,441

29,615.14 1,719,730 Trtls81,990.00 1,674 doz.8,136.90 255,128 lbs.

1,056,109.41 8,975,906

Value

358,045.3742,552.467,263.76

173,725.3618,578.55

125,005.80204,396.2517,211.9051,055.28

17,197.3030,132.005,102.56

1942Production

3,433,928 lbs.

904,08672,977

3,161,029104,030147,201746,256872,840762,330

2,046,262 Trtls.

620 doz.301,800 lbs.

Value

549,428.4872,326.883,648.85

316,102.907,282.10

25,024.17186,564.0069,827.2030,493.20

20,462.6212,400.0015,090.00

itfish

S. Trout:d Fisheepsheadounderslappersminion S. W. Fish,lit Water Turtles..

110,480 lbs.

221,319232,69864,68995,821

184,131191,67128,563

•abmeat 1,659,537

8,838.4033,197.8518,615.845,175.129,582.10

18,413.109,583.551,701.78

414,884.25

95,392 lbs.

141,968218,10680,859

124,542210,792230,58836,213

2,389,285

$ 1,051,166.59

9,539.2021,295.2021,810.608,085.90

14,945.0421,079.2018,447.042,897.04

716,785.50

10,506,477 lbs.

2,046,262 Trtls620 Terrapins doz

$ 1,308,650.40

W. Species 2,788,709 lbs.

ard Shell Crabs 1,794,555 doz.)ft Shell Crabs 63,938 doz.

102,152 lbs.

341,605348,11546,96578,056

383,907276,03635,158

1,238,135

5,107.6068,321.0052,217.254,696.50

11,708.4088,296.6122,082.883,551.80

619,067.50

$ 519,991.99269,183.2553,938.00

$ 843,113.24

3,527,745 lbs.

2,177,743 doz.73,868 doz.

$ 834,884.72544,435.7581,254.80

$ 1,460,575.27

2,850,129 lbs.

1,578,365 doz.57,644 doz.

875,049.54338,220.0086,466.00

2,814,971 lbs. Fish $1,299,735.541,636,009 Crabs doz.

LOUISIANA CONSERVATIONIST

CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT'SQUAIL HATCHERIES READYFOR BUSY SEASON

Production of quail at the Con-

servation Department's Louisiana

State quail hatchery near BatonRouge for the 1942 season is un-

der way, and the goal this year is

6,000 quail. Announcement to

this effect was made last week by

Consei-vation Commissioner Joseph

L. McHugh, following a confer-

ence with Major James Brown,Director of the Department's Di-

vision of Wildlife and Fisheries.

This is the first seasonal opera-

tions at the Louisiana State quail

hatchery since the new $35,000brooder house and hatchery wereconstructed last year. With the

new equipment, this hatchery is

now considered one of the finest

of its kind in the entire country.

The Conservation Department also

operates two smaller hatcheries at

Natchitoches and Lacombe. Whenthese hatcheries operate at full

capacity, it can produce more than

12,000 birds a year.

More than 2,500 quail from

last year's stock, has been dis-

tributed throughout the state dur-

ing the past few weeks. About650 quail has been retained for

breeding stock at the various

hatcheries.

The stock has been improved in

the past year by highly selective

culling as well as the purchase of

new stock from outside sources

so that birds from this year's

hatch should be the healthiest

produced in years.

The flock is kept in a battery

of 100 "holding pens", where the

birds are in groups of 20 to 25,

segregated by sexes. Following

the spring releases, the birds are

paired off and placed one pair to

a pen in the approximately 200breeding pens.

In explaining the procedure that

is followed, Major Brown stated,

that within two weeks to a monthafter being placed in the breeding

pens the birds will start to lay andeach hen will produce approxi-

mately 60 eggs and some will pro-

duce more than 100 eggs each be-

fore stopping. In wild natural

surroundings the quail generally

raises one brood a year, laying 15

to 20 eggs for the setting.

