December 1, 1934
THE STATE
Роде
Seven
Saving Wild Life
in tlie Mountains
ЛЛ
inior«*sf inj* flck.4<ari|»f ion of u lial
I lie* gnino
и
.iitlcns iii
1М.чца1|
Na¬
tional Fore* I ari* doiii" in pro.sorv-
i hi»'
Ни*
wild lilV of tli:it swliou.
Bn Ido Brlgus Henderson
OX ihe high plateau bflwetn
Mount Pisgah and Asheville,
about forty 0.1.1 years
я
CO.
George Vamlerbilt created a private
estate that was in effect a mountain
empire. Ho chose Gifford Pinchot as
his head forester who. with his wide
export knowledge of forestry, estab¬
lished a high plane upon which all
operations of Pisgah forest and game
preserve have since been carried on.
After the death of Mr. Vanderbilt
his executors sold to the federal gov¬
ernment 80,000 acre* of land, retain¬
ing 500 acres surrounding a hunting
lodge set high up on the side of Pie-
gab. When this area was turned over
to the government. Congress estab¬
lished a federal game preserve on the
grounds, the first national game pre¬
serve east of the Mississippi river.
Work Is Still in Infancy
Mr. Mattoon, Supervisor of Pisgnh
National Forest says: “Wild life
management is yet in its infancy; but
during the pnst score of years we have
built up on the game pr.worve a stock
of wild animals and birds. It is in¬
deed a matter of congratulation that
wild life is rapidly coming hack after
the ruthless limiting of former years,
and the threat of entire extinction from
careless, extravagant lumbering fol¬
lowed bv the evil effect* of fire. These
conditions have been checked by the
supervisory work of game wardens and
foresters."
Each game refuge has been equipped
with one or more corrals for rearing
fawns. Here, also, pen* have been
built for the rearing of pheasant,
grouse and quail. Each refuge is
equipped with Slats-, federal or pri¬
vately ownod stations; with forest,
trails and motor roads. Fields have
been planted with grain for food pur-
I»osc8, and a fine herd of cows is kept
for the sole purpose of providing inilk
for the tiny fawn*. The principal
rearing plant is located in Pink Hod
valley at the foot of Mount Piagali.
Every season hun¬
dred* of baby fawn
are born in the reces»-
й
of the mighty bill-
of Pisgah Xationnl
Forest. These little
creatures are far too
valuable to l«e exposed
to the vicissitudes ..f
mount niu climate in
early Spring, or to the
tender mercy of pred¬
atory wild animals to
many of whom the helpless fawns offer
a dainty morsel. Therefore, as many
a* possible are captured at birth to
l«> placed in corrals in the Game Pre¬
serve and there expertly tended by
attentive rangers.
Xatnrally. artificial feeding is re¬
quired and to supply this need the old-
fashioned wide-moutli milk bottle is
filled with warm row’s milk and this
method has proven highly successful.
“Of course,” Mr. Muttoon asserted
whimsically, “it is a totlinus job for
tin- foresters and wardens to clean
milk bottles and act ns nursemaids to
a lot of baby fawns; but they recog¬
nize the fact that this is necessary
work oil the part of someone if the
enormous area of Western Xorlh Caro¬
lina mountains is to In* re-populate 1
by deer.”
According In the Hunger* the tiny
do*r do not object to thi« new regime
in feeding. They rather accept it fa¬
vorably. and most certainly develop
healthy appetite* in the process of ar¬
tificial feeding. In fact,
К
angers state
that city babies do not wait more eager¬
ly for their milk than the infant charges
of the Pisgah Game Wardens.
Iii some sections Pisgah Xationnl
Forest resembles a huge deer farm
where hundreds of young «leer are kept
from babyhood until nearly the age of
four or five month* when they are
taken from th«-ir nursery and trans-
|N>rt<d by truck to the different ranges
where their future home is to Ik-. On
the new ranges, however, they are still
C. S. EDMONDSON, a ranger in Pisgah Forest,
giving a young fawn his daily ration of cow’s milk.
—
kept in
and aid
dreds
«
Forest'» ra
<:nme refug
als until nlmoHt full
fend for the|ll*clves.
rrown
Hun.
1Ш
•hi
ng
in
pped by the
restock state
states.
Watching Out for Killers
One of the most important duties
of wardens is watching for and killing
predatory animals, bird* and snake*,
ft has been conservatively estimated
by game wardens that one wild eat,
fox or stray house eat will average
taking from the field and forest at
least throe piece* of game each week
in the year, and that one pole eat or
weasel will easily destroy one pheasant,
turkey or quail not containing about
nine eggs each year, while owl» and
hawks will average destroying at least
two piece* of game every week.
The pur|>o*e* of the game refuge-
is U-st explained by the large signs
posted about the
1юг«1ег*
of rarb
refuge. They read a- follows: “T-*
lake wild life on thi* refuge by any
method is absolutely prohibited. This
game refuge has been established un¬
der the laws of North Carolina, in co¬
operation with the
Г
nited .State» For¬
est Service and other laud owners, for
the benefit of the public,
pose of the refuges is t<
haven of refuge into whiel
wild birds may retreat ami
The increase secured from
will overflow to surroundiii
where game may lie taken
provisions of existing laws.
The
•tipi
garni
!*• at
pnr-
Iv a
and
rest,
'lion
tory,
I be
