THE STATE
A Weekly Survey of North Carolina
Enter*) ii «condcU.a matter. Jane I, 1933. at the Postoffice at Raleigh. North
Carolina, tinder the Act of March 3. 1879.
Vol. 6. No. 1 June 4, 1938
Getting Rid of
Poachers
Tliroug'lioiil I ho Pisgali \jtlion;il
Forest. anil in ollior sections in
Western \orlli Carolina, govern-
men! nion nro now waging an ac¬
tive anil successful warfare
against poaching.
By J. B. IIK KI IV
l’t~to by «7i.1t lto.ru
BLOODHOUNDS are In-ing used
with groat success in tracking
down and capturing those with a
|H‘rvortcl souse of sportsmanship who
got a thrill in slaughtering terror-
stricken deer and other wild life on
the I’nited States game preserves of
Western North Carolina at night
with the aid of blinding spotlights.
Six of the last twenty poachers caught
by federal game wardens were nabbed
by the dogs, according to the report
of John W. Squires, district forest
ranger stationed at I’isgah Forest
Station.
When Uncle Sam acquired that
portion of Jtiltmore Estate now in¬
corporated in Disgah National For¬
est, the herds of Virginia white-tail
deer that had been stocked there by
the late George W. Vanderbilt had
been sorely diminished by disease and
poaching.
Good Progress Being Made
Government wildlife ex|M*rts took
immediate steps to halt the epidemic
caused by undernourishment, and to
prevent its recurrence. Stamping
out poaching lias been a bit more dif¬
ficult, however, for effective control
depends heavily on education, accord¬
ing to Ranger Squires, just as does
prevention »f forest (ires. Patient
efforts by the Forest Service through
the years have yielded tangible re¬
sults. though, he added.
“From November 1037, to May 1.
1038. twenty trespassers have l*con
caught on the Piegali Game Preserve,
and twenty-two on the Sherwood
State Refuge in Pisgnli Forest"
Ranger Squires said. "This number
is larger than usual, but does not
mean that poaching is increasing
rather that more poachers are being
apprehended. Although I can speak-
only f..r this district. I feel that this
district is typical of nil national for¬
ests."
In the Southern region offices of
the Forest Service at Atlanta is a
motley collection of rifles, silencers,
spotlights, and the like which speak
eloquently of the success of the rang¬
ers in their war again'! poaching.
These articles, taken from poachers
when they were apprehended, were
confiscated.
Just as the storied “G-Men" were
equipped to put a Stop to kidnapping,
so were the wardens given effective
facilities to cope with the poaching
problem.
A sweeping educational campaign
has been carried on to acquaint the
E. A. Schilling, of the Southern
Region office at Atlanta, and Super¬
visor H. E. Ochner, of Pisgah Na¬
tional Forest at Asheville, inspect a
rifle with silencer attached which
was captured from poachers in Pis¬
gah Forest.
people with the benefits to I* derived
from protecting game. They have been
shown that the overflow of deer. War
and the like from the game preserves
will in time re-stork all of Western
North Carolina and make the moun¬
tain-sides and valleys again a hunt¬
ers" paradise. The possibility of de¬
riving revenue from selling hunting
rights on their lands is held out to
those residing on the outskirts of the
refuges.
A Stern Alternative
And to those who decline to co¬
operate with Uncle Sam. the wardens
offer a stern alternative. Those pa¬
trolling the preserves are now thor¬
oughly equipped. They carry revolv¬
ers, ammunition, flashlights and are
stationed at strategic points. They
have at their command "pick-ups”
equipped with high-powered spotlight'
that can pick out an object in the
( Continued on page eighteen )
