https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/9ca81a5ff266feffd1dfcc51f7e1a274.pdf cadc73af121a66eac913a105ad4280ea PDF Text Text Fish Comm1s$1oncr's Beport. The State Fish Commf-H8loner has made his report to the.G9yi>r.nor ~ f(l11owa: STAT.E OF CoLORAOO., • } Office ot- tbe!.-'P!.Jsb.. ·comm ...t.~~.· looer., •• nnoo:s:~ALB1 .Nov.,~. lBTT. , To: :t-IU .Ezcel~ctl, .Tolin L. Routt, Goi•it-r• ,,or of the Stats oJ Colorad.o : Srn::.;_In compUance w!t.b the l11w, I lserew.Ub st1bmlt the .rouowlugreport for your eonaldera1l~n: • . .• .. Ism In corre~poodence w-ith parde.B In tha .E~1ttern States iu re,iard to the foodfisb~8 •deemed moat e·uuable to tb0 watera ot· th\g ~tate, t\nd bo·pe to: do wltb the Tory UmUBd amoot2~ ol' fa ads s,lacod at hednne t.hecomlnir :year by wayot'th~ir h:l.troductlollJuto my dh1pohl. all tbRtcan the lakatt e.nd st.reama or .Culorado. I bavo adopted Hloasures to b~ve proparJisb-ways er'lcted wµ.ergver ·1 had a knowledge or tb& exl-.:te:ace of arUtl41al ob~tr-uaUona lo 't.tia str.cams. I bava. alt-10 cau~ed &o be proseouted and fin.ed eeveraJ partle~ for a rerueal to comply· witb the JllW, sod bop& to bave many obatrnet.ionK rem.ovod rrou1 ihe.atrea.ma by·tbe oomiug itu.mnl&r, tbe~oby glvlng to ·tt~.e. ft.sh •free pas~.Rge io the upper ·waters ot the;dltrereu·t streamt:t. lte~peottu)ly. W IL80~ ·.t::. SD:ITY, ~'lab Com mb,!!loner. . � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/e7d67e3bc289cf07d45835944bb07af7.pdf ba737b9a8658477fed6db47ab817f026 PDF Text Text ,- _ - _-_-_.=-- - - -- -- -- - - -- - ------- BIENNIAL REPORT OF 'l'HE I FiiH ~OMMIZi IONER S T A T E OF COLORAD O, F OR THE T-W- 0 YEARS 1879- 80. UI '\\ l •'.I~. C'l>I CI, T 1·11:1 ·\ 1 1'1 1·11 llf ..,,, l (1\11 \ I .. I •• ' J \ 11 ,,,, , , t I, :~. �BIENNIAL REPORT f ff T l-1 £ F1i H goMMiiiIONER OF TH E \ S TATE OF C O LO R ADO, FOR T H E 'T -W-0 Y E A RS 1879-80. _, ' :t \~ 1}; Ii. .... • DE NVE R . COU >. Tn11n1N 1>: P un1.1:-.111r,1,~ CnM l'\N\", ST \11' l'1· 1N 1 11H, �FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. STA~rE OF COLORADO, } OFFICE OF THE FISH COMMISSIONER, BROOKVALE, December 12, 1879. To His Excellency Frederick W. Pitkin, Govcmor of Colorado : SIR-I have the honor herewith to submit to you my third annual report. The law passed by the last General Assembly restraining saw-mill men from emptying sawdust into any of the public waters of the State containing food fish, met with considerable opposition at first, but at the present time I am glad to report that, with a few exceptions, there seems to be a disposition to comply with the law. I have talked with some of the largest manufacturers of lumber, and they agree now that the law is a just and judicious one. I have numerous complaints from the southern and southwestern parts of the State in regard to obstructions in the streams; also the unlawful killing and taking of fish by explosive substances, in ditches, etc., etc., both of which tend greatly to deplete the streams. The trout being migratory in its habits, during their spawning season, seek the headwaters and tributaries of the different streams for the purpose of depositing their eggs ; therefore all obstructions should either be removed or sufficient fish-ways erected, giving them free passage to their spa,vning grounds.' It is not the obstructions alone that an: ohjed • ed to, but the wholesale killing that takes place at 11w:apoints, where they congrt:gatc in larg·e 1111111IH"r:;, and nol being able to proceed furthcr they fall an t ·a!,}' pr,')' I11 .1 �4 FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. class of men that care not for the coming year's supply, but only to fill their sacks and proceed to the nearest market and sell them for the most money they will bring. In fact, we have a personal knowledge of its having been committed before the present law was in force. The only way to abate the foregoing evils is for law-abiding citizens that live on and adjacent to the streams to make complaint before a Justice of the Peace and have the guilty parties prosecuted. But, for reasons best known to themselves, good friends to fish will not prosecute the offenders. Neither are they willing to be used as witnesses; consequently, I am sorry to say, the slaughter goes on. I find by personal observation, and also upon information, that the close season extending to the ist of July, has already borne good fruit and has proved conclusively the wisdom of the Legislature in passing said law-protecting the trout through their spawning season. Thousands of young trout fry were seen in the different streams in September last, a fact which would not have existed had general fishing been permitted through the year as heretofore. Another source of depletion of one of the very best food fish we have is the seining in the Platte and Cache-a-laPoudre rivers, the St. Vrain, Big Thompson and Boulder creeks at all seasons possible. Last June I found walleyed pike in the Denver markets-the female fish laden with spawn, just ready to deposit it-parties having them in possession not being aware of the penalty attached, but supposed that the law included trout only. I therefore notified them to sin no more, and am satisfied that no more made their appearance in the market until the month of September, when they again appeared by the wagon load. I satisfied myself that none of them were caught legitimately, but either speared or seined. It took me some days to get the names of the guilty parties, and yet more to secure sufficient evidence to insure conviction ; but I succeeded, and instituted prosecutions, which resulted in the conviction and a fine of $50 each of Thorkeld, Nelson E. Bennett and 5 C. Hauntz,of Greeley; Jay, Thomas and - - Cornell, of . I Platteville (all of Weld county). Thomas and Cornell appealed their cases, and since have taken a change of venue to Arapahoe county. These prosecutions have caused the sdning in the aforementioned streams to cease, although there are other not less guilty parties that are liable to be called to an account for their violation of the law. On the 1st day of November I left Brookvale en route for Washington city for the purpose of receiving Colorado's proportion of the German carp that was being -distributed by Professor Spencer F. Baird, Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries of the United States. I stopped at Sandusky, Ohio, for the purpose of securing a supply of black bass, and spent three days among the fisherman on the islands of Lake Erie, accompanied by Hon. H. E. 0. Hagan and Hon. E. D. Potter, to whom Colorado is greatly indebted for the interest they evinced in obtaining the same for our State. On the morning of the 10th, at 4 A. M., as I was leaving, Saturday, I had the misfortune to meet with a very painful accident, which delayed my arrival in Washington City seventeen days, also my return to Colorado as much, and from which I am still suffering, therefore it was impossible for me to render to you my report before the first day of December, as required to do by law. While East, the black bass that I obtained at Sandusky, from some cause unknown to me, were about all lost, the serious storms in the lake region at that time prevented my obtaining another supply. Professor Baird, in consideration of my crippled condition, caused by my accident at Sandusky, very kindly sent Mr. J. F. Ellis, a gentleman thoroughly cunwrsanl with the transportation of fish, to take charg-c ,,f the cn11 signment of fish for Colorado. I need only i;ay of M1. Ellis' care of and attention lo the lish Lhr1111i~ho11I. Il1t· lun1~ journey, of four days and 1-i~!ht hour-,, 1·11 ro11ti-, th.al t.,,1 one fish was lost oftlw 45Xtlt.lt we.- •;tarted w1tl1. I d1•,tnl111ti-d �6 FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. the remaining 45 7 to twenty-six different persons. The territory embraced in the distribution ranges from Fort Collins on the north, to Cucharus on the south. All persons who had made application to me for fish, but three, received them ; those three did not come, or send for them, and I could get no one to deliver them to them. I remained in D~nver from the 7th of December until the 11th, having thirty-one fish left, which I then shipped to Colonel George De La Vergne, of Coloraqo Springs, my reasons for so doing are that he is making the artificial propagation of fish a business, and has ponds prepared specially for the reception of carp, where all other fish will be excluded a condition of things very necessary for the successful bre:ding and raising of carp, as they are a very inoffensive fish themselves, and will not thrive where they are placed with others, and particulady 'the predaceous varieties. From him, as also from others who received them, I lo.ok for go~d re~ults, while from others I shall be happily disappomted if I do not hear the reverse, as ·they have placed them in ponds and lakes where suckers and sun fish abound; others where there are gold fish and a questionable variety of carp that is very bony and the flesh valueless, and which doubtless are hybrids; consequently the product, I fear, will be valueless. ~rofcssor Baird informs me that he will, in the coming spr~ng, make a distribution of tench, and probably another variety of carp, when, if desirable, Colorado will be entitled ~o her proportion. He also states that he has great faith m the future of this new fish, and that he is quite well satisfi~d that w~thin ten years the carp will constitute a very promment portion of the food of this country. . I am pleased to announce that Hon .. E. D. Potter, Sup~rmtendent of the Ohio State hatcheries, has promised to Co!ora~o. a donation of 50,000 vivified white fish eggs and I ,ooo v1v1fied brook trout eggs, which he will ship by express early in January next. I have made arrangements with the Denver Water Company to hatch the 50,000 white 7 fish eggs and place the young fry in Lake Archer, thereby testing the matter fairly whether the white fish will adapt themselves to the waters of Colorado or not. Of their excellence as a food fish there can be no doubt, and they can be artificially propagated very readily and cheaply by millions. I have arranged with Colonel De La Vergne to hatch the brook trout eggs for the State, and will see that the young fry is cared for, hoping that ere long the State will be the owner of a State hatchery and State ponds. They will then have the trout for breeders. Next year I will be able ·to make a distribution of black bass. There are also other varieties of good food fish that would doubtless adapt themselves to the •waters of our State, and I will endeavor to secure some of them for general distribution throughout the State. Yet I think that we will not attain any very great success in stocking our waters by transporting live fish from the Eastern States-it is too slow a process. The area of water in Colorado is not very great, hence the necessity of stocking it to its utmost capacity, which will never be done until this State does as many other States have done and are doing, by artificially propagating them by the millions, and distributing them in the streams throughout their respective States. The Fish Commissioners of Pennsylvania announced on March 2, 1878, that they would distribute between that date and April 1, 500,000 brook trout, 200,000 California salmon, I 50,000 salmon trout, also many other varieties, numbers not stated. Report of Hon. E. D. Potter, Superintendent of Ohio State hatcheries, reports up to January I, I 879, in- . eluding 1876-7-8, there were hatched and placed into waters of that State, 19,490,000 white fish, and I ,000,000 donated by the U. S. Fish Commissioner. In 1877 the St,.tc of Wisconsin hatclwd ancl cli:;trilmkcl into the waters of that Stak, 67,nuo <'.alili,rni;1 ~,a 1111011, 1 ,7 _;6,ooo lakt~ lrnut, 6,~~«J5,uuo whik fo;h .111d 17«,,ut ,,, ltrook trout. �8 FISH C0Ml\flSSJONER'S REPORT. The following will show the interest taken in fish culture by our Canadian neighbors. The report on the fisheries of the Dominion show that the products of the fisheries in 1877 were valued at 12,029,957, and in 1878 at 13,373,486; the value of fish exported was 6,929,365; the whole number of young fish distributed in the spring of 1878 was 27,754,500, and of this number 21,900,000 were white fish. In the autumn of I 878 26,95 I ,ooo vivified eggs were deposited in the several fish breeding establishments of the Dominion. There is no uncertainty about fish breeding, and why should Colorado hesitate longer to follow the lead of so many of her older sisters in so very important a matter as one that will insure tn all her citizens a wholesome and cheap food, and one that is highly prized by all classes. I must not close this report without urging all friends of fish, and all that take an interest in having the lakes and streams of our beautiful State stocked with the better varieties of fish, to support us in our cfforl-. to suppress the wi1ful violation of the statutes. Public opinion wilJ do much to support all those who arc inclined to uphold and enforce the laws. We wish to make our acknowledgment for favors received, from the management of the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad Company; S. I-I. lf. Clark, General Manager Union Pacific Company and Colorado Central Railroad Company; A A. Egbert, General Manager Denver Pacific Railway and Boulder Valley Railroad; S. C. Smith, Superintendent Kansas Pacific Railway; J. E. Johnstone, Superintendent Union and Kansas Pacific Express; John Muir, General Freight Agent Kansas Pacific Railway; and to all employes, we return thanks for courtesies and assistance rendered upon all occasions. Respectfully, WILSON E. SISTY, Commissioner. l'ISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. 9 STATE OF COLORADO, } OFFICE OF FISH COMMISSIONER, BROOKVALE, Colo., Dec. r, 1880. To His Excellency, Frederick W. Pitkin, Governor of Colorado: SIR-I herewith have the honor to submit to you my fourth annual report. Since my last report I received (in June last) two hundred and twenty-one German carp, of the mirror variety, from Professor Spencer F. Baird, Commissioner of Fisheries of the United States. Not being properly provided for their distribution at that time, I obtained of Mr. Peter Fisher the use of a small pond at Morrison, and placed them therein. On the first day of October I distributed a portion of them to applicants who were prepared to comply with the conditions imposed to obtain them. The balance will remain in the pond at Morrison until next spring. When I last saw them they were in a very prosperous condition. Complaints continue to reach me from the south and southwestern portions of the State, as heretofore, in regard to the maintaining of artificial obstructions in the streams, impassable for fish, also the wholesale and wanton destruction of fish by explosive substances, etc. Giant cartridges, are destructive alike to the small and large fish, and I do not believe that five per cent. of the fish that are killed in this manner are ever obtained by the viola.ter of the law, but float down the stream to rot in some eddy. There is no excuse, no palliating circumstances for the use of explosives for the purpose of killing fish. One prominent citizen of Lake county will doubtless agree with me that it is rather an unfortunate, if not disreputable, business for him to be engaged in, and that the missing hand will ever be a sad reminder to him of giant cartridges attempted to be used in violation of a just law. • �10 FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Jay Thomas and - Cornell, after conviction before a Justice of the Peace, in Weld county, in October, 1879, for violation of the fish law, in seining wall-eyed pike, appealed their cases to the District Court for the purpose of testing the constitutionality of the law, and I am glad to announce that Judge Elliott rendered his decision, the first week in last month, in favor of the State. The 50,000 white fish ~gg~ and 1,000 Brook-trout eggs that E. D. Potter, Supermtendent of Hatcheries of the State of Ohio, kindly donated to the State of Colorado last Feb~uary, were lost throu~h the negligence of the Express Company having_ them m charge. The trout eggs did not reach Colorado Springs until the seventh day after shipment from Toledo Ohio, all being hatched and nearly all dead. The whit~ fish eggs were in an equally bad, if not worse, condition when they reached Denver, on the eighth day after shipment from the same point, consequently they were a total loss. Believing that a large majority of the people of our State are in favor of stocking the waters of the State with desirable food-fish, and that they would like to obtain facts in relation to the artificial propagation of the same, and to what perfection it has attained, I will take the liberty of making detailed quotations of the reports of the Commis~ioners ~f the older States, that have made rapid strides in the art, and also from other reliable authorities. Thirtyfour States and Territories have appointed Commissioners for the purpose of developing their food-fish interests while the United States have established a Commission fo; Fish and Fisheries for the entire Union, which has done and is doing noble work, under the direction of Professor Baird. In a work entitled, "Fish Hatching and Fish Catching," by Seth Green and R. B. Roosevelt, I find the following: "There are certain well-marked eras in fish culture in which the main discoveries have been made. Most of the appliances adopted abroad have been aban~ loned with us, and great strides have been made in develop1111~ 1lw art. Our first great discovery was what is known FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. II as dry impregnation; that is, the use of little or no water in impregnating the eggs with the male fluid. This was kept a secret, however, from the public until it was rediscovered in Russia. Here it was first practised in 1864, and up to that time twenty-five per cent. of the eggs was the greatest number impregnated. Immediately afterwards the proportion rose to seventy-five per cent. and is now ninety-eight. At present 'dry impregnation' is now universally adopted." The reports from the carp that I distributed in December, 1879, are ~ot so full as I had reason to anticipate, but those that have reached me are very satisfactory. Mr. C. E. Burris, of Monument, writing September 27, 1880, says: "The carp have done finely, increasing their size threefold." Colonel George De La Vergne, of Colorado Springs, under date of November 18, I 880, says : " I transferred my carp to their feeding ground about the 20th of May last. They then measured I ¼ to 2 ¼ inches. July 26 some of them measured 7 inches. All of them hast made an astonishing growth; were not fed, but subsisted on the natural food of the pond. September 2 we transferred them to their winter quarters. Some measured 9 ¾ inches, and strikingly plump; others had made a proportionate growth." Fish Commissioner, J. H. Dinkins, of Austin, Texas, writing to Professor Baird, October 4, 1880, says : " I saw, a day or two ago, one of the carp sent me last winter. [These fish were the young of I 879, and about three or four inches long when received.] It measured 20 inches. I am inclined to think they spawned last summer, for the reason that the pond is now filled with small fry, unknown before in the pond. Should it prove correct I will inform you." I sec reports of commissioners, also .of individ~rals g-ivin~ the rapid ~!rowth of carp tlwy hav,: 111 pntub, lrom tlw fall of 187q to ( )c:tnlwr 1, 1XX0. 