Norwich bulletin., 1916-08-24

The Advisory Committee appointed by the secretary of agriculture, Hon. D. r. Houston, to cooperate with the Bureau of Biological Survey 1T" fixing The regulations for closed seasons on migratory birds as authorized by the Migratory Bird Law, desires to state to the people of the country that aft CT the most exhaustive investigation, and the most careful consideration of every point raised, the regulations as promulgated were unanimously recom- mended by the members of this com nittee. We realize the utter impos- siolbty Of even attempting to satisfy all that desire to shoot migratory birds.
 In recommending the regulations we were controlled by the following con- alterations:
 First: A most e~y~e9t desire to save from certain depIe.icn and threatened annihilation the valuable waterfowl. game and insectivorous birds which
 migrate across the United States
 Second: To accord the hunters in the various states as nearly as pos s1ble an equal opportunity of taking migratory waterfowl and nomadfc
 Third: To open the seasons dur
 ing which these birds can be legally killed in those months when under normal weather and food conditions
 the largest number of migratory wa
 ter1owl and birds sojourn in any par
 ticular state.
 Fourth: To absolutely eliminate spring shooting, when migratory wa teIdoWt and birds on the northward migration are journeying towards
 tHeIr breeding grounds, thus impelled
 by the reststless force of nature to
 mate, nest and reproduce their species
 Fifth: To recognize unusual and extraordinary conditions existing in few of the states, without effect Ing the equity or vested rights of the
 people of the whole country in the mi gratory wild life.
 Sixth: To submit reasonable prac-
 tical fair and just regulations that
 should invite the support of all true
 conservationtsts.
 Seventh: To guarantee not only to the present generation a reasonable supply Of migratory wHHd iIfe but to So protect it that it will multiply and be handed to future generations as their proper and rightfuI heritage The imperative necessity for the en- actment of the federal migratory bird law is palpable to every thoughtful and discerning mind.
 Migratory wild life does not even recCE2nIze national, to say nothing of state. lines. The variability of the statutes of the states protecting these migrants, the lack of uniformity in these laws, the rapacfty with which the pOnadic birds are slaughtered bv 1 vOracGOus annihilators of wild life in many of the states to the detriment of the people at large, compelled the con- | CiusIOn of congress that the eXigencies l Of this situation demanded federal l regulations that would, in reality, save | the migratory waterfowl and birds 1 from exterminatiOn
 l The people of no country have been 1 so abundantly blessed with valuable l natural resources as ours. 1 The American people are notorious 1 ly nation of wasters. Only by req | son Of the fact that their natural re- ! sources are fast disappearing have l they been induced to extend even a l modlcum of conservation to these
 fast-yanishing assets.
 i Conservation does not mean pre- i venting the use of our natural resourc- | es as a niser would hoard his gold, | our national heritage. taking there- 1 from only a sufficient quantity to sup | ply cur needs with the full reali1a- | tion that we are trustees for future | generations.
 i We are convinced that under the ! operation of this raw shooting will | improve each year.
 The need of the hour has therto- 1 fore appeared to be uppermost in the 1 minds of the people. They have drawn 1 reCklessly on their natural inheri- 1 tanCe with scarcely a thought of the 1 future. It is a notable fact that in l our rapacity for slaughter many of ] the most valuable specres of game and 1 birds that formerly abounded in this 1 country have been annihilated.