| OCR Text |
Show Hardy: Biological Resqurces of Utah often people, even in Utah, are willing to provide tens of thousands of dollars for bounty campaigns to destroy animals which would otherwise help to keep down rabbits that otherwise become too numerous and help destroy much of our too range. Recently the Utah State Fish and Game Commission declared a closed season upon all _fur bearers, except muskrats, in the state of Utah. In spite of this, coyote trappers have littered the hillsides of Washington County with the remains of gray fox, kit fox, and badger, frequently not even bothering to salvage the fur. This is in spite of the fact that the kit fox, for instance, is too small and weak to do harm to sheep.' This is in spite of the fact that one face of the kit fox of southern California is now extinct. Recently bounty and free poison baits were offered by this Commission and the County Agricultural Agent to those people of Washington County who would help to exterminate skunks in the vicinity of St. George. The reason was said to be that skunks were keeping down the pheasant population by destroying pheas Nothing was said regarding the food of the skunks during the 10 or more months when pheasants are not nesting. Nothing was said of that fact that pheasants liberated near Toquerville and near Gunlock in the same county were able to ant eggs. survive the first winter and raise broods of young before their disappearance. The disappearance of these latter pheasant popu lations seems to have coincided with rodent poisoning campaigns instituted in those areas. Though poison has not proven to be the cause of the disappearance of these birds. the coincidence is close enough to cast suspicion upon such poisoning campaiqns-« enough to warrant further investigation. Such extermination campaigns at the taxpayer's expense should be curbed until it can be proven definitely that such cam paigns are not doing more harm than good. The writer of this paper makes no claim for new ideas. This is simply an attempt to again focus attention upon the desirability, as pointed out by such leaders as Tanner (1936:189) and Wood bury (1937 :173) of the establishment of a Utah State Depart ment of Conservation for the conservation of our native flora and fauna-s-of all natural resources. Before W orId War II broke out, it was reported by Beeley ( 1938: 55) that an average of about 3,000 of our young people were leaving the state of Utah annually. Some of these Utahns are interested in conservation and many have been successful in becoming trained in other states. Why would it not be possible to utilize some of these 3,000 young people to solve a few of our q conservation problems? Itf Now is the time for post war planning. show the young men who are fighting for the 69 Now is the time to preservation of Utah |