111 fad tlw rc'.porls from all parts 111 tlw c111111try. ;111d more· p,1llin1l,1ily the· South, in rq~.nd t11 t lw,r ~~rowl h, i:, ~.1111ply 111,1n· 1 ·l 1 ,11·,, a11d �!2 F ISH CO~IM ISSIOKER·s REPOHT. • FJSH COllfM ISSlONim's REPORT. I will add that many reports have reached me from the Fis h Commissioners Gf other States all showing an un varying s ucce::;s in fish culture. ' ~ It i::; with pleasure lhal J reproduce the following art,. cle, ck:::;criptive of t he carp, its hab its, e tc., from the / lmcnca11 Agriculturist: "t\ I )istinguis hcd Emigrant--Professor Baird 's European Cup." '' In 1876 Professor Haird, United States Commissioner of Fisheries, having for a long time un derstood th e importance of acclima~ing the carp in this country, cngag~d a n e mine nt fish ct'.ltunst, D r. Ru dnlph l Tcssel, a Ge rman, to bri ng over a supply of the best varil't ics of this favorite European food-fish. The first t.:xperi111 c11t in May. 1876, was unsuccessful.owing to the extreme ly hig·h te mperature e ncountered on the passage, a nd o ut of 300. with which he started, only fo ur s urvived. A nother 11ns11 cccssf11 I alkmpt was made in Decem· ber of the same year, ;ind sev,·11 111nrc were b rought from Hungary, a large number havi ng- dil'd on the passage. In May, ' 87<7, Dr. H essel returned frnlll a third trip, bring-ing to New Yo rk 345 you ng carp. J27 nf which were of the varieties known as • L eathe r Carp· ;ind 'Mirror Ca rp,' a nd 11 8 of the common or 'Scale Carp.' The U nited States Fish Commissioner was not ready to receive them, and they were placed for a time in ponds prepared fo r the ir reception in D ru id Hill Pa rk, Ba ltimore, under the s uperinte ndence of Major T. B. Ferg uson, Marylan<.l Cnmmi::;~io~er ofFis_heries. Here they throve and increased rapidly 111 size, and 111 May, I 878, 120 were removed to the government carp ponds, bui lt for them on the \i\iashington Monument R eservation, in t he city of vVashing ton." The carp have now multiplied to s uch a n extent that it i~ p ossible to begin the work of distributing the m, a nd bv the time this number of the A111crira11 Agriculturist reaclt;s its readers, Professor Baird's messenge rs will have carnt'd cans of you ng carp to a ll parts of the United States. The i11tro_cl11ction of this ne w food-fis h will be of great interest ,111d 11111'orl a1H:1: to all inland com m unities, for t here is no , 13 ditch, pond or mill dam. or a ny boggy, muddy spot which cannot be conver ted into a pond, in which t hey will not thrive. It will be strange if, with in twe nty years, carp do not become as common domestic animals as ducks or pigeon::;. The carp belongs to t he fam ily known to naturalists as the Cyprimam, members o f which are to be found in every s tream a nd pond in North A merica. Good examples of this fam ily arc the common goldfis h and the familiar b rook species known everywhe re by s uch names as • Dace,' ' Chub,' • Red-fin,' • Fall fish ' and 'Sh iner.' The • Buffalo fish ' of the \Vest is also said to resemble it in many respects. The carp, however, is the ki ng of thi::; tribe, and those who k now do not hesitate to ::;ay that as a food-fis h, it far excels the best of them. " In Pari::;, Be rlin and Hamburg," writes Dr. H essel, " in spite of an abundant supply of diffe rent sa lt a nd fresh wate r fis hes, the carp is always preferred to these, and with the except ion of the trout and salmon, it frequently com mands a price three times as h igh as that of all the rest. . A rtificial culture, continued through many centu ries, have developed in the carp a number of varieties, as strongly marked as those of sheep, dogs, pigeons or other domestic a nimals. These are div ided into three groups : T he ' scale carp,' wh ich most closely resembles the origina l form , having scales like ordinary fish, a nd has four thread-like ap· pendages or barbels under the chin; Lite 'mirror carp,' has e xtraordinary la rge scales, which run along the side of the body in three or four rows, the rest of the body being bare, and the 'leather' or ' naked carp,' which is a lmost destitute of scales, having only a few a long the li ne of the back, a nd has a thi n, soft s ki n, which i::; velve ty to the touch. Both t he latter varieties are said to be much supe rior to t he scale carp , which is best k nown in flavor, hard ness and adaplalion to confinement. A cla im has been 111.11 h.: I Ii.II c:trl' \\lc'J"L' i11trod11c1·cl into /\ nu.:ri c;t, and partin1L1rly 111 111 illl' I l 11d so11 rivn, 111any yea rs ai:o, l>11t thi•; is '111il,· 1111';1!1 1 •,la11l1.1t1 ·d �FISH COMM ISS IONER'S REPORT. FISH COMWSS IONEl(S REPORT. The carp has other a nd strong recommendations. It is of all fish the most readily propagated and reared. It has been domesticated in Europe from time immemorial having b~en introduced ma11_y centuries ago from Ce ntral' Asia or Chrna, where it is native. Carp soon become tame and eat from the hands of their keepers. Dr. Hessel handles t~ose in the government ponds as though they were tame k1tt~ns, and says that they come to him when he whistles. Their fecundity is g reat. A fish weigh ing four or five pounds lays 400,000 to 500,000 or more eggs, and one of them ten or fifteen pounds about 1,500,000. In Midd le E urope they spawn from May to August, and the breeding season appears to be nearly the same in \Vashing ton. I n I 879 they_ spawned he re from June to September. The eggs a1:e stick~, and cling to plants and twigs, hatching in from nme to eighteen clays, according to temperature. The actual rate of increase is very great, owing in part to the fact that the parents do not devour their young. The 1 20 fish broug ht to Washington two years ago have increased to at least 20,000. It is thus able to populate a body of w~ter to_ the full~st extent filling up the available space wrth their own krnd. Carni vorous species require that a large number: of oth ~r fis hes on which thcy prey inhabit the waters with the m. Unlike th e majority of American f?od-fishes their diet is largely vegetable, and they a rc part icularly fond of wate r-cresses a nd other juicy plants. They are harmless to othe r fishes inhabiting the same waters." "The food:fis\ ind_ige nous to the United States," says ~rofessor Barrel, wh rch has been most widely distributed 111 the sma ller lakes a nd ponds, is the la rge mouthed • b lack bass.' !hi: fish is ve ry ca rnivorous, preying upon almost all species 111 th e same wate rs. Even the 'pickerel' is sa id . to decrease r~pidly when in contact \vith it." The necessity of food-fish rs always a bar to a g reat increase in numbers among fishes, particularly in small bodies of water Carp, on Lhe other hand, introduced into ne\; waters fill s a vacancy and not o nly do not decrease the numbc,: 15 of other fishes, but by supplying them with food, enable the existence of a large additional nu mber of carnivorous fishes. T he carp is adapted to every varied climates a nd will thrive under conditions unfavorable to any equally palatable American fish. They are equally at ho~ne in lakes and streams or in the merest puddles and ditches. They are found in the latitude of St. Petersburg as well ~s in I taly and Northern Africa. It is believed that they ~ 111 c:xcel all othe rs for propagation in pond and other sluggish waters north a nd south, now even barren of life or inhabited by a limited number of pickerel, sunfishes or catfishes. It is hardy in all stages of g rowth. "The carp is able," says Dr. H essel, "to live in waters where other fish could not possibly exist, fo r instance in the pools of bog meadows or sloughs." Thouo-h it is not to be inferred from this that the best b carp ponds should b e thus located. . . In Silesia puddles, two or three feet deep, 111 the villages are used for raising two-year old carp for stocking distant waters. From this resource a single estate realized what would amou nt to about fifty-five dollars to an acre, of pond surface. In Europe, carp are always taken to market alive in tanks or barrels, and if they are not sold, returned to the water alive at the end o f t he day. They are said to be kept alive in cellars in the winter, wrapped in moss and fed on bread soaked in milk. Or. H essel once kept one in this way five weeks. In cold climates they protect themselves from freezing in winter, by retiring in groups of from fifty to one h undre~ or more into cavities in the muddy bottom called 'kettles, where they pass the time until spring, huddled togethe r in concentric circles, with thei r heads together, the posterim part "f t hc body raised and held immovahlc, ~carc_d y lirti 111'. 1111" :•.ills 1,,r breathing-, and without takini:· a p,1rt1clt,r 1,,.,d 1 111 .d ,sli11,·1ll·1· and torpidity la •;h i11 1·11lcl co1111 1 1111 .. , . , ..1 , , , 11 ,, ,,·11 1,1 ..111\i-., .111111h11 -. tlwy, ,1 11 liv1· ,1111 , t \11 \ lt Ptdtlll \\1 111, · 1 �16 FISH. COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Its growth is very rapid. Dr. Hessel says that in Central Europe its growth is entirely suspended in the winter the increase in weight taking place from May to August' and especially in July. The rate of growth depends upo~ many things-the temperature of the water the quantity and quality of the food and the nature of th~ bottom. In rivers, and lakes they attain their greatest size. The rapidity with ~hich ·Professor Baird's fish have grown, sur~asses_ anythmg hitherto k~own, and indicates that the carp 1s part_1cularly well adapted to America. The normal weight to which a carp may attain in three years in Europe is an average of three to three and three-fourth pounds; that is a fish that has lived two summers, and is eighteen months old, will weigh from two and three-fourths to three and three-fourths pounds in the year following. Dr. Hessel s~ates that the Washington carp four summers old weigh nme or ten pounds; those of the same age in Europe would not weigh more than four; those three summers old_ weigh about three a_nd three-fourths or four pounds, while the best in Europe of the same age weigh about two pounds." The _foll?wing well writte~ editorial in the Cotmtry•, a New York city Journal, will well pay a perusal, and I am assured commend itself to all who take an interest in fish culture : " The work of New York and Connecticut Commissioners of Fisheries :-The convention of fish culturists recently held in this city, and the proceedings of which were reported at the time in our_columns, afforded a fair indication_ of the progress which the art has made in this country durmg t!ie last ten or eleven years. It is true that we stated in an article published on the 23rd of February, 'Fish culture has been successfully tried nearly three-quarters of a century ago in Charlestown, South Carolina.' Yet if we except the attempts made by Dr. Garlick and ~rofes_sor Ac~ley, of_ Cleveland, Ohio,. in the year 1853, 1, ttlc, if anythmg, was really accomplished in the extension ••f the work throughout the country till the appointment of 17 Commissioners by the different States and the appropriation of the necessary means for the successful prosecution of their labors ; and in looking over the annual reports of these Commissioners we are surprised at the results accomplished in proportion to the small amounts placed at their disposal. We doubt if so much was ever done in the prosecution of any governmental work with the same limited means. To-day there are twenty-one State Commissioners and one in Utah, which, with the Commission at Washington, representing the whole country, making a total of twentythree, and all of these, with the exception of that in Massachusetts, have been organized within the past ten or eleven y~ars. This, it must be admitted, is quick work, and the rapid progress which has been made wherever their operations have been extended, is deserving of the highest commendation. The zeal ~nd earnestness displayed is shown in the practical results obtained, and these have become so manifest to the public within the past two or three years, that whatever doubts might have at one time been entertained as to their success, have been completely dissipated. The re-stocking of the waters which had been depopulated by the excessive fishing or other causes, and the increased supply in localities from which certain varieties were fast disappearing, afford the best evidence of the beneficial effects which have attended the efforts of these Commissioners. · But it is not in the practical work of fish culture, nor in the simple hatching of fish alone, that these officials have rendered important service to the country. They have collected a vast amount of most valuable information ln·aring upon this subject-information of a character that has greatly facilitated the process and reduced it to such ah:-;olute certainty that it is now a mere matter of calc:11lat ion. It has been proved that from ninety to ninety-fiw per c:L·11l. of the spawn taken from fish and a1tifidally i111prq:11aktl, is hatched, and as this is more than a hundred fi,ld l-~n•;1tn than the proportion hatched in the natural w;iy, w,· t·;111 3 �18 FIS H COMM TSSTONER's REPORT. FISH COM!MJSSIONER'S REPORT. form a n approxi mate estima te of what has been, as we ll as what can be effected. lar ge experience to th is field of labor, and, al though in t~e becrinning, the public, or a la rge pro~ortion of the pt:lic, we~e either skeptical or indifferent, h ts success has ~en established beyond the shadow of a doubt. His !1atch111g • ts • tic house at Caleclon1a 1 pro l'fi t c sou 1•cc from which hun. drecls of thousands yes, m1•11 ions o f eggs o f salmon ' wh1teI tiou . t I, ave been sent for fi sh • salmon trout' and broo' clist,ribution in lakes, rivers a nd streams th,rou?hout th~ State while from the hatching house at Mulls F ishery, o the J-Iudson, ten miles below Albany, there have_ been as many as 7 500 ooo of young shad turned loose 111to t~1at ' river in one' se,1son. For the abundan t s~ppIy o f which . th e New York ma rkets have been s upplied, we a r_e indebted to our Commission, despite the selfish an~ rumo_us course pursued by ou r fis h ermen. Br'.11d to the ir own Ill ,terests, and intent only on present ga111s: these m~n ha;e 11ro1· y·c~1·s continued, in opposition to contmued advice, tl1e .. most destructive methods, until it became ev1•d en t ti1 a t t 1e n ly had diminished to such an extent as to threaten a Pp su • •on o f t1es1a of the 1 1 d r.. absoluteexterm111at1 ,10 m the waters ' The annual reports contain a val uable ·collection of facts in regard, not only to the details of operatio11 in the respective States to which they refer, but in many instances they furnis h information on othe r p oints which is most acceptable to all who take an interest in fish culture, or who desire to make a practical use of th e experience thus presented • • Of these State reports, which vary in size from twenty to two hundred pages, there a re at least one hundred and fifty cons tituting a library of special value. When to these a re added the reports of the U nited States Commissioner of Fisheries, comprising three large octavo volumes of over two thousand pages, besides numerous notices, letters, statements, reports, etc., we sha lI have an adequate conception of the scientific a nd litera1y, as we'll as the practical work, performed by these gentlemen. A lthough we now speak particularly· of official publications, there are, it mus t be borne in mind, many others of h igh value and of special interest as compared with the piscatorial literature of other countries which have had many years the s tart of us in this direction, we have every reason to be satisfied with the progress made. In ou r own State during the ten years of its existence the Commission has realized the hig hest expectations. It has enjoyed a special advantage in the character and abil ity of its members as we ll as in the earnest interest and the active pa rt which they have taken in the prosecution of the work for which they were appointed. The names of Hon. H oratio Seymour, Edward ·M. S mith and Robert B. R oosen:lt·, ge ntlemen who have given this su bject their closest attention, are in the mselves a g uarantee that the duties imposed upon them have been not only faithfully but most intelligently and thoroughly performed, while the fact that the superintendence is confined to that vete ran and disting uished fis h cult urist, S,·th Green, leaves nothing to be desired. For ten years, ever ·;i11.-,· il s nrg-a11izatio11, ML Green has devoted his time ;1 11<1 19 Hudson. • b ied - To s uch an excess had this s uicidal policy een _carr f, '. that sufficient spawn-bearing fish could not be obta111ed I 01 the p urpose of re-stocki ng . ~n fact, according to the ast annua I l·epo1·t , it 'apJJears that, while the numberI · of young ] r ••1e cl to the Hudson from the bhate•c11mg-10use, s ha cl trans1c1 at this place already stated, was 4,5 8o,ooo , est es 440 '000 1e I ·ch were shipped out of the State in the year 1875, t1 • ~vu11:1ber hatched and disposed of in a similar '.11ann~rll~he foll owing year, dt•d not exccecl I, 850 ,ooo, showmg a ,a mg r. off in the supply of shad fry, 2,730,000. We . arc . not .Ic,t ()" in doubt as to the causes which were at work pwductnh • resu lt. "S -the re1101t, n.:fcrn ng to this th is - o Iong, " s,tys .· , rrn:at disproport ion bchvcen t-hc nu1nlu :r h;1l'.