The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-01-17
Petitions Protesting
Against Elimination
Game Warden System

Petitions are being circulated
| throughout the state protesting
against the elimination Of the present
system of game protection in North
Dakota. The Forum is in receipt OF
a letter, published herewith, which is
fully explanatory Of the reasons fol
the petition:
To The Forum: / hand you here
with a copy OF petition to the state
legislature which is being circulated
in the various counties OF the state
at the present time. have read with
interest your various articles on the
preservation Of the prairie chicken and
think that you will agree with me
that it would be serious mistake ia
put closed season on prairie chickens
and abolish our enforcement Of the
game laws under the administration
of the game commission and leave to
the sheriffs and states attorneys the
enforcement OF the closed season. The
market hunter and the game-hog and
those who feel that 1t is not Illegal to
shoot game out OF season, and who
would otherwise disobey the laws
would seize upon this opportunity oi
shooting game, particularly prairie
chickens for the market and for sport
at all times of the. year. In fact, ii
we are going to preserve the prairie
chicken and by this means it becomes
necessary to have closed season for
a few years, it is even more essential
that we should preserve the ma
chinery of game enforcement which
we now have because it will be all the
harder to preserve the prairie chicken
in the closed season than where a law
exists as now permitting shooting dur
ing the fall.
agree with the policy of having a
AI%R
season with small bag, and heartily
agree with your propaganda for saw
ing our beautiful pennated grouse, but
certainly do not agree with the idea
which seems to prevail in some quar-
tiers that you can preserve the prairie
chicken simply by passing q law es-
tablishing a closed season.
We appreciate the mistakes which
were made in the past and think it
would be terrible mistake to go back
to the old system of game protection
through the sherifss office. That kind
of protection is no protection at all
and it Is no great criticism Of the
sheriff to say so. He has his own
troubles beside watching the occasion
al offender or the market hunter who
sneaks out in the open places during
the day or lies under cover all the
night and steals the public property.
feel very strongly on this subject
and believe that inasmuch as you
have taken a stand on the preserva-
tion Of the prairie chicken, that it is
your duty and responsibility to can
attention to the fact that to bring
about this result something other
than merely passing law, establish
ing a closed season. must be done.
believe that our system of special
game wardens and our administration
of the game department through the
game board, should be preserved. We
do know this at least, that 1t has
made success where the old system
was a failure. North Dakota, under
the present system. is merely follow
ing the example and profiting by the
experience OF practically every state
in the union. which has given atten-
ton to the subject Of game protection.
To go back 60 the old system would
be a most dangerous and unfortunate