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AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Linda Hahn for the degree of Master of Science in History of Science presented on February 4. 2000. Title: In the Midst of a Revolution: Science, Fish Culture and the Oregon Game Commission. 1935-1949. Redacted for privacy Abstract approved: Mary Jo Nye This thesis will address the transformation of biological sciences during the 1930s and 1940s and it effects on fisheries science. It will focus on Oregon State College and specifically the Department of Fish and Game Management and the interaction with the Oregon Game Commission. Support for mutation theory and neo- Lamarckism lasted throughout this study's time frame. The resulting belief that the environment can directly affect species fitness could have been a factor in fisheries managers' support for fish hatcheries. Throughout this time frame the science of ecology was emerging, but the dominant science of agricultural breeding science within wildlife management took precedence over ecology. Two case studies show changing ideas about agricultural breeding science as applied to wildlife management. In the first case study, the debate concerning fishways over Bonneville Dam shows that fish hatcheries were counted on to mitigate the loss of salmon habitat due to construction, and to act as a failsafe should the fishways fail. When the 1934 Oregon Game Commission members failed to enthusiastically support the construction of the dam and the fishway plans, this thesis argues that the commission members were dismissed in 1935. The second case study addresses the actions of the Oregon Game Commission in placing some high dams on tributaries of the Willameue River, the Willamette Valley project. This thesis shows that the inclusion of ecological principles in the evaluation of fish hatcheries led the commission to oppose this project. For their opposition, this thesis argues that the 1949 Oregon Game Commission members were dismissed. In both cases, this thesis concludes that the federal funding of water development projects played an important role in the dismissals of both Oregon Game Commissions. In addition, the evolving nature of biological science during the 1 930s and 1940s shows that lingering beliefs in mutation theory and neo-Lamarckism would have supported the use of fish hatcheries as a scientifically acceptable solution to declines in fish runs within the scientific tradition of agricultural methods of breeding wildlife. Copyright by Linda Hahn February 4, 2000 All Rights Reserved In the Midst of a Revolution: Science, Fish Culture, and the Oregon Game CommissiOn, 1935-1949 by Linda Hahn A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Presented February 4, 2000 Commencement June 2001 Master of Science thesis of Linda Hahn presented on February 4 2000 APPROVED: Redacted for privacy Mary Jo Nye, rpreting History of Science Redacted for privacy Redacted for privacy Dean of the,Gtadt1'ate School I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University Libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. Redacted for privacy Linda Hahn, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thankfully acknowledge the members of my thesis committee, Dr. Mary Jo Nye, chair, Dr. Ronald Doe! and Dr. William Robbins. This thesis certainly would have suffered without their contributions and suggestions. I would also like to thank Dr. Paul Farber for his patience in seeing me through a reading and conference on the modern synthesis. I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Dawn Peters who functioned as my unofficial thesis adviser. Elizabeth Nielsen, reference archivist at the OSU Archives, helped tremendously by providing excellent suggestions for this project. I greatly appreciate the informed suggestions and good friendship of Carmel Finley and Ronda Clemenhagen. Glenn and Mary Hardenbrook must be thanked for their encouragement and support during this project's completion. Finally, I'd like to thank my sister, Kris Hahn, for her advice, encouragement, and for letting me use her laptop to complete my writing after my hard drive had crashed. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1-THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION 17 The Modem Synthesis...................................................... 18 Lamarckism................................................................... 18 Continuous vs. Discontinuous Evolution.......................................... 20 Agriculture and Eugenics................................................................. 24 Natural Selection and neo-Lamarckism........................................... 26 Nathan Fasten's Genetics.................................................................. 28 The Journal of Heredity.................................................................... 34 AKulmian Analysis..................................................................... 36 Ecology....................................................................... 42 The Conservation Movement............................................. 45 Conclusion................................................................... CHAPTER 2- FISHERIES SCIENCE AND FISH CULTURE.................. 53 SalmonLife Histories........................................................................ 53 Fisheries Science................................................................................ 55 Charles Gilbert and the Fraser River Study ....................................... 58 Tagging Studies Questioned............................................................. 63 A Balance of Water Development and Fisheries......................... 66 FishCulture....................................................................................... 68 Hatchery Detractors Ignored............................................................. 72 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) The OSC Department of Fish and Game Management..................... 74 Conclusion........................................................................................ 78 CHAPTER 3- THE BONNEVILLE FISH WAY DEBATE........................ 87 History of the Oregon Game Commission........................................ 87 The Columbia River Basin Development Plan................................ 90 TheDebate........................................................................................ 92 The Interstate Fish Conservation Committee................................... 93 The December 10, 1934 Meeting and Proposals.............................. 95 ThePublic Debate............................................................................. 101 Dismissing Opinions by Dismissing People..................................... 105 Fleeting Success and Unwanted Credit............................................. 108 Conclusion......................................................................................... 112 CHAPTER 4- B. E. WILSON CHALLENGES ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION118 The Willamette Valley Project......................................................... 119 Alleged Numbers Falsification at Fish Hatcheries.......................... 125 Opposition to the Willamette Valley Project............................. 128 Habitat Study Preparation Inadequate............................................... 132 Ryckman, Needham, Dams and Fish Hatcheries......................... 135 Reorganization and Dismissal.......................................................... 141 Conclusion...................................................................................... 145 CONCLUSION............................................................................................. 150 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) APPENDICES................................................................................... 170 Appendix A Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Projects, 1935-45............................................. 171 Appendix BClasses Offered by the Department of Fish and Game Management, 1935-45................... 173 Abbreviations for Archival Collections MSS Roland Dimick Papers DIMICK OSU Archives Memorabilia Collection, Roland Dimick MCDIMICK OSU Archives Memorabilia Collection, Nathan Fasten MCFASTEN OSU Archives MSS William Finley FINLEY OSU Archives MSS E. E. Wilson Papers WILSON OSU Archives SG IV, Series I WILSON/date (Game Commission minutes) SG IV, Series II WILSON/FISH (Fisheries) Oregon State College Catalogs CATALOGS OSU Archives Oregon State Game Commission minutes MINUTES/date State of Oregon Archives This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Ona June Ivers, June 8,1910June 26,1999, one who daily reveled in the beauty and diversity of Oregon's flowers, birds and animals. In the Midst of a Revolution: Science, Fish Culture and the Oregon Game Commission, 1935-1949 Introduction Many factors have been cited as contributing to the decline of salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest: overfishing, pollution, the effects of mining, logging and farming, urban growth, loss of habitat, construction of dams and fish hatcheries, as well as cultural factors that distance people from nature. Historically, concern over dwindling runs has been ameliorated with the belief that science and technology could solve the dilemma. Repeated studies that have shown declines in salmon runs prove otherwise. A 1986 study by the U. S. Department of Fish and Wildlife analyzed 25,500 escapement records for naturally reproducing