Close seasons-Continued. States. Washington (1901.) Prairie chicken, sage hen (except in counties east of Cascades, | Dec. 1-Aug. 15. Plover, rail, sandhill crane, mallard, canvasback, widgeon, Wisconsin 1 Ruffed grouse, pheasant, pinnated grouse, or prairie chicken.. Mar. 1-Aug. 15. Dec. 15-Oct. 15. Dec. 1-Nov. 11. Columbia, Marquette, Richland, Close seasons-Continued. Provinces. Kinds of game. Close seasons, Unorganized Deer, elk or wapiti, caribou, mountain sheep, mountain goat.. Apr. 1-Dec. 1.1 (Keewatin, Grouse, pheasant, partridge, prairie chicken. Mar. 20-Oct. 15. Until 1904. Jan. 1-Sept. 15. At all times. Until Oct. 1, 1901. Until Oct. 15, 1905. At all times. Mar. 1-Sept. 1. White partridge or ptarmigan. Except July 15-Oct. 1. Indians, inhabitants, and travelers, explorers, and surveyors in need of food exempt. 3 For sale seasons, see p. 56. *Persons who put or breed deer on their own lands, and their licensees, may hunt such deer Oet, 1– Nov. 16. Cottontail rabbits (wood hares) may be killed during close season by other means than shooting. Under Act for Protection of Insectivorous Birds, Rev. Stats. 1897, chap. 289, sec. 3. Zone No. 1 comprises the whole Province, except that part of the counties of Chicoutimi and Saguenay east and north of the river Saguenay. Zone No. 2 comprises the part of said counties east and north of the Saguenay. GAME PROTECTED FOR A TERM OF YEARS. The right of the State to prohibit absolutely the killing of game has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States,' and is now generally recognized. Two conditions are considered necessary to justify the complete withdrawal of open seasons for several years (1) when game has been killed off to such an extent that a period of recuperation is required to save it from extermination, and (2) when game is introduced into a new locality and time is needed for it to become established amid new surroundings. The first condition is chiefly exemplified in the case of big game; the second in the case of introduced game birds. 1Geer v. Connecticut, 161 U. S. 529. Big game. The big game of the United States is rapidly disappearing. Buffalo are almost extinct; elk, moose, caribou, antelope, mountain sheep, and mountain goats are now found in only a few States, and deer are rare in many places where they should be common. To such an extent has this decrease advanced that vigorous measures are now necessary to prevent absolute extermination of several of the species, and, with the exception of deer, big game has been very generally accorded protection for several years to come. To this end legislation has been enacted prohibiting slaughter for hides, materially shortening open seasons, limiting the number of individuals. which may be killed, forbidding sale and shipment at all times, and prohibiting shooting indefinitely or for a term of years. The effect of such measures is well shown in the case of deer in Vermont. One hundred years ago deer were common, but seventy-five years of lax protection nearly exterminated them in the central and southern parts of the State. A continuous close season was then established, which remained in force until 1896. In that year an open season for the month of October was provided, which in 1898 was reduced to the last ten days of October. Fostered by these and other stringent protective laws, deer have increased during the last quarter of a century until at present they have become abundant, and complaints are sometimes made of the damage which they cause to crops.1 During the present year all big-game hunting has been prohibited in Nevada, New Hampshire, and New Mexico; close seasons for deer have been established or extended in Connecticut, Indiana, and Illinois; elk have been protected for a term of years in Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska; antelope in Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota, and moose and caribou in Montana. As shown in the following table, 28 States and 4 Provinces now prohibit killing of all or certain kinds of big game: Big Game protected for a term of years. States. Deer. Elk. 1903. Maine.. New Hampshire.. Indefinitely. Indefinitely. Indefinitely. Indefinitely. Vermont. Massachusetts... To Nov. 1, Rhode Island .... To Feb. 1, Indefinitely. Indefinitely. 1905. 1See Titcomb, Shooting and Fishing, Vol. XXX, p. 289, July 25, 1901. North Dakota Montana Wyoming Colorado. Antelope. Mountain sheep.1 To Jan. 1, Indefinitely. Indefinitely. Indefinitely. To Jan. 1, Indefinitely. 1911. Indefinitely. Indefinitely. Indefinitely. Indefinitely. 1902. Indefinitely. To 1904.. To 1904. To Sept. 15, To Oct. 1, To Oct. 1. 1903. Indefinitely. To Nov. 1, To Nov. 1, To Jan. 1, To Jan. 1, 1903. part) 2 1906. Ontario Newfoundland.. Mountain goats are protected indefinitely in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. South of township 23 and east of range 24 west of the second meridian. In other words, approximately that part of Assiniboia east of Pasqua Junction and south of the Qu'Appelle River. Besides these restrictions, both does and fawns are very generally protected, and in Nebraska and Vermont deer without horns are protected at all times. In 7 States and 2 Canadian Provinces the open season for deer has been reduced to 30 days or less; in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Quebec (Pontiac and Ottawa counties) to 30; Michigan 23, North Dakota 21, Minnesota and Wisconsin 20, Ontario 15, and Vermont 10, while the open season for elk in Colorado is reduced to 12, for moose and caribou in Minnesota to 5, and for deer on Long Island to only 4 days. In view of the extent of the protection accorded big game, it is interesting to note where hunting is still permitted. In Canada big game is more abundant than in the United States, and except in Ontario and part of Assiniboia most of the species can be killed wherever they occur. Aside from deer, which are now protected in 11 States, big game may be killed in this country in only 12 States and Territories. The number which may be killed is limited and export is prohibited in practically all the States where such game occurs. West of the Mississippi elk can be killed only in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Washington; moose in Minnesota, Oregon, and Alaska; caribou in Minnesota and Alaska; antelope in Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Washington; mountain sheep in South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska; and mountain goats in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washing ton, and Alaska. The States and Provinces in which big-game hunting is still permitted (arranged geographically for ready comparison), the open seasons and the limitations as to number, are shown in the following table: Birds. In the case of game birds the necessity for absolute protection is not so apparent, and close seasons extending over several years have been accorded to comparatively few species. The terms usually vary from 2 to 10 years, and are renewed when necessary. The Province of Ontario has a provision which authorizes the Lieutenant-Governorin-Council to prohibit the hunting or sale of any game animal or nonmigratory game bird in need of greater protection than is provided by statute. This prohibition may be made for any year or any season. A measure of this kind is a valuable safeguard in case the legislature fails to grant close seasons for introduced game birds or in cases where the close terms expire between legislative sessions. Six States and British Columbia have now withdrawn open seasons for quail, States and Ontario those for wild turkeys. Doves are protected indefinitely in 15 States and in 2 Provinces of Canada, mainly because they are not regarded as legitimate game. 1 Game protection act, 1900, sec. 7. |