· h,·d d11 111_'.l. Ul<'sc: two yc;1 rs, ";1s the 11 1al11rc · shad an· d,· 11 1,·, I a11 '" '. ·,'. • ,ss·,.. ,. 1,, tiw 1•• , ... ,,r111111d·.. ,1 Li q,, 1 ··1 ••-111-111 11.. 1 r- .. s1n11a J<, 1,• • • , . . . . I 1111 ·1 111 1,,11111 ·,I • • 11 1 1 1,,1 1..1·'( 111' 1 '11·,I. ,\1 ,d \\ ( ,Ill ,II S III tl\'111[: <, tn �20 FISH COI\.[MISSIONER'S REPORT. that the cause of the diminution of the quantity of spawn manipulated, is due to the great increase of the number of fishermen who are engaged either in fishing for the market or in taking supplies for their own fami1ies or ndghbors, to be salted down for the year's use. Before the Commission had fairly begun operations, such had been the discouraging condition of our shad fisheries, that they were being abandoned, and now so great has been the increase through the work performed by the Commission, that, to-day, there are nearly ten times as many nets in the river as there were six years ago, a striking commentary on the success with which that work has been carried on. The remedy suggested, should meet with the approval and support of the fishermen themselves, that a certain day or days should be set aside as ' close time,' within which there should be a suspension of fishing, that a sufficient number of shad might be permitted to pass up to the spawning ground, as only in this way can a sufficient number of ova be obtained." It would be a difficulty to give, in detail, the operations of Mr. Green during the many years he has occupied the responsible and important position of Superintendent of Fisheries of the State of New York, but we may say, that, independent of the hatching of shad, his efforts in the propagation of salmon, salmon-trout, white fish and brook trout have been carried to such an extent that ere long every lake, every pond, every river and every stream in the State will have received a liberal supply. As an illustration of what he has accomplished in the cultivation of two of these species we find that he had distributed among the different countries during the year 1876, over 1,000,000 brook and about I ,300,000 salmon trout, while in Otsego lake alone, there were deposited 300,000 white fish and 286,000 salmon trout and 186,000 Otsego bass. It is, however, a difficult matter to ascertain the precise number of the ova of fish which Mr. Green has obtained, as we find that in many cases he counts them by boxes, so that we must credit him FISH COl\11\USSIONER'S REPORT. 21 with many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, mo~e than appear in his annual statements. The effect_ of l11s labors are to be found in the large increase of fish which has taken place in those waters, whic? have _be~n stocked through his agency, and from ~vh1ch he 1s m constant receipt of proofs from every part of the State. Durina the years 1874and 1875 the number of California salmon f~ sent from the New York State hatching house, and placed in different streams and tributaries, was nearly 850,000, and the number sent out of the State was I 5,000. From June 3 to June 28, 1875, there were 155,000 sturgeon hatched and turned loose into the Hudson. Of the results attending the efforts of the commission in the cultivation of brook and salmon trout, the reports received from the different parts of the State in the waters of which the fry were placed, are, as we have stated, particularly encouraging. The black bass, pike_ and whitefish, have also been heard from, and the results m these cases are no less favorable. The attention of the Commissioners appears to be given mainly to the species mentioned, with one or two exceptions, for the reason, we presume, they are regarded the most profitable, and, therefore, the ~o~t desirable. But their efforts have not been confined w1thm the confines of our own State, for we find they have furnished a liLeral supply of shad to the United States Commissioner, Professor Baird, and the Boards of other States, for waters in Ohio, Indiana and even in Texas. S~ch has been the success of the experiment of-transplanting the shad to other fresh waters, that in Lake Ontario they have multiplied so rapidly as to exceed the most sanguine anticipations.· . In speaking of the work of the New York Commission we should not omit to mention the fact that they have - give~ a liberal share of their attention to the cultivation of Oswego bass, rock bass and strawberry bass, perch, bull heads eels and striped bass. It has been found that the ova of the last named fish possesses conditions favorable �22 FI SH COMM ISS IONEl<'s l<EPORT. to their cultivation in fresh water, and in the words of the Commissioners themselves: "Now that they can be taken in spawning condition and handled like other fish, there is every reason to believe that the attempt to largely increase the supply of this most desirable fish will soon cease to be an experiment only." The little State of Connecticut was among the first to appreciate the importance of this great industry, and as early as 1866, took the first steps toward its successful prosecution, by the appointment in that year of Messrs. H. W. Russell and H. A. Robinson as Commissione rs. It had been evident for years that, unless something effective was done, the total disappearance of certain kinds of fish from the waters of the State, was only a question of time. As not only Connecticut, but other New E ngland States, were directly interested in the matter, it was decided at a meeting of all the Commissioners held in Boston on the 26th of F ebruary, 1867, to organize as "the New England Commissione rs . of Inland Fishe ries," and a lso to co-operate in re-stocking of the Connecticut with salmon and shad, under the following arra ngement: New Hampshire was to procure and distribute impregnated ova of salmon and shad in the head waters of Lhe river. Vermont and Massachusetts were to build s uitable fishways for the passage of fish over their dams to the spawning gro und, and Connecticut was to abolish 'gill nets,' ' stake nets,' and ponds in the river a nd on the sound. These essential pre-requisites having been determined upon, the necessary_action by the State L egislature was taken. The two Commissioners appointed in 1866 entered at once upon the wor k before them and secured th e passage of a law by which shad fishing was restricted from the period from March 15 to June 15, inclusive. No one was allowed to fish with net or sein in the Connecticut from sunset on Saturday to sunrise on Monday, a nd the taking • of salmon was forbidden. The following year, 1867, three Commissioners were appointed, Dr. H enry Woodward, 1 1011 . James /\.. Bill and Mr. James Rankin, and one of FISH COMM ISSI ONER'S REPORT. 23 • I1111g • of a h a tching house riat their first acts was the establts H olyoke whe re Mr. Seth Green made a number of etx~~l e ' • f h d T he first attem p , 1< ments in the propagation o s a • ft! eggs the second many ot l1e rs, gave on ly two per . cent. o 1e , · seventy and the last ninety-nme. . Nothing could be more encouragi ng, a nd foll owm;' up hi s success, he had hatched out in about thr~e wede.': ~o • shad which were imme ,a e y 0f less than 40,ooo,°<:° • / so ood It now remained transferrea to the nver. So fa . g . h cito be seen what proportion of these would escape t e a; ion de nts to w I11•cI1 they were liable a nd what I propor d 20 ooo • t o t11e sCc 1-1 would reach maturity. In a dd'1t1on ;. t Sal.,1on were placed in the h ead waters of the onnec icu ' • : I 868 Mr. Green conthe following wmte r, 18~7-8. n I . . ·n success. t• ed l11·s operations with th e same g 1a t1fy1 g mu millions • M of shad were hatched an d sen t t ~ keep coma ny • The n g ht an with the fir,;t yea r's productions. . to use p. y I• b which was the efficient means m the achi.s hate 1111g ox, . . urchased compI•1s I1men t of tl1e"e ·' encourag ing I esu 1ts, was p · h )'] • I <e by the Comm1•ss1oners, an d I·t has been e mployed 86 wit had • since The fol lowing yea r, I 9, no s ~\~ecr~e~:t:;;: ~, it ha.ving been deemed advi; b!:,t: a~:1 : 1:: 1 results of the experi ments already made. u 1 y 't 1r01• 1· 11 1870 the p roblem was solved, the suplong to wai , I d t been I of fis h be ino so abundant that such a run la no d p y • the rive~· for twenty years. Immense shoals m~ e see~ m . • the sound on the 22d of May, makmg their appeaiance 111 · 8 ooo were for the Connecticut river. The next mornmg 2 / ti taken from the nets at or near S ay brook ' and 1rom o 1er c • d of a .similar character, theWh hauls points reports were I• ece1ve in so~1e instances being seven-fold the us~al catch. en dd to this that both in size and quality, t he fish were we a ' • . t be des ired. There excellent, there was nothmg mo1e o • 1 ofshad in need be no apprehensions as to the future supp y the waters of the Connecticut. f S The ear I 87 I saw a g reat g lut in the ma_rket o aylJrook , !here they were sold for ten cents apiece, and the �FISH COMM ISSIONER's REPORT. old_ process of salting, so long discontinued, was again revived. Hatc hing was now a mere matter of form and so we a re not s urprised to learn that in twenty-five 'days 60,000,000 of s haJ fry were released from the ir s he lls an ~ committed to the Con necticut and Saugatuck, from which s had had disappeared many y ears before, and _J ,500,0~ to the . Pequonock. Perhaps, the most pleasmg testimony with regard to the valuable services which the Commissioners have rendered came from th~ ~s he rmc n themselves, who ha d a mple opportunity of testmg the e fft:cts of their operations in the large ly increased s upply produced by artificial propagation. Indeed, it was now so large that it was no longer a question of scarcity, bu_t of s uperabu nda nce, which caused so great a decline in pnces as to leave but little p rofit on the sales. Th~ waters of the Connecticut had become so prolific, that 111 1872 , the seventh y e·,1· • • " .s1·nce th e Comn11ss1on was organized, the enormous aggregate of 90,000,000 of shads' cg~s were hatched at H o lyoke, all of which, with the exception of a few thousand, which were reserved for the Myotic a nd Saugatuck, a nd 2 ,000,000 sent to the W est, ~t the request of Professor Baird, were put in the same ri ver fro_m which the pare nt fish had bee n taken. ln 1873 44,~~,ooo we re hatched, and a ll except 4 ,0 00,000 we re s urnlarly disposed of T he ,ooo,ooo were 4 sent to t he United S~a:es CoI1J 111issioner. The ninth y ear was a lmost a repetition of the e ighth, the same number havi ng been hatched. This time, however 1 • Professor Baird received 1,500,000 less. The supply 0 [ the ~atu ~·e fis~ was so la rge that there was a g reat reduction 111 pnces and a material falling off in profit. • In consequence of the S tate Legislature failino- to make ~n early appropriation, the hatching of shad was :uspended 1 in 875 •. The two s ubseq uent years, the hatching of shad wa~ earned on by the United States Commissioner a nd his assistants , one-half of the y ouno. ,,, sha d fr1y, accord'mg tot h e .q~n ·L'll l<.:nt , being- put in the Connecticut. Unfortunate ly , 1 F ISH COMM ISSIONER S REPORT . 25 however, little was done during this period, in consequence of the high temperature of the water and the prolonged drought which seriously affected the work of hatchi ng. Although much attention and labor were bestowed _on t he propagation of s had, large quantities of the fry, of which we re used in s tocking the waters of seve ral W estern States, and even California, the Commissioners of Connecticut did not neglect the other fish. Black bass were procured a nd several of the lakes and ponds stocked about ten years ago, and with s uch success that year after year the distribution of this fine fis h was continued, until now, as ~tated, it is foun d in abunda nce in most sections of the State. But next to the shad the salmon has received the greatest s hare of attention, and millions of the eggs of the Pacific and Atlantic salmon have been placed in the principal rivers a nd their tributaries, and as this is the y ear when, according to calculation, a portion of these. should reach matu rity, the result is looked for with special inte rest . Not a few of them have been taken in the parr and smolt condition, and there are reports of others, which have been taken, which have attained the respective weights of eleven, fourteen and even eig hteen pounds. The efforts of the Commissioners to secure the ova of the schoodic or landlocked salmon of Maine was attended with marked s uccess during the years 1875, 1876 and 1877, 3,614,000 were taken by Mr. Atkins, the Maine Commissioner, at Grand Lake stream in that State. Connecticut's proportion was about one-eighth, which have been placed in such waters as were deemed best adapted to their cultivation and growth. Of the Atlantic salmon 20,000 fry were placed in the head waters of the Connecticut in I 867, and four years later, I 87 I, 2,000 salmon ova from the Mira michi, in New Brunswick, we re hatched, g iving 1,876 fry and these were sent to the tributaries of Broad brook, a branch of the Quinnebang; to these wen; added 6,000 more fry, obtained of Mr. Wilmot, F is n Com missioner of Canada, and put into the Housatuuic, l•ar111 · �FISH COMM ISSIONER'S REPORT. . FISH COMM ISSIONER'S REPORT. i11gton, S hetucket and Quinnebang rivers, above and below the dams. I t was now resolved by the commissioners to obtain their supplies of spawn hereafter from the P:n~b~ot, and, havi ng s ucceeded, about 25,000 fry were d istributed in 1872. That year the number of salmon ova from the Penobscot hatched, was 1,500,000 at a cost of $5 per thousand. . Connecticut's portion of this supply was 26o,ooo, the balance being divided between Mai1i'e, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which had co-operated in the work an_d borne . their share of the expenses. In 187 3 C~nnect,cut received 244,000; in 1874, 472,000, the cost bemg $2.75 a thousand ; and in 1875, 3 10,000 at $2 per thousand. In addition to these, the State received the same year 480,000 California salmon ego-s from Professor Bair~, 460,000 of_ which were hatched. F:·om 500,0◊-o eggs received from California in 1876, 477,286 fry were obtained and these, with t he p'roduct of the previous years, mad~ a n aggregate of about 2,500,000, from which it is reasonable to look for a good report within a very few years. About a dozen fish have al ready been taken from the ~onnecticut during the past year, weighing from nine to eighteen pounds, so that our ang lers 111ay not hereafter ha:e to m~ke long and tedious trips to Canada rivers to enJ?Y their s umme rs, fly fishing. If the expectations which we h ave a ri g ht to entertai n are realized, we s hal l have our p iscatorial recreations much neare1· home I addition to the salmon fry placed in the river b); th: C~nnect1cut Comm issioners, its head waters have received nearly 500,000, contributed by Commissio ners of Vermont and New Hampshire, according to previous a rrangeme~t.. To secure the result of the ir operations, the Comm1ss1oners, Mess rs. 'vVilliam M. H udson Rob t G P-k , . er • 1 e a nd . James A . Bill, recommend that the taking of salmon previous to July, I 880, s hall be prohibited." . I quote from the eleventh annual report of the Commissioners of F isheries of the State of New Y ork for the year ending, December 31 , r 879, the following i;1 regard ll to the entire success atte nding their efforts in the cultivation of the hig hly esteemed brook trout: "Previous reports refer to the unexceptional gratifying results which have been reached in the cultivation of the brook trout, as the expense of breeding and growing these fish is g reater than al most a ny other. The Commissioners were at first doubtful as to the propriety of assuming its c ultivation, and only did so when expressly d_irected by the Legislature. But their fears have prove d to be wholly unfo unded. The trout is the most highly esteemed of a ll other varieties of fish that inhabit our waters, and its re-int rod uction has given ,more satisfaction to our people than any other work of tl;e Commission. 