Spring 1964

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Montana Fish and Game Department Official Publication

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2010 with funding from

Montana State Library

http://www.archive.org/details/montanawildlifespr1964mont

STATE OF MONTANA
Governor — Tim Babcock

Montana
Fish and Game Commission

Cover Picture

CHAIRMAN
V. CHAIRMAN
MEMBERS

DIRECTOR

DEPUTY
DIRECTOR

INFORMATION-
EDUCATION

FISHERIES
MANAGEMENT

GAME
MANAGEMENT

RECREATION &

LANDS

DEVELOPMENT

LAW
ENFORCEMENT

CHIEF
CLERK

W. E. Staves, Poison
John T. Hanson, Sr., Malta
E. G. Leipheimer, Jr., Butte
Lyle H. Tauck, Hammond
Robert H. Weintz, Great Falls

Department

Frank H. Dunkle
Keith A. Freseman

Division Chiefs

Lloyd Casagranda
Arthur Whitney
Wynn Freeman
Robert Cooney
Orville Lewis
Bob Turnbull

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(Photo by Eldon Smith)

Montana is one of the last strongholds of the
fabled grizzly bear. At one time these huge ani-
mals were found far out on the Montana prairies
and upland plateaus. Today, civilization has
forced the remaining grizzlies into high, moun-
tain wilderness areas. Cubs are born during the
winter while bears are in hibernation. Unlike
black bears, grizzlies mate only every second or
third year.

SUBSCRIBERS— Please inform us when you
have a change of address, otherwise
your name will be removed from our
mailing list.

Editor — Vernon Craig

CONTENTS

STRUGGLE IN THE STREAM

Page

2

PESTICIDE PATTERNS AND STORM WARNINGS

6

NATURE'S DEER HARVEST

8

FIELD TRIP

10

TATTLETALE TRANSMITTERS

PROPOSED LEGISLATION

11
14

RECREATION— THE POTENTIAL AND THE PROBLEM

17

PRAIRIE DOG

22

STRUGGLE IN THE STREAM

by Perry Nelson, Information-Education Officer

Editor's Note: Nature is an uncompromising master. She has provided certain needs
and established ground rules by which her wards must live.

During countless centuries the weeding of unfit animals and plants continues. Hardy
species fitted to live under specific conditions survive only where those needs are met.
Where other conditions exist, other, better adapted animals are found.

Within a trout stream the rules for existence are rough and tumble. There is no

room for the weak, the unwary, or the unadapted. If the physical needs of trout are

met, they will persist. If, through the meddlings of man or through other causes, trout
stream conditions are changed, then the trout will vanish.

The following article, though imaginary, is not purely fictional. It gives one in-
sight into the relationships between trout and their environment. It depicts the con-
stant competition among fish for food and cover in the relentless struggle for existence.

The night lifted slowly, and revealed
the tranquil pool. It was a long curved
pool. White foamy water cascaded down
a short riffle and made a right angle turn
into the head of the pool. At the turn near
the white water was a deep overhanging
bank bordered by willows. Some of their
tangled roots were visible below the over-

hanging bank in the clear water. Several
large boulders had fallen into the water
from the cliff on the mountain. They lay
in the main current below the riffle with
only their bald tops showing above the
water. What was once a majestic spruce
tree had been uprooted by a raging wind-
storm. It lay broken and gnarled in the

depths of the pool where the water changed
color from sky blue to almost black. Down-
stream the water rippled over a large ex-
panse of smaller boulders and gravel be-
fore plunging headlong over another riffle
and then into another pool at the bend. The
quiet water along the opposite bank grad-
ually shallowed, until it lapped against a
sandbar.

Upon the bank where the wild flowers
grew, a big buck was standing. His nobby
antlers were in velvet. He took a mouth-
ful of flowers, solemnly chewed, and
watched the trout feeding in the pool.

The place where the riffle met the pool
was a favored spot for feeding. Some
smaller trout were lined up, like arrow-
heads on display, waiting to eat most any-
thing the water might carry to them. Other
fish were darting about from shadow to
shadow searching for focd, or using the
shadows for temporary cover while wait-
ing for some hapless insect to float by.
The very large trout in the pool seldom
exposed themselves, even to the big buck
deer. Only occasionally did he see the
huge five pound brown trout that shot out
like a rocket from beneath the overhang-
ing bank. Most always the big brown
trout pounced on and devoured some un-
suspecting trout, sucker or chub. Only
occasionally would he take one of the larger
insects. His behavior was little different
than that of his smaller kind, only he was
bigger with a need for bigger things.

Later in the morning the big brown trout
could feel the familiar vibration made by
an approaching fisherman. Big Brown scur-
ried back under his overhanging bank.
This bank had been his home cover the
last two years. The trout that occupied
the overhanging bank before him was last
seen chasing a fishy looking object, shiny
metal on one side and red and white on
the other. From that day on Big Brown
had been the number one fish in the pool
and occupied the choice place under the
overhanging bank. During his time as
number one fish he had defended his po-
sition against numerous trout that needed
his type of cover. Big Brown lived in the
pool with nearly fifty other smaller trout
from several generations. Many of them
were his own descendants. Only two of
his poolmates had recently challenged his
position as top fish in the pool. They were
almost as big as he and were getting too
big for their cover.

Since Big Brown had already eaten his
fill on two choice suckers and several big
mayflies, he decided to stay in his lair
until the fisherman passed. In the hectic
life of just trying to stay alive in a trout
stream he did not consider fishermen very
dangerous to his well being even though
they were frequent visitors at the pool.
Number two fish in the pool, another
brown trout, finally noticed the approach-
ing fisherman and moved over under the
submerged log. By that time all the fish

were hidden, even Hatch. Number three
fish was Hatch, the rainbow trout. He
had suddenly arrived in the pool two sum-
mers ago with 47 other trout of his kind.
They all arrived into the pool through a
strange circular object. Big Brown had
dined on several himself. They always
huddled in a group in the shallow part
of the pool, not knowing where or how
to seek cover or recognize natural food.
As in most trout streams, the cover was
already occupied by wild trout.

