- Volume 8 JANUARY 15, 1949 Number 1 STATE PARKS HOST TO MILLIONS -------·----. * * * * * • • • • • * Ten Cents P er P ers on I s Total Cost FOX TRAPPING T o S tate In 1948 THE HILL RIMS B y Wilbur A . Rush By ,Ja me!> R. Harla n Uio e ri n t c nde nt o f P n r " :o. .\.:-. , h.ta n t Director Thirty years ago a Des Moines The State Conservation Commis­ sion is requesting the Fifty-thir d • grade school kid, "Squirrel" Ed­ wards, caught a fox on the edge of General Assembly to appropriate town and for months his school $7,577,290 for the state parks and yard sobnquct was changed to recreation areas in 1949 and 1950. "Fox" Edwards. We Elmwood $645,290 is requested to operate school kids smce kindergarten days existing facilities and $6,932,000 for had been fed on fox propaganda improvement of facilities in the 87 through Aesop's Fables. Somehow state parks and for development of we believed, like the Indian who ate additional areas. a brave foe's heart in order to in­ Analysis of the requested appro­ herit his courage, that "Squirrel" priation for park maintenance bad absorbed the deceased animal's funds reveals it to be far below the sagacity. national average for state and na­ Those were the days when Hard­ tional park upkeep. Figures re­ ing's Magazine, the trapper's bible leased by the information service of of the times, gave the rare "cen­ the Department of Interior show tury" fox trappers who caught one the national average cost per park hundred fox per season fwl page visitor to be 25 cents. photo spreads and column after col­ Iowa's state pa rk syst e m pla yed host to more tha n two a nd t hree·fourths million v isitors Compared to this, Iowa spent in 1948, eight thousand of w hom were rugged outdoor c:a mpers. J im She rman Phot o. only eight and a fourth cents per r umn of type. Always the "century man" was park visitor for both capttal im­ from some far away wilderness in provement and maintenance for the Maine, New York, or other eastern OFFICERS REVIEW 1948 FISHING SEASON fiscal year ending June 30, 1948. If the maintenance appropriation re- s bathwick. To us city school kids, fed on Aesop's pap, the century Tabulation of reports received I 111 ,, phenornl·nal for catlish during quested 1·s granted by the leg1·s- trapper shared the hero's throne from state conservation officers th~ toa1·1) r11nt of the season trom lature, costs for the parks in 1949 :llaquoketa nam on down, I i mit with King Arthur, Daniel Boone, throughout the state after the close cnlches the 1·ule rather than the ex- and '50 WI'll sttll be well under the ) Sergeant York, and all the other of the fishing season reveal what ception Bass only fair thl·ouf;h most 25 cent national average cost when j the fisherman already knew some- of the summer. The \Vnpslplnicon boyhood idols of the time was poor until fall when snwllmouth based on the 1948 attendance fig- 1 limes angling was excellent, some- ha:-;s started. hittinJ:?. Trout tbhing ures in Iowa's parks. Even today, for many of us the . f · d t' .1s a whole Just fn1r, althoug-h the fox trappe1 has retained his air of t lmes aJr, an some tmes poor. lwt ter fishermen thought it w·as I The use of Iowa's parks con- e romance and mystery. My eyes Taken as a whole, the reports g-ood. Trou~ streams ,·er;\· heavily tinues to increase year after year · d' t 1948 t 1 t fisht!d, makmg t1·out h a t• de r to · I. popped when I heard of Bill ·Nel­ m 1ca e was a eas average catch." During- the first 11 months of 1948, son's record' I had to go see. with more fishermen trying their J <n ~· Set c h c ll, Hum llto u and H nr- a ten per cent increase in attend- .. luck. Most of the conservation of- clin : "Late fall r.tins a life-saver d · I found Bill at Farmmgton, his Sl<unl< and Boone rivers poor on all ance was note over the ent1re 12 ll beautiful collection of fox furs, and fi cers expressed concern about very , arit>ties. Iowa-:-;rnallrnouth good to I months of 1947 A total of 2,775,­ D low water stages with the possi- excellent; catfish good, fish small; · ·t t . d th k d these facts 167 fox from Novem­ few walleyes. crappie and northerns 940 VlSI ors U I 1tze e par S an il ber 1 to November 28; 16 fox in bllity of widespread winter freeze- LowE>r Pine Ln l<e- largemouth fish- recreational areas during the first il outs indicated in their reports. in~ good; crappie and sil\'crs plenti- th f d one day out of 37 sets; 7 fox in 7 ful but small: blucg-ills sc;1t'('e. Bull- 11 mon s 0 1 9 4 8 as compare to Jl successive sets, and 7 fox trapped (;nrfieJd Jla r k e r . Jon es lliHI J nck ­ heads in Goosp Lal<e died dul'lng hot 2,512,644 visitors for the entire e ...,... Cou utie": "By far the bt-st fish­ W£'" ther. The 1 ow a unusua II v low m a single set on 7 straight days. ing In five )ears. ~Iissi!