The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1917-06-09
BUFFALO HELD
AS AN EXAMPLE
TO THE NIMRODS
Sportsmen of North Dakota
to Gather at Minot and
Organize
MUST AWAKEN TO
RESPONSIBILITY
Game Birds Being Killed
Faster Than State Is
Hatching Them

Minot, N. D., June 9.-Sportsmen of
North Dakota will gather in Minot
next week for the purpose of forming
state association, the principal OBJ
ject of which will be the protection of
game life within the state, and its
propagation.
The meeting will be held on June
Is, in connection with the annual trap
shooting event of the North Dakota
Sportsmen's association. ..
Buffalo to Be Example.
Pointing to the buffalo as an exam
pie, it now being extinct, E. B. Nc
Cutcheon, organizing official in charge
of the preliminary plans for the big
meeting, declares that sportsmen must
awake to their responsibility or chick
en- and grouse, too, will soon be ex-
tinct.
The last session of the legislature
nearly put over a closed season, also
nearly barred the use Of hunting dogs;
| almost put over a closed Sunday, and
other things objected to by the aver
age sportsmen," says Mr.. McCutcheon
in his letter to sportsmen of the
state.
| Slaughter Exceeds Hatching.
I'VE are killing birds faster than we
are Matching, thus reducing the breed
| ing stock. We have no one to blame
but ourselves if we get closed sea-
son Simply because, as sportsmen
we have taken but little interest in the
breeding of more birds or the killing
of their natural enemies. We have
never. taken any great amount of ac-
tive, united interest in the formation
of our game laws or our game boards
leaving these things to go as might
| happen, or leaving them to the few
interested to fight the many entrench-
+, ed enemies of such legislation.
"a closed season will not help. Il
we can not make a showing before the
next legislature, that we have done
something to produce more birds, We
might as well get ready for a. closec
season of five years" s.-x-s .e,s.s
| Bird Extinct in 1919.
Under the laws at present oul
| warden system can not be developed
| to perfect efficiency, but 1t should bt
apparent to all that the best warder
system alone will never bring the
| birds back, nor save what We have
now. There will be fewer birds III
1917 than last year, and still less II
| 1918. The way it looks now, 1913 viii
see the native birds just about finish
ed unless we do something.
I'VE must establish our own game
! Matching farms, and distribute theil
| product, free of charge, around tbs
state, to create new coveys and ward
off in the breeding, the latter being the
most fatal enemy Of wild life,
Game Farms a Success.
"On these game farms, Matching
/ would be carried on, and shipment o1
1 surplus made, in exactly a like man
/ ner to the distribution Of fish from
| the state hatchery, for which cost the
/ hunters, not the fishermen, now have
! to pay. In some states eggs fol
private Matching purposes are also
| shipped. Game farms have been
1 success in older states. Both state
owned and privately-owned. IFS
| Results cannot be expected for the
| third year. as a rule, on these hatch
! ing farms. Some slight changes also
will be required in present laws to
permit of the adoption of the plan"
One of the first projects proposed
| by the new association is the publica-
/ ton of a monthly bulletin which will
keep members informed of the work
undertaken.