Presently Big Brown saw the average
fisherman. His outline was distorted by
the current and reflection of the water,
but he was waving a very straight looking
tree branch over the pool. A choice may-
fly landed on the water at the head of the
pool under the bank. He also immediately
suspected it a fake and chose to ignore
it. Besides it took a lot of effort to go
clear across the main current of water flow-
ing into the pool just to inspect such a
tiny morsel. Anyway this sort of thing
had been going on since last May. He also
remembered it had gone on every summer
of his life. During this time he had learned
to keep his mouth shut when fishermen
were around.

Number two brown trout could not see
the dancing mayfly from his resting place
behind the log until it floated on down
below him. Like most trout in the know,
Number Two did not like to chase food
downstream and besides now it was out
in the bright sun and Number Two brown
trout was like all other trout — he could
not blink his eyes to cut down the glare
of the sun. The mayfly floated by Hatch
who immediately rose to take a look. After
several quick passes and fanning with his
tail even Hatch avoided the fly, and re-
turned to his station behind the submerged
boulder.

The fly passed by several times in the
same manner. None of Big Brown's pool-
mates at the head of the pool paid any
more attention to the fake fly. On the
fifth pass a little brown that had been
living at the foot of the pool swam swiftly
at the fly, grabbed it in his mouth and
was just turning back to his resting area

on the bottom when he suddenly disap-
peared upward.

In a few minutes tranquility returned to
the pool and Big Brown contemplated life
in his limited surroundings.

Actually, Big Brown had watched fish-
ermen come and go. Many would come
to the pool. So far on this day there were
twenty. Almost a third of them went away
without catching any trout. This had hap-
pened before even when the lower pool
was filled with Hatch and his kind. Two
of the twenty fishermen that had been
by the pool were especially dangerous to
Big Brown and his kind. They had gone
away with almost half of the trout taken
from the pool that day.

This taking away by fishermen always
puzzled Big Brown. He always figured it
would make it easier to find feed, but the
cover was almost always reoccupied im-
mediately by some other trout. He had
learned from his rough and tumble life
in a trout stream that there were always
some trout around looking for a home, or
looking for a better one because they had
outgrown the one they had. No matter
how many trout found a place to live in
his pool during the summer, by the follow-
ing spring there were only about 50 fish
of various sizes left. This had gone on as
long as he could remember. Since he was
only a fish he could not know that nature
supplied bountiful numbers of small trout
by natural reproduction, but the number
of trout that grew up were limited by food
and cover.

Big Brown's contemplations were sud-
denly disturbed by some vibrations and
grating noises from a downstream direc-
tion. They were more ominous sounds than
any ever made by fishermen. For several
days the noises grew louder until at last
he could see what all the noise was about.
There was a big yellow machine in the
stream. The machine was working toward
the next pool at the bend where a big
wild rainbow lived. Big Brown had visited
this pool several times in search of food.
The pool was beyond his normal territory.
Unless he was very hungry the big brown
trout stayed out of the pool at the bend.

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When he went there he would have to
fight the big rainbow for the privilege of
seeking food in this pool.

All that afternoon the machine method-
ically removed things from the pool and
riffle at the bend that had sheltered both
big and little trout for centuries — big boul-
ders, overhanging banks, rock ledges, fallen
trees and small rocks. Finally, the deep
pool was gone. The water ran in a new
straight channel and all was silent except
for the running water.

With no further visible threat or sound
of danger, Big Brown moved from under
his comfortable overhanging bank to the
edge of the white foaming water to feed
at the head of his pool. He scattered the
smaller trout that had been feeding in his
favorite spot, and he noticed several strang-
ers in the group. A big black stonefly
floated by, and he opened his mouth and
ate the squirming insect. Some tiny may-
flies drifted past. He let them go to the
smaller fish behind him.

Soon another danger was sensed by the
big brown trout. He turned and swam un-
easily back towards his overhanging bank.

The big rainbow from the bend had es-
caped the machine and fled upstream be-
fore his pool had been destroyed. Now
he watched from under the overhanging
bank. This was the only cover he could
find to shelter his six-pound body.

Big Brown made a savage rush at the
unwelcome rainbow who had occupied his

overhanging bank while he was out feed-
ing.

The fight between the two huge fish
from separate pools only lasted several
seconds. The big brown flung himself at
the intruder and they disappeared into the
black depth of the pool behind the spruce
log.

Only Big Brown returned to the over-
hanging bank. The uncanny sense that
wild things possess told Big Brown that
all was not well. He was the last survivor
of many fry that first saw the light of day
six years ago in the riffle above the pool.
About a hundred of his kind had survived
the first year in various parts of the trout
stream. For the last five years, Big Brown
had watched all of his age group disappear.
The fishermen had taken ten. The re-
mainder had succumbed to natural enemies
and other causes.

During his long life he had been sought
by many enemies, including trout of his
own kind. There was no mercy here-
abouts. In this pool, as in other pools in
a trout stream, those trout without good
cover were first to die. The strength and
vigor that had enabled him to grow and
defend the best cover in his pool was now
leaving him.

There was no escape from the fate that
he and the big rainbow had been dealt by
a machine. A shadow floated over the
surface of the water. And the night set-
tled slowly and peacefully over the tran-
quil pool.

Pesticide Patterns and Storm Warnings

From all indications, land management
agencies in Montana are discontinuing the
use of DDT and other closely allied chem-
icals meant to control insect and other
pests. More recently developed insecticides
are taking their place. This move is not
being made because new pesticides are
more efficient or less expensive. On the
contrary, poisons now being substituted
for DDT are more costly and their effi-
ciency in controlling insect targets has not
been fully determined. The reason is that
after many years of use, the hazards in-
volved in application of the chlorinated
hdrocarbon chemicals can no longer be
ignored nor justified. An enlightened pub-
lic is making themselves heard.