<slppl fishing Smallmouths hit in :-;hady pools be- year of 1947 [· Btll is 40 years old, a native of ''as excellent, especially below the low riffles. Bass concentratl d and hit Although Commission records clam at Bellevue where the\· started .1n\ thing flv fishermen Pl'esented. Van Buren County, and not only a hit1ng- in :\lay and held up 'all sum­ An1 concerni-d ahout brood stock as show a decrease m the wmter use )' Ruccessful trapper but a profes­ mer and fall Perch, sheepshead, a n·sult" of state parks, this decrease is off- I" e1·appie, !'lriped bass 'vere most pop­ Gen e Ne,, c ll. G ut1a r ie, \ d ulr, a n d et b h · sional trapper of wide experience. ular and easily caught ""alleyes l u lon : "\Yhat f\shin~ I have in this s Y a s arp mcrease m summer He has trapped from the mountains hit well with some black hass and tt-nitory was not very good due to attendance. July was the most of California ( 41 marten in a single (at fish . All the way down the rh·er thf t.-xtreme dry weather. The rl\'ers popular month in 1948 with a total crappies did well with bluegills in are very low A few catfhh and carp. season l, throughout the northwest, some places ,·er) plentiful. Bullhead L:tke fishin;., was at"' stand t II · attendance of 748,846 VISitors. Un- fishing- was lair but not real good 1 and in northern Minnesota. He Many old timers claim pole and line f'rank St nrr, <ht'rokee noad nuenn like the 1947 season when areas makes his hvelihood by sale of furs, fishing in the Mississippi the best for Yis t n: "''-\'allt>ye fishing in Storm h · t'fi · 1 1 k h d th 20 years. Commercial fishing was Lake was outstanding with fall fish-~ avmg ar 1 Cia a es S owe e (Continued on page 104) not too good. :Maquoketa ltiYer fish- (Continu(•d on page 102) CContinU(·d on pag" lfl~) 98 IOWA CONSE RVA TION I ST - Iowa Conservationist for a stream improvement program ~ so that there will be more fishable Published Monthly By 1 THE IOWA STATE CONSERVATION water. It's somethmg to work on al any rate. tiol COMMISSION her 914 Grand Avenue Des Moines. Iowa There is nothing wrong with the Scott County Sportsmen's Associa­ the (No Rights Reserved the WM S BEARDSLEY, Governor of Iowa tiOn that a batch of new members wouldn't cure. Maybe you can tuck J BRUCE F STILES D1rector some memberships m your ruck­ tor JAMES R HARLAN, Edttor sack, Santa. Those boys need a lift Ed ENID BROWN, Assoc1ate Editor to help them carry on their splen­ B did pheasant and quail rearing pro­ MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION gram. Costs a lot of money to keep E G TR O T, Cl 'l r ~ an F 1r t Dod ge. that project going each year and MRS. ADDISON PARKER........ Des Moines too few ::;portsmen realize it wh E B. GAUNITZ. .... ... ... .............. La nsing Our pheasants and quail would sm ARTHUR C GINGER ICH ............. Wellman ki~ F J. POYN EER ..................... Godar Rap1ds like a Christmas present of more 1 fu• F W. MATTES .....................Odebolt t cover There is a great lack of it. J. D. REYNOLDS... ... ... .... .... .. .. Creston Not one farm in ten has a suitable hi! cover patch Multiflora rose plant­ rna CIRCULATION THIS ISSUE 33.500 ings will help and we need more ID E'lt• r I I'd - a t tr of these. Food and water the birds Po::;• v fl"·" a t u " M ull~<" lv ,.,·a, Sep.em do have, but a l'OOf over their heads to ber 22 1947, u nder the Act of August 24, fl 191 2. is the crying need of the moment. Subscrip n 1 ">€'r yea r Look the country-side over as you lb 3 years lor S 1.00 For the be nefit of all Iowa ns, Santa Claus could bring great e r fin ancial support t o the fe soil conserva tion program Soli Connrvation Committee Photo.