California. Dept. of Fish and Garre. Biennial Report 1952-1954
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California. Dept. of Fish and Garre. Biennial Report 1952-1954. I California. Dept. of Fish and Game. Biennial Report 1952-1954. (bound volume) JCalifornia. Dept. of Fish and Game, n Biennial Report 1952-1954. (bound volume) -i California Resources Agency Library 1416 9th Street, Room 117 Sacramento, California 95814 FORTY- THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT CALIFORNIA Department of FISH^ndOAME ^'» ,^^jf% FOR THE YEARS i 1952 - 1954 m/^m^M STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME / FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT of the DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME November, 1954 STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME GOODWIN J. KNIGHT, Governor FISH AND GAME COMMISSION William J. Silva, Chairman, Modesto Lee F. Payne, Los Angeles Carl F. Wente, San Francisco Harley E. Knox, Son Diego Weldon L. Oxiey, Redding TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Letter of Transmittal 4 Report of the Director 7 Water Projects 1 7 Wildlife Protection 2 1 Inland Fisheries 2 7 Game Management 45 Marine Fisheries 5 9 Appendices 79 [3] Goodwin J. Knight COMMISSIONERS GOVERNOR Seth Gordon WILLIAM J SILVA, PRESIDENT DIRECTOR MODESTO LEE PAYNE LOS ANGELES CARL F. WENTE SAN FRANCISCO HARLEY E KNOX SAN DIEGO STATE OF CALIFORNIA WELDON L OXLEY REDOING ai dxth (§nmt ^i>partxitatt ^xbI] 926 J STREET SACRAMENTO 14, CALIFORNIA His Excellency, Goodwin J. Knight Governor of the State of California Sacramento, California Sir: A\'c have the honor to submit herewith the Forty-third Biennial Re- port, covering the period July 1, 1952, through June 30, 1954. This report covers the period during which the department put into effect the decentralized reorganization plan established by the Legisla- ture on June 1, 1951, and the transfer of headquarters from San Fran- cisco to Sacramento, to create a more efficient operating agency. In addition the report contains accounts of activities and plans of the Wildlife Conservation Board, the Marine Research Committee, and the various branches of the department in fostering the conservation and wise uses of California's wildlife resources. A summary of important policy decisions of the Fish and Game Com- mission and important new legislation affecting fish and game also is included. Respectfully submitted. Director a] REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR \% 4^ I Hunfing, angling license buyers continue fo increase. Deparfmenfal reorganization plan placed in effect. Water projects added as staff function. Ten-year plan presented to legislative committees. Conservation education activity stepped up. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR "Conservation Is the Triim/ph of Cormnon Sense Over Ignorance and Greed'" —California Junior Chamber of Commerce Believing that an informed public is the best guarantee of wise use of California's wildlife resources, and fully able to judge the effectiveness of conservation programs to tiiat end, the department con- solidated and materially strengthened its program of conservation education during the past two years in an effort to keep abreast of the ever-increasing population pressures and the record numbers of anglers and hunters afield in California. At the same time the task of maintaining, protecting improvements, and- efforts to make available closed and increasing, where possible, fish and wildlife re- areas have made substantial contributions to the over- sources, consolidating gains effected by reorganization all wildlife picture. on a decentralized plan passed by the Legislature in The darkest picture, and one of constant concern 1951 and making long-range plans for the future, to the department, is the condition of the ocean fish- were major goals of everv department emplo\'ce. eries. During the biennium the State's commercial Indications are that the complexity of these tasks ocean catch dropped to a 20-year low. Sardines as a will increase rather than decrease or reach a plateau commercial catch have virtually disappeared from in the years to come. During the past two years the offshore waters. Alarming danger signals are being numbers of anglers and hunters increased at a rate observed in the anchovv and Pacific mackerel fishery. even faster than the tremendous population gains Warnings of this condition have been made repeatedly which show no signs of slackening. by department scientists. On the other hand ocean In 1952 the number of license holders was 1,600,000. sportsfishing has increased materiallv in recent years, As of the close of the biennium there were 1,871,000 and shows signs of matching inland angling in popu- in- Californians. or a gain of one-fifth in only two years. This larity with creased army of hunters and fishermen made their The responsibilit\' of the California Department presence known with continuing requests for more of Fish and Game in these significant times is clear. fish in the streams and lakes, more game birds and Its primary duty, in conjunction with its