Georgia outdoors [1966]

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Published by the GEORGIA GAME & FISH COMMISSION

Issue Number Three, 1966

With full support from state sportsmen's organizations, both the House and the Senate passed the license increase bill with whopping majorities, as it sailed through the General Assembly with only
18 dissenting votes.

Sheparding the wildlife conservation fund measure through the House, Administration Floor Leader George D. Busbee of Albany pointed out that the one dollar increase in fees would be used primarily to operate new public hunting and fishing areas.

Hunting and Fishing License Fees Raised

By Jim Morrison
Governor Carl Sanders has signed into law a bill to increase the price of hunting and fishing license fees.
The Administration-backed measure sailed through both houses of the General Assembly with whopping majorities. The House passed the increase 122-17, while the Senate voted 36-1 for
its passage.
A supplemental appropriation bill was
immediately introduced and passed with Administration support to give the
State Game and Fish Commission an
additional $300,000 during the current fiscal year, plus an additional $900,000
beginning July 1, giving the Commis-
sion a total of slightly over three million dollars for the coming fiscal year, including federal aid funds.
Under the new law, fishing licenses
in effect April 1 will go up from $1.25 to $2.25, hunting from $2.25 to $3.25, and the combination license from $3.25
to $5.25. Increases were also made in
non-resident fees.
A large part of the additional funds
will be used to hire additional personnel and pay operating expenses associ-
ated with the acquisition of new public hunting and fishing areas by the Com-
mission, most of which are leased on a rent-free basis from large private
landowners. A new program of boat
launching ramp construction will also be initiated on good fishing and boating waters which are not now easily acces-
sible to sportsmen. Sufficient Funds
While signing House Bill Number
Three, Governor Sanders said that the increase would give Georgia "the finest wildlife conservation program anywhere in this country".
"This bill will give us sufficient funds
in our Game and Fish Department to

provide all of Georgia's citizens, and
especially every boy and girl who
wants to, the wonderful opportunity of hunting and fishing," Sanders said.
"I also want to pay particular tribute
to the wonderful members of the Game
and Fish Commission, as well as to the leadership of the very able director and
staff that we now have in the Depart-
ment," Sanders said. "Without their
help, and their support, we could not
have passed this bill," he said.
"We of the Game and Fish Commis-
sion are deeply grateful to the House and the Senate for their action in passing our license bill," said Commission Director Rosser Malone. "Governor Sanders has made it plain that with
these funds, we will do the job that is
expected of us by the sportsmen of Georgia," he said.

Full Support
The license increase proposal received the full support of the Georgia Sportsman's Federation, the Izaak Walton League, and many other individual hunting, fishing, and boating organizations over the State. It was also one of the major recommendations of the
study made of the Game and Fish De-
partment's operations in 1964 by the Governor's Efficiency Commission.
In addition to Governor Sanders, the bill had the support of Lt. Governor Peter Zack Geer, and was initially introduced in the House by Speaker George T. Smith, Speaker Pro Tern Maddox Hale, Floor Leader George D. Busbee. and Assistant Floor Leader Robin Harris.

The action of the General Assembly was praised by both Game and Fish Commission Director Rosser Malone and by Governor Carl Sanders, who immediately signed the bill into law. The
new rates take effect April 1.

y **
This speeding bunny shows only a puff of cottontail as he dives into the brush. But, the hunter has drawn a quick bead and will likely have rabbit stew in the pot tonight. Targets this good are becoming scarce in the Piedmont and mountain regions.

Rabbit hunting with trained beagle hounds is traditionally a popular sport in middle and
north Georgia, and is becoming more common in south Georgia as quail hunting becomes
increasingly difficult. Nationally, the rabbit is
rated the number one game species.

An apparent decline in the rabbit population
has prompted the Game and Fish Commission
to sponsor a study conducted by the University of Georgia. Mike Pelton, foreground, a graduate student, examines a rabbit while Dr. Ernie Provost, supervisor of the study, records technical data.