A disturbing pattern is evident back
through the many years that chemicals
have been used for insect and weed poisons.
The initial stages of the pattern begin
when a newly-developed pesticide goes on
the market. Most have not been given any
long range tests to determine what effects
they or their breakdown compounds may

have on plant and animal communities.
They are marketed on their effectiveness
to immediately kill certain insects or
plants. Instructions to prevent misuse ob-
viously dangerous to higher animals, ac-
company the toxins, but there is little said
about their more subtle and indirect ef-
fects.

The second stage in the pattern is wide-
spread use accompanied by the slow, te-
dious researching — the gathering of facts
on the less obvious, the latent and possibly
most important dangers inherent in the
compounds. Gathering facts on things like
accumulation of residues through food
chains, delayed mortalities, effects upon
reproduction and adverse physiological
changes in animals requires painstaking
effort, sometimes in the face of adverse
criticism. Ironically, the jobs of digging
out facts is seldom done by the users of the
poisons. The task, oddly enough, falls on
other agencies, organizations, and persons
interested in long range conservation and
problems of ecology and health. Despite

The fat of blue grouse collected sys-
tematically from a study section in
western Montana showed residues of
DDT from 1.6 parts per million with-
in nine hours after spraying to 110
parts per million in grouse collected
nine months following spraying.
Residues in the reproductive tracts
of females this spring were over two
parts per million with considerably
mere found in developing eggs.
Studies will continue in an effort to
determine reproduction and survival
cf birds in the area.

? «

a recommendation by a Presidential fact-
finding board that Government Agencies
should take the lead in researching pesti-
cides and making findings known to the
public, little has been done.

The third and final stages in the pattern
of pesticide use comes when the public
has become sufficiently aware of existing
problems and dangers that they take a
definite stand. This ultimately results in
phasing out or limited use of the chemicals
under scrutiny.

Heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, toxo-
phene, and finally DDT, are some which
can be named off the cuff for having run
the cycles. Each has followed the familiar
pattern, and when each has been aban-
doned or limited in use there is another to
take its place. The same familiar pattern is
started again.

The question comes to mind as to how
many of these cycles we can stand. Just
how far can we bend nature out of shape
with brute force before she bounces back
with devastating vengeance? How much
can we drench animals, plants, and the
soil with toxic, potent chemicals before
the plant and animal kingdom suffer irre-
parably? Certainly, we cannot afford to

run with blissful ignorance through the
thousands of formulations that have been
concocted to this date. Mounting evidence
points out the folly if indiscriminate use of
inadequately tested and known harmful
pesticides. The storm warnings are out.

It was for these reasons that the Montana
Fish and Game Department took a definite
stand on the use of pesticides. Since it has
been proven that the chlorinated hydrocar-
bons persist in the environment — that they
are accumulated in the tissues of animals.
and persist in the soil and plants, and
that their effects are damaging to animal
life other than target organisms, the com-
mission opposes mass application of these
pesticides on public lands. The commis-
sion protests the mass use of any other
pesticide which has not been adequately
tested and has requested that Federal agen-
cies reappraise the use of pesticides in
"multiple purpose" programs. In a few
words, they have stated that chemicals
known to be harmful, and inadequately
tested pesticides should not be used over
extensive areas of public lands which are
intended for use by all public interests.
They feel that the storm warnings deserve
some recognition.

Nature refuses to stockpile her animals. Left to her own devices the surplus will be eliminated one

way or the other.

NATURE'S DEER HARVEST

by Wes Woodgerd, District 6 Supervisor

Wild animals, when not subjected to a
stabilizing influence such as annual hunt-
ing seasons, are characterized by violent
ups and downs in numbers. These changes
are quite rapid and usually go unnoticed
among the smaller animals such as mice
and squirrels. The changes, while much
slower, are very noticeable in isolated and
unhunted big game animals such as mule
deer. Mule deer on Wildhorse Island give
a good picture of what happens to deer
in this situation.

Wildhorse Island, the largest island in
northwest Montana's Flathead Lake, covers
about 2,500 acres and is roughly 60 per-
cent grassland and 40 percent timbered
slopes. There is almost no level ground
on the island. The range condition, evalu-
ated in terms of mule deer needs, is very
poor. Browse species have been over-

used to the point that they are almost non-
existent and the conifers have been high-
lined as far up as a deer can reach. Fir
and pine reproduction has been entirely
eliminated. A seed that sprouts and sends
up a few green needles is quickly nipped
off at ground level.

The grass range shows evidence of re-
covery from past abuse. Dominant plants
on the dry slopes are balsamroot and cheat
grass which became established when the
native grasses were killed out by over-
grazing, but perennial grasses are gaining
in vigor on the more favorable sites.

Mule deer share space and forage on the
island with horses and a herd of bighorn
sheep. Peak numbers occurred in all of
these animals about 1954 with an estimated
500 mule deer, 80 horses and 100 bighorns
on the island. In the winter of 1955-56,

8

most of the horses died of starvation or
were removed. The mule deer also suf-
fered heavy losses at this time and the
bighorns only a minor setback. At the
present there are three horses, about 100
bighorns and about 150 mule deer on the
island.

Studies of the mule deer on Wildhorse
Island have revealed what typically hap-
pens to population structures of unhunted
deer herds on limited range. Detailed rec-
ords have been kept since 1959. At this
time the adult mule deer were estimated
to be at about 200 head. Only 18 fawns
(1958 crop) were estimated to be on the
island during the spring of 1959. This made
an age ratio of nine fawns per hundred
adults. A reasonably good fawn crop was
born in the spring of 1959 and most of them
survived until fall when a count of 54
fawns per hundred adults was obtained.
A gradual decline of fawns was noted
throughout the winter of 1959-60 until in
the spring of 1960 only 13 fawns per hun-
dred adults were on the island.