Therefore, the artificial sur-

roundings and the practice of re-

moving the eggs daily tricks

mother quail into laying the en-

tire year's output consecutively.

The eggs cannot be held for

more than eight to 10 days with-

out reducing the degree of fer-

tility, so at periods of no longer

than this maximum eggs are in-

troduced into the large, electrical-

ly operated incubator. This in

cubator will hold 7000 eggs. It is

a special bit of equipment de

signed for this purpose.

The eggs are in the incubator

for 19 days, when they are trans-

fered to a smaller incubator with

specially built trays so that the

young birds as they hatch out

find their radius of operations

closely restricted. This, it seems,

is due to the fact that the youngquail practically hits the tray run-

;

..-.. ;.. , .

Mating pens for egg production and holding pens for young quail.

Upper photograph shows side view of the five Brooder Wings of thequail hatchery; lower; a front view of the incubator, office, feed andwork rooms.

ning and within a few momentsof emerging into this world he is

ready to operate at very high

speeds.

When removed from the incuba-

tor the young quail are placed in

battery brooders similar to those

used for young chickens. Butthese wards of the state have a

hotel system that consists of five

wings in which are 20 brooders

each. When they are old enoughto withstand the rigors of fresh

air, the back ends of the brooder

pens are raised, which gives wayto a modern, sunswept, back porch

on which the youngsters can

frolic at will.

Here in this modern concrete

and metal nursery the young quail

are kept for five to six weeks,

during which they become fully

feathered and are grown up in

every way but size. They are

then placed in the holding pens

where within the next few weeksthey attain their full maturity

°.nd late in fall about half of the

crop is selected for release.

When released some of the

birds are sent to the four experi-

mental sections in different parts

if the state where field biologists

are stationed.

Others are released on public

hunting grounds to bolster the

quail crop in any areas where it

may be "slipping" due to over-

hunting or other causes. Andfinally many of the birds are

turned over to Louisiana wildlife

federation clubs who release themin understocked areas throughout

the state.

CLOSED SEASON ONFROGS DURING MAY

While many people may not be

aware of it, there is a closed sea-

son on the taking and selling of

bull-frogs and lagoon frogs dur-

ing the entire months of April andMay.

THANK YOU, CHICAGO,BUT WE HAVE SOMEALLIGATORS

The Department of Conservi

tion has received an offer froi

the Chicago Zoological Park t

supply Louisiana with some sv!

plus alligators they have in thei

possession.

The letter from the director 6

the park to J. N. Gowanloch, Chit

Biologist of the Division of WiHlife and Fisheries Division, msithe offer, in the following words

"We have here four or five huidred alligators—animals of asizes. These have been broug^to us by people traveling in th

South and if it is the plan of th

State of Louisiana to introduc

alligators in proper places, I worder if you could use some of the?

animals. We would be glad t

crate them carefully and delivt-

them at the express office £a

shipment wherever you wish."

The answer is thanks, just th

same for thinking about us, br

we have plently of alligators i

Louisiana, some in proper place

and some not so proper!

CHICOT STATE PARKTO OPEN ON JUNE 6TH

Chicot State Park, located eigk

miles northeast of Ville Platti

will open this summer for the firii

time, on June 6th, it has been ai

nounced by William Wells, Actin

Director of the State Parks Conmission.

A beautiful lake, comprisim

some 2,000 acres, has recentli

been completed. The park wihave 10 cabins completely fu:

nished, boats for rent, picn

tables, barbecue pits, and oth(

conveniences.

LOUISIANA CONSERVATIONIST Five

Dam Building Beavers Thrive in Louisiana Under

Protection of Conservation DepartmentNot many people in Baton*

Rouge know it, but there were

;o many beavers in East Baton

Rouge Parish last fall that it was

recessaiy to remove some of them

to other areas because farmers

were complaining that the beavers

were eating up their corn crops.