Game and Fis
Sponsors Rabl

By Dean Wohlgemuth

Rabbits are going to the Universil cottontails per month.

The rabbits are not learning any-

DOA-- thing. In fact, they're

dead on

arrival. But some of the professors

there hope they will learn a great deal from the rabbits.

The Department of Zoology and the School of Forestry are doing a study on rabbits in cooperation with the State
Game and Fish Commission. The study
is a Pittman-Robertson (Federal aid)
project.

Mike Pelton, a graduate student working on his PhD, is doing most of the actual work, under supervision of
Dr. Ernie Provost, associate professor of wildlife and zoology, and Dr. Jim Jenkins, Professor of wildlife manage-
ment in the school of forestry.

Dr. Provost said the study is being
made to discover why rabbit popula-
tions in Georgia are no higher than they are. "We're trying to learn what the limiting factor is as far as rabbit populations are concerned in the Piedmont
section of Georgia." he said. He ex-
plained that each wildlife species has a limiting factor, that is, a factor that limits populations from becoming
higher.

Study Reproduction To begin with, the study is looking into reproduction. "One of the first
things we have to know in studying any population is, what kind of reproduction we are getting," Provost said. "After determining that, we are con-
cerned with mortality, since the limiting factor of any population, naturally,
is how many are being added to a population, and how many are being lost."
Work so far is mostly in the Piedmont, according to Dr. Jenkins. "However, we are doing some work in South Georgia. The problem in management,
as far as rabbits are concerned, seems to exist mostly in the Piedmont. Appalachian Valley and mountain areas.
We seem to be at a rather low point
in population in these sections," he
said, and the reasons why are not
certain.
"We are also trying to look into a
few other factors," besides population
studies, said Jenkins. "We are looking
into food conditions and parasites and
diseases."

Began in October The study began in October and is
scheduled, according to the agreement
between the University and the Game
and Fish Commission, to continue for two full years. However, Jenkins indi-

h Commission
jit Research

i of Georgia at the rate of about 16 new
cated that another student may con-
tinue the study longer.
"We have to go through at least two
annual cycles to really learn anything," Jenkins said.
The study has just begun so far, and nothing has as yet been determined. "Right now, we're mainly concerned
with obtaining rabbits," said Pelton.
"We have an objective of getting 16
rabbits per month. So far this has been
successful. By getting this sample, we
can get a good indication of reproduction of rabbits over a year's period." Rabbits are obtained by live trapping and by hunting.
"The rabbits are brought into the laboratory" at the university in Athens, "dissected, and various organs collected and preserved for future studies," Pelton said. "So far the main portion of
rabbits have come from the Game and Fish Commission's game management
area on the Piedmont Experiment Station near Eatonton, a small number came from around Athens, and a few-
came from the coastal plain. We use
those from the other areas for compari-
son studies. We check the spleen for
possible tularemia, take bone marrow for nutrition work and the eye lens are
used for telling the age of the cotton-
tail."
Taken from Piedmont Reason for taking rabbits from the Piedmont Experiment Station Area. Jenkins explained, is because it is a game management area. "It is important to know about populations on management areas, so we'll know how to regulate hunters. This is where we should be doing extensive management work,"
Jenkins said.
Jenkins said the study was prompted because of a problem of low populations in rabbits above the fall line. He added that while rabbits generally are not considered "very high class game" in South Georgia or the coastal plain, a lower population than normal has been noted even in that area.
"So we are trying to find out why rabbit populations are low, so that we
will be in a position to take management steps to correct the problem," Jenkins said.
The number of rabbit hunters in the state between June 1, 1960, and May 31, 1961, was 154,000, just a few thousand less than those hunting the most popular game, which is squirrels. There were 165,000 squirrel hunters. There were 2,014,000 rabbits killed in 1,513,000 man-days of hunting.