These counts revealed that recruitment
of mule deer on Wildhorse Island
amounted to only about 10 percent an-
nually. A herd of deer can survive at this
level if mortality among the adults does

A story of desperately hungry animals is writ-
ten in the high browse line of this juniper.

not exceed 10 percent, but this is seldom
the case. The deer population was top-
heavy with old animals and particularly
with old bucks. The sex ratio of the adults
averaged about 115 bucks per hundred
does.

An unhealthy situation such as this can-
not last for long — something is bound to
break — and it did in the winter of 1961-62.
A high percentage of the old animals died.
In the spring of 1962 the age ratio was
29 fawns per hundred adults. This higher
fawn ratio was not caused by a higher-
than-usual fawn survival, but rather by
an unusually severe die-off of adults which
resulted in a rather drastic reduction in
the total deer numbers.

In the fall of 1962 there were only nine
fawns per hundred adults on Wildhorse
Island. To account for this it is necessary
to analyze the age structure of the deer.
Eighteen month-old mule deer are diffi-
cult to separate from the older classes of
animals and are therefore classed as
adults even though they have not yet re-
produced. A high percentage of this age
group will lower the ratio of fawns to
adults even though the fully adult does
produced at a normal rate. This was the
situation in the fall of 1962 on Wildhorse
Island.

Evidence obtained over the past ten
years on Wildhorse Island shows that
there has been a drop in total mule deer
from 500 to 150, or a 70 percent decline.
There has been no hunting. Poaching and
movement from the Island are not con-
sidered significant. On Wildhorse, man-
agement of the herd was left to nature
with consequent damage to the range, to
the game resource, and with zero benefit
to sportsmen.

Properly controlled hunting can help do
three important things. First, when ani-
mal numbers are kept at an optimum, the
range can be managed to provide a maxi-
mum amount of forage for game. Secondly,
game can be maintained in a thrifty, pro-
ductive condition in balance with the en-
vironment. Third, sportsmen are provided
with the maximum amount of recreation
that can be developed from the game re-
source.

9

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Some members of a field trip group discuss deer winter range conditions in Montana's Limestone Hills

near Townsend.

M&M

Field Trips

A very important part of Fish and Game programs is that of getting information on
policy, management, problems, and projects to sportsmen. One of the ways to provide in-
formation is through field trips. Field trips are not new to the department, but they are
receiving more emphasis. These outings give interested persons a chance to see first hand
some of the management projects and problems.

A lot of planning and organization is needed to produce a series of smooth running
field trips. The Director's staff, whose responsibilities include overall planning of any de-
partment program, first decides upon priority of subject matter to be shown and discussed,
the geographic areas to be covered, and organizing procedures. After plans have been
firmed up, they are given to the Director for suggestions and approval.

When plans have been approved by the Director, they are then forwarded to district
supervisors who see that programs are executed. Then come the arrangements for trans-
portation invitations, publicity, meeting spots, routes of travel and a myriad of other
details.

This spring, a dozen trips, involving about 1,000, persons, were taken to deer winter
ranges. Late July and early August will find sportsmen on the streams to get a grass-
roots rundown on trout streams and some of the problems that face fisheries management.

10

Tattletale Transmitters

What with a lot of space-born hardware
circling the globe, mechanical brains and
topless swim suits, it would seem that
the modern citizenry should be mentally
braced to meet any kind of new-fangled
gadgets. T ain't so! When grouse start
sporting radio transmitters it's almost too
much. As one old-timer offered, "it's for
the birds."

We're talking, of course, about radio
equipment that has been developed to tell
the whereabouts of wild animals. One of
the biggest headaches to any researcher
working with animals, and especially small
animals, is to be able to follow and find
marked specimens.

Now science has developed tiny trans-
mitters that can be fitted to birds and
mammals. The little device is a real tattle-
tale, and an experienced worker can locate

it with relative ease. It promises to speed
up the rate by which we can accumulate
knowledge that will benefit management
of fish and game.

Radios are being used in Montana to
learn more about sharp-tailed grouse. One
portion of the program was a cooperative
effort between the Montana Fish and Game
Department and Denver Wildlife Research
Laboratory. The laboratory is a facility
of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

During the program, the relative effects
of pesticides on grouse were being tested.
Data is not available on the results yet, but
accompanying pictures give a preliminary
look at the project which employs the most
modern equipment. A long range Fish and
Game study continues in the Highwood
area where instrumented birds have been
studied around the season.

Spring, and sharptailed grouse gather on ancestral mating grounds to court and dance away the early

morning hours.

11

RIGHT — A method of capturing sharptailed grouse on
their dancing grounds is cannon netting. Nets set the day be-
fore or earlier are lofted over birds by miniature cannons.

In the early morning darkness, research biologist Bob
Brown removes a grouse that has become entangled in the
netting.

Miniature radio transmitters like the one pictured at the
left will be placed on birds so they can be located and their
activities known. The apparatus is very light and does not
interfere with bird flight.

With short antenna trailing, this bird is ready to be re-
leased. When feathers have been preened over the radio
harness, only the tiny white transmitter and antenna are
visible.

Light weight receiver and directional antenna make it pos-
sible to zero in on instrumented birds. Radio signals vary
somewhat with activities of the birds and an experienced
listener can tell what the birds are up to.

Cycle affords mobility for Brown, but does not leave ruts
or otherwise damage rangeland.

12

13

CHAPTER 258; MONTANA

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P BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMSI Y

Proposed Fish and Game Legislation

Stream Alteration Law:

With another legislative session just
around the corner, the legislature will
again be faced with smoothing out Mon-
tana laws. Outmoded laws are abandoned,
some of the useable ones are spruced up,
and changing conditions may call for new
legislation. The Montana Fish and Game
Commission has evaluated codes and will
propose the following additions, deletions
and revisions.

