| OCR Text |
Show The establishment of a river basin commission, as suggested by this Commission, can aid materially in bringing about the needed integration of this activ- ity with other phases of water improvement. (3) The growing pressure for all types of rec- reation is placing an increasing burden upon public land-managing agencies. Because of the expand- ing recreational use of these public lands, proper facilities must be furnished to reduce pollution haz- ards. Better financing of the agencies is required. (4) Private land ownership, especially within the national parks and monuments, in some cases detracts from the full recreation values of these national playgrounds. Specific legislation appears necessary to eliminate those features which ad- versely affect public interest, through purchase and condemnation if necessary. (5) Dam construction should improve fishing. However, conditions in many reservoirs may not naturally be such as to maintain a high fishing re- source. Consequently a program of adequate fish propagation and replenishment is essential. Com- plete dewatering of any flowing streams should be avoided and releases of water from reservoirs should be sufficient to guarantee continuous use of the stream by fish and wildlife consistent with water rights. (6) Water fowl habitat is likely to be improved by the additional water areas. This will probably be of most significance during migrations. Nesting areas have been decreased by drainage, and are likely to suffer further. To provide additional nest- ing areas, a series of wildlife refuges is essential. To achieve maximum effectiveness both public ownership and leasing of desirable areas should be used. A program to this end has been inaugurated, and should be carried forward. Those policies of the Department of Agriculture which in effect encourage drainage of marshlands in this and adjacent basins should be reexamined. Federal aid in draining unsuitable areas should cease. Marshland drainage should be carefully studied to determine its effect on wildlife before being undertaken. (7) Wildlife management programs in the pub- lic lands of the basin are lagging. Present expendi- tures are insufficient to provide more than very limited supervision and technical assistance. More funds are needed so that a positive program can be carried out for improving wildlife through good management of the forest and range. Deer and elk need special attention by the States 268 and Federal land managing agencies. Manage- ment methods should be worlked out and applied to keep the herd population down to numbers that the available feed will support. Many animals starve to death each year. In some States, laws affecting wildlife are wholly inadequate and poorly enforced. The establishment of hunting seasons and bag limits for various types of game should be an administrative, rather than a legislative function. Much better public understanding of the balanced relation of wildlife to its halntat also is needed to obtain more plentiful and better distribution of wild- life in the basin. 6. Planning and Construction in Areas Previously Dedicated to Scenic Valu.es The Problem Principles to be applied in planning and con- structing water facilities in areas previously dedi- cated to scenic values. The Situation By far the greater part of the Missouri Basin is a level or rolling plain. Certain areas, however, have special significance to the region and the Na- tion because of scenic effects and geology, or because they are wilderness areas. Most of these areas are in the national parks and monuments, or in the wilderness areas of the national forests. Outstanding among them is Yellowstone National Park, the oldest of the national parks. Most of the park's area, and the part containing the greatest scenic attractions, lies in the Missouri Basin. Here at the headwaters of the Yellowstone River in Wyo- ming are the geysers, the bubbling mud pots, the colorful soda springs, wonderful falls, and Yellow- stone Lake with its famous Fishing Bridge. Also largely in the basin, hugging the Continental Divide in Colorado, is the Rocky Mountain National Park, with rugged scenery typical of the hard mountain core making up the southwestern boundary of the basin. At the northern corner of the area, in Mon- tana close to the border, is a small part of Glacier Park. Lying wholly within the basin is Wind Cave National Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota, famous for its peculiar geological formations and miles of underground galleries. The Theodore |
