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Show Fish and Wildlife Chapter 17 PLANS FOR WATER USE must provide for fish and wildlife. Developments which alter the normal course of events in a river system impinge on the natural habits of many species. Almost every project, whether dam, diversion, dike, or ditch, will have some biological effect. For both moral and practical reasons we should anticipate these reactions. Man controls the fate of most life on or near his lands. Congress has repeatedly sup- ported the view that no generation has the right to penalize its successors by destroying their natural heritage. From a practical point of view, sport hunting and fishing are conservatively estimated to be a 3 billion dollar annual business-and they are growing in popularity yearly. Consider these figures from the Fish and Wildlife Service: Hunting and Fishing Licenses in the United States Fiscal year: Hunting Fishing 1938-39___________ 7,500,000 7,860,000 1948-49___________12,760,000 15,480,000 Allowing for a large proportion of duplicate ownership of both types of permits, about one out of seven or eight people in the United States likes to fish or hunt well enough to pay for it. In ad- dition, there are many who derive enjoyment from wildlife who are not in this group. Beyond their great significance as a challenge to the man with a rod, gun, camera, or an active curiosity, wildlife and fish are an important commercial asset. In the United States and Alaska commercial production of fish and shell- fish from salt and fresh water averages about 4.5 billion pounds, 30 pounds (landed weight) a year for every American. In the Colum- bia Basin alone the salmon industry annually processes enough fish to provide every American household with a quarter-pound can. Commercial fur production is tied in very closely with our water resources. Such impor- tant furbearers as muskrat, mink, beaver, otter, and raccoon are wholly or partly dependent on aquatic habitats. Wild pelts bring American trappers 125 million dollars in an average year. Alaskan economy is built largely on fisheries and wildlife. It is estimated that nearly half of all Alaskans are directly or indirectly depend- ent on fishing or hunting as their means of live- lihood, and fish and game are the only source of fresh meat for much of the population. Salmon fisheries, gold mining, and fur trapping are the three most lucrative industries of the Territory. Federal Responsibilities Sixty-five years ago the Federal Government was concerned with the effect of wildlife on man's activities in the fields of forestry and agriculture. The Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy, then in the Department of Agri- culture, had to deal with such questions as, "How much does the crow cost the farmer?", and "Is the meadowlark good or bad?" Today the Division's successor, the Fish and Wildlife Service, finds one of its chief concerns to be the effect of man's activities on wildlife. 259 |