'vVhether sought for spor t, or food, or profit, it is sought with mqre eagerness, and taken with pleasure. Its price is highest in the market, higher tha n that · of salmon, although the fl esh of the latter is richer and more nutritious, and as a s ubject of recreation it excels any of them that we have ever had within the confines of our State. I ts cultivation, too, turned out to h ave special advantages. The streams in which it once dwelt were in most instances nol only depopulated of this most particular species, but bare of any and every sort of ani mal life. With its destruction had a lso been destroyed its ene mies ; both had disappeared togethe r, and consequently the trout fry when once more placed in these streams had nothing to fear, and so lived and grew almost to an individual. Nature has limited the increase of almost every created th ing by certain natural laws, the principal of wh ich is the creation of a number of enemies to p rey upon it. The regular incr~ase is controlled by the regular destruction, and both are kept at a fixed equipoise. Man, however, has deranged this equilibrium, and while he had in so doing , ann ihiliated the natural supply, he ope ned an admirable occasion for artificial labor. In lime the destructive power a nd forces will reappear; l> ul al prl'scnl the fis l· have a "rand start ahead of the ir e ne111ics. Wi th scarn·ly an c·-.: "' �28 FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. ception, the trout raised by the Commission, and. planted in old, worn-out trout brooks, have done well, and in many cases have surpassed all expectations. The results thus obtained are moreover not a question of speculation, but are open to dispute, as the waters being limited, and the fish confined to them, the improvement is visible to all who care to investigate it. A brook that has not contained a trout for many years is re-stocked artificially, and thereafter yields abundantly. In such a case it cannot be said that the change comes from some unknown natural cause, and the most skeptical cannot deny that the improvement is due simply to the labors of the Commission." The Commissioners of California, in their report for I 879, have the following good word to say in behalf of the muchneglected Schuylkill catfish. I cannot forego the temptation to say that the name brings up pleasant memoriesreminiscences of boyhood days-connected with catfish, coffee and waffles at the falls of the Schuylkill. This fish would thrive well in the artificial and other lakes of our plains: "In 1874 we imported from the Raritan river and placed in lakes near Sacramento seventy-four of these valuable fish. These have increased to millions, and furnish an immense supply of food. •They have become so numerous that they are as regular,y on sale in the city markets as the most abundant native fish, and are sold at about the same prices. They thrive in our rivers and lakes and in the still ~ater sloughs of our plains, as well as iri the brackish sloughs in our tule lands. They appear to be equally at home in lakes on the mountains and in artificial reservoirs in the valleys. Many farmers who have natural ponds on their land, or who have surplus water from windmills and 4ave made artificial ponds, have stocked them with this excellent fish. The produce of the few fishes of this species imported in I 874, now annually furnish a large and valuable supply of fish food to people in the interior of the State. The value of all the fish of this species now caught FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. annually, and consumed as food, would more than equal the annual appropriations made by the State, and placed at the disposal of the Fish Commissioners. This variety of catfish has valuable characteristics which admirably fit it for wide distribution and for self-preservation in the strug- • gle for existence. The female makes a round nest in the • . bottom of the pond in which she deposits, usually, from 3,000 to 5,000 eggs; these are fecundated by the male who then leaves them to the care of the female. The mother remains over them, fanning them with her fins, probably to keep them oxygenated with fresh currents of water, as well as to prevent them being smothered by sediments. She remains in constant attendance, driving away every fish that approaches her nest. In from six to ten days the young make their appearance. Her care does not cease with the birth of the young fish. She now swims about them in a circle, keeping them together till all are hatched. When all the young fish are fitted to swim, she leads them off to find food, still keeping them in a body by circling about them, and driving back wanderers as a trained shepherd dog drives in wandering sheep. She will at any time fight any other fish that comes near her charge. In another week or ten days they are prepared to search for their own food, when they gradually disperse. Since our last report we have distributed 39,000 of these fish to public waters to stock rivei:s, ponds and reservoirs in the counties of--- " In the report of the Commissi.oner of Fisheries for the Dominion of Canada, for 1879, I find the following: "Expenditures on account of fisheries for the year 1879, including the erection of two additional hatcheries, making a total of nine, $82,319.07; and the total value of the productions of the fisheries of Canada in 1879, is $13,529,254.91. The particulars I am now enabled to lay before your department, which have tra~1spircd since the date of my last annual report, will show the extent of the operations in fish culture for the last year, which, l trust, will prm (~ satisfactory, as the numbers of fry distributed and the quantity �:ir ;•,:·: 30 FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORt of eggs laid down during that period will fully demonstrate. The young fry planted in the waters of Canada last spring, through the means of.artificial propagation, number 2 I ,684,700, and the eggs laid down last autumn by the same process amounted to 28,079,000, thus showing the successful manipulation at the several Government fish-breeding establishments in the Domin~on, under my superintendency, of a grand total of 49,763,6oo young fish and fish eggs of the salmon family during the year I 879." New York State Commissioners report the number of shad hatched and planted by them, I 879, at I I, I 54,000, also many millions hatched and planted of other varieties too numerous to mention. Superintendent of Hatcheries of the State of Ohio, E. D. Potter, for 1879, reports the hatching . and planting of 6,500,000 white fish, 50,000 California salmon, with 200,000 young salmon now rn the hatching house at Toledo, in fine condition and ready for distribution. B. F. Shaw, Commissioner for the State of Iowa, reports for 1?78 and 1879 the distribution of 4,809,800 of all varieties, with 2 5,ooo fish left, and 500,000 salmon trout eggs layed down in the State hatching house. The Commissioners of Maryland planted in 1878 234,000 brook trout, 40,781 land-locked salmon, 710,600 California salmon, and on account of United States and Maryland Commissioners planted about 3,000,000 young shad. List of the Commissioners of Fish and Fisheries of the United States and Canada, published in Forest and Stream, Rod and Gttn, October 2 I, I 880: CANADA. W. F. Witcher . . . . . . . S. Wilmot, Supt. of Fisheries . . . Ottawa. Ontario . Newcastle, Ontario NEW BRUNSWICK. W. H. Venning, Inspector of l4~isheries . . . . St. John NOVA SCOTIA, W. H. Rogers, Inspector of Fisheries . . . . . . Amherst PRINCE EDWARD·s ISLAND. J. 11. IJnvcr. In.!.'J>CClor of Fisheries . . . . .- . . . . . Alberton 31 BRITISH COLUMBIA, Alex. C. Anderson, Inspector of Fisheries . . . . . . . . . Victoria UNITED STATES. Prof. Spencer F. Baird. . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington. D. C. ALABAMA, Charles S. G. Doster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D. B. Hundley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prattsville . . Courtland ARKANSAS, General N. B. Pearce . . . . . . , . . . . . . Captain John E. Readon . . . . . . . . . George Hornebrook . . . . . . . . . . . . Osage Mills . Little Rock . . . . Little Rock CALIFORNIA, S. R. Throckmorton . . . . . . . . . . . San Francisco B. B. Redding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . San Francisco J. D. Farwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Niles, Alameda County COLORADO. . Brookvalc W. E. Sisty . . . . . , . . . . CONNEZl'ICUT. William M. Hudson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hartford Robert G. Pike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Middletown G. W. Woodruff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sherman GEORGIA, Thomas P. James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . Atlanta Commissioner of Agriculture and ex-officio of Fisheries. ILLINOIS, N. K. Fairbank . . . S. P. Bartlett ... . J. Smith Briggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chicago . . . . . . . . . . Qu~q . . . . . . . . . . . . Kankakee IOWA, . . Anamoaa B. F Shaw . . KANSAS, D. B. Long . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . • . . . Ellsworth KKNTUCKY, Hon.John A. Steele . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , • Midway Dr. William Van Antwerp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mt. Sterling A. H. Goble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . • . Catlettsburg Hon. C. J. Walton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . Munfordville Dr. S. W. Coombs,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bowling Grcea John B. Walker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Madisonville William Griffin, President. . . . . . . . . . . . . ·, . Louisville W. C. Price . . . . . . . . . . . Danville P. H. Darby . . . . . . . • Princeton Hon. J. M. Chambers . . . • . Independence �32 FISH CO~I ~1ISSJONER'S REPORT. FIS H COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. O ll l!J. MAINE. E. M. Stillwell . . . . . . . . . . . . Bangor EvereLL Smith . . . . . Portbnd Commissioners of Fisheries and Game. ~IARY I.AND. T. 1l. Ferguson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baltimore Address 1,327 M street, Washington, D. C. Thomas Hughlett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Easlon MASSAC II USETTS. Theodore Lyman . E . A. l.lrackett . . Asa French . . . .Brookline . \Vinchester . . Boston MIC HIGAN. Eli R. llliller . A. J. Kellogg . Dr. J. C. Parker. . Richland . . Detroit . Grand Rapids MINNESOTA. Daniel Cameron . . . . . . William W. Sweeney, M. D. R. Ormsby Sweeney, Chairman . . . La Crescent Red Wing . . St. Paul M ISSOU RI. Hon. Silas Woodson, Chairman. . . . . . . Hon. H. Clay Ewing... J oh n Reid . . . . . . . . St. Joseph . Jefferson City . Lexington NEBRASKA. R. R. Livingstone . H. S. Kaley. W. L. May.. Plattsmouth Reel C loud . . Fremont NF.VADA. H. G. Parker. 11 . J. Reeder.. B. L. Howit . Jamc, DnfTy . . . . . . . . John llummell. . Rohen Dalzell .. . G . M. \1 iller.. . . . . . Ea!--lnn . . . . . . . . l lolliclayslrnrg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~l,1rictta . !...;din:-~rovc . . I 'illslrnrg . \\' ilk~,.liarrc RIIODI-: 1,;1.AND . Newton Dexter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Providence J nh n :\.Rarden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rock land Alf re,! A. Ree,!.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Providencr so,· Tn C r\ROLI XA. P. ,\. llutlcr.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Columbia Commissioner o f Agriculture and ex-officio of F isheries. TEN N ~:ss EE. ~lt-mphi•; Nashville Knox ,·illc W. W . l\lcOowell. Geor~c F. Ack~r, . H on. \V. F. Turley J. T EXAS. . . . . Austin H. Dinkins . . . . . Professor J. UTAH. Salt 1.akc City I.. Darfoot VERMONT . l )r. l\l . Coldsmith . . Charles Jl:urett . . . R n1lan,l \' JR(:1:,1,1. . Carson Cily . Man chester . South Milton . . Plymouth NEW JERSEY. Dr. B. P. Howell .. . E. J. Anderson . . . Theodore Morford .. . . . . Coshocton . . . . T oledo . Cincinn~ti ] . C. Fisher, Presiden t . . R. Commings, Treasurer . L. A. llarris, Secretary .. l\l. Mc Donald . . NEW HAMPS HIRE. Samuel Webber. Luther Hayes. A.H. Powers 33 . Wo odbury . T renton . Newton NEW VORK. Hon. R. B. Roosevelt. . 76 Chambers S t. , New York Edward M. Smith . . . . . . . . . . . Rochester Richard U. Sherman. . . . . . . . New Hartfort E. G. Black ord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn NORTH CAROLINA. I'. ~I. Wi bo11 (acling- Commissioner). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ralei.eh \\'EST \'I 1\•0 INI A. H enry B. Miller. C. S. While . . . :-S. :'II. l.owry . . . . . . . . . \V lu!t•lin~ . . . . . . . R omucy . . . . . . . . . . H inton \\"I SC<, r,, : Sl N. Governor William E. Smith (.:x·officio) Phil<• Dunning, Presid ent . . . . . . . . J. V. J nn~s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C. L. V:, ,ntine (:--ecretary and Trcarnre r/ . llfark l louglas . . . . . John F. Autisdel . . . . Chn stophcr fl utchinson . l\-la,li,on ~facli,nn Oshk osh . Jancs,·ille . . Melrose . i\filwa11kce . . llcct1Jwn *~ot published in Ft1rc•j"/ ,111,I S 1:·,a111, but has :l Fi"h ''t1Ut1 n i ·~ .i ha,,e cnrresponderl with h im, but fori;:ct his nam,· a11d a,l,I,,, ... JIH' I", a-; �0 34 F JS II COMM ISS IONER S REPOHT. There was a time whe n th e successful propagation of fis h, by artificial means, for the purpose of re-stoc king depopulated waters, o r waters that neve r contained fis h, was questionable. But that time is now passed. Fish culture is a n assured success, with not a li ngeri ng doubt, and the time has now arrived whe n the Cente nnial State should take advantage of and profit by the practical and s uccessful results laid before her by so many fish-farming States. J will be pe rmitted to repeat. that tht: area of water in Colorado, not be ing very extensive, it should be stoch:cl wi th des irab le food fish to its uttermost capacity, a nd kept as near that point as possible, which will only be done by the State having a hatching house and hatching eggs proc ured fro m the East and \ Vest in large quantities, and plant the you ng fis h th roughout the waters of the State. I will be excused for again hoping that , du ring the session of the next c;eneral A ssembly of our State, it will make a s ufficie nt appropriation for the purpose of pu rchasing a site a nd erecting a State hatching house thereon. thereby securin g to the State an abu ndance of cheap fis h food. R esp~ctiully, WILSON E. S lSTY, Commissioner. � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/38ad15048bef1253c6d1914cf6ed01eb.pdf cb9c1863507d8fee3acb02aae90493a6 PDF Text Text BIENNIAL REPORT FISH COMMISSIONER S T A T E OF COLORADO, FOr T H E T W O YEARS 1881 AND 1882. DENVER, TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COLO.: COMPANY, 1882. STATE PRINTERS. �BIENNIAL OF REPORT THE OF T H E S T A T E O F C O L O R A D O . T W O YEARS 1881 AND 1882. DENVER, TRIBUNE COLO.: PUBLISHING C O M P A N Y , 1882. STATE PRINTERS. �FISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT, STATE OFFICE OF DENVER, OF FISH COLORADO, COMMISSIONER, December 1, 1882. To His Excellency Frederick W. Pitkin, Governor of Colorado: SIR : I hereby submit to you my fifth report as State Fish Commissioner of Colorado. T h e report includes a record of the progress of pisiculture in this State during the past two years. It will be found more satisfactory than any previous report, because more satisfactory means have been furnished to advance the interests of this important and useful work. Fish culture has been in no sense experimental for a number of years. It has reached the dignity of a science. Given certain material and certain conditions, there is an absolute assurance of results which may be confidently predicted. Since I made my last report to you, I have had some advantages in both facilities and conditions which have borne fruit, as the figures to be given will show. A t the last session of the General A s sembly an act was passed providing for the creation of a Board, consisting of the Governor, the Fish Commissioner and a third person to be appointed b y the Governor, whose duty it was to select and purchase a suitable site for the location of a State establishment for the breeding and the propagation of the better class of food fish. The act further appropriated the sum of twenty-seven hundred and fifty ($2,750) dollars, for the payment of the necessary expenses in the purchase of a site and the erection of a building. The additional member of the Board, by appointment of the Governor, was R. Borchard, Esq. Several sites were inspected and, as a result of the careful judgment of the �Board, a plat of eleven acres, eight and a half miles from Denver, was chosen. T h e land in question was owned b y Mr. Wilson Waddingham, w h o kindly donated it to the State for the purposes intended. T h e land is excellently located, has numerous springs and is in all respects the best place which could be found. In November, 1881, the work of erecting the hatchery was begun, and about the middle of December of the same year the first lot of ova, consisting of a hundred thousand Eastern brook trout eggs, was received from Plymouth, Massachusetts, and placed in the hatching troughs. In about ten days another lot of a hundred thousand was sent on, and shortly afterwards still a hundred thousand more were received. A b o u t the same time I also received ten thousand e g g s of the California brook trout, which were also placed in the waters. T h e success in hatching these was extraordinary, about ninety-nine and one-eighth (99 1/8) per cent, of the e g g s being hatched out. In A p r i l of this y e a r the fish were large enough for distribution, and two hundred and forty thousand (240,000) of them were distributed to the various streams of Colorado and forty three thousand (43,000) sold to private individuals. There are still two thousand (2,000) on hand for the use of the State. A serious illness at the time the distribution of the fish was made prevented me from keeping more than a general supervision of it, but I am glad to say that the interest in it was quite marked, and that ail the principal streams of the State received their quota. Late reports from them indicate that they have done very well, and if the condition of those at the State ponds may be taken as a basis from which to judge, the success of the efforts put forth has been most gratifying. T h o s e distributed have grown to an average in length of eight ( 8 ) inches and their weight ranges from a quarter to a half a pound. T h e addition of nearly three hundred thousand (300,000) of these splendid food fish to the waters of Colorado is in �itself a sufficient return for the comparatively small e x penditure which the State has made. In November of the present year I received twenty (20) mirror carp from Professor Spencer F. Baird, United States Fish Commissioner. T h e carp which I had obtained before and to which allusion was made in my last report, did not spawn this year, as it was believed they would, doubtless because they were moved from place to place so often. N e x t year there will unquestionably be some for distribution, however. T h o s e now in the ponds are fully a foot in length. I also received from Eastern Kansas forty-one (41) black bass and one hundred (100) croppy, which were placed in the lake which is formed by the springs on the hatchery grounds. T h e s e will undoubtedly do well. It may be well to state in this connection that I contracted for three hundred thousand (300,000) Eastern brook trout eggs, which will be hatched in ary and February. I am now engaged in building nursery ponds for the reception of these fish when are hatched. have more Janusome they T h e next distribution of the y o u n g fish should take place in A p r i l and M a y next, and if the same percentage is hatched as last time, the distribution will be a very important and valuable one. During the last session of the Legislature the laws for the protection and preservation of fish were made much stricter, and the results have, as a consequence, been more satisfactory. T h e Fish Commissioner was given the authority to appoint D e p u t y Commissioners throughout the State, who were clothed with full power and authority to enforce the fish laws. This he has done, but in spite of the closest watch there are still many violations of the laws. T h e most flagrant and outrageous of these is the use of explosives. Explosives are not only cruel and barbarous, but they work a very serious injury to the fish interests of the State. They �secure a wholesale destruction without giving any adequate return to those using them. A t this time, when there have been so many y o u n g fish planted in the streams, the practice should be especially guarded against. Under the law alluded to before, I have appointed fourteen (14) D e p u t y Commissioners in various parts of the State, whose