During 1963, a Stream Alteration Bill
was placed on Montana's law books. This
legislation provided a measure of protec-
tion for trout streams and a means of re-
solving inter-agency differences that re-
sult from overlapping responsibilities.

Conflicting overlaps in the responsibili-
ties of governmental agencies are not un-
common. For example, the Fish and Game
Commission is obligated to provide a sports
fishery. In order to provide sport fishing,
it follows that the necessities for fish
growth and reproduction must first be
present. High on the list of necessities are
certain physical qualities of streams — such

things as bank cover, proper distribution
of pools and riffles, and bends (meanders)
in the stream channel. Conversely, con-
struction and hydraulic projects often
change or deteriorate streams so they will
no longer support or rear sport fish. This
presents a sharp conflict of interests and
an obvious overlap of responsibilities.

The legal machinery set up to take care
of these problems provides first that pre-
liminary plans for projects that may affect
fishing streams must be submitted to the
Fish and Game Commission prior to the
beginning of construction. The Commis-
sion then reviews the plans and advises
the applicant as to whether or not the proj-
ect will adversely affect the fisheries po-
tential of the stream. Alternatives may
also be recommended. In the event there
is an impasse in reaching a mutual agree-
ment, the whole affair may be turned over
to a board of arbitration. The board, com-
posed of a member from each agency and
a third person mutually agreed upon by
both agencies, hears testimony and renders
a binding decision.

14

The Fish and Game Commission feels
that the Stream Alteration Law is a just
and workable instrument and will recom-
mend that it be given permanent status.

Twenty-Dollar Deer-Antelope Licenses:

The Commission also recommends that
the next legislature continue Commission
authority to issue $20.00 nonresident deer
and antelope licenses. Such authority has
been provided on a two-year basis and will
expire after the 1964 big game season.

Twenty-dollar deer licenses are issued
only in limited numbers and in relatively
few hunting districts. These districts are
ones where deer forage conditions warrant
pressure in addition to what residents will
bring on the deer. Many deer ranges that
were severely damaged by too much use
are coming back slowly, or are still slip-
ping because of heavy use, especially in
wintering areas where deer concentrate.

Twenty-dollar deer licenses are not be-
ing issued in districts which have elk sea-
sons.

Twenty-dollar antelope licenses are is-
sued to nonresidents only after the regular
drawings have been held and are issued
only in areas where quotas remain unfilled.
These have been in the southeastern part
of the state where antelope are numerous
and the human population sparse.

Residents who did not apply for antelope
drawings, or who were not successful in
getting a license in the area of their choice,
may get one of the surplus antelope li-
censes for $1.00.

Authority for the Commission to issue
the $20.00 deer and antelope licenses is es-
sential to adequately harvesting game
herds in some parts of Montana.

Add Paddlefish to Game List:

During the past three years, the sport of
paddlefishing has been sort of rediscovered
and has gained popularity by leaps and
bounds. Now that this ancient member of
the fish world has become a primate target
in Montana's big eastern rivers, the Com-
mission foresees the need for some regula-
tory measures.

As it now stands, the paddlefish is not
listed as a game fish under Montana codes
and is, therefore, not within jurisdiction of
the Fish and Game Commission.

During the last few years, paddlefishing has
gained much popularity in Montana.

Marten:

An amendment to an existing law is
proposed which would eliminate tagging,
transporting, and reporting restrictions
now placed on marten. The proposed
amendment would place marten into the
same category as other Montana fur-
bearers.

The Commission feels that present re-
strictions have outlived their need and im-
pose an unnecessary burden upon trap-
pers.

Marten are timber dwelling animals and native
to Montana.

iv

15

Alleviation in Beaver Restrictions:

Years ago when beaver were at a premi-
um and there were no synthetic products
to take their place, trappers depleted bea-
ver numbers over much of the northwest.
In Montana, certain laws were enacted to
aid in a program of bringing this furbearer
back to abundance.

The laws and management programs did
the job admirably — even too well in some
instances. Beaver no longer need the addi-
tional protection afforded under some of
the earlier laws. In fact, the administra-
tion of the required complex permit sys-
tem and payment of tagging fees by trap-
pers are imposing unnecessary work and
expense on both the department and on
trappers.

The Commission proposes repeal of a
section of the beaver statutes so this ani-
mal will have the same status as other
furbearers.

Marten and beaver differ from other
furbearers in that all others are regulated
by the Fish and Game Commission. The
proposed amendments for beaver and mar-

ten would place them under Commission
regulations and thus provide for simplified,
more flexible management.

Use of Fish and Game Lands:

Other legislative provisions recom-
mended by the Commission would give
the Fish and Game Commission more defi-
nite authority to adequately regulate the
recreational use of lands owned or leased
by the Commission. Regulations would be
enforced in the interest of public health,
safety, and protection of public property
by regulating camping, picnicking, sanita-
tion, and routes of travel.

Residency More Clearly Defined:

One of the most frequent violations of
fish and game laws is that of nonresidents
purchasing resident hunting and fishing li-
censes. An amendment is proposed to one
section of fish and game laws so that there
will be a more clear definition of who may
purchase resident hunting and fishing li-
censes. This would be a big aid in pro-
moting uniform enforcement throughout
the state.

Montana laws that closely parallel those set by the U. S. Coast Guard require
certain things of boats, boaters, and in the way of equipment. All motor boats pow-
ered by engines of more than ten horsepower are required to be registered by the
Motnana Board of Equalization. Registered boats must be properly numbered, and
the certificate issued by the Board of Equalization must be ready for inspection at
any time the boat is in operation.