The Conservation Department,

through Captain J. G. Appel,

Chief Enforcement Officer, dis-

patched several agents to work

in East Baton Rouge Parish and

for a period of time these agents

were busily engaged in trapping

the beavers and transferring them

to other areas where their num-

bers are not so great.

This work was under the super-

vision of Jake Wolfley, Conser-

vation ranger, who is now in the

Navy. Over a period of several

weeks, Ranger Wolfley and his

assistants trapped over 18 beavers

on the Amite River between BayWood and Grangeville in East

Baton Rouge Parish and they were

later released in the Tangipahoa

River area.

Investigation last fall showed

that rows of corn nearest the

river had been eaten by the beav-

ers, who emerge from their habi-

tats, attack the corn stalks and

then take the corn back home with

them.

You haven't heard much about

the beaver in Louisiana recently,

simply because of the fact that

they are not as numerous as the

muskrat or some of our other fur

bearing animals. As a matter of

fact, while the beaver is not as

plentiful as in years past, they

have managed to survive remark-

ably well, because of the fact that

for the past twenty years or more,

the Department of Conservation

has rigidly protected these animals

by closed seasons and constant

surveillance so that today in the

parishes of East Feliciana, St.

Helena, East Baton Rouge, and

Livingston, along the Amite and

Comite Rivers and their tribu-

taries, the beaver continues to

abide in large numbers.

In telling of his experiences

while engaged in trapping the

beavers, former Ranger Wolfley,

made these observations:

Although a majority of the

beaver trapped were small, weigh-

ing from fifteen to thirty pounds,

he nevertheless found some to

weigh from forty to sixty-five and

even eighty pounds.

"In my experience with the

beaver," stated Wolfley, "I have

This is the type trap used for trapping live Beaver.

Transfer cage, showing live Beaver being transferred to holding pen.

found him to be, when not ex-

cited, usually friendly, in fact, in

two or three days he can be handfed and handled with compar-atively little danger."

The beaver is a rodent not un-

like the muskrat, except larger,

with compact heavy body, aquatic

and noctura] in its habits. Its

pelage is a soft dense coat of fine

waterproof underfur overlain by

coarse guard hairs, the color vary-

ing from light tan to almost black,

the male being darker than the

female.

One characteristic of the beaver

is its cleanliness. It can often be

seen washing and combing its soft

fur with the claws of its webbedhind feet, this being accomplished

by the double combing claws which

can be found immediately beneath

the nail of the two inside claws.

The fore-feet are also used in this

operation.

The thing most distinguishable

about the beaver is its tail; broad,

flat and hairless, which has caused

much discussion as to its use.

Many believe it is used in trans-

porting mud to be used in dammaking. However, nothing has

been found to substantiate this

belief.

The menu of the beaver is also

similiar to that of the muskrat.

The beaver being strictly vega-

tarian lives only on roots, barks

and various plant life. His tastes,

however, lean toward corn on the

cob, (which caused the farmers

complaint in East Baton RougeParish)

,green willow bark, and

roots, maple, aspen, and cotton-

I

(Continued to Page S, Column 4)

.j.

Close-up of the native Louisiana Beaver, showing texture of fui

Louisiana protects its animal life through wise conservation. There

for more than twenty years.

. The Beaver is an example of howhas been a closed season on beaver

LOUISIANA CONSERVATIONIST

* ****

*

News of Meetings and Activities of

Louisiana Wildlife Federation Clubs

^*******#*********************-X-*-X-***-3(-*'J!-****-3«-****5;

(Editor's Note—Under this

heading we will publish

each month reports of meet-ings of the various conser-

vation and sportsmen or-

ganizations in the state, or

other reports of their ac-

tivities. We invite the va-

rious units of the Louisiana

Wildlife Federation to makeuse of this medium to in-

form the public of their

meetings and activities.)

EAST CARROLL FISHAND GAME ASS'N HOSTTO NOTABLE GATHERING

The East Carroll Fish and GameAssociation was host to a notable

gathering- of state officials andcitizens at its annual meeting andbanquet held in Lake Providence,

Wednesday night, April 14th.

