The Greeley tribune., 1911-02-16

act OF congress as a national game
refuge because Of its especial snit-
apliity 10 act as breeding place for
wild creatureB Of the plains ana
lower Rocky mountain regions tha
importanca Of the game work bas
overshadowed the ordinary uses of a
national forest There are over 15o
national ioTests, but only two ma
tional game refugees.
This docs not mean that outside Of
those reiuses the game on the ma
tional forest is not protected, for
the national forest officers are uni
formly Instructed to see that the
game Laws Of the various states are
observed on their forests, in so far
as they can do this in Justice to
their other duties. Many OF the for
est Officer are regularly appointed
Deputy State Game Wardens. and II
is the policy OF the department OF
agriculture to encourage their acting
in this capacity when they can do so
without prejudice to their work as
forest Officer. They are not, how
ever, expected to go off the forests
in order to enforce the game laws
Of the states, nor can they make en-
forcement OF game laws their prin-
cipal OCCUPATION. The work OF TOR
est Officer In looking after Uncle
Sans affair generally insures his
being a pretty busy man. and what
he does In enforcing game laws can
only be Incidental to selling timber.
protecting the forests from fires.
looking after grazing matters, and
responding to the various other calls
which use OF the forests by the pub
lie involves,
Ordinary game matters pertain
to the states and not to the national
governmenl The state prescrihes
when and under what conditions
game may be killed. If it desires to
prohibit the killing of game in GER
tain parts OF the state, in order that
the game may breed there, and these
parts OF the states are within the ma
tional forests, the government CO.
operates with the state to carry out
the law. Such cooperation may re-
quire the closing of fixed areas of the
national forests to grazing. for when
big game becomes plentiful it must
have a sufficient food supply left on
the range to carry it through the
winter, or Il will succumb for lack
Of sustepanCe. II the range is fully
utilized by cattle and sheep during
the summer elk and deer will fare
hardly in the winter.
In the Wichita and the Grand
Canyon game refugees the govern
ment has not left the matter OF car
ing for game protection wholly to
the states, but has established ma
tional reservations on which an at
tempt will be made to breed game
The Wichita is notable for the fact
that 1t has small herd OF buffalo
upon It, which the game warden re
CARDS ss the apple OF his eye. The,
were donated by the American Biso,
society ara shipped from the Ne'
York geological garden in 1908
Then then numbered fifteen. ant
have since been increased by th
addition Of ten calves; two Of th'
original herd, however, died in th'
first year. To the buffaloes are nov
added the antelope.
The antelope were shipped from
Yellowstone park, and have beel
liberated in one OF the buffalo yards
which has been prepared for them
They will be given more and bette
range rs son as proper wire en-
closure can be made. Two additiona
head are expected to follow the eish
already received. Since the ante
lope. once so abundant on thu
plains, is in serious danger Of entir'
extinction, this attempt to establish
the species on the Wichita game pre-
serve will be watched with interes
by all who wish to see our nativ'
wild animals given chapcee II
perpetuate themselves. though sur
rounded by civilization.