Some of Montana's waters fall under Coast Guard regulations, and boarding
crews to inspect boats may be expected on Canyon Ferry Reservoir. Fort Peck
Reservoir, and possibly Flathead Lake. Though state laws closely parallel those of
the Coast Guard, there is a new requirement for sound equipment which did not
exist at the time Montana statutes and regulations were adopted. Following are
requirements for sound-producing devices:

For more information on Boat Safety Laws and Regulations, write The Montana
Fish and Game Department, Helena, Montana.

SOUNDING DEVICES AS REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW

CLASS A MOTOR BOATS (LESS THAN 16 FEET IN LENGTH)— No sounding
device required.

CLASS 1 MOTOR BOATS (16 FEET TO LESS THAN 26 FEET IN LENGTH)—
A hand-, mouth-, or power-operated whistle or horn capable of producing a
blast of at least 2 seconds' duration and audible for a distance of at least one-
half mile.

CLASS 2 MOTOR BOATS (26 FEET TO LESS THAN 40 FEET IN LENGTH)—
One hand -or power-operated whistle or horn caoable of producing a blast of
at least 2 seconds' duration and audible for a distance of one mile.

Bell — one which, when struck, produces a clear, bell-like tone of full round
characteristics.

CLASS 3 MOTOR BOATS (40 FEET TO NOT MORE THAN 65 FEET IN LENGTH)
— Horn or whistle. Must be power-operated, capable of producing a blast of at
least 2 seconds' duration and audible for a distance of at least one mile.

Bell — same as for a Class 2 motor boat.

16

RECREATION -The Potential

And. The Problem

by Charles C. Bradley
PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY AND DEAN, DI-
VISION OF LETTERS AND SCIENCES, MONT.
STATE COLLEGE.

This article focuses attention on recrea-
tion in Montana and attempts to look at it
in its present perspective and in terms of
its future potential.

Probably only the western 1 3rd of Mon-
tana will attract large numbers of out-of-
state vacationists. The eastern 2 3rds
could still expand its irrigation and in-
dustry without interfering greatly with
headwater recreation. To my mind, there
is no doubt that the state could profitably

subordinate most other water develop-
ments and economic efforts in the western
third of the state to that kind of high quali-
ty recreation rapidly becoming unavail-
able elsewhere in the nation and the world.
In studying this, we must review not only
our strengths but our weaknesses. We do
have certain natural advantages, such as
something called "western hospitality" and
beautiful landscapes. On the other hand,
we have a long way to go in the realm of
understanding, much less creating the kind
of peaceful beauty that these tourists are
dreaming about and are hungering for
when they come.

Tourism, like the American standard of living is inexorably tied to water, but there is a great deal

of elasticity in this tie.

17

■•6 ■"■■•'
£-* -

We have a long way to go in understanding, much less creating the kind of peaceful beauty that tour-
ists are dreaming about and hungering for.

We still decorate our stream banks and
village entrances with old car bodies. We
Montanans do more than our share to be-
foul our own picnic areas, campsites, our
streams and lakes. We train our engineers
to get their jobs done sturdily, speedily and
economically but have never tried to teach
them (because we lack it ourselves) that
sense of fitness which produces a struc-
ture of harmony with the landscape. We
are especially blind in those engineering
structures which impinge upon our water-
ways. In short, much as we say we love
the natural beauty of Montana, as citizens
of the state, we do not hesitate to lay it
waste, turn it to ugliness, and send it down
the drain. This is odd, not so much because
we all know Montana beauty is what
brings tourist dollars, but more poignantly
because this same beauty is the reason
most of us have chosen to live here the
year round instead of to just vacation here.

We have a long way to go in the tourist
game and time is not working for us. How-
ever, if we are interested we could do

worse than send a commission to Switzer-
land for a short course on how man can
live in beauty and create beauty in a beau-
tiful land, or how (the under side of the
coin) you can "soak the tourist" and yet
send him away eagerly planning to spend
his next vacation and dollars in your coun-
try.

Although the tourist industry is vitally
connected with water, the connection is
subtle and tenuous. Limitations on the
tourist industry probably cannot be stated
quantitatively in terms of gallons of wa-
ter, but it is not at all unlikely that a crude
mathematical relationship exists between
the number of recreationists in a given
area and the miles of attractive shoreline
or stream bank in the area. It has been
known, and amply shown (ORRRC 1960),
that the specific major focus of recreation
in the U. S. is upon natural water bodies,
and that the quality of the recreational ex-
perience is directly and strongly related to
the quality of the water and the "natural-
ness" of the setting. Maybe we should

18

stress quality rather than number when
we talk about recreation.

Tourism, like the American standard of
living, is inexorably tied to water but
there is a great deal of elasticity in this
tie. By eager mismanagement of our water
resources we could probably get many
more dissatisfied tourists than any other
state in the union.

Somewhere between 2' { and 10% of
Americans, 4 to 20 million, search annually
and specifically for the opportunity for
contact with nature in varying degrees of
primitiveness. Each year the search grows
more feverish and more frustrating as ur-
ban living is intensified and our dab of re-
maining wild lands are eroded away under
other utilitarian pressures. In abundance
of these lands, the State of Montana is
both rich and now nearly unique in the
nation. With wisdom and planning we
could preserve and enhance this advantage.
Best of all, by careful management, we
could have a non-dwindling resource for
which there is an increasing demand — a
greater demand than that for our wheat,
our Treasure Steaks, or our kilowatts. Long
after our minerals are used up and as long
as people have money in their pockets and
beauty in their souls, they may want to
visit Montana, the Treasure state, whose
treasure goes well beyond minerals, lum-
ber and food.

A study of the tourist potential of Mon-
tana is not basically an economic study.
Rather, it is a search into the deepest long-
ings and the richest experiences of man.
Recreation in its best meaning refers to the
renewal of the body and spirit of man. This
is a realm of study we have not bothered
about in America but it might strike pay
dirt.

