The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1932-07-14

From the standpoint of the fisher
man, Mr.. Earle's figures are thrilling.
Six hundred thousand pike have been
put into the lake, and this spring $500
rainbow trout were released there.
Several thousand small-mouthed black
bass have been added to the store of
finny residents, and, in addition, all of
the mountain streams which feed into
the lake are natural" trout streams,
so that their denizens, too, find their
way into the lake and provide sport
in the streams above. There is one
difficulty-also natural" one. From
one of the streams have come guam
tity of rock-bass, small, prolific and
annoying to anybody who drops line
or casts plug. Because of the small
size of these fish the black bass find
food aplenty at present. But the bass
are multiplying rapidly, and so are
the pike. The commission is depend
ing on the larger fish for the elimina-
ton of the rock-bass. And then Deep
Creek Lake ought to be close TO per-
lection for the angler.
In the wooded hills and the slopes
of Meadow Mountain and Roman Nose
Mountain, which force the lake into
odd bends and sweeping curves that
cover 1850 acres, there are deer and
wild turkeys, and great coveys of
grouse. Occasionally a bear is re-
ported, and one weighing 400 pounds
fell victim to hunter only a year
ago. Reports, too, indicate that now
and again there are panthers remain
ing, despite the approach of civiliza-
ton in these wild hills. To the man
who likes to take to the field there is
promise of plenty of game.
Maryland's Department of Forestry
maintains three great forest reserves
in Garrett county, all within a few
miles of the lake. The nearest of
these lies in the foothills of Shaggy
Mountain, west of the Youghiogheny,
and meets the tract owned by the
Pittsburgh Masons. This tract, in
cidentally, has been turned over to
Maryland for maintenance, although
the deed remains with the Pittsburgh
ers.
In the Maryland area, known as the
Swallow Falls reserve, are 1896 acres
of woodland. Far larger, however, is
the reserve northeast of the lake. This
lies on the slopes of Meadow Mountain
and Big Savage Mountain, and covers
an area of 1928 acres. This tract
occupies large part of the water
shed of Savage River, which meets
the north branch of the Potomac near
Westernport. The third area lies
southeast of the lake, below Kitzmil-
Ter. 1t is on the Potomac River and
covers 6,072 acres.
Camping is encouraged in the forest
areas under permits from the Fores-
try Department. Casual picnickers
require no permit, the only request
being that fire prevention precautions
be taken.
Experimental work is being carried
out in the forest preserves, the object
of which is not merely the mainte-
nance of woodlands but the develop
ment Of timber. AS yet the work is
not in such an advanced state that
wide timber operations are feasible,
but the plan is eventually to cut out
fully grown timber and use methods
of reforestation to maintain the wood
lands in a productive state. Mean
time, Of course, the matter of provid-
ing recreations grounds is an impor-
tant factor.
West of the lake the Youghiogheny
River fiows-to the north, which in
itself is something of surprise to
Marylanders this side of the Blue
Ridge chain, who are accustomed to
seeing watercourses moving south
ward or southeast. Most of the noun