The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1949-09-01
CAME AND FISH COMMISSION
WORKS 70 PROJECT WILDLIFE

Arrest TOT NlOadllOH OF luntlng
and fishing regulations constitute
one of the major activities of the
state Game and Fish Commission.
These arrests average Apr, XII
mateiy zoe each calendar month
according to records. and the ap-
prehension of that many indiyid-
uals, plus securing of sufficient
evidence TO convict each one. e
ouires considerable time on the
mart of the law enforcement di-
vision of the commission. or ne
cessity, this activity receives more
attention than any other phase of
the states wildlife management
organization.
However there are many other
activities carried on under the ad-
minlstration OF the Commission.
These programs of work constitute
aong-range planning designed to
protect the source of supply of the
states wildlife. particularly the
game species.
Outstanding in these other pro-
grams is the management of 43
different refugees comprising well
over 100000 acres of land located
H. every section of the state. These
refugees reach from just below the
Tennessee line to Harrison county
on the Gulf Coast.
Without these refugees, the
Commission would find it difficult
to obtain game species for stock
irg suitable areas. Perhaps the
most successful of the game refuge
and restocking programs under
taken by the Commission IS that
of restoring or bringing the deer
population of the state to the point
where successful hunts can be
staged in many sections of the
state.
Back in 1889 the Commission
established the Leaf River Refuge
of $4,000 acres located on the Leaf
River District of the De Soto Ma
,tional Forest. All of this refuge is
located in Perry and George
counties. The refuge in succeeding
years has provided, annually. a
'crop of surplus deer which was
trapped off and released on other
refugees or hunting areas in the
state. In 1884 deer were released
on the Holly Springs National
Forest lands in Marshall, Lafay-
,ette and Benton counties in the
extreme northern section of the
state. All hunting was restricted
for q number of years. the first
open season IN deer being held in
1916. The kill that year in a short
six day season was about forty
bucks. The kill has increased each
year until in the 1948 season a
total OF 1914 legal bucks was killed
aon this Estimates made of
the deer herd now in existence in
the forested lands in the three
counties indicate a population of
approximately 1000.
Economically the value of the
deer herd on the Holly Springs
section is estimated at a round
5000, 0Og.
The law enforcement division of
Tthe Commission plays an impor-
tant part In the development of
game crops. For it is obvious that
the Commission would be very
foolish to release deer or any
less sufficient protection was pro-
VlQeu dSdluSL upulOuS uuut-
aers whe would take advantage of
such game paintings and harvest
what they could before any real
value was received.
Therefore, the Commission rec
~ognizes the relationship existing
between q law enforcement officer
of the Commission and the biol
sogist and research employee. The
Commission maintains a we'll
trained staff of wildlife manage
ment men, capable of making a
survey of a section of country and
determining whether 1t would be
practical to make paintings of
game stocks with the hope of any
success.
This staff has recently been
augmented by the addition of five
employees, all sp~lendidly equipped
with the technical background of
wildlife management necessary to
make such surveys and follow