Our Vanishing Wild Life: Its Extermination and PreservationHornaday, William T. (William Temple)
History
Our Vanishing Wild Life: Its Extermination and Preservation
Hornaday, William T. (William Temple)
Game-laws -- United States; Wildlife conservation -- United States
NEW YORK.--Thanks to the great conservation Governor of this state, John
A. Dix, the year 1911 saw our forest, fish and game business established
on an ideal business basis. Realizing the folly of requiring a single
man to manage those three great interests, and render to each the
attention that it deserves and requires, by a well-studied legislative
act a State Conservation Commission was created, consisting of three
commissioners, one for each of the three great natural departments.
These are salaried officers, who devote their entire time to their work,
and are properly equipped with assistants. The state force of game
wardens now consists of 125 picked men, each on a salary of $900 per
year, and through a rigid system of daily reports (inaugurated by John
B. Burnham) the activities and results of each warden promptly become
known in detail at headquarters.
Fortunately, New York contains a very large number of true sportsmen,
who are ever ready to come forward in support of every great measure for
wild-life protection. The spirit of real protection runs throughout the
state, and in time I predict that it will result in a great recovery of
the native game of the commonwealth. That will be after we have stopped
all shooting of upland game birds and shore birds for about eight years.
Even the pinnated grouse could be successfully introduced over one-third
of the state, if the people would have it so. It was our great body of
conscientious sportsmen who made possible the Bayne-Blauvelt law, and
the new codification of the game laws of the state.
TENNESSEE.--Clearly, Honorable Mention belongs to the unsalaried State
Commissioner of Tennessee, Col. J.H. Acklen, "than whom," says Dr.
Palmer, "there is no more active and enthusiastic game protectionist in
this country. Whatever has been accomplished in that state is due to his
activity and public spirit. Col. Acklen, who is now president of the
National Association of Game Commissioners, is a prominent lawyer, and
enjoys the distinction of being the only commissioner in the country who
not only serves without pay, but also defrays a large part of the
expenses of game protection out of his own pocket."
Surely the Commonwealth of Tennessee will not long permit this
unsupported condition of such a game commissioner to endure. That state
has a wild fauna worth preserving for her sons and grandsons, and it is
inconceivable that the funds vitally necessary to this public service
can not be found.
ALABAMA.--I cite the case of Alabama because, in view of its position in
a group of states that until recently have cared little about game
protection, it may be regarded as an unusual case. Commissioner John H.
Wallace, Jr., has evolved order out of chaos,--and something approaching
a reign of law out of the absence of law. To-day the State of Alabama
stands as an example of what can be accomplished by and through one
clear-headed, determined man who is right, and knows that he is right.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account