Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-01-08
Fsh and Game of Maine
One Of Great Assets State
Nk BY Commissioner Willis E.. Parsons
BY Commissioner Willis E. Parsons

80 the lordly moose, Monarch OF
~ Msine Woods, was frequently
ss.vht for his hide alone and border
] sstSs hunters" threatened to exter-
I. ..srstA this valuable animal. Far
" .s~hted men, however. were beginning
/ !. - that something should be done
3, the protection of Lig game, and
sNhc,irh the word conservation"
- not then used as slibly as now,
n. fathers did realize that game was
ssh,able as an article of food and
~ enjoyed no doubt, its capture,
IN ne thrill of the chase and begun
= rexard 1t as q legacy TO be trans
m,tted BY them in turn TO posterity.
srhrough long centuries of the COM
Am Nv of England and later Of the
colcriNs. the people had enjoyed the
4 svhf TO hunt on wild lands, but of
vbai value would this Ilivilege be if
~ same animals were destroyed.
~ Press of the new state, then as
~ alert to the interest Of the
sssnk. began to agitate the question
u rejection Of wild life and the
q Sobec Journal no doubt watched
. sSik interest the growth of public
Us saiiment until five years later, or
~.
n m nlaced close time on moose and
81 ffom July LIST 10 November 1st
each year.
n warden service vas established
q 80 tS53, when by Clap, q of the
- Laws Of tina. year the ap-
M nnent Of County moose wardens
v crowded for in the counties Of
eSl3d, Franklin, Somerset, Piscata-
euiA Aroostook. PenoDsCot, Hancock
m Washington. A few men were
elolhM with authority without COM
peasation, but public sentiment was
not strong enough to encourage rigid
achievement d game laws, and many
years elapsed before any particular
progress was made. or appropriation
pesDed by the legislature at all ade-
quate to protect the game in any one
d these counties.
In 1857 the first Commission of
Fish and Game was created and
SlOwH but surely sentiment was
growing in favor Of some kind of over
sight Or protection by the State of
IL Wild life. 1t is doubtful indeed
Ait our fathers, or even the most
sanguine sportsman among them
! dreamed Tor a moment Of game be-
coming the great asset of today,
however well it might be protected.
\ was q great state. sparsely set
tied, with poor roads and slow COM
munlcation, and the people, while
familiar with their own locality.
thought little Of game or the scenic
beauty Of any other section, in fact,
were more interested in procuring a
livelihood and thought of fish and
game Is an article Of food only,
sums depending wholly upon hunting
and aShing for the support of their
families.
Even in those early days. long be-
frs the automobile. some of the
AKA and streams became depleted
ana the more thoughtful citizens in
several communities banded together
% Clubs. or Associations, and started
snaA nsh hatcheries to replenish the
nsn. One was operated on a small
scaie at Edes Falls near Sebago, an
otner ct Auburn and one at Enfield
AZ the outlet Of Cold Stream Pond,
ana few others We're run by private
Individuals. The State. prior to 1895,
was using some Of these hatcheries
Oy consent Of the owners, the first
Falls
The legislature in 1885 enacted the
mst law authorizing the Commits
Monefs to do something along the
une q establishing State Hatcheries.
1nat year land was purchased at
CIinou and small hatchery built
ano me old one abandoned. The same
year the Auburn Hatchery was leased
1 twenty years. with right to re-
80 making 1t practically perpetual,
snd nve years ago the old building
~ torn down and a new hatchery
puilding erected.
monmouth Hatchery was establish
9 u 1895. The Moosehead Hatchery
W. built In 1901, but later burned
sno rebuilt in 1907. The Rangeley,
vQuossoc Hatchery, was establish
~ 1904 and a new one erected at
nsaymond, Sebago Lake, the same
1905 saw the Belgrade Hatchery
Established: 1907 the Moxie Hatch
and In 1909 the new Enfield
hnascnery was built, where the State
~ done some work for several
49, 49, operating here next after be-
Hlins Its work at Edes Falls.
canoe moen Hatchery was established in
h tsvs and Tunk Pond Hatchery was
quit IN 1914-15.
a.. ~ me last five or six years the
ss pssty OF these hatcneries has been
ccsscllcally doubled by tho erection Of
t ssnt rearing pools enabling us to
!. 49, sv care Of many more fish, carrying
ns. NIUE 70 the two year Old stage for
futng In lakes and Londs where
ins ~ are no suitable inlets for plant
m 70 1923 the famous Governor TIill
- ,vut Farm in Augusta was present.
r. y the State by Mrs. Laura c. Hill,
In OF the late Governor John F..
H. This munificent gift, arranged
80 yush Governor Percival P. Baxter,
appreciated by the people of the
IA ls large plant with spring
Mn onds and about rs rearing pools
~ suHcient water for many more
niss. capable in few years o. fur
gtstas all the trout eggs that the
~" can handle, about n million of
49, es having been taken the past
ss.sy which can be increased to
m.s,ai million in the near future,
IN N.ng It one Of the best trout farms
new England.
hoth y automobile has revolutionized
nars,. nsning and hunting. enabling
ioc.,.s. TO concentrate on favorite
Il ns until the fishing or hunting
ana Hasctically ruined IN many places
ren,, nsnce the greatest vigilance is
strssa.red in keeping our lakes and
onl~ ~ from becoming depleted. not
s,nn ~ an ever increasing influx of
ovsr aer visitors, now estimated at
amn, svo'00O per year, fishermen
thQnN
cMi,o,portion. but by residents, our own
ins ns who think nothing Of visit
Ii FAX ake or stream fifty miles away
toas sner automobiles. and there are
reo;.s over 100000 resident fishermen
Of t.ered In Maine. Fishing in many
h. streams and lakes OF the State
est., be regulated by restrictions
ve.ition of IS per cent Of the legal
Ehica OF the town or plantation in
I 49, the waters are situated. II the