C. W. Lyon, president of the

Fish and Game Association, in

opening the program, told of the

organization's activities in havingthe lake stocked, guarded, andevery effort made to have it

stream filled with fish that wouldbe any fisherman's delight.

Judge Frank Voelker was mas-ter of ceremonies.

Governor Sam Jones discussed

the economic outlook of the Southin an interesting address. TheGovernor brought with him to the

meeting Irvin S. Cobb, noted au-

thor and humorist, who was visit-

ing in Louisiana. Mr. Cobb deliv-

ered a typical humorous Cobbtalk which kept the large crowdin a continual uproar of laughter.

Joseph L. McHugh, Conserva-tion Commissioner, delivered aninspiring address on the impor-tance of conservation in war-time.

A large number of state offi-

cials were guests of the sports-

men's organization at the gath-

ering.

CADDO WILDLIFE GROUPENDORSES BAYOU PROJECT

Ait a well attended meetingTuesday, April 20th, the Caddochapter of the Louisiana -Wildlife

Federation, unanimously endorsedthe Black Bayou dam project andinstructed its president, Dr. A. T.

Johnson, to co-operate in everyway with the Caddo police jury in

plans for the completion of the

dam.

Through courtesy of AlfredGlassell, recently elected vice-

president for the entire southernregion, three newsreels of DucksUnlimited, depicting breeding

grounds in Canada and show-ing the vast amount of work to-

wards improvement were pre-sented. From 30,000,000 ducksin 1937 to 100,000,000 in 1942is the record to date, it wasstated. Much work is needed to

reach the goal of 400,000,000.Committees Named

Dr. Johnson, the president, an-nounced a list of committees forthe current year appointed re-

cently by the board of directors.

The committees are:

Membership and lapsation—F.

A. Cloutier, chairman; Smith Day,F. A. Ellis, Sheriff J. H. Flournoy,Charles Harbuck, Harry Robinson,Holmes Thurmond and N. H. Whe-less.

Entertainment and program

—

Arthur Birdwell, chairman; A. B.

Fife, Charles Home, Will Mercerand James S. Reily.

Legislation and law—P. N.Browne, chairman; Mayor Sam S.

Caldwell, Tom Comegys, S. P.

Cousin, Huffman Lewis and ClaudeProthro.

Publicity—Tom Hope, chair-

man; R. R. Bacon, W. C. Brewer,Dr. George Garrett, H. Lane Mit-chell, John Hunsicker, C. A.Parker, Chester Ray and AshleySibley.

Fish—Bill Bottom, chairman; L.K. Barney, Dr. Dorff Bean, Em-mett Haddad, E. E. Heister, R. C.

Ridgeway and Dr. C. W. Williams.Game and wild fowl^H. C.

Bryant, chairman; Jerome Fer-guson, A. C. Glassell, G. C. Mad-den, W. C. Taylor, H. C. Teacleand R. B. McWilliams.

Reception—A. G. Hammett,chairman; John McW. Ford, Maj.B. A. Hardey, Hunter Huckabay,Dr. Sam Kerlin, Sherwood Loeand Turner Morgan.

State's Oil Allowable CutA slight decrease in the daily

oil allowable for Louisiana duringMay has been ordered by the state

conservation department in fixing

356,170 barrels a day as permittedproduction next month.

This compares with a total of

358,218 barrels a day under the

April allowable, the decrease dur-ing May to be around 2,000 barrels

a day.

Although the total state allow-

able for May has been reducedslightly, th|e allowable for SouthLouisiana has been hiked a little,

South Louisiana's allowable is set

at 271,695 barrels or a little morethan the 270,604 barrels per dayduring April.

Ducks UnlimitedDrive for FundsMaking ProgressA large number of new mem-

bers have become enrolled in

Ducks Unlimited as a result ofthe publicity given to the drivefor new members in the Aprilissue of the Conservationist.