duty it is to see that the provisions of the act for the protection of fish are carried out. T h e y need the assistance of the citizens, though, and the matter is of such importance that I hope that the people of Colorado will sustain the Commissioners in their efforts to secure the enforcement of the laws and furnish them with the names of any violators of the just legislation which has been enacted. T h e fines collected from transgressors aggregate one hundred and twenty-three ($123) dollars. Since the erection of the hatchery there have been excavated and built several nursery p o n d s — t w o more of these are now in process of construction. One pond contains two thousand (2,000) trout for State uses and another contains thirty-five (35) carp. A s fast as possible additional improvements will be made. T h e first of these should be the erection of a fence about the grounds, at present they are unenclosed. T h e board floor originally put in the hatchery has been taken out and one of cement substituted, which is a decided improvement. A horse and wagon should be purchased for the use of the hatchery; it will be a measure of economy. T h e financial affairs of the institution are, I am glad to say, in very good condition, as the figures to follow will show: Appropriated for building Expended for building Balance to credit of building fund $2,750 OO 1,890 00 . . . . $ 860 00 For the salary of the Commissioner and general expenses of maintaining the hatchery, paying for ova, etc., the sum of thirty-five hundred ($3,500) dollars was appro- �priated for the first year and three thousand ($3,000) dollars for the second. The account stands as follows: Amount appropriated Amount expended . Balance $6,500 00 3,380 69 . . . . $3,119 31 I have received in fines for violations of the fish laws one hundred and twenty-three ($123) dollars, and from the sale of fish to private individuals at three dollars and fifty cents ($3.50) per thousand, one hundred and fifty dollars and fifty cents ($150.50). The sum, therefore, in the hands of the Treasurer to the credit of the hatchery is as follows: Balance to credit of building fund $ 860 00 Balance to credit of general expense appropriation 3,119 31 Fines received 123 00 Total $4,102 31 In addition to this, I have in my hands $150.50 from the sale of fish, making a total of $4,252.81 on hand. Not having a list of Fish Commissioners for 1882, I herewith present to the Fish Commissioners of North America a list revised and corrected to September 1, 1881, by F. Mather, of Forest and Stream. CANADA. Ottawa, Ontario. W . F. Witcher NEW BRUNSWICK. W . H . Venning, Inspector of Fisheries St. John. NOVA SCOTIA. Amherst. W . H . Rogers, Inspector of Fisheries PRINCE E D W A R D ISLAND. Alberton. J. H. Duvar, Inspector of Fisheries BRITISH COLUMBIA. A l e x . C. Anderson, Inspector of Fisheries . . . Victoria. UNITED STATES. Prof. Spencer F . Baird Washington, District of Columbia. �ALABAMA. C . S. G . Doster Prattville. D. B. Huntley Courtland. ARIZONA. Jno. J. Gosper Prescott. Richard Rule Tombstone. Dr. J. H . Taggart Yuma. ARKANSAS. N . B. Pearce Osage Mills. James Hornibrook Little R o c k . John E . Reardon Little R o c k . CALIFORNIA. S. R . Throckmorton San Francisco. B. B. Redding San Francisco. J. D . Farwell . . . Niles, A l a m e d a County. COLORADO. Wilson E . Sisty Denver CONNECTICUT. Dr. W . M . Hudson Hartford. Robert G . P i k e Middletown. G . N . Woodruff. Sherman GEORGIA. J. T. Henderson, Commissioner of Agriculture and ex-officio Commissioner of Fisheries Atlanta. Dr. H . H . Cary, Superintendent of Fisheries L a Grange- ILLINOIS. N . K . Fairbank, President Chicago. S . P. Bartlett S. P. Quincy. McDoel Aurora. INDIANA. Calvin Fletcher Spencer, Owen County. IOWA. B. F. Shaw Anamosa A . A . Mosher, Assistant for Northwestern portion Spirit L a k e . KANSAS. D . B. L o n g Ellsworth. KENTUCKY. William Griffiths, President Dr. S. W . Coombs, Secretary Louisville. . . . . . B o w l i n g Green. �P. H . Darby Princeton. Jno. B. W a l k e r Madisonville. Hon. C . J. Walton Munfordville. Hon. J. A . Steele Versailles. W . C . Price Danville. D r . W . V a n Antwerp Mount Sterling. H o n . J. M . Chambers Independence, Kenton County. A . H . Goble Catlettsburg. MAINE. Henry O. Stanley Dixfield. E . M. Stilwell, Assistant Commissioner Bangor. MARYLAND, T . IS. Ferguson Baltimore. (Address Massachusetts A v e n u e , Washington, D . C.) Thomas Hughlett . . . Easton. MASSACHUSETTS. Theodore L y m a n Brookline. E . A . Brackett Winchester. A s a French South Braintree. MICHIGAN. Eli R . Miller Richland. A . J. K e l l o g g Detroit. Dr. J. C . Parker Grand Rapids. MINNESOTA. First District—Daniel Cameron L a Crescent. Second D i s t r i c t — W m . W . Sweney, M . D R e d Wing. Third District—Robert Ormsby Sweeny, President St. Paul. MISSOURI. H o n . Silas Woodson St. Joseph. John Reid Lexington. J. G. W . Steedman 2S03 Pine Street, St. Louis. NEBRASKA. W . L . May " . . . R . R . Livingston Fremont. Plattsmouth. NEVADA. H . G. Parker Carson City. NEW HAMPSHIRE. Albina H . Powers Luther Hayes Dr. Edward Spaulding Plymouth. Milton. Nashua. �y NEW J E R S E Y . Dr. B. P. H o w e l l Woodbury, Gloucester County. Major E . G. Anderson Trenton. Theo. Morford Newton, Sussex County. NEW Y O R K . Hon. R . Barnwell Roosevelt . > 76 Chambers Street, N e w Y o r k . Edward M . Smith Rochester. Richard U. Sherman N e w Hartford, Oneida County. Eugene G. Blackford (Fulton Market, N e w Y o r k City) 809 Bedford A v e n u e , Brooklyn. N O R T H CAROLINA. S. G . Worth (Acting Commissioner) Morgantown. OHIO. A . L . Harris Cincinnati. C. W . Bond Toledo. H . C . Post Sandusky. PENNSYLVANIA. Hon. H . J. Reeder Hon. Benj. L . H e w i t Easton, Northampton County. Hollidaysburg, James Duffy Blair County. Marrietta, Lanchaster County. John Hummel Selingsgrove, Snyder County. Robert Dazell Pittsburgh. G . M . Miller Wilkesbarre. RHODE ISLAND. Newton Dexter Providence. Jno. H . Barden Rockland. Alfred A . R e e d , Jr Providence. SOUTH C A R O L I N A . A . P. Butler Columbia. Commisssioner of Agriculture and ex-officio Commissioner of Fisheries. TENNESSEE. W . W. McDowell Memphis. Geo. F . Akers Nashville. H . H . Sneed Chattanooga. TEXAS. R . R . Robertson Austin. UTAH. Prof. J. L . Barfoot, Curator Deseret Museum Salt L a k e . VERMONT. Dr. M. Goldsmith Rutland. Charles Barrett Grafton. �VIRGINIA. Col. M . M c D o n a l d Berryville. WEST VIRGINIA. H . B. Miller Wheeling. C . S. White Romney. N . M. Lowry Hinton. WISCONSIN. T h e Governor, ex-officio Madison. Philo Dunning, President Madison. C. L . Valentine, Secretary and Treasurer Janesville. J. V . Jones Oshkosh. Jno. F . Antisdel Milwaukee. Mark Douglas Melrose. C. Hutchinson Beetown. WYOMING T E R R I T O R Y . Henry B. Rumsey D e p u t i e s — D r . M. C. Brackwell Otto Granim R e d Buttes, A l b a n y County. Cheyenne. Laramie. I would suggest that the appropriation for the hatchery be placed at $3,500 a year. The success which has attended it thus far has been so great that its usefulness can no longer be questioned. This usefulness should be extended. There are many improvements which ought to be made, and they ought to be made at once. T h e grounds should be made more presentable than they are now, and the nursery pond should be increased. A n appropriation of thirty-five hundred ($3,500) dollars will be sufficient, but it will not be too much. W I L S O N E. S I S T Y , Commissioner. � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/6a33b0ce40e17e80d2e11403f24557ec.pdf 3c43ebc2ef767a3f5fc054417de548cd PDF Text Text BIENNIAL REPORT FISH COMMISSIONER State of Colorado, Term Ending December 31, 1884, 1884. �BIENNIAL REPORT FISH COMMISSIONER OF State of THE Colorado, Term Ending December 31, 1884. DENVER, COLO. : THE TIMES COMPANY, STATE PRINTERS. 1884. �REPORT. S T A T E OF COLORADO, O F F I C E OF F I S H COMMISSIONER, DENVER, D e c e m b e r 1, 1 8 8 4 . To His Excellency J A M E S B. G R A N T , Governor of Colorado : SIR:—I herewith submit to you m y sixth report as State Fish Commissioner of Colorado. The value of the fishery interests of the State has improved in a marked degree since the date of my last report. Many improvements, suggested at the time, have been made, and others are in progress. The grounds have been fenced and placed in much better order, and the nursery ponds, which were then in progress, have been built. On "the whole the condition of affairs at the hatchery is quite satisfactory, and the State has been amply repaid for the limited outlay. The results secured will, when the cost is considered, compare very favorably with those of any State in the Union. There are still a number of important things to be done, however, in the way of general improvements. Prominent among these is the enlargement of the facilities for hatching and the erection of a dwelling house for the resident Assistant Commissioner, also the erection of a stable. The necessity for the enlargement of the hatchery is imperative, as the demand for the young fish for the streams and ponds of the State is greater than can be supplied by the present troughs. The number of fish hatched can be easily doubled by a reasonable �expenditure. A dwelling house is needed, because the State interests at the hatchery have become so important that they require constant attention. T h e Assistant in charge should reside upon the grounds. I have received a great m a n y reports from different parts of the State about the trout placed in the streams in past years. T h e reports are generally of the most favorable character. Most of those placed three years ago are now of from ten to twelve inches in length. This year I have received fewer trout eggs than usual. Of one hundred and seventy thousand eggs received in one lot, fully ninety per cent were successfully hatched, and the fish have been distributed to the various streams. I also received a lot of three hundred thousand eggs from Iowa, but they were very badly handled in transportation, and the n u m b e r hatched was below the usual average. T h e fault in this case lies with the railroad company. I regret to say that the law to prevent the use of explosives in streams is positively a dead letter. I have called attention to this matter in every report, but it seems that nothing can be done. It is apparently impossible to enforce the fish law. Trout are caught out of season with impunity, and the more barbarous destruction by the use of explosives is freely practised. I have had m a n y reports from different portions of the State about this open violation, but there have been few prosecutions and no convictions. People living along the line of the streams will not inform on the guilty ones for fear of becoming the victims of their revenge. I can suggest no way in w h i c h the law can be put actively into force. The carp at the hatchery are doing well. I have distributed about fifteen hundred y o u n g carp this year, and have about two hundred of the y o u n g on hand. There are also in the ponds sixteen of the four year-old carp, weighing from twelve to fourteen pounds each, and about twenty of the one-year-old. T h e importance of this food fish is not fully understood in this State. I quote from a report made by Chas. W . Smiley some interesting facts concerning i t : �" If the water is warm, the summer long, and there be plenty of food, either natural or artificial, the growth of the carp will be surprisingly rapid. There are well authenticated reports of its reaching three pounds in one year and six pounds in two years. If no artificial food is furnished, and there is also a scarcity of natural food, or if the climate be cold, the growth will be much less rapid. Indeed, when the water becomes quite cold it will partially bury itself in m u d and lie in a dormant state through the entire winter and until spring fairly sets in. In the southern part of Texas it is probable that the carp will not be forced to hibernate at all except in case of an unusually severe winter. In the northern parts of Maine and Minnesota it may be expected to hibernate nearly half the year. As it cannot grow during its hibernation, it is easy to see w h y so much more rapid growth is obtained in Texas than in Vermont. There is little danger, however, of it freezing to death, for carp have survived in tubs of water over which a thick film of ice has accumulated. " C a r p usually spawn in cool latitudes the third year, in temperate latitudes the second year, and there are well authenticated instances of its h a v i n g spawned in southern Texas at the age of one year. These cases, however, are where carp are supplied with an abundance of food, well cared for, and protected from their numerous enemies. " T h e enemies of carp are legion, and in m a n y cases exterminate the fish. Not o n l y do all kinds of carnivorous fish prey upon its young, but nearly all kinds of fish will eat its eggs. Frogs, snakes, and turtles will eat both eggs and y o u n g in numerous quantities. A snake was recently killed at the carp ponds in W a s h i n g t o n in which was found over twenty-five y o u n g carp and numerous undigested skeletons of the same fish. One medium size snake, if furnished the proper facilities, can be depended upon to eat forty carp per day, one thousand per month, or five thousand each summer. Divide your number of y o u n g carp by this figure and you can find out how m a n y snakes it will require to exterminate y o u r young. Various birds, such as kingfishers, bitterns, cranes, herons, and fish-hawks understand catching carp �much better than the average farmer. A b o u t the 17th of July last a marsh hen was shot at the Washington carp ponds whose stomach contained thirty-eight y o u n g carp, and a night heron whose stomach contained the heads of seventy-eight y o u n g carp. In m a n y cases where the carp have been left to the mercies of these enemies they have succumbed. T h e only proper method is to furnish protection to the carp until they reach such an age as to be able to cope with these enemies. It is, therefore, best to separate the spawning carp from all other animals, and carefully protect the eggs of the y o u n g for as long a time as convenient. " I n regard to the food qualities of carp, it ranks somewhat above the ordinary native fish, such as buffalo, mullet, suckers, mud-fish, croakers, mill-roach, perch, sunfish, etc., but it is hardly equal to the high-priced delicate class of fish which includes the bass, trout and shad. A n d yet m a n y persons who are cultivating carp declare them equal to any fish they ever tasted. If carp are grown in m u d d y or polluted water their flesh, like that of any other animal, will be impregnated thereby. But the carp may be removed to pure water for a week, during which the system will be purified, and at the end of which even these will be g o o d eating. Some have alleged that salting such over night will greatly improve the flavor. During and immediately after the spawning season, adult carp, like all other fish, become soft and unfit for eat. Some persons have ignorantly tasted of them at this season, and have therefrom very unjustly condemned them. Carp contain bones, of course, but in the adult the flesh flakes off f r o m the bones very nicely. Even in the small ones the bones are no more objectionable than in the average fish." One of the most gratifying results so far achieved is the supply of trout eggs we have obtained at the hatchery. Five hundred thousand of these eggs have been placed in the hatching troughs, and the hatchingwill begin immediately. This will save the State the expense and risk of sending east for eggs, and is ample proof of the success of the effort to give Colorado a hatchery. T h e books of the institution will show that �FISH COMMISSIONER'S 7 REPORT. during the years 1883 and 1884, four hundred and seventy-two thousand young fish have been placed in the streams of Colorado in all portions of the State, and a hundred and twenty-one thousand, sold to owners of private ponds. The following is the report of amounts collected and disbursed: For 60,000 fish sold at $4 00 per 1000, . $240.00 For 61,000 " 3.50 " . 213.50 For 700 lbs. fish sold at 60 per lb 420.00 i Total, $873.50 Disbursed by Supt. of Hatchery . . . . $ 2 3 7 50 T o credit of State $636.00 There is at present the following property at the hatchery which belongs to the State: Hatching house and furniture. Horse, wagon and harness. Eighteen cans for transporting live fish. Scraper, plow, whiffle-trees, shovels, picks. Fence, nets and gun. Ice house, water closet. Seven ponds for trout and six for carp. W e have an ample supply of young trout on hand for breeding purposes. In closing, I would suggest that as the Fish Commissioner is the only State officer who has no office at the State House, that quarters be provided for him. W . E. SISTY, State Fish Commissioner. � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/377d90a31168f9c0d168ec94e0d1f1cd.pdf 8d3cf018e8e5ad73e0ad7df7dc99489f PDF Text Text tffT .ifiit) ~}t'fJ~ RE .P ORT _:;t;.:;· OF 'l'JU-; /S.TJTE FISH COMMISSIO~ER • -:J. -~-;,··:_.' ~i'~+tr.. .. . •: . ; FOR r ~~::: -~.;:/:~\ . .: " ·'?r.'•••~ -..;•i, •' ':.~----. • I, ",I• . !l~~-}~· ~~:_ ~~-~~ ,: I ' COLORADO, • ; •.t:/ ·;_(.; i~f OJ•' • :L!886. • . ,,..: :222:~2.222222:222.22.22.22:c!'.c'!22.2c!:ei:22222i?222E22222'.Z22Zi!!~22c'!2c!a.2222:2222E I ·•..• : /. >!: ·'· J?-0-EL:CS:S:ED EY A -0-:C·:a:o:al. rY. ---- -·-·-----· ·----- -- - ·- -----··· �REPORT · .... · OF T II E ST}TE FISHCOMMISSIO~ER OF COLORADO, . ' .- F OR 1 886_ ·_l y I . ..._. .. . ,, • • # •• • TH 11 C.:CJL Ll& k & VEN\' E R , COLO.: Co., 1886. C: L &A\' ELA NLJ LITH . STA1 1 P ,u !\1 i::>it , �I REPORT OF State Fi sh Co 1n 1n issioner, OF COLORADO, FOR 1886. To His E.rallmcy, Hoi-. B. H. EATON. G011cr11or of Colorado: In compliance with section 1485 of the Revised St.1tutes of Coloracio, I here\,·ith s ubmit a report of th e transactions of the State Fish Co mmissioner's Office fro m the date o f my appointment, April S, 1S85, to November 30, 1886. On taking possession of the office, I fou nd at the State Hatchery, about seven th o usand b reeciing Brook Trout, from o ne to three years old; sixteen Rainbo\\' T ro'ut. three. years old; sixteen Carp, three y ea rs old; three thousa nd • Rainbow T rout fr~·; one hundred Carp, one year old, and one hundred and fifty thousand Brook Trout fry. ·The Rainbow Trout were retained at th e:: H atc hc::n• as breeder,;; and o f th e B rook Trout 120,000 \\'ere distrib~te<l in the public waters, as follo ws: Cheyenne Caiion . . . Fontaine Qui Bouille . . 