Montana labor news., 1944-03-23

of these birds stay in Montana until
winter really sets in with below zero
temperatures and deep SHOWS, which
close the open waters and shuts off the
food supply. Then the frantic appeal
goes out to the sportsmen, please help
save the starving and freezing ducks,
and the sportsmen have never failed to
come through, as real sportsmen usually
do with their time and money. Never
theless it is too late, thousands of these
birds are discovered by our checking
crews and ranch workers frozen in the
ice and great numbers of mallards so
weak they will not live to see the fol-
lowing spring.
on the other side of the picture is our
sportsmen friends in the southern states
who have an open season when the con
eentration of the birds is at the peak.
Because of this Montana Sportsmen are
being Disseminated against when they
are prevented from using their own lakes
for the shooting of migratory waterfowl,
and if the policy is continued Montana
waters and streams will be used only as
breeding, resting, Matching and rearing
preserves for the benefit of southern
sportsmen who always have better shoot
ing than we of the northern states can
ever hope to have, as at the best the
northern sportsmen can only get pass
shooting when the migration is at its
peak. The sportsmen of Montana under
the open season as it has been for the
past few years have been denied migra
tion pass shooting of any kind as there
has been no migration during the open
season.
In Montana the month Of october
November and December with their vary
ing types of weather, present at times
almost insurmountable obstacles in the
making of fair and satisfactory dates
for Montana duck hunters Montana
hunters usually purchase upwards Of
$4,000 in duck stamps and many Of
them do not even get a chance to fire
shot at a duck. In l943 the flight did
not occur until twenty days after the
Montana season closed AS a matter of
fact all the ducks killed in the entire
state of Montana during the las three
months of any year would not affect the
duck population of America one iota.
i This is a true and correct picture Of
what has happened to the birds and it is
as sure to happen again and again as
day is to follow night. In view Of all
this, it is only fair to the birds and the
sportsmen Of the northwestern states to
change the open season to date from
october first through December 31st
which would at least give them some
pass shooting. Such an arrangement
would not only give the Montana hunt
ers fair share of shooting but would
tend to drive the birds on south and
prevent their starving and freezing when
caught in the northern winters
The sportsmen of Montana and ad-
joining states fully realize the condition
of the migratory waterfowl the past few
years and that the once great flocks that
migrated south each fall were growing
smaller and smaller Now that the birds
are coming back, and becoming more
and more abundant the sportsmen have
no desire and do not seek an opportun-
ity to slaughter them, but they do ask
for and are entitled to a fair share Of
shooting. which has been denied them in
the past
Northern sportsmen, generally are
fully aware that the enormous surplus
of migratory fowl concentrated each
autumn in southern territory is primarily
due to the rigid enforcement of the re-
strictive measures imposed on them.
They also realize that the Biological Sur
vey field men and California state game
wardens must be constantly on the alert
to guard against the market duck shooter
who infests the Sacramento rice fields
and attempts to shoot the birds for un-
lawful sales.
In conclusion let it be understood we
have nothing but praise for the efficient
work being done by the Biological Sur
vey Ducks Unlimited, the Wild Life
Federation and our state game commits
sion. Most sportsmen know that through
the combined efforts of these agencies,
and private parties and various organi-