In the third congressional dis-

trict a total of $119.00 has beenraised up to April 29th, withmore funds expected. Conserva-tion agents have assisted in thedrive and have distributed copiesof last month's issue of the Con-servationist which carried detailed

information about the work ofDucks Unlimited.

In the third district, the workof calling the attention of sports-

men and conservationists to thework of Ducks Unlimited was un-der the direction of SupervisorGordy Simon of Lafayette and In-

spector J. C. LeBlanc.The following agents assisted

in this public relation activity:

Wilton DeCuir, Lionell Broussard,Maurice Huval, Charlie Bou-dreaux, Winnie Platsmire, JamesThaxton, Cliff Reeves and Whit-ney Vincent, and Wilfred Landry.Each person subscribing to

Ducks Unlimited becomes a mem-ber of the organization. Thereare no set membership dues andpersons may subscribe accordingto their means whatever theywish. The money is used to im-prove duck hunting. Louisiana hasa particular interest in this workbecause a movement is under wayto create a series of lakes in theCanadian breeding grounds to beknown as Louisiana Lakes.

In Lake Charles, Crowley andJennings, interested sportsmen in

those cities are raising funds forDucks Unlimited and a nice sumof money is in prospect.

The subscription blank whichappeared in the last issue of the

Conservationist is being reprinted

this month for the benefit of those

who may have misplaced their

copy. Richard R. Foster of New.Orleans is Louisiana State Chair-

man of Ducks Unlimited.

CONSERVATIONSEAPLANE AVAILABLEFOR USE IN ANYEMERGENCY

Conservation Commissioner Jo-

seph L. McHugh wants the peopleof Louisiana to know that the'

Department's seaplane is available,

for use in any emergency.During recent months, the sea-

plane, a small two seater, whiclfis capable of landing in smallstreams, has aided in the rescue!

work of several drownings. Theaplane has aided rescue parties att

1

White Lake in Vermilion Parish;;

at Cross Lake in Caddo Parish,,

and at Wildswood in Jefferson

Parish.

The plane has also been usedl

recently in the performances off

various missions for the Coastt

Guard.

Primarily the seaplane is usedl

for patrol activities for the Con-servation Department.

The seaplane may be obtained I

for use in emergencies, such as

rescue work, etc., at any time, bycommunicating with the Conser-

vation Department at its offices in i

New Orleans.

FORESTRY OFFICIALVISITS LOUISIANA

Dr. H. N. Wheeler, of the United ;

States Forestry Service, Washing-ton, D. C, spent the week of May3rd in Louisiana, and delivered a

,

series of lectures under the

auspices of the Forestry Division

of the Department of Conserva-tion.

Dr. Wheeler spoke in Mansfield,

Springhill, Benton, Minden, andJonesboro.

CONTRIBUTE TO DUCKS UNLIMITED-USE THIS SUBSCRIPTION BLANK

DUCKS UNLIMITED, INC.430 Notre Dame Street

New Orleans, La.

I hereby subscribe to Ducks Unlimited, Inc., the

sum of $..

Contribute in accordance with your means. Deductible forIncome Tax.

LOUISIANA CONSERVATIONIST

foresters UrgePublic Aid to

iurb Fires(Continued from Page 1)

oseph L. McHugh, who in turn

resented the Governor.

He dealt briefly with the sub-

ect of farmers whose standard

f living- is below average andaid that their standard of living

as a direct bearing on the man-er in which forest problems muste handled.

Asserting that the South is

eing discriminated against in

reight rates, the governor said,

Too much of it, however, springs

com our own lethargy and in-

bility to solve our own prob-

;ms."

"The sooner we begin to doorae independent thinking andcting and get to the point wherere say, 'We are going to solve

ar own problems,' the sooner weill be solving them independ-

ntly," he said. "We have beenfraid to speak out against in-

lstices; we have developed a sort

f inferiority complex of whiche should be ashamed and for

hich there is no cause."