12,000 • 23,000 �Fiilll C'•»DIIS:310:-ER'S I'.EPOlff. 1 Fl:3 11 CO)Dll;:;:;IOXEH S l!J·:l'OHT. The r_emainder are retained as breeders. Platte and tributaries . Rea r Creek . . . . . Cca,·er nrook . . . '. ~!ill Creek . . . . . • 14,300 • 30,150 . 10,CXX> , 10,550 Of th e rem;1inda. te n thou.<and \\'e re distributed 011 contracts m ack bv the former Co mmis!--ioner ; te n thou sand ,ren.: traJcd f~r Carp for d istributi on , and t e n tho11 sa nd \\'ere re tained at the Hatc hery as breeders. Twe nty thou!"and nati\'c trout were hatched at Twin L ake:; and put in thc lake. ('e,1' r "/"' '.·! 5••~1 -, ' .,,., N ,,' .... .f17 V,\ o \lC,) I O ~,,,1""~1V' T/11· lintc/1 /1( 1886 was: Brouk Truut . . Rainl.Jow Trout La ke Trout . . Lam.I-Lock ed Salmon 300,000 20,000 10,000 S.ooo T hf Brook Tro11 I \\'ere distributed as follows: - t,orth Park . . . . . . . . . . . . South Arkansas and t ributaries . . . . - - . Fontaine Qni Bouille and tributaries . Platte antl tri\rn1aries . . . l:lear Cree k antl tributa rit:s . C lear Creek and t ributaries. Sout h Boulder . . . . . St. \Train (E stes Park) North Boulder . . . . Cache la Poudre . . Upper Arkansas. . . Ralston . . . . . . . Retained at Hatchery 20,000 3 0,000 La11d-Locl.:cd Sn/111011 in: Twin Lakes . . . . . Next to l he places of resort, those st rea ms \\' h ich are nearly exhausted should re ceive atte ntion. 30,000 10,000 30,000 CARP. 2 0,(X)(J 25,000 30,000 40,000 There has been di strib uted t o lhe 0\\' ne r.'i o f lakes in all parts of the :-;tate, live _h u n?~cd Carp, of diffe rent ages , in lots of fro m four to twenty to each party apµlying. 10,000 5,000 5,000 5 ,000 5,000 Lnke Trout in: Twin Lak es Estes Pa rk is a nothe r place which shou ld rece ive special a ttention. Situated o n t he ht:a d wa te rs of both the S t. \Train and B ig Tho mpso n, it is pe rhaps, t he best pornt from wh ic h t o· stock both t hese mag nificient streams. Fifty t ho usand y o ~ng trout o ught to go into thi s pa rk eve ry year. E,·e n tf every fish planted a t such p oin ts as the se 1s caught each y ea r, it wi ll pay th e Statt: to keep o n putting the m in. 25,000 25,000 R ai11btru1 T1·oul were di s tributed in: Twin Lakes . Platte Caiion Rear Creek In di st ri bu ting y o ung Trout, preferc: nce ha~ been g i,-c n streams which \\·e re in th e vicinity of the leading places o f reso ~t. The Fountaine Q ue Bouille n ln nin g thr o ug h Manitou was one rf th e streams that d icl not contai n Tro ut and \\'as supposed to be unfilte<l fo r th e m. T he experi -• m..: nt of stocki ng thi s stream has proved a success; and the stream and its tributaries shou!cl re ceive enough fish e.1ch year to keep even \\'ith th e probable catch ; thus adding a great ;,t t raction t o a p lace already one of the m ost attractive in th e wo rld. 8 , 000 Se ction I o o f the fi sh la\\'s of the S tal e a llo\\'s the Commissio ner to sci I to private parties, corporal io ns a nd ass'ociatio_n s O\\' nin g l~kes or po nds, ~uch stoc k fish as they m ay require for stockrn g such lakes; and sec tion I o f the la\\' allows him to issue pe rm its to parties desirin;; to stock l;ikes, to catch fis h for stocking p urposes otherwise than with hook a nd line. Both of th ese clauses an; liable to ab u.'ie, a nd have been abuse d in almost every case, and I have adopted the rn le to put all Trout hatch ed by the State into the public wate rs, ! l \ t\ \ �( ( 6 FISH CO)DlISSIO:Xlm's }0-:PORT. for ~he benefit o~ the public, and have is~ued no permits for netting or trapping. The result has already shown that the ruling was correct. Parties who were in the habit of purchasing fry each year from the State Hatchery. have now built hatcheries of their own. and there are now in the State se'\len_hatcheries.. in suc~essfu~ opcrnt~n. ofa-cae~~•!~ofabout J,QQQ1..ooo eggs._J?clc>i1J~mg to private E_artics, wliidl;-\vliile.. illey do noi·---help .stock--th-e·-public,vaiers oftl1e State, add so much to the food products. The value of Trout to the State is not so much in the pounds of food they will produce, ac; in the attraction they afford to strangers who enjoy the sport of catching them. . A Trout l~1at costs the State one cent to hatch and put !n the water. 1s worth, at one year old, ten cents, and will increase ten cents a year until four years old, at least, or until caught. But it is not in the value of the fish that the State reaps the br.ncfit of its work. It would be safe to e~timate that every Trout caught in Colorado, by visitors from abroad. costs the catcher at least one dollar, and that each fisherman will spend ten doJJars a day while he is in the State; and if only one hundred fishermen are in the State during the fi!-hing season, they will leave in the State $I 50,000, while the market value of the fish caught in the season is not far from S6o.ooo. EXTENT OF TROUT WATER. There is in the St~te of Colorado about 5,063 milcs of water that is adapted to Trout; nearly all of which either has Trout in it now, or has had until recently. This w<}ter is distributed as follows: Platte and tributaries . North Park . . . . . Green and tributaries . . Grand and tributaries San Juan . . Rio Grande Arkansas . ·~- •.)1 \diti.._ . ' ... :i.;:,:1"'· ~ , . • 888 miles. 251 miles. 456 miles. I ,656 miles. 444 miles. 624 miles. 744 miles. FI~H CO)DlIS:•;JO~Im's R'F;PORT. 7 In addition to these, there are innumerable mountain • lakes adapted to Trout breeding ;md raising, which have • heretofore been the natural breeding places for the trout that have stocked the streams flowing from them. If all this water had been fished with only rod ilnd line, there would be no need now of any help from the State to improve fishing or re-stock the strc:ams; but the Trout has been treated like a public enemy: caught in traps. nt::ts, set lines, ditches, and worst cif all, killed wholes.ale with dvnamite: until !-treams and lakes which were alive with fi;h three or four years ago, arc now tota1ly depopulated. A few !-treams where civilization has advanced among those living in the valky~ rnough to put cl stop to vandali~m. are still as good for fishing a!- ever; but the gn.:ater majority of trout waters have bt'en ruined. c In one case the young fry put in the stream by the Strtte were found dead on the water: in another, dynamite was placed under the ice of a lake, and every fish in the lake killed, when it was impossible for the heathen who did it, to secure one in ten thousand of those killed. Information has come to me of many suc;h acts of barbari~m. generally in the form of ~nonymous communications, or in such shape that no ~oof could be had to cc11vict the criminal~; and in one case where the men were convicted, thev were released by the justice, whose duty it was to punish them, on the plea .that they were ignorant of the law. The la\V is sufficiently stringent, but the means of enforcing it an: lacking. Under the law, the Fi!-h Commissioner has no power, nor 1s it made part of hi~ duty to enforct: the law: nor is he allowed to .!-pl'nd any money in .enforcing it. Like other criminal laws, the prosecution of the criminals n:sts with the justices of the peace, and other officers of justice; and as a rule they do not do it. One-half the fine in pro~ecutions under this law goes to the. informer, but the criminals arc: as a rule impecunious, and can only be punishl'd with imprisonment; and one-half of six months in jail is not considered good pay by the average prol-ecutor. �( ( 8 Fl~H CO)DllSSIOXER'S HEPORT. FI:;H C'O)lllJSSIONlm'~ REPORT. Under this state of things, the Commissioner has put out young Trout only in such streams as he was assured by the people in the locality would be protected from illegal depredations; and the occurrenct: of a ~inglc blast of dynamite in aO\· stream has been considered sufficient cause to· refuse the ..~tocking of the stream. In many localities, Fish Protective Associations have bt·en formed among the lovers of the sport, which have done more lo protect the Trout· than all other means; and it is to such associations ctnd the cultivation of a decent public sentiment, that the State will have to look for a reasonable cnforccmc~t of the law. The evil has been done and the millenium has not come, and the qut·stion arises, \Vhat can the State do to repair the dama~c? • The present plant of the State consists of a Hatchery of a capacity of 300,000 eggs a year, and a stock of breeding fo.:h enough to supply twice that number of eggs. The Hatchery could be enlarged to twice its capacity at small expense, if a sufficient supply of water could be had, but the \\·ater supply is so ~canty that it is only by the closest care and attention that the Hatchery can be kept up to the capacity named. It is hoped that the compJction of the Burlington ditch, abo\·c the Hatchery, will add to the water supply enough to increase the capacity of the plant to 1,000.000 eggs. This will be about the extreme of what can be accomplished at that point. '.Even at three times its present capadty, but little can be done toward keeping up the fishing of the State. The State of New York hatches and distributes annually from three to four millions of young trout of all kinds, and has probably not one-tenth the Trout water of Co~orado. Colorado should now be distributing at least 1·,000,000 of Trout each year, with provision for increasing as civilization advances and dynamiting decreases. . There is grent difficulty, risk and expense attending the :-hipment of young Trout for long distances, while there is a time in the development of the egg when it can be 5hipped for any <listancc without i1ppreciablc lo5s. .l.J!.c!~ ~i.Y_<;_Qsgg§_frm~J--~~l_i(qr_n_ia,J\'.l_r1i.n~,.Micl1ig_an,_Massac;hu~ .. _i;~Jts_,!!]~ _1'.:ng~i~nd, the loss_ on _wh_i~!~ 2~- ~ran~P,t:>rt~t~on has ..!?_~~n _l~s_s__ th~n one per cent. The plan I would suggest, would be to establish in various districts in the State, hatcherie:-. of a c.,pacity of say ;?00,000 eggs each, at such points as would be best for obtaining food and for conve::nicnt distribution of young fish. One in San Luis Valley, one on the waters of the Grand, one for the San Juan, one for the:: Arkansas and one on the Gunnison. These hatcheries could be built· at small expense, and could be used to take eggs already developed at the present hatchery, or that could be obtained from other States. They would also make points for the collection of the native varieties of Trout. For the present, no breeding fish need be kept at these stations, and the care of each would occupy the time of one man for six months in the year. One of these stations is already built at Twin Lakes, and was run with tolerable success in t 885 on Trout taken from the lake, but .was not operated in I 886, for want of funds. The superintendent of the hatcheries could manage the whole system, and fish could be hatched at a much less cost per thousand. than now. In this way the State would have at t'ach station a man who could do much toward the protect ion of fish in his district, and wou Id be able to judge ,,.,hat streams and lakes should be stocked, and with what fish; and could give instructions to persons wishing to establish private hatcheries and ponds. FISH CULTURE. I have received and answered over five hundred letters, asking questions in regard to the culture of different varieties o{ fish; and having no literature on the subject for distribution, the task of answering these letters has been 2 ! I. .... �( 10 FISH COlDIISSIONER's REPOHT. FISH C'O.'.\DIISSIO~F.H,S HEPURT. enormous. and is my excuse for giving some hints here in regard to the cultur~ of fish adapted to the watt::rs of Colorado. • pond fish; grows to five pounds in five years. Suited to large rivers, ahd wdl adapted to Colorado canons. Spawns in.1\farch. First in Yalue. beauty·and ease of culture comes the ENGLISH TROUT-SALl\10 Among the many ~hades of difference in the Trout of the Rocky ;\lountains. there are three varidics that, though usually clar-:-sed as one, are sufficiently distinct in their form and habits, to be descr1bed as di~tinct varieties. LAKE TROUT. Comm~nlv known as Mackinaw Trout. Adapted to large lakes. • Have put some in Twin Lakes, and am trying som~ in punds. The fir~t. and mo~t gc·m•rally <liffu~cd, is what is known a!- the Black Specked Trout, and is found in all the mountain water~ nf ColoradQ, both in stream and lake. LAND-LOCKED SALMON. It is of a light, silvery color, with black or dark brown 5pecks. It ~rows, ordinarily, to about three pounds weight, Have put some in Twin Lakes, and reserved some m ponds. though I ha\·c seen it weighing eight pounds. Spawns from February until June, according to el«.!vation, but mo.st of the ,c;pawning is, I think, done in April and May. \'·\. 1 \,i:. HROOK TROUT-SALVELINUs. FoHINALJS. ·\,;;\:·.· , '. ·;.fov . Back, dark brown, with .black spots, and lower side ~nght orange. Grows to eight and ten pounds in large rivers. I have seen one that weighed twenty-seven and a half pounds. Spawns from May to July, but does not seem to cross with other varieties. Very destructive to young trout. ji R,_1 ,,c,.r ! If · T\\TIN LAKES TROUT. ~ Si_mi_Jar to first named in general appearance, except that 1t 1s of a ye11ow color, and the flesh partakes of the . same color. It is only found in Twin Lakes, so far as I know; grows to ten pounds weight, and spawns in the Jake· some time before the ice is off, probably in March and April. . FOREIGN TROUT-RAINBOW TROUT. Bluish brown on back, with small black spots. Dark red band on sides, from gills to tail. Very healthy as a .1 .'_· ..... , ::.fjf:. ~ ·~: ·.:-. ~ Jt';~{J;'.j•:~~'. ::· FARJO. Strong, healthy fish, not !--ubject to disease; grows to one-fourth of a pound the first year. Is well adapted to pond culture. Spawns in Nov~mbcr and 01.:cembcr. TROUT. ORANGE TROUT. 11 ·1 ::; ,. I This Trout, \\·hilc adapted to :-;pring water culture and growing to one-half pound weight in the year after it is put out, will probahly prove a failure as a breeder in the mountain streams of Colorado. Like the Englii;;h Trout, it spawns in November, ju.st at the time that the anchor ice begins to form in all the mountain streams, and the chances are that the ice will destroy the eggs. Previous to this yt"ar this has been the only Trout distribufetfb)i-·thc ·State,· a11d I have taken pains to find out whether any young h.tve been found in the streams where they have been put in, and so far have found none. Some large Trout, that were put in the Platte between Denver and the canon, have apparently succeeded in raising their young, and this portion of the river will probably be tolerably well stocked_ If Trout are to be put out e~ch year in the stream~, merely to keep up the fishing, without: expectation of breeding, this is perhaps the be.!-t trout; but if anything is �l:? 1 13 FIS H CO~D!l:-SIOXF:R S REPORT. Fl:SII CO~DIISSION!m's REPOHT. lo be expected fr0m natural breeding. the native and California Yarieties \\"ill be t h e be~t. F or private rai sing the English and Brook Trout a re the best. ' through two s ieves, so that the gravd will be about onenfth ·of an inch in size. HATCHERY. The trough is now rc.,dy for the spall'n. As eggs can be purchased cheaper than to k<::ep the stock fish and take th e m-anu n one but an expert ll'ill succeed in taking them - I shall not describe th e process o f taking spaw n. The points to be taken into con,:ideration 111 locating a Hatc ht:ry are, first, food for the young Trout. The Hatchery must be near enough to a point where slaughte ring is done to µrocure each day fresh livers for th e young fish: for six m onth,:, _to tht: extent offrom te n to thirty sheep plucb, or their cqu1 \·alent 111 beef liv_ers. a day for each roo.ooo fry, and an abundant supply o f lights and hearts for t!1e o lder fish. . ! h e second co nsi ue rati o n is a n abundant surply o f pure ~pnng ll'at ~r at ka st four feet above the grnund on ll'hich the h ou,:e 1s l~catcd. This supply mu,-t not only be en ough for the h atching troughs, but enoug h to make a strong current through all th e fccdmg boxes and ponds in which fish arc kept. \\'atcr sh ou ld ha ve a tempera ture nut higher than 50 t.leg recs, and the ponds ll'here fish are kept should ne ver exc~·ed 65 degrees in the h ottest weather· th ou ah the California a nd Eng lish trout will bea r 1 0 d~grecs "'more than that for a short time. . r\ hatching h ousc (or 100,000 eggs should be twe lve by sixtee n_feet, and ~onta1n_ fu ur tmu ghs fourtec n feet lo ng, one foot ll'1dc a nd six teen 11J ch es deep, \\·ith a fall of one inch for t:ach twelve feet in lcn(Tth. The bottom of the troucrh is_ divided by pa rtitions or"rif-fles one and o ne-quarter incl~es hig h and one foot apart. The lower end of the trouah has a screen of from ::;ixteen to twenty mesh brass wir;, and the ll'ate r at th~ upper <;nd should be let in through fla nnel as a filter, and 111 quantity c n0ug h to run over th e partitions about one-qua:ter of an ind1 deep. The troughs sho uld be p_erfectly tight and s hould receive a coat of Asphalt varn ish. and the bottom should be covered with a thin coat of Portland cemc_nt. The b~ttom of th e trough is then covered one- half inch dee p with clean washed gravel sifted The deve loped eggs \\'he n received are placed on the gravel in the trough, spread. with a feather until they do not touch one another. Each day the dead eggs mu st be rem oved , (dead eggs turn ll'hite). with a small pair o f forceps. In a fe11· days the fish will begin to hatc h and in t\\'enty days wifl have abso rbed the yo lk and begin to eat. The gravel is then taken from the t rough. a flash bo;i rd put in behind the sc reen at the lower end so as to raise the \\'ater to fo ur inch<::s deep. •• The feed for the first three months s hou ld be lin:r grated fine enoug h to p:1ss through a flour sieve, which can be fed to th em placed on t op of small pieces o f soil laid in the bottom. or thrown into the \\'ater from a syringe. \Vith propcr th inning and care many of the fi sh can be k ept in the troughs until five m o nths old; but will do better to be in ponds earlier than that. The food for Trout must always be chopped fine, no matter what th e age of the fish. and the b oxes and ponds in which they are kept must be perfectly clean . Trout can be put in small po nds \\'hen they arc watched and fed re g ul arly, at a month old; but fo r putting in ::;treams and lakes where th c::y will h ave to take ca re o themselves a nd live among other fi::;h, th ey should be four to five months old, or, say, two inches long. GROWTH OF TROUT lN PUBLIC WATERS. . The Brook Trout put o ut by the State last year \\'e re caught by the thousand before they were six inches long. Those that escapeu now weigh hal f a pou nd apiece, and are now spa wning. �ns11 co,nnssro~ER.'s R EP01rr. 14 This yt:ar, California Trout, Land-Locked Salmon and Lake Tr,,ut were put out, but it "·ill be an ot her year or m ore , befo re the rc.:sult \\'ill be kno\\" n . The cost of the trout put in the public .waters is abou t SI 0.00 pc.:r 1,000, and at one ye.tr old if caught, are wo rt"h $ J OO per 1,000; the.: next year's growth.is th e s~me. but the th ird year\ gro,'.