The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-01-16
Slate to Save Beasts and Birds
Hunters and Trappers
S5 Have Left.

/ r.
are in Michigan many thousands OF
acres Of unenclosed privately owned
y lands yet open to the public in quest
" game and recreation. Gradually,
however, these lands are being fenced
!. and under the law OF trespass with
/ drawn.
To insure transfer OF game, birds
and fishes to succeeding generations
and the maintenance OF them, State
Game Commissioner Oates urged the
passage Of game refuge law, which
was enacted by the legislature. The
wording of the preamble to the act
emphasized need Of the preservation
OF the birds "ln the interests Of ag-
! ricnlture."
"a Under the provisions Of this act
more than 100 parcels Of land have
been dedicated to the state by indi-
viduals. Besides the lands thus ded-
icated the present area Of refuge lands
includes all OF the public domain for
est reserves.
Important among the private ded-
lications are the Hanson refuge. ded-
iicated by Rasmus Hanson, Grayling,
Crawford county; the Walhalla ref
iuge, 300 acres, dedicated in 1osco
county by Carl e. Schmidt, Detroit
and the Prescott refuge, 600 acres,
iedi1-ted in Iosco and Ogemaw coun-
ties ty George A. Prescott, former sec
rotary Of state.
While 1t Is the announced intention
OF the state game department to even
tually stock all reserves with the wild
life best suited for propagation there
on, Commissioner Oates has decided
on the Hanson refuge for location of
the first state propagation farm.
Good Natural Vondition.
ON this refuge, decided to the state
IN perpetuity and embracing $4,000
acres OF diversified woodland. there
exist all the natural requirements OF
the Indigenous animal life OF Mich
igan.
Great hills, plateaus and gulches,
with intermittent stands Of pine and
deciduous trees, make an ideal range
for deer, elk, caribou and moose.
Valleys fringed with scrub oak, pop
lar and white birch, which encircle
dense brakes Of spruce. balsam, tam
arack and cedar, afford splendid COW
ert for partridge, quail spruce hens,
pheasants and song birds.
Home requirements for amphibious
and aquatic life exist in the refuge
confines. Portage Lake. source OF tho
Big Gfainstee, with its clear'cold wat
ers, teens with muskellunge, bass and
other game fish.
Portage outlet, which relieves the
lake Of its surplus waters, develops a
much lower temperature before it
leaves the refuge boundaries by re-
enforcement from innumerable springs
that make 1t fit breeding ground for
trout
Midway on the west shore spring
creek which meanders through dense
glades OF sapling forest spreads into
an estuary of muck bottomed chan
nels, merging again into n single
stream, which finds the lake through
cit on the sand banked shore.
Tentative plans for utilization OF
the splendid natural facilities for
breeding waterfowl, game animals
and birds, shore birds and fishes have
been prepared by Commissioner
Oates.
Browsing trees, abundant in the
valleys, will be planted in the gulches
where erosion from the hills has left
fertile humus. This browse will az
ford food for the moose, elk and car
ibou in greater range.
Immediate activity has conferred on
the receiving Enclosure, which con-
,sists of eighty acres, now guarded
with heavy meshed wire set on stall
wart posts. At eight feet from the
ground the mesh juts back on angles
for two feet. providing a safe confine
for the largest game.
Herds of elk German fallow deer
and American white tailed deer have
already been installed there unmo-
mails are becoming tame and docile.
That immunity from pursuit by the
hunter is soon realized by wild life
ds evidenced in the boldness OF the
native grouse. The birds will stand.
iunafraid, peering through the wire
mesh at the visitor a few feet dis
tant, accepting food that may be cast
TO them.
In the few months of refuge, pro-
lection enjoyed by the larger animals
the elk and fallow deer have lost
their natural distrust Of man to the
extent that they allow the approach
of their caretakers. The native deer
now follow their attendants about like
domestic pets.
New Game Birds.
Crawford creek, flowing through the
fenced Enclosure, is to be the base OF
1.-THE first propagation work. To dam
the outlet Of this creek so as to give
adequate area for the planting OF wild
rice and celery for the feeding OF
ducks and geese an unique scheme has
been considered. Commissioner Oates
may decide TO give the animal engi-
neers a chance before enlisting the
services of man.
Beaver may be given the first try
at dam construction and arrangements
are being considered for the placing
of several pairs on the ground when
conditions have been fixed, with the
aim of inducing the animals to Sc
lect the surveyed side-for the build
ing.
The alternative will be a narrow
wall OF cement. In either event 1t is
planned to pipe off a sufficient flow, OF
water power to afford the depart
ment buildings on the refuge water
and light supply. thus making the