Lyle Watts, chief of the Unitedtates forest service in Washing-»n, endorsed the governor's ad-

ress and urged each member of

le group to be aggressive in ex-

ressing his thoughts on forestry

id reforestation "for that is howe progress."

The Governor also declared that

ouisiana should have a textbook

on forestry and stated that sucha textbook covering all phases of

Louisiana's natural resources is

now in the course of prepai'ation.

Mr. Watts, at the morning ses-

sion, asserted that there have beenmore fires in the South this yearthan in recent years because "peo-

ple want the forests to burn.

Farmers set fires themselves to

get grazing lands for their cattle,"

he said. "Millions of dollars goup in smoke so that hundreds of

dollars might be made."

Unless the Southern states wakeup to the realization that becauseof lack of funds their forests will

go unprotected these things will

happen

:

"Fires will catch in the forests

near the Southern coastlines andships will be silhouetted against

the horizon for Axis submarines

to torpedo. Navy encampmentswill be in danger of partial or

total destruction by forest fires,

and the future of Southern in-

dustries will burn with every tree

that falls from fire."

The above predictions weremade by Percy Merrill, Montpelier.

Vei'mont, state forester of Ver-

mont and president of the Na-tional State Foresters' Associa-

tion, who was one of the featured

speakers at the convention.

J. S. Holmes of North Carolina

is president of the Southern For-

esters' Association and presided

during the business sessions.

Other speakers at the meetingincluded J. C. Kircher, Regional

Forester of the U. S. Forest Ser-

vice in Atlanta; C. F. Evans, also

Governor Sam Jones addresses the convention of State Foresters.Left to right, Forester Henry J. Malsberger of Florida; Forester MasseyH. Anderson of Louisiana and Governor Jones.

Conservation Commissioner Joseph L. McHugh welcomes forestersLouisiana. In the above photograph, left to right, are J. S. HolmesNorth Carolina, President of the Southern Group of State Foresters;

srry Merrill, Vermont, President of the American Association of Stateiresters; Commissioner McHugh, and Lyle F. Watts, Chief of the• S. Forest Service, Washington, D. C.

of Atlanta, who has charge of

state and private forestry in the

South; Frank Heyward, Jr., man-ager of the Southern PulpwoodConservation Association; Dr.

Clarence G. Korstian, dean of

the school of forestry of DukeUniversity; Brooks Toler, For-ester of the Southern Pine Asso-ciation.

The convention was held in con-

junction with the War and Con-servation Committees of the

Southern Pine Association.

The following state foresters

attended the convention: F. H.

Lang, Arkansas; Glen R. Durell,

Oklahoma; W. E. White, Texas;Albert Leggett, Mississippi; J. 0.

Hazard, Tennessee; Jake Stauffer,

Alabama; H. J. Malsberger, Flor-

ida; W. D. Young, Georgia; Bill

Hammerlee, South Carolina; J. S.

Holmes, North Carolina; Fred Pe-derson, Virginia, and M. H. An-derson, Louisiana.

NEW FORESTRY BOARDNAMED BY GOVERNORA new Forestry Governing

Board has recently been appointedby Governor Sam Jones. Themembers include P. A. Bloomer,Fisher; W. T. Murray, Rochelle;

C. V. Holbrook, DeRidder; Ven-tress S. Young, Bogalusa; RalphW. Hayes, head of Department of

Forestry, Louisiana State Univer-

sity, ex-officio member.Conservation Commissio ner

Joseph L. McHugh is ex-officio

chairman of the Forestry Boardand Massey H. Anderson, Director

of the Forestry Division, is sec-

retary of the board.

Shreveport ManNamed Official of

Ducks Unlimited

Alfred C. Glassell of Shreveportwas elected a vice-president ofDucks Unlimited at a recent meet-ing of the organization held in

New York.

At the meeting, President WillJ. Reid of Long Beach, California,

reported that Ducks Unlimited hadestablished 103 waterfowl nesting-

refuges in Canada covering 1,064,-

000 acres. With a continuing in-

crease of membership of over26,000 the organization will carryon "in fulfillment of an obligation

which we owe to our brother

sportsmen in the service," declared

Mr. Reid.