· th is equal to th e \\'hole prt:v io us grow th, many fish the th ird season reac hing two pounJs \\'eight. The S uckers should be caught ou t a nd at least 100,000 Trout put in the lakes each year until they agai n get the start of the Suckers. I have no do ubt that so me o f t he varidies of Sa lmo n and Trout that have been put into the lakes will succeed in getting a11·ar ll'ith so me of the Suckers; at least enough to prevent the ir increase. As matters sta nd now, very fell' Trout eggs can escape e ither in the lakes or t ri butary st reams. CARP. Thi s is at altitudes from 6,000 to 8,000 feet; at higher altituJes the growt h is slower. T\\'IN LAKES. I " ·ish to call your attention to the condition of Twin Lakes. These lakes, which are tht: natural brt:edi1w ,rrou nd r ~ o 1o r over seven h unc.lreJ miles of trout water, and 11"hich a fe\\' y ears ;igo yieldeJ over 100.000 pounds of Trout a yea r, hav_e been :_rapp ed, ndteJ, clitcht:d, set lined and dynam ited until tht: :::,uckers ha1·e so fa r got the ach·antaae o f the T rnut , that tht! latter are disappc;;;·ing, and 1rith th t: m, the fis h fro m the whole Arkansas sy ste m. The lak es belong to the United Statt:s Government ha,:ing _been reserved from sale. With th e help of ou r de!/ gat1on 111 Cong ress, I got tht: promise that the U ni ted States Fish Commis~ion would occupy the ground as a T rout station , and an orckr was issued by the United Statt:s i:;-ish Commi s~io ne r to th at effect, but nothi ng has bee n done; and no w h e makes the excuse t h at no appropriation for that specific pu rpose was made. These lakes sh ould bt: eit her under the wntrol of t h e United States Commi ssioner or the State Comm issione r· a nd unless th e United States Governmt:nt takes hold of th e m, it would be \\"ell for the Stat<:: to a~k the cessio n of t~ e lakt:~ t o t he St.1te of Colo r;1d o for fish bree<lin~ purposes. !::io111eth1ng has bee n Jone toll'ard re-stocking them, but they should be under some control that co uld prevent the abuses that have been practiced the re. There i, no wate r at the State hatche ry warm e nough fo r the successful breeding of Carp, and while a few hundred have bee n raised the re, I have been comµclled to purchase of other parties, y oung Carp for distributio n to th ose who wantt:d them. The Ca rp requires during the breeding st:aso n. J une and July, water at from 70 d eg rees to So degrt:es; and this can be obtained onl y in the sh allow p rairie lakes that are fed slowly by surface wate r o r let in from ditches in s uch a way as not t o reduce the te m pe ratu re. They will live in colder water, but the ir growth is sl_o w and the eggs will not h atch to any great exte nt. ln a few lakes th ey have done well an d reached the w..:i g ht of from 1 tc, 3 pou nds the first year, from 3 to 7 pounds the seco nd, and from 6 to IO pounds th e third year. They do not spaw n h e re until the third yea r. They are very prolific, and when once started will soon overstock a lake, unless other fis h, like Pike , Pickerel or Bass, are put in the lake to t hin them. They feeJ o n any vegetable matter that grows in the water, and can be fed on any refuse matter fro m th e house • or stable. Fo r s uccessful Carp raising, the ponds should be so arranged that they can be d raw n off, and a shallow, 11·,mn_ pond sh ould be built in whic h to place some of the breeders during the spawni ng time, and from which they ; �Hi F l ,i l l 17 F I SH (O)ImSSlONER's REl'OHT. 1 C'O)L\ll :'-SIONEH S HEl'OHT . ful g ro,,·th-th ree pounds at one and a half yea rs. But th e questio n whet he r they will breed here is not settled. If they succeed, they \,·ill make a valuable au dition to the Carp ponds, as th ey \\'ill eat th e Carp, and ·1he Bass and Pickerel a re good eating. could be n moved as soo n as they are done spawning, or they \\'ill ea r up th eir 01\·11 eggs. Thc:y sp,l\rn i11 shallo\\' water near the shore, and there s h ould bt: gras~. \\'et:ds o r hr_ush for t!1e e~gs to adhe re to. The po11c.l in \\" h ich th ey w111ter sho uld be at least five fr.:et deep in some part, and the mud l!:,.- r th e bettt:r. All otht:r fish shou ld be kept ou t o f t he po nd. if possibk u nt il it is well stocked; thoug h wh e re a ~pa,1·nin g pond is used, t his is not o f so much impo, tance. CAT FIS H. T he Arkansas rive r abounds in Chan nel Cat Fish. I have made so me attempts to have rome put in the Platte, but h ave not sncceeded. Th ey arc no t a first class fish to ·ear, but if takt· n o ut o f th e µund :rnd kept in spring 11':lter for a \\"t:ek o r two , they 10,-;e thcrr muddy fla 1·or, and a re no t bac.l if a man is hun gry. The Bull- H ead Cat has b een introduced into several l.. kes. a nd is doing well; as h as, also , th e Channel Cat. They a re both fish that should be in eve ry pond, as thc:y interfere ve ry little with other fish_.. _a nd can take cart: of thern!;elves. BASS. Some ~·e;1rs a~o th e Stra\\'bt:rry Hass was introduced in Colorad o i,,· Mr. G. H . Church, and has p roved wo nderfully proli fi c in t h e prairie lakes ; so muc h so that in most of th e lakt.:s they do not g row to any size fo r want of feed. Thc:y fct:d en tirely on ;rnimal food . 1110!--tly th e you ng o f other Fish, and soon exhaust the s u pply, u nless they a re ~h oroughly fi;;hed, or the lake has a stream run n ing th rough 1t t~1at brings in plentr of young fry. \Vh en full grow n, they \\'e rg h fro m one-h ;1lf to two pounds, a nd are as good a fis h a~ s wims. Through the k ind ness o f 1\1r. C hurch, Ru dolph Kroeck and C. P. Alle n. I was e nabled to put about 10.000 of th e~e tint: fi-;h in th e Platte rive r. in t h e hope that th ey ,rould find their way through di tch es into ponds a n d sloughs that \\'Ould s uit them. I h ave seen some taken from th e Platte that s howed a good g r01r th. PIKE PERCH, ·oR \,VALL-EYED PJKE. Twenty years ag o this fine fish ,1·as very abund ant in the Pla tte rive r, from the mouth of th e St. Vrain dCll\"11 to th e mouth of th e Cache a la Poudre ; but nets have bee n used in the river until they are almost exterminated; that portion of the State not y et being sufficiently civilized to stop illegal fi shing. .. .•• ¾' . t •-;:.ft:_ .-\~ •.. -':--=,j . 11;;,~ i . ,;.:-:,-J:. . ,. ~::~~:i~:a l,•.J• They are a difficult fish to tran,port, except in cold weather, and t h e n are hard to get; but a few have been se nt to diffe rent parts of the S tate. ·'< WH ITE FISH. The Rocky Mou ntain Wh ite Fish \\'as formerly abundant in the same waters occupied by th e Pike Perch, and has met with the same fate. This is a fine fish. ri sing to the fly or bait, and g iving no exc use for nettin g it. It is very abundant in Bear ri ver, in th e \\'este rn part o f the State, though I am not certain that th e Bear rive r var iety is the same as that in the Platte. PROTECTION OF FISH. BLACK BASS AND PICKEREL. Mes!-rs. Kinsey, Bowles and Higgins bro ug ht t o the State last year 20,000 young l3lack Bass and Picke rel, which were planted in fou r lakes, a nd have made a wonde r- M a ny letters h ave bee n received from parties in different parts of the State , suggesting various methods of giving more perfect protection to Trout. 3 - -- -- -· �Fl$11 CO)DII~,;10:n: n·~ HF.PORT. FIS II cmrn ISSlO:\' 1•: 1:'s ltE-POHT. l\Iany • n·or the passage of a law similar to that of New York. ; ;1i:< law forbids the catching, having in possessio n or selling o f Trout of. less than s ix inches in h.:ngth. It makes it kgal for any one to seize and d estroy nets, s nares, set lines a nd traps found in or on the bank o f any stream containin;..: Trout. It c.!i\·ides the State into fis h clis!ricts, ove r each o ne o f which is appointed a fish a nd game protecto r, \\'h nse duty it is to prosecute.: all violators of the fis h and game l:11rs. These protectors receive no pay, but are allowed t\\'<.:nty dollars a mo nth for traveli ng expenses. The present system of appointing D eputy Fis h Comm issio ners in all parts o f the State, who h ave to look fo r th eir expenses and pay to the fi ne!> collected from offenders, who have no po\\'e r to make arrests o r to destroy illegal devices, a nd who must inc ur th e danger, expe nse and t rou ble of discove ring, COlllpla ining of and fin d in g testimo ny to con\·ict the c riminal, only to have him d isc harged on some triYial account by a justice that is. perhaps. too fo nd of Trout himself. requi res an amou nt of vi rtu e and patriotism that is rarely found in Co lorado. In re;;ard to the \\'Orkings of this law, I cann ot do better than to quo te fro m th e report of the New York Co mmission. It sar s : "The monthly re po rts of protecto rs sho w an amount of practical work done which fully meets the expectations of the Commissio ners. S1.:veral fish and ga me µ rotective associations have been fo rm ed in the State that han! done mo re toward enforcing the la w than a ll the Deputies t hat have been a ppointed; and if s uch associati ons were formed in eve ry coun ty in the State, composed of th ose who a re fond of sport, a nd who, while th ey a re wiH ing to obey the law t hemse lves, arc: dt.:si rous of saving the fish fo r th ei r own catchi ng, they could do much toward preservin g the two 15rea t attractions o r the Colorado mountains-hunting and fi shi ng. . ." The practice th ey have foll01red of making freque nt v1 s1ts to suspected places has do ne much to stop illegal acts , and their prompt ac tion in seizing and des troyin g contraband dev ices and bring ing to jus tice habitual offender.s, has e xe rted a \\'lwlesome influence in places heretofore noted for ddia nce o f t he law. ;ir lt has been suggested by nea rly a ll th e lo\·t.:rs of th e rod and line , \\'h o are th e o nes to look to for the e nforceme nt of the laws in regard to a close ~eason, that if the mon th of Jun e ll'ere added to the fishing m o nths, t he law \\'Ould receive the more h e;irty support from that class o f me n. -~ • ,l •1 rt·· ·=ll~. -111 :, i•t;i ·~ !~A -~ l 1 "The Co mmissio ne rs feel jus tified in saying, that unde r the present system more has been accomplis hed in the last three months in securing the observance o f the g ame laws th an has eve r been done in the State before. ~":! ~ ~\[tl . '.\~ri There is no possible objecti on to th is. All the T rout of Colorado are through spall'ni ng by the first of June, ex cept in the hi g h est \\·ate rs; a nd these waters are no t free from ice until late; a nd e\·en if th ev we re: free, t he fish \\'ill not r ise until they are thro ug h s·pawn ing . 1 h;n·e fis hed in Co lorado fo r twe nty-five yea rs, and at all seaso ns of the rear, and have n ot caug ht to exceed six fis h in th at time that contained ript: spawn. .' :-:,; "The re ports of protectors sh o w that upward of an h und red nets a nd oth e r unlawful contrivances fo r the capture of fish, of a value of more than S5,000, have been re moved and destroyed in the las t three mo nths." ~ ·.:f;~-1 ... ~i}~'·J. - •r--· •'''"'·-·.~<- :,.• -.:if: '.2 The object of forbidding the catching of fish of less t ha n six inc h es in le ng th is to protect the young fry planted by the S tate, until th er are old enough to spawn, or until they are two years old. , .. :-;,.•s;,l :< :"i.?tl.i•,i -:· '.z:f~'-!~ \ :. :-::2-'1!,.l ~:({~}{·\ I!: ·.-4.t ·.,.; .:/. ·~·r.r-\· ·e. • H:•. , •r .. •.-. If such a law could be enforced in Co lo rado, the stocking of o ur Trout waters again wou ld be a comparatively easy task. :,:.. . :· ~ .. ,.. . ... 'f ~.. . .. 19 . ~ S..:t lin es are not specifically named am ong- th e methods of fi shing forb idden by law; and wh ile the la w forbids all fis hing except \\'ith hook and line, set lines h ave bee n used in the la kes by th ose \\'h o claim that th ey arc not for bidden . To s uit th e case of these heathen, the law s hould be amended so as to forbid them. �:!O F'I :SH S ec t ion I O o f the F is h' law a llows the Fish Commissione r a sa l;:i ry o f five hundred dolla r.;; pe r annum , and for actual cx pe n~cs. five hun rl red <.Jolbrs, a nd ;illows the Superintendc_nt of th..: Hatche ry o ne th ousand d o llars per a nnum. Section 13 all o11·s th ..: Commi~s io nc r t o e x pe nd one: th ousand <.J o llars pe r annum in obtaininf; ova a nd fry for distribution o f the same. The last session of th e State L egislature appropriated: Total for the two years . . ' . . . . . 21 1m P0 1rr. hatcheries c.an be built at a cost not to exceed $400 each , and t he cost of enlarging the State Hatche ry and obtainin g a la rger supply of water will not exceed $1,000, as by the e rection of feeding troughs t he p re sent capacity can be doubled without e nlMgi n g th e bui ld in g-. And by shipping the ova, as soo n as developed, to the other ha tc he ries, their place could be s upplied fro m late r spawni ng fish, whic h in turn could be p ut in to feeding tro u;;hs to make roo m fo r th e Californ ia a nd na1ive Tro ut ova. In this way, the .H atchery would produce 1,000,000 of fish each year, at least. WAYS AND l\IEA NS. Fo r the yc:ir J11h· 1, 1SS5. to Julv 1 1SS6. Fn,111 July 1, 1SS6. to J uly , ; 1SS7: . . . co~onssro:-.i,;n's • $ 2.000 . 2.000 ESTIMATE FOR YEAR ENDING JULY, 1888. • • • • $4,000 STATE HATCHEl<Y. The: actual cost of runn ing th e H atc hery. includin<> c:al;iry nf Sure ri nlt'n cknt :rn d o ne assic: tant, feed for fis l~ c.1 re of h o r, e, and repai rs a n d incide nt;ils, does not vary much from S2.000 pe r an num; and the cost of distribution o f _fish has had to be bor_ne by interested rarties and br the railro:1ds, th e latll-r ha\'lng offered every fac ility possible, " it lwu t _w hic h the cli:' ~rihution would have been impossible. De pe nd ing o n g rat u1t1 ous contrihutions of m e n and te:1ms to d i~t nb ute the y oung fish, has proved a great hindra nce an~ annoyance, and has made:: it impossi ble to reach many po1;its that· ought to have been reached. Enlarg ing Stille H atchery . ,\ ssistant . . . . . . . . Feed and incidentals . . . Salary of Supermtendent . Salary of Co mmissioner . . Expe nses allowed C o mmissioner . Distributing and obtaining Fish fro m abroad . 500 00 500 00 1,000 00 500 00 500 00 I ,<.JOO 00 FOR Fl'IE 11:EW ll,\ T CH £K l ES. At :-400 apiece . Assistants' salary, i-100 each . Feed and distributing Fish . Th e value of the H a tch e ry to th e State, not only for its contrib utio ns to th e public wa te rs, b ut the actual value of the b~eed ing fi sh _on ha nd, is so great th a t I have p referred workmg for n oth111g rather tha n stopping the work there. I have_received , from April 8 , 1885 , to December 1, 1886, whi ch about co.v ers ac tual expenses that ha ve not b een cha rged. ~I ,CX>O 00 T otal . . . . ' ( , $ 197, 2 ,000 00 1,500 00 , ~ 10,500 00 FOR THE YEAR ENDING JULY, 1889. STATE THE FUTURE. . i, 2,000 00 HATCHERY. Assistant . . . . . . . , . . . $ 500 00 Feed a nd incidentals . . . . 500 00 ·Salary of Superin tendent . . 1 ,ooo oo Salary of Commissioner . . . 500 oo Expenses a llowed Commissioner . . . 500 oo Distributing and o btaining Fis h . . . . . . . J ,ooo oo \,\'}1at ought t o be done in t he fu tu re see ms t o m e plain. The ::,tat c H atche ry s l10u ld be enlarged to a capacity of at l<:ast 1,000,000 of ova. At least fi,·e smaller hatche ries should be built, in different parts of the S tate. These .... ' �1 FlS H COlDllSSlOXER S REl'O HT. .'l FIVE OTHER HATCHERI ES. I .'\ssi~tants' salary, :--100 each • Feed and distributing Fish • . f-2 ,000 00 . 1 ,500 00 . 1-i,500 Total. 00 CONCL USI O N . In keeping the expenses of the H atche ry and dist ribution of fi;;h \\'ithin the amount appropriated, an economy amounting to meanness has been used. Many necessary repairs and improvem: nts have been dispensed \\'ith , and an anwunt of ·• bumming" on o th,;r people has been done, that ha, taxed the "cheek" even of the Commissio ner; \\'hile the Superintc:ndent has wNked ;it everything, from digging ponds. to the highest branch of his art. ' All the fish that have bc:en put out ha\·e been accompanied by the Superintendent or the Commissio ner, and put in t he wate r by them in the manner to secure the best results. All Trout have been kept unti l old eno ug h to take care of themselves, so as to dimi nish the percentage of loss to the smallest possible limit-te n of the Trout planted in Colorado being worth a hundred of those planted in other States. Too muc h credit cannot be gi\·en to the sen·ice~ of the Super inte ndent. l\1 r. E. V. Bogart. Hav ing had charge of the State Hatchery from its fi rst establis hment, wit h a n i nadequate s upply of water, and that of a temperature pronounced too high I fo r .breeding purposes by the best authorities in the co untry, he has accom plished, in spite of these drawbacks, a s uccess not surpassed by any Hatchery in the country. JO H N P I ERCE, I I l Fish Co111111issio11rr. D £K\'ER, CoLO., November 30, 1886. ... ..,.,. . ,,,... . ....... j � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/bfadf0f7334fe68d5730607f87b8da4f.pdf e5a9c81b216e4bcbac6e369a0cc8bef5 PDF Text Text « if t!fttPt?as ffifWiEE tra -zwr :wt sswm am r cs r:nn m R E PO R.'f OF TUR STATE FISH GOMNIISSIONER COLORADO FOR 1668 . U£NVER: COL LIGll & CLF:AVEL,\ND L ITU. Co., S l "AT F. PRtSTF.RS. ,sss. .· .. -: • ' "' ~ .. . : • .:...,... .. :;; . .. . . .; .1• ...- • �( THE DISTRIBU'fION. The distribution. of small fry Eastern Brook Trout into tht- public waters of the State for the year 18871 was. as follows: lk~n•cr Drook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . -. . . . . . . . . . 20,000 .\uiia3S Rh·cr. )lonumcut Creek and tributaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . 15,000 Phuu Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • • •• . • • . 