In France the tourist is apt to get the im-
pression that the French are interested in
his money. In Switzerland he gets the im-
pression that the Swiss are interested in
him. Before we make a serious bid for
tourists in Montana, it is a fair question
and an important one to ask "Which are
we interested in?" The honest answer to
this will tell us whether we can expect
success or mediocrity, whether tourists will

come to Montana or pass through Montana.
In a deeper sense, it spells the difference
between Montana, a land of enchantment,
or Montana, a land of disappointment. In
terms of keeping Montana beautiful for
those who live here, if we are not really
interested in tourists as people we would
do much better to discourage them from
coming. Much can be lost by simply not
caring what tourists want from Montana
or what we residents do to our state.

For Montana to work for a recreation
ideal will mean, amongst other things:

1. Learning the meaning of "charm" as
applied to people and places, then learning
how it applies to Montana.

2. Learning to enjoy, care for, and deal
skillfully with fairly large numbers of
tired, frustrated, and spiritually hungry
outlanders.

3. Learning the various ways in which
these people may be hidden from each
other.

4. Learning how to educate the tourists
into the mysteries of living out-of-doors or
under semi-primitive conditions and how
to cope with the problems of this. The
heart of recreation is contrast. How to
spend a few days in sharp contrast to
highly civilized living without too much
discomfort is the delicate problem.

5. Learning by careful study the "carry-
ing capacity" or the "optimum number" for
various kinds of recreational space and
then restricting the use to that number.
This will take a high degree of sensitivity,
perceptiveness, and firmness of action.

6. Learning how and what to charge a
tourist for his recreation privileges and
then how to use these funds to perpetuate
and enhance a situation in which a har-
assed city dweller can find a few days of
peace for the renewal of his spirit.

A little of this knowledge is possessed by
a few Montanans, notably some "dude
ranchers," and some guides and packers,
but theirs is a special form of recreation
which appeals to a few and can be afforded
by even fewer. We should strive for a

19

variety of recreational opportunities con-
sistent with the general atmosphere de-
sired which capitalizes on the primitive
setting of Montana. The dude ranchers and
the Montana Wilderness Association have
made a start on promotion of good recrea-
tion, but they and the rest of us, together
have lots to learn if our desire is to corner
the tourist market. Anyone can capture
a casual passerby, jam him into a crowded
motel, and wring a few dollars out of him.
The burning question in the tourist trade
is "How do we capture his spirit?" The
rest will follow. Attractive waterways are
the "bait." We have them. What we do to
them is of crucial importance — starting
now.

We might end this discussion of water
resources and recreation by emphasizing
again that the key to recreation in Mon-
tana is the naturalness of the scene. Re-
gardless of our own in-state recreational
desires, the out-of-stater is not looking for
marinas and water skiing with their
crowds and noise. He can find these in any
state in the union including his own. He
is not searching for a fluctuating reservoir
with its usual muddy banks and construc-
tion scars and litter. The New Yorker or
the Californian who has his sights on Mon-
tana is dreaming of a quiet spot to camp
where he can sit in the sun or shade, hear
a stream, catch a trout, smell spruce
needles and breathe sweet Montana air un-
favored by industrial fumes.

This is what the tourist dreams of in Montana — to catch a trout, smell spruce needles, and breathe
sweet Montana air unf lavored by industrial fumes.

20

In the future if we cannot reserve for
him streams and lakes in their natural set-
ting he simply will not find them any-
where in our nation short of Alaska — a
thousand miles father on. To him Montana
will have lost its Treasure, its uniqueness,
and will be as dull and disappointing as
any other state.

As a broad summary estimate of the
problem of wise commitment of Montana's
water, we might try to think first in terms
of water use priorities and second, in terms
of how best to organize these uses so that
they interfere as little as possible with each
other. A pulp mill can ruin downstream
fishing, agricultural withdrawals can rule
out downstream industry and trout.

Can zoning, as a planning principle, be
applied somehow to a state? Why not?
It's our state. If we could zone Montana's
land and water, it would appear wise to
leave as much as possible of the western
1/ 3rd of Montana to natural lands, natural
bodies of water, and to the primitive or
semi-primitive recreation so suited to that
area. This will mean, of course, restricted
lumbering as well as engineering projects
in that area, or viewed in another way the
extent of our lumbering and engineering in
that area, will restrict the recreation. The
choice of how much we have of each will

be up to us, but they are mutually incom-
patible. More of one means less of the
other. The middle 1 3rd of the state could
be the main industrial belt with associated
dams and power developments to serve
these industries. The eastern 1 3rd could
use the overflow for intensification of ag-
riculture or, perhaps, the runoff could be
sold at a more handsome profit to down-
stream users.

To do all these things we should not for-
get the self-education job for Montanans.
We need first of all to gather a lot of in-
formation on our water particularly as re-
gards how it is being consumed, and how
it can be conserved both as to quantity and
quality. This will be expensive but vital
to the project. It will take experts who
have not yet been trained, and training
programs not yet devised.

We need to put a tremendous effort into
developing a new high level of sensitivity
to natural beauty and to learn how to
conserve it in the face of all our other ac-
tivities. This may not be expensive in
terms of dollars, but it will take man
hours subtractd from activities of lesser
value and devoted to caring about Mon-
tana and what happens to the quality of
living in our beloved state.

21

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•15

PRAIRIE DOG

By VERNON CRAIG

Photos by H. LaCasse

The prairie dog was as much a part of
the Great Plains as were bison and ante-
lope. They seem, in fact, to typify the era
of saddle leather and gunsmoke. Hardly
a western novelist has failed to make some
colorful note of the little dog or his quaint
"dog town." Prairie dogs are as Ameri-
can as antelope, for like antelope they are
native only to our continent. Early ex-
plorers sometimes referred to them as
"barking squirrels." They are members of
the squirrel family and just a casual look
would lead one to suspect an oversize
ground squirrel with a short tail.