Warning against the danger of

indiscriminate shooting and un-warranted slaughter of game un-der the guise of increasing thewartime meat supply, Ducks Un-limited calls upon governmentalagencies to permit only normalharvesting of surplus wildlife

"crops."

The warning against any move-ment that might lead to destruc-

tion of the nation's game resources

was issued following the annualmeeting of the organization's

Board of Trustees. State branchesfrom coast to coast are repre-

sented on the board.

Glenn L. Martin, Maryland air-

plane manufacturer and memberof the board, declared that hunt-

ing and fishing were among the

most desirable forms of recreation

for war workeis.

Eight LOUISIANA CONSERVATIONIST

TYPES OF VIOLATIONS WHICHWERE MADE DURING

APRIL, 1943

Angling Without License 16

Using Illegal Tackle to Catch

Game Fish 19

Commercial Pishing Without

License 4

Catching and Possessing

Shrimp in Closed Season 10

Hunting at Night 2

Hunting Out of Season 6

Hunting Deer Out of Season... 2

Hunting Squirrels Out of

Season 1

Trapping Without License 4

Total 64

AGENTS PARTICIPATING IN

APRIL, 1943 ARRESTS

Avery Abshire, Cliff Ardoin,

Angelo Benandi, Charles J. Boud-

reaux, John Busalacchi, Sam J.

Chaze, Ernest Coats, Fred Cook,

Jackson L. Dorsey, W. W. Egan,

C. W. Elam, D. L. Farrar, T. H.

Forman, Jr., E. B. Head, LesmaHebert, Clarence Hood, R. I. Ken-

nedy, John Lestrade, J. V. McCon-nell, Jas. E. McFerrin, Lawrence

Madere, J. 0. Mayeux, Earl Nu-gent. Robert J. Pertuis, H. A.

Pipes, Frank Ragas, Jack Stan-

field, Robert J. Silva, Lawrence

Sintes, Allen J. Swayze, Oliver

Taunton, Frank Trocchiano, Earl

Vaught, Paul Votier, Elton Wil-

liams.

Natchitoches 2

Orleans 1

Ouachita 2

Plaquemines 10

Red River 5

St. James 2

St. John 1

Vermilion 10

Washington 2

Webster 1

Total 64

LOUISIANA

EDITORS VIEWS

PARISHES IN WHICH VIOLA-TIONS OCCURRED AND

ARRESTS MADE INAPRIL, 1943

Avoyelles 1

Bienville 2

Caddo 3

Cameron 2

Concordia 8

DeSoto 3

Evangeline 1

Grant 1

Iberia 1

Jackson 2

Lafourche 1

Livingston 1

Madison 1

MARSH HARECOMPETITION

(From the Shrevenort Journal)

The state of Oklahoma is doing

its best to offer something in the

way of competition for the Loui-

siana marsh hare as a potential

source of meat supply, but the

best it can do is to suggest the

eating of crow meat—and that is

very puny, if you ask for our

opinion. As a matter of fact, wehave never heard of any humanbeing—except a defeated politi-

cian—who "ate crow," and none

of these professed to have a liking

for it. It was always a dish forced

upon them by the sovereign voters.

But now comes Jess Pullen, as-

sistant attorney general of the

Sooner State, pleading that while

the country endures a meat short-

age, "10,000,000 succulent meals

are going to waste in Oklahoma

alone." He wants to kill the

crows, not only because of their

meat, but for the further reason

that they are feasting on the com-

monwealth's war-essential peanut

crop. "It is time," sighs Mr. Pul-

len, "to revive the crow-eating fad

of the early 30's. Why, if I had

the priorities for the dynamite,

and shot to kill them, I'd show you

how to put a crimp in the black

markets with the biggest blackbird

market you can imagine." (In one

paragraph he calls them crows,

and in the next blackbirds.) TheOklahoman then goes on to assert

that "srow meat tastes like roast

duck," leaving us to wonder whyhe does not refer to this nuisance

bird as a "nigger quail," or some-

thing of the sort.