,.i*-i>

M 1 :' 1

Like most wild animals, rabbits are often bothered by parasites. Since parasites can have a definite effect on rabbits, Pelton looks for them on this live rabbit, trapped at the Piedmont Experiment Station near Eatonton,
by Game & Fish biologists.

Many of the rabbits used in the study are be-
ing trapped in box traps. The rabbit is lured into the box by scent placed there by the trapper. Pelton collected this one at the Piedmont Experiment Station.

Why so much interest in the little bunny? This most wide-spread of small game animals is the
target of more hunters than any other animal. In addition, he makes mighty fine eating. Photos by Dan Keever
3

Conservation Scholarships

Available to Teachers

Scholarships are now available for teachers to attend the two 1966 Geor-
gia Natural Resource Use Workshops this summer. The duplicate college-credit workshops are designed to give teachers an
introduction to natural resource use and conservation principles in a man-

ner which can be passed on to students in the classroom.

The workshops will be open to 25 teachers each. Shorter and Berry Col[eges will co-host the first workshop at
-- Rome, June 13 July 1, 1966. Valdosta
State will host the second workshop at
Valdosta. July 25-Aug. 12, 1966.
Fundamentals The three-week course will include instruction in the fundamentals of natural resource use and conservation education techniques in geology, soil and water conservation, water pollution, forestry, wildlife conservation, and outdoor recreation.
The workshops are being sponsored by the three host institutions, the State Department of Education, and the Georgia Natural Resource Education Council, which is composed of all 12 major state and federal conservation agencies

in Georgia. Outdoor Classes
One-fourth of the instructional time will actually be spent outdoors on seven field trips during the 15-day course, which will qualify teachers for undergraduate credit of 3 1/3 semester hours from either Shorter or Berry Colleges, or five credit-hours from Valdosta
State.
Workshop instructors are Miss Lewis Lipps at Shorter and Dr. Clyde Connel at Valdosta, two well-known ecologists. In addition, guest lecturers will be extensively used from the various conservation agencies, as well as from the University of Georgia and other educational institutions, along with several
noted national conservation leaders.
Scholarships
The $150 scholarships available for

Plans for the new Natural Resource Use Workshop to be held this summer are discussed by members of the Georgia Natural Resource Education Council. From left to right, they are Jim
Morrison, coordinator of information and education, Georgia Game and Fish Commission, chairman
of the Council; Dr. Clyde Connel, chairman, department of biology, Valdosta State College; Dr. Phillip Greear, chairman, department of biology, Shorter College; and Frank Craven, chief of forest education, Georgia Forestry Commission. Photo by Georgia Forestry Commission.

WINTER CATCH!
Five pounds and two ounces of native brown trout is an armful for young Glad Anderson of Dahlonega. Anderson's father, Glad Anderson, caught the 26 inch monster in the portion of the Chestatee River which is open all year long for trout fishing, using a number 2 Mepps spinner. (The big fish was landed December 28, 1965.)
the two workshops include full costs of room, board, tuition, and field trip expenses. Scholarships are being provided from a number of sources, including
sportsmen's clubs, garden clubs, women's groups, business foundations,
and other groups. Organizations such as PTA's, civic clubs, and business firms including banks, manufacturing cor-
porations, etc. who wish to sponsor a
scholarship for a teacher in their local
school system may still do so by con-
tacting the chairman of the Council. The superintendent of the school system so designated would then select the teacher to receive the scholarship.
Applications
A limited number of scholarships are
available now on a state-wide basis to teachers making individual application to the Council. Teachers who would
like to receive an application blank or scholarship should contact Jim Morrison, Chairman, Georgia Natural Resource Education Council, care of the
State Game and Fish Commission, 401
State Caoitol. Atlanta, Ga., 30334.

STATE GAME & FISH COMMISSION
Public Information Office 401 State Capitol
Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Return Requested

GEORGIA OUTDOORS
Jim Morrison, Editor Ronnie Abney, Managing Editor
Dean Wohlgemuth, News Editor Dan Keever, Photo Editor
[11 j !

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