Probably no other members of prairie
animals have suffered more the wrath of
man. They have been trapped, poisoned,
gassed, and shot at since the time of early
settlers. Still they persist, and promise to
outlast the deep ruts of prairie schooners
and stage coaches — and much longer.

These are sociable little rodents and they
live close together in "towns" covering
from an acre or less to several square
miles. It is believed that before white man
came to this continent, the prairie dog
may have been the most abundant mam-
mal over several large tracts west of the

22

Missouri River. One colony in South
Dakota was estimated to spread over two
thousand acres. They were extremely
abundant in Montana, Wyoming, and west-
ern Kansas.

Colonies, or towns of prairie dogs are a
mass of miniature craters. A mound of dirt
brought up during excavation of the bur-
row is piled around the opening and firmly
tamped with the dog's nose. The craters
afford perches for the dogs and provide a
vantage point from which the alert ani-
mals can get a better view of the surround-
ing territory. The mound of earth also
provides considerable protection against
flooding of the rodent's homes. There is
usually a correlary between the age of the
burrow and the size of its crater — the
longer a hole has been occupied the larger
the crater grows. From the crater-like
opening, the burrow drops straight down,
or nearly so, for several feet. Some have
been measured to a depth of 14 feet. At
this juncture the tunnels become more

horizontal and accommodate enlarged
chambers where the animals apparently
rest and rear their young.

Usually, a pair occupies a burrow, ex-
cepting when young are being reared.
Young are born in late May or during the
early part of June. A litter may run to
six or eight young, though the average is
about four.

Wishtonwish, as the Indians called prai-
rie dogs, are primarily vegetarians, though
they are noted to eat grasshoppers. They
habitually keep nearly all vegetation cut
down close to the ground. Roots as well
as the exposed parts of plants are con-
sumed and their home grounds typically
become quite barren. On occasions when
dogs have denuded an area severely and
are forced to travel distances for food, the
entire colony may abandon their site and
reestablish a town in another area. Colonies
will emigrate for other, sometimes unex-
plainable, reasons.

This little burrowing owl, disturbed from his mid-day nap, glowers discontentedly from the top of

an abandoned prairie dog burrow.

'*

23

As with all wild creatures, the life of
a prairie dog is a hazardous one. In addi-
tion to man, snakes, badgers, coyotes,
eagles, and other predators make life hec-
tic for them. In days past, the black-footed
ferret roamed the dog towns mercilessly,
killing for food and fun in the typical
blood-thirsty manner of the weasel family.
The specter of ferrets may well have ac-
counted for many mass emigrations of
dog colonies.

A food and housing relationship among
prairie dogs, rattlesnakes and burrowing
owls accounts for their being commonly
seen in the same vicinity. Old-timers
sometimes considered that the three ani-
mals kept company with each other, and
this has led to fanciful stories of comrade-
ship among these elements of the animal
world. Actually, burrowing owls use aban-
doned burrows for their homes. The rat-
tlers, of course, look for a grub-stake of
tender young dogs. Adult dogs will kick
dirt at a rattlesnake in an attempt to scare
it away and reportedly will plug a hole
that a snake has entered.

So many secrets of social behavior exist
among wild animals, and prairie dogs are
not without theirs. We generally associate
humans with mob violence, but the little
dogs have mobs that become as hysterical,
as vengeful and vicious as our own civil-
ized people. For some breach of social be-
havior or natural laws, for reasons we
know nothing of, a mob of dogs will sav-
agely turn upon one of their members and
with tooth and claw literally stuff him
down a hole and tamp the hole in after
him. Accounts of prairie dogs getting the
death sentence are not uncommon.

The author has come upon only a few ac-
counts involving human use of prairie
dogs. They apparently provided target
practice for young Indians and filled camp
fire pots. An account in an early edition of
Fort Benton's River Press states, "It is a
well-known fact that the skin of the com-
mon prairie dog, if taken in late spring or
during the summer, makes the toughest
leather known to leather workers. In the

early days when the old overland stage
line was in active business across the con-
tinent, the stage drivers used to employ
Indians and others to tan the skins of prai-
rie dogs for the purpose of using them for
whip points." An account also credits the
hides for providing gloves said to be much
tougher and superior to buckskin.

When settlers moved into the plains with
plows and domestic stock, cultivation, over-
grazing, and possibly cutting down of pred-
ators made conditions excellent for expan-
sion of prairie dog numbers. Farmers and
stockmen both too ka real personal inter-
est in what the little dogs were doing. It
was estimated that 32 well-fed prairie dogs
would consume as much greenery as one
sheep. "The glutton dogs," stockmen said,
"must go."

In the late 1800's, ranchers and farmers
began to mobilize for all-out war on the lit-
tle animals, and about 1900 the Biological
Survey threw their forces into the battle
to be followed later by the Forest Service.
Earlier attempts at eradication employed
dumping of poisoned grain in prairie dog
holes. Later the battle employed poisonous
gasses. Wads of absorbent material soaked
with bisulphide of carbon were dropped
into the holes.

The drive to eliminate the dogs was re-
lentless. As late as 1953, 149 farmers in
Rosebud county alone used 9,835 pounds
of strychnine oats and 54,000 gas wads dur-
ing one year. Later, 1080 was used in oats.

Complete extermination with known
methods was impossible, considering the
vast areas to be covered and reproductive
potential of prairie dogs. Though they
were eliminated over large areas and re-
duced over their entire range, several
colonies still exist in Montana and other
states.

The prairie dog occupies a unique niche
in the complex animal kingdom. He has
his own place among our native fauna.
Despite his healthy appetite "Wishton-
wish" deserves a chance to survive — at
least in limited numbers.

24

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INFORMATION-EDUCATION DIVISION

MONTANA FISH & GAME DEPARTMENT

Helena, Montana
ZIP 39601

Helena, Montana

Sec. 34.66, P. L. & R.
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