In the days of the depression,

says an Oklahoma City dispatch,

it was this same Jess Pullen who

sang the praises of crow meat so

loudly and so persistently that

some meat dealers stocked it,

luncheon clubs partook of it (with

pictures for the newspapers) and

a few restaurants featured it. But

the fad didn't last long. The old

superstition in regard to "eating

crow" got it down in short order

—and it has stayed down, as it

deserved, ever since. But this at-

tempt to stem the popularity of

our marsh hares, otherwise the

muskrat, will not succeed. Okla-

homa can't put anything over on

the Pelican State when it comes

to providing food for the hungry.

We'll have our own assistant at-

torney general get out an injunc-

tion, or something, unless Jess

Pullen calls off his crusade for

crows.

State's NaturalResources Cited

By Gov. Jones(Continued from Page 1)

"(C) That an intensive forestry

and grazing program be adopted

in the hill land; that cheap sources

of fertilizer and agricultural lime

be developed within the state to

assist in the development of pre-

pared pastures for an increased

cattle business.

"Second, I suggest that the re-

sources of this state be protected

and developed to the greatest ad-

vantage to our people so that

"(A) Our reserves of oil maybe increased and the greatest pos-

sible recovery may be made from

the known reservoirs, and still

greater refineries be established

within our borders.

"(B) That our natural gas maybe protected and preserved for the

primary purpose of developing the

industrial possibilities of the state

instead of piping the gas to dis-

tant sections already richly en-

dowed with fuel reserves, and that

thus a new industrial empire man-

ufacturing synthetic rubber, safe-

ty glass, plastics and solvents be

established.

"(C) That the full extent of

solid minerals may be determined

by our geologists for use in the

ever-expanding chemical and al-

lied industries of the state, and

"(D) That our fish, oyster

shrimp, game and other wild lifei

may be replenished and restoreci

both for commercial and sporting

purposes, increasing the attrao

tiveness of our state for out-of-!

state tourists and visitors, as we^i

as creating new business."

BEAVERS(Continued from Page 5)

wood. The Louisiana Beaver haj:

been found to bark yellow pine

and wild blackberry vines as wea

as numerous hardwoods. Ilf

Northern States, the beaver lives

in huts constructed with mudgrass, vines and sticks, and ir

winter this hut when frozen offers

complete protection against msjf

rauding animals. However, th<.

Louisiana Beaver seems content to.

build its home on the bank of i

small stream, the entrance being

below the surface of the water ana

extending upward toward the livs

ing chamber which is above thfj

level of the stream.

The most characteristic trait ol

the beaver is that of dam building)

Nothing is more closely identifies

with the beaver than his ability

to construct dams. Some dans

have been observed built strong!

enough for three grown men mwalk across, being over 100 feet

long and made entirely of vines; 1

sticks and mud. It is indeed re<

markable to see the type of wort

these busy fellows accomplish

Working from down stream, thej

begin at either side, working to"

ward the middle until the strean

is entirely blocked. They continue

to pile .on sticks, small logs, vineji

and mud until the stream is em

tirely blocked; then they continui

to pile on sticks, small logs, vines;

sods and mud until the stream ii

raised to the desired level. Nffl

only small twigs are used in thai

construction, but observers have

seen logs three to six inches il

diameter and two to four feet 3

length woven into the dams 9expertly that it is impossible fo<

on3 man to pull them out.

Trapping the beaver is,

course, strictly prohibited and thej !

are fully protected by the Stat

and the laws are rigidly enforced

However, the Department of Coifi

servation, from time to time, ha

undertaken the task of thinnin;

out some of the more congeste>

areas and transplanting them t

sections where they will enjo

more freedom and at the sam<

time propagate in parts of th

State where they have heretofor

been scarce.