The National Bird Refuges. —Says Dr. T.S. Palmer [ [M] ] : "National bird reservations have been established during the last ten years by Executive order for the purpose of affording protection to important breeding colonies of water birds, or to furnish refuges for migratory species on their northern or southern flights, or during winter. With few exceptions these reservations are either small rocky islets or tracts of marsh land of no agricultural value."
These reservations are of immense value to bird life, and their creation represents the highest possible wisdom in utilizing otherwise valueless portions of the national domain. Dr. Palmer's alphabetical list of them is as follows, numbered in the order of their creation:
| Belle Fourche, S. Dak. | 34 |
| Bering Sea, Alaska | 44 |
| Bogoslof, Alaska | 51 |
| Breton Island, La. | 2 |
| Bumping Lake, Wash. | 39 |
| Carlsbad, N. Mex. | 31 |
| Chase Lake, N. Dak. | 20 |
| Clealum, Wash. | 38 |
| Clear Lake, Cal. | 52 |
| Cold Springs, Oreg. | 33 |
| Conconully, Wash. | 40 |
| Copalis Rock, Wash. | 13 |
| Culebra, P. R. | 48 |
| Deer Flat, Idaho | 29 |
| East Park, Cal. | 28 |
| East Timhalier, La. | 14 |
| Farailon, Cal. | 49 |
| Flattery Rocks, Wash. | 11 |
| Forrester Island, Alaska | 53 |
| Green Bay, Wis. | 56 |
| Hawaiian Is., Hawaii | 26 |
| Hazy Islands, Alaska | 54 |
| Huron Islands, Mich. | 4 |
| Indian Key, Fla. | 7 |
| Island Bay, Fla. | 24 |
| Kachess, Wash. | 37 |
| Kecchelus, Wash. | 36 |
| Key West, Fla. | 17 |
| Klamath Lake, Oreg. | 18 |
| Loch-Katrine, Wyo. | 25 |
| Malheur Lake, Oreg. | 19 |
| Matlacha Pass, Fla. | 23 |
| Minidoka, Idaho | 43 |
| Mosquito Inlet, Fla. | 15 |
| Niobrara, Nebr. | 55 |
| Palma Sola, Fla. | 22 |
| Passage Key, Fla. | 6 |
| Pathfinder, Wyo. | 41 |
| Pelican Island, Fla. | 1 |
| Pine Island, Fla. | 21 |
| Pribilof, Alaska | 50 |
| Quillayute N'dles, Alaska | 12 |
| Rio Grande, N. Mex. | 32 |
| St. Lazaria, Alaska | 46 |
| Salt River, Ariz. | 27 |
| Shell Keys, La. | 9 |
| Shoshone, Wyo. | 42 |
| Siskiwit, Mich. | 5 |
| Strawberry Valley, Utah | 35 |
| Stump Lake, N. Dak. | 3 |
| Tern Islands, La. | 8 |
| Three Arch Rocks, Oreg. | 10 |
| Tortugas Keys, Fla. | 16 |
| Tuxedni, Alaska | 45 |
| Willow Creek, Mont. | 30 |
| Yukon Delta, Alaska | 47 |
In addition to the above, the following governmental reservations have been established for the protection of wild life: Yes Bay, Alaska, of 35,200 acres; Afognak Island, Alaska, 800 sq. miles; Midway Islands Naval Reservation, H.T.; Farallon Island, Point Reyes and Ano Nuevo Island, California; Destruction Island, Washington, and Hawaiian Islands Reservation (Laysan).
State Game Preserves In The United States
Pennsylvania:
The proposition that every state, territory and province in North America and everywhere else, should establish a series of state forest and game preserves, is fairly incontestable. As a business proposition it is to-day no more a debatable question, or open to argument, than is the water supply or sewer system of a city. The only perfect way to conserve a water supply for a great human population is by acquiring title to water sheds, and either protecting the forests upon them, or planting forests in case none exist.
In one important matter the state of Pennsylvania has been wide awake, and in advance of the times. I will cite her system of forest reserves and game preserves as a model plan for other states to follow; and I sincerely hope that by the time the members of the present State Game Commission have passed from earth the people of Pennsylvania will have learned the value of the work they are now doing, and at least give them the appreciation that is deserved by public-spirited citizens who do large things for the People without hope of material reward. At this moment, Commissioner John M. Phillips and Dr. Joseph Kalbfus are putting their heart's blood into the business of preserving and increasing the game and other wild life of Pennsylvania; and the utter lack of appreciation that is now being shown in some quarters is really distressing. I refer particularly to the utterly misguided and mistaken body of hunters and anglers having headquarters at Harrisburg, whose members are grossly mislead into a wrong position by a man who seeks to secure a salaried state position through the hostile organization that he has built up, apparently for his own use. In the belief that those members generally are mislead and not mean-spirited, and that the organization contains a majority of conscientious sportsmen, I predict that ere long the evil genius of Pennsylvania game protection will be ordered to the rear, while the organization as a whole takes its place on the side of the Game Commission, where it belongs.
The game sanctuary scheme that Pennsylvania has developed is so new that as yet only a very small fraction of the people of that state either understand it, or appreciate its far-reaching importance.