policy- mammals, and more places to hunt and fish. making body, the Fish and Game Commission, is to As cities grew larger and more and more lands perpetuate, manage, and, a\ here possible to increase were developed for intensive agriculture and industry, the wildlife resources of the State, consistent with resulting in material loss of wildlife habitat, need and their wise use and habitat needs. demand grew for assured public access to hunting and Appreciation for Outdoors fishing areas heretofore unreachable. not Other lovers of the out-of-doors who do These responsibilities become greater and more hunt, but enjoy and make use of California's wild- difficult to effect, not only because of the increased life resources in other ways are also concerned with numbers of hunters and fishermen, but through pres- expanded access. sures of advancing civilization and growth. It has become a matter of integrating a sound wildlife Recreational Attractions management program with a burgeoning industrial so the citizen Ironically, one of the main factors in bringing to and agricultural growth, that California California this tremendous migration has been this of today and tomorrow can continue to develop an the character State's great and unparalleled year-long recreational appreciation for outdoor living and attractions, including its opportunities for hunting building values derived therefrom. have been in the and fishing. Thus the numbers of outdoorsmen who Encouraging signs developing become new residents of California add to the pres- philosophy of forward thinking Californians along sure on wildlife in greater proportion than normallv- these lines during the past two years. Planners are to find a for outdoor life and In spite of these conditions the Department of Fish beginning place of and Game was able to show substantial progress in recreational possibilities in their schemes future many wildlife management fields. Its hatchery and development. The Department of Fish and Game has this trend trout planting program, expansion of waterfowl and will continue to encourage important management areas where the public can hunt, more of thinking. is to our wild- cooperative pheasant hunting areas, big game man- Important as long-range planning of and agement, stream improvement, upland game habitat life resource, the problem meeting angling [7] A stepped-up program of hunter safety was inaugu- rated during the latter part of the biennium as a result This of far-sighted action by the State Legislature. leg- islation required hunters under the age of 16 years, applying for a license for the first time, to show evi- dence of at least four hours instruction in handling firearms, and in the rudiments of hunter safety and courtesy. Plans were completed for a department-wide train- ing program designed to increase the operating effi- ciency of Fish and Game personnel and thus save thou- sands of dollars of license fees and other funds which can be diverted to more productive channels. This is the picture of the past two years. It is a pe- riod of notable gains in many wildlife fields, reverses in some others. It is a period of constantly expanding hunting and fishing pressure, of lessons learned the hard way, and of lessons learned in the field of depart- mental research. It has been two years of new, bold steps by the commission and the department in the This icene on the Son Gabriel River on opening day of fhe J 954 Irout fields of fish and Above and be- svoson illusirolei Ihe kind of fishing pressure California's streams and game management. lakes are getiing. yond all of these things, it has been a "shakedown cruise" for departmental reorganization, and a period on a da\-to-day basis reaches pro- hunting pressure for ahead. the looking portions w hich are hard to visualize. In two years of licensed hunters and fishermen has in- number 10-year Estimate creased b\- 300,000. Many of them are trout fishermen Near the end of the biennium several legislative who expect to fill their creels in spite of the fact that groups, cognizant of all of these factors, requested that natural reproduction of wild fish has reached the the director prepare a 10-year estimate of future needs point of no return in many streams and lakes. Thou- of California fish and game. The estimate was pre-' .sands are pheasant hunters expecting success in areas sented at a joint meeting of the Assembly Subcommit- where agriculture and urban expansion have cut tee on Public Lands, Grazing and Forest Practice, natural habitat alarmingh". Duck hunters increase Lloyd W. Chairman; Senate while more and more marsh land, absolutely neces- Assemblyman Lowrey, Interim Committee on Public Lands, Senator Edwin J. sar\' to the species, is being reclaimed and developed. Regan, Chairman; Assembly Committee on Agricul- Habitat Improvement ture, Assemblyman George A. Clarke, Chairman; on and To keep apace with these pressures, the department Assembly Committee Conservation, Planning, has embarked on programs of habitat improvement in Public Works, Assemblyman Francis Lindsay, Chair- field and stream; game management to attain a balance man, on June 23, 1954.