The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-08-07
NEW LAW WILL
AFFECT HUNTERS
FEDERAL LAW WILL CAUSE FEW
CHANGES DURING 1913
HUNTING SEASON
PRAIRIE CHICKENS ARE NOT INCLUDED
New Law Becomes Effective October
1st-Former State Game Warden
Explains Some New Rules

After many years of urgent need for
more uniform laws relative to the
hunting of wild fowl, the federal gov
eminent has come to the aid of the
state governments and has enacted a
migratory bird law. This law and the
companion regulations drawn up by
the executive branch of the govern
ment will soon affect South Dakota
hunting and the following letter from
former game warden w. F. Bancroft is
exceedingly timely:
Editor Public Opinion:
Not having noticed any comment in
your valuable paper pertaining to the
recent regulations promulgated for car
rying out the provisions Of the new
federal migratory bird law, l take the
liberty of calling your attention to a
few of the provisions of special inter-
paper. l am aware that there was a
false rumor more Or less prevalent
throughout the west that the regula-
tions when issued would absolutely
prohibit the hunting and killing of
waterfowl, but there was no foundation
for any such rumor from any stand
point.
You understand that the new migra-
tory law merely authorizes the depart
ment of agriculture to fix closed sea-
ons without covering questions Of
possession, bag limits, shipment, sale,
or various other matters. You will
note no change is made in the begin
ming of the open season this year as
the new regulations can not take effect
before October 1. 1t was found to be
impracticable at this time to harmon
ize the seasons under the regulations
and the state laws as closely as we
could wish, but hope that this discrep-
ancy can be removed later on so that
there may be no uncertainty in the
minds Of the sportsmen as to the open
ing dates under the state and federal
statutes.
In South Dakota, under the federal
regulations the open season remains
the same, September 10, but makes the
season close on waterfowl December
Is instead of April 9. The open sea-
son on snipe in your state has been
the same as the open eason for prairie
chickens, grouse, upland and golden
plover, September 10 to October 10,
which was evidently a radical mistake
on the part of the trainers of the law in
the legislature of 1909, but under the
federal regulations the open season
for all shore birds is from September
10 to December 16, the same as for
water fowl. There was considerable
pressure brought to bear from a num-
Der of western states to have a closed
season under the federal regulations
placed on prairie chickens during the
entire period Of each year., and while
the department would have been pleas
ed to have done this, it was somewhat
doubtful whether the prairie chicken
vas sufficiently migratory to come
within the terms of the act and it was
finally considered advisable for the
present at least, not to include them
under the regulations.
1t is not expected that the regula-
tons are going to meet with the ap-
prevail of all sportsmen, but / firmly
believe that all thrue sportsmen will
give the committee that framed the
regulations credit for doing the very
best that they could under the circum-
stances at this time. Assuming that
protection of migratory birds hereto
fore has been unsatisfactory, which
seems to have been the case since the
matter has been made the subject of
federal statute. 1t is evident that some
more adequate protection must be pro-