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Show deal of good fishing by the creation of reservoirs. All seasonal restrictions have been removed and the reservoirs still remain underfished. Waters and refuges In the Tennessee Valley have also de- veloped into wintering grounds for wildfowl that formerly migrated to the Gulf Coast. Destruc- tion of coastal habitat through draining and pol- lution has been partly counteracted by these new reservoirs and their associated lands. While the dollar value of hunting and fishing licenses over the Nation as a whole has about tripled in the last 10 years, in Tennessee the records show that since the beginning of the TVA program (1934) the value of such licenses has increased sevenfold. TVA reservoirs also offer opportunities for the development of commercial fisheries. At present, of the 10-million pound harvest of fish, 15 percent is taken by professionals. The possible total yield is estimated at 25 million pounds. Rising food prices and the demand for higher protein food and feed may soon make many of our reser- voirs important food producers. Wildlife, Drainage, and Flood Control One of the greatest present conflicts involving our natural resources is that between wildlife and drainage. L,ow wet lands are the most produc- tive of all lands for such wildlife as ducks, geese, muskrats, mink, beaver, and alligators. These species are dependent on swamps and marshes to produce their food and cover. Many other species, including deer, raccoon, pheasant, and wild turkey, find low, wet woods especially to their liking. Throughout the country 87 million acres are now in drainage districts. Millions of acres are, or soon will "be, lost to forms of wildlife favoring wet land habitat. In addition, vast flood plain areas are prevented from receiving seasonal flood waters. In view of the effect of drainage projects on wildlife, they should not be undertaken without sufficient investigation to assure their success. Many useless projects have been reflooded at further expense so they could once more produce their crop of fish and wildlife. During the de- pression 90 percent of the eastern coast salt marshes, over 900 square miles extending from Maine to South Carolina, were drained for the sake of mosquito control. This resulted in direct losses to many families dependent on muskrat trapping as a livelihood, and also played a big part in the decline of duck shooting in the East. At the present time drainage projects are pro- ceeding much more rapidly than refuge programs. In the Central Valley, for example, wildlife dis- placed from some 1,900,000 acres of drained land, have now only 32,000 acres of Federal or State refuges on which to rest or winter. Pri- vate lands in this region which are suitable for wildlife total, at most, one or two hundred thou- sand acres more, and most of these are inade- quately protected by water rights. Flights of ducks in the West are further threat- ened by extensive drainage of the green lagoons of the Colorado Delta, of lowlands and reservoir deltas in the Rio Grande Basin, and of small areas throughout the West, including Mexico. A most important conflict has arisen as a result of the drainage of swamps and bogs in the Dako- tas and Minnesota. These important duck- breeding areas are the locale for much of Amer- ica's duck shooting. High crop prices, exten- sive farm mechanization, farm subsidies, and the nuisance quality of swampy places of farm land, have led to great depletion in these ideal nest- ing areas. Aside from the obligation of the Migratory Bird Treaty, the fact that Federal funds are being expended in efforts to create wild- fowl habitat calls for a reexamination of this drainage program. Flood control and navigation plans are also affecting wildlife. Nearly 131,000 acres of forest land in the Arkansas Bottoms, perhaps the prime wildfowl lands of the country, are slated for flood protection and agricultural de- velopment. In Connecticut two municipalities proposed to take advantage of a dredging project on the Housatonic by using the spoil to fill in some adjacent marsh to create recreational areas. This represents a large proportion of the State's remaining waterfowl marsh. 264 |