5,000 South Ark11oi.11s Rh·c:r and tributaries . . • . . . . • • • • . • 20,000 Rl.'pnblican Rh·er. . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . • • • . 10,000 )l:111itou . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • • • • . . • • 15,000 llt-nr Creek • . • . . . •. . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 15,000 \\'illuw Creek. . . . • . . . . . • . , . . . . . • • • • . • • • 10,000 r1111cr Cherry Creek . . . . . . . • . . . . : . . • . • • • . • 5,000 Tl'ilnunries of Rcpulilknu Ri\-cr . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . • 8,000 h11ff.alu Creek. . . . . . . . . . . . \ . . . . . • • : • . . . . 15,000 J10111c Rock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . , • • • • • . 15,000 St. Vrain R.iver. . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 ~oulh IJuuldc:r Crc:c:k . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . . • • • • . • 20,000 1·1•1•c.•r Clcnr Creek . . . . • • • . . . . . . . . • . • . • . . . 2u,01JO :'>li,hllc: and Nurtb HoulJc:r . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . _- , . . 20,000 1-:'llc:s Park , • , , • . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . , . • . , 10,000 Rnxton aud Fou111aia1 Creeks . • • . . . . • . . • • . • • • . 15,000 Chlcu;u Creek . . . , , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . 6,000 1:rnzc:r Ri~cr • . : • . . • • . • • . . • . • : ~ . • • • . • • • 2,500 l-pper .-\namni. Rl\·cr . . . • . . . . . . . • • . •. . . . . . . . 15,000 :\lurshall Creek aud tributaries. • . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . JS,MO ~,u·th Clc:ar Creek . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 l'lullc Caiiou (rainbow fry). . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 Besides the above I sold Eastern Brook Trout fry to citizens of Colorado as follows: :\I. 11. Huot, of Den,·c:r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . . . R. II. Rohrig, of Sil\•crton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 2,000 15,000 THE HATCH OF 1888. Considering the capacity of the State Hatchery, the product of the year 18S8, was phenomenal, being estimate_d at first at five hundred thousand small fry, and so pul,hshed, but the distribution reduced this estimate somewhat, but still showing a man·elo·u~ product, compared with former experiences with the plant. At about . the time the distribution was to begin, I invited General Pierce, my predecessor, to visit tl1e Hatchery, and after 'r. k ·' ·•. rl t ( STATE FISII CO~lllISSIONER. UEPOllT OF TIIE ' l 1. . •... •. 5 viewing the troughs, this expert fish culturist exclaimed, "Yau have been piling the eggs on top of each other, to • get all of these fisl1.,, Good fortune rather tban superior management is claimed for this result, as the same superintendent who has been in charge of the plant from its foundation did the work. 'fhe hatch for 1888 was as follows: Enslen, Drciok 'Crout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432,000 Jlninbow or Californias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 Of the abO\·e small fry, there was distributed in the public waters as follows: :,;t. \'rain Ri\•c:r . . . . . . . . . . :l.oulh Arkansas and tributaries . I>ou1e Rock. . . . . . . . . . . . UufTalo Creek. . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . • . . . • . . 10,000 . 20,000 • 15,000 . 20,000 D:iwson Stntion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • 10,000 DufTnlo Stntiou- . . . . .• . . . . . . • . • . • • • • • • • • • • 10,000 :,;oulh l'lnllc . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . • • . • • • • • • • 10,,,00 l'inc Gro,•c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . • • • • • • • 15,c,no l~stabrook . . . • . . . . • . . . . • • . . . •• . • • • • • • • 10,000 Kchlnights !-itatlon cstats) . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . , • • • 10,000 C:111cadc canun . . . . • . . . . . . • , . • • • • • • , , ••• :ro,ooo '\\'el ::\fountain '\'alley . • • . . . . . . . • . •• • • • • • • • . 25,000 Ruariug Forks Rivc:r . . . . . . . . . . . . • : • • . • • • • • • 2s,ooo Middle and =-:orth Jluuldc:r Crc:eks . . . . . • . • • . • • • • • :15,000 lJIUon . . . . . • • • . . . . . . . . . . • • • . • . • •• • • • 15,000 Chicago Crc-c:k . • • • • • . . . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 15,000 ~uth Douldc:r Creek . . . . . . . . . . . • • • • • • • • • • • 20,000 Anhnas Rh·cr . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • • • . • • . 20,000 Gu1111i11011 Rh-er and tributaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • 25,000 :>.tam moth Cl"l·ck uud I.11kc:s. . . . . . . • . . • . . . • . • • 10,000 Ulue Ri,·c:r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 5,000 San Carlos Rh·cr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • • • . 5,000 Chimnc:y Rm;k . . . . . . . ; . . . . . . . . • . . • • • • • • 15,000 l!slcs Park • . . . • . • . . . . • . . . . . • • • • • • • • • 5,000 Jdlc:,,·ild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 15,000 UpJ>Cf Clear Crc:ek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • • 4,000 R.Q&:k Creek (uc:nr J.c,uh-ille) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • , 10,000 Cache la Poudrc Rh·cr . . . . . . . . • . . . . . ; . . . . . . . 5,000 -Platte Cai1011 (H._ninbow fry) . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • • • ::ro,ooo In addition to the above distribution, I sold small fry Eastern Brook Trout to citizens of Colorado as follows: O. R. Recd (of Ouray)_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . Exline (of Dcm·cr) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . • • • Wcb11tcr Ballinger (of Como) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • J. J. s,ooo 4,000 1 ,ooo Of the Rainbow Trout fri, I traded to Dr. John Law -of Lead\'ille, two tl10usand for a lot of Native or Blacl~ �J, STATE ns11 COllYISSIONER. KEPORT OF THE ( population and the proportion of taxes paid by the several communities, together with making convenient • attractions for the thousands of tourists who annually \'isit Colorado and expend large sums of money among its people. Platte Caiion, the most convenient fishing ground' for the city of Denver and its visitors, is entitled to, and recei\'ed, a generous portion of the young fish. l\lanitou, the greatest of western \vatering places, has been liberally supplied. St. \'rain, another popular fishing resort, has been supplied as liberally as jnslice to other points would admit. ny reference to the list above presented, it will be seen that the distribution for the two years past has extended from the Cache la Pondre River in tl1e north to the Animas Rh·cr in the extreme south,. a1id as far west as Aspen, those streams most exi1austccl ha,·ing been gh·en the preference. Spotte:,1 Tront eggs, which were hatcl1ed at the State Hatchny, and they are now growing finely. This is the _J!rst ~~u:~es~f~~• effort _to stock the State Hatchery with c-~_ative Trout, former Jots taken from the public waters hy my predecessors ha,·ing died from change of location. Twenty thousand of the Rainbows hatched this season were placed in Platte Caiion. It h:is bt:en the custom of my predecessors in office, . and perpetuated by me, to retain a Jiberal supply of small fry each year, fo~:breeding purposes, and as a guard against nccidents, escapes, etc. Consequently there is always a surplus of fish after the span wing season is O\'er. 'rhese fish, by reason of gentleness, making them liable to be taken _by the first one that spies tl1em, and having been frd daily, are not capacitated to get a living in the wild w.lter~, are bartered for work and supplie!-> needed at the I Iatchery. During the two seasons in which I l1a,·e been in charge of the fish department, I authorized the Superintendent to dispose of certain _specified snrplus • fish, ,·alnc<l at $40, for the purposes above indicated. I also, in order to make room for growing fish, allowed the Superintendent to dispose of about one hundred and sixty pounds of aged fish, \'alued at $64, which was chargt.-d against the Superintendent and applied on his bill of t'Xpcuses. .-\t this time there are about thirteen thousand trout, including Eastern Brook, Nath·e and Rainbows, and of all age::.. • Distributing young trout in the streams ·of C~lorado is a duty not calculated to make the Commissioner popular, as nearly a}l citizens who have spring branches on their premises will make applications to h:we them sto~ked at the expense of the State. 'fhe considerations bearing most weight with me in making distributions. has bec:n where the most benefit could be d~ne to the greate:-! number of people, paying due regard. to the ~ CARP. Carp breeding at the State Hatchery bas been a flat failure from the start, and I am com,lrained to say that the people should be congratulated on this result. The ·carp pond at the State Hatchery, although fed by water that previously passes through two ponds .of trout, appears to be too cold for Carp breeding. Hoping to rem-. edy this, I, this season, had its area almost doubled, making it more shallow, and co_nseqnently much warmer, but still Carp refuse to breed there. The pond has a mud bottom, and there are numerous wi11ow roots and bushes in it, and apparently the _conditions are most favorable. As abo,·e indicated, I ha,·e a ,•err poor 9pi11ion of the Carp. He is a mud eater, tastes of mud, is full of bones, and for sport is absolutely wortl1less. It is true, when the conditions are fayorable, the Carp grows rapidly and multiplies enormously. ,. I . • ~ f . -. • .. . ·•. . .: •. • -• • • •' • I . ,.; _ �REJ>OHT 01:- 'J•nK J FISH FOR THE LAKES. For want of funds ~nd room at the Hatchen# . , the present Commissioner, as well as his predecessors, has been unable to prodde suitable fish for the numerous lakes owned by the farmers and miners of Colorado. 1'he Black Bass is the king of warm-water fish, and thrives in our lakes. A superior nsh for our lakes is the Channel, or Blue Cat. In this high a1titud~ the latter is almost equal to trout, tl1e flesh being delicate, and the fish Rrows to ten or tweh-c: pounds in weight. This fish affords \'ery ,good rod and line sport. The Pickerel docs well in the larger lakes, ~nd •is being culth·ated quite largely by a few of our citizens. The Yellow Cat fish, while uot so good as the Channel Cat, is a better food fish than the Carp, and breeds rapidly in the prairie lakes, growing to weigh three and one-half pounds in three years. In some of the l1igh mountain lakes, which· 11ave no outlet, trout grow to be quite large, the most remarkable experience being in Echo lake, above Idaho Springs, owned by Colonel F. F. Osbiston and other gentlemen. 'l'his lake, apparently, has neither an inlet nor an outlet. 'fhe water contains myriads of fresh~ water shrimp. It was stocked for the first time in July, 18S61 with Eastern Brook small fry from the State Hatchery. In • October, 18871 or when tl1e fish had reached the age ?f twenty-one months, Colonel Osbiston sent me one of them, weighing three pounds and six ounces. But for the indisputable red spots, the shapes of the month and the tail, I should l1a\·e doubted the iden. tity of this fish as a member of the Brook Trout family. 'I'hc unlimited supply of food in the water l1ad aided l1im in growing out of the shape common to his kind. His sl1oulders were high and broad, while his abdomen r~sembled that of a Carp or a Perch. No fish of any·!. kmd had ever been known in this lake before the time STATK .-!Sil C0)OIISSIONF.lt. ( 9 of stocking, as noted above, and no Red Spotted 'frout wete ever seen in the Rocky l\lountain streams until put· there from the State Hatchery. Colonel Osbist~n wrote me _at the time: "There are many more in the lake of equal size with the sample.,, Since that date I have seen numerous specimens from this lake ,·erifying all I have reported above. '!'his story will read jis//y to most people, and cai1 only be accounted for in the enormous amount of natural fish food in the lake. The owners of this lake are adding large numbers pf fry each year, with the l1ope of reducing the supply of food, so that the fish which now seem laiy i:1 biting will afford more ready sport. The experience in Echo lake l1as resulted in the stocking of two more fine lakes in that immediate vicinity. Experiments with the Rainbow "rrout ha\"e been confined mostly to Platte Canon, near Denver, and thus far have proved great favorites. They gn;>w rapidly in the river, always ready for sport, and are good game. Some writers, who are considered good authority in fish culture, claim that the Rainbow Trout goes to salt water, and that after doing well for several years in the fresh water, entirely disappear.. That we may have them near at ha~lCl and watch them, I have continued to place the product of this breed in Platte Canon. The flesh of this fish is excellent food, and sportsmen are entlmsiastic in praise of the fish. FISH CULTURE. No man except one who has had personal experience, .can have any conception of the number and nature of letters received by the Fish Commissioner of Colorado. If ·in no other way, he certainly earns his salary in answering these letters. He is not only plied with 2 .• .. :,, .. ·••· .... . -~ : , -.,_,.•· . :\ -····. , .. ..; �( RJ-:POltT 01'" TUE STATE FISII CO~DllSSIONJm. <1nestions endless in scope regarding fish culture, plans for fish-ways, complaints concerning ditches and dams, etc. ::\lore than this, piles of letters come asking how to get titles to lakc:i oa government la1id, and one citizen of the mountains appalled lllt! with the proposition "to lease six or eight miles of a pnblic stream,,, that he might go into fish cultnre. Of such letters I have received and answered nearly four hundred. However, most of these contain h:gitimate c1nestions for the Commissioner, and hence I volunteer a few points on fish culture in this report. For economy in time and ,·alue of the suggei;tions, I cnn not <lo better than to quote from the last re:port of General Pierce as follows: l ' First in value, beauty and ease of culture comes tl1e ;.. 11 ''TWIN LAKES TROUT:· • "~i!nilar to first na~ned in general appearance, except that 1t 1s of a yellow color, au<l the flesh ·partakes of the .. same color. It is only found in 'rwin Lakes, so far as I know; grows to ten pounds weight, and spawns in the lake some time before the ice is off, probably in ~larch and April. "FORJ<;IGN TRou·r-Rainbow Trout. ''Bluish brown on back, with small black spots. Dark red bm1d on sides, from gills to tail. Very healthy as a pond fish; grows to fh·e pounds in five ,·ears. Suited to large rivers, and we11 adapted to Colorado canons... Spawns in February and !'\larch. "HNGJ..lSH 'l'ROUT-Salmo Fario. "Strong, 11ealthy fish, not subject to disease; grows to one-fourth of a pound the first year. ls well adapted to pond cnllnn:. Spawns in November and Dcc<.:mber. "Among the many shades of djfference in tl1e Trout of the Rocky :\Iouutnins, there are three ,·arieties that, though usually classed as one, arc sufficicn tly distinct in their form and habits, to he described as distinct varieties. "'fhe first, and most generally diffused, is what is known as the Black Speckled Trout, and is found in all the mountain water~ of Colorado, both in stream and lake. • '' It is of a light, sih·ery color, with black or dark brown specks. It grows, ordinarily, to a bon t three pounds weight, though I ha\'e seen it weighing eight pounds. Spawns from February until June, according to ele\·ation, bnt most of the spawning is, I think, done in April :mcl :\lay. '' I.AKE 'rRov·r. "Commonly known as Mackinaw Trout. Arlapted to large lakes. Have put some in Twin Lakes, and am trying some in ponds. '' I.. AND-LOCKED SALlfON. ' "Ha,·e put some in 'fwin I~akes, and reserved some in ponds.. '' BROOK TROt::r-!:,a/i.•elii111s F01zti11a/is. .. "This Trout, while adapted to spring water culture and growing to one-half pound weight in tl1e vear after it is put out. Like the English Trout, it spawns in November." •• It is the popular belief that the eggs of the ·nrook 'front are destroyed by the ice in our mountain stn:ams, ·which begins tQ form cotemporary with the spawning of this fish; but I have been as~ured by most reputable gentlemen, opinions of other good fishmen to the contrary notwithstanding, that they are multiplying in those streams. In the Republican River, 011 the plains, ''ORANGE 'J'ROUT.· . u lfack, dark brown, with black spots, and lower side bri~ht orange. Grows to eight and ten pounds in large rh·ers. I have seen one that weighed twenty-seven and a half pounds. Spawns from May to July, bul does not. seem to cross with oth!!r ,·arieties.. Very destructh·e to young trout. . . :. i: . : :·::, H . ·:, 1 . •,. . • ( .. i. ~ ' > : ..._. • :'. . ·;;;~j~~ ;,{;•.'. •. �1 ~ e; :: ~ . • • ;, •• .; .} :i:::/••\ ;·}:/i)rttA#.' ( ............ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .,_.._,, • . . • -.·: .~ -·: .-{ , • - _ • ·.·.=· :· .:, .·: .·.;:·~.-,:. :·:.•·: .:•· •· . •:· =:·-.,:· _;.:!.·-L:.·:'.·l.:_:_:~!.:·_:,.·_:.•,·;'.[_:.·.':·.:~. ·;.:;·~. ~•:i.·:l·~-'.·:~.:f·:•.:;_: · .·~ -·,'. ·.:,· :. ·:_,.:· : :._,; ~.: .: ,:·:·. ·...:·.· ·: ·. :=:_: :.·.i~: -:·: :·: ·: ·_, .. ·. •··:.,•.•• ( 11 : n alti:::~ of. ~:: :e:):a:~: ~::· •;:vd'.';~<;renm· • . .• ' . . :• :>: I mncle from springs, the Brook 'rront is breeding rapidly. -' :: · C>f tl1e fact tl1nt tl1e Ilrook 'l''ro11t gro,,·s i11 Colornclo waters to double the si?.e of those grown iu Bnstern waters, there is scarcely a doubt.. Ilor sport this fish is ••. 11mmrpm.;5ccl, • his gnme qualities being nniversal1y remarked by mtg-Jen,. J tt<~~c •L. B. F'rnnce, one, of the most noted of our local fishermen, declares: . "'I'he Brook Trout will run our i\lountain 'rront out of the streams." I incline lo the opinion thnt the Judge cannot hack his belief with positive proof. I anf deciclc<lly in favor of breeding the three kh!ds of trout, munc1y: Haslem hrook, Rainbow and Natives. I seized the first opportunity that presented itself, after taking control of the Fish Department, .of securing a . stock of Nath·es for tho'State Hatchery .. •. • •.•. -:: .• · . • .:;;:;/j/.;::\·~ :_. r. :; • •• _,., ,.:· ':t. HATCHING PISH. "The points lo be taken into consiclc:rnli011 in locating- a hatchery are, first, foocl for the yotm~· trout. 'l'he hatchery must be near enou~h lo a point where slnught-: . erin~ is done to procure each clay fresh livers for the •. yottn~ fo;h, for r--ix month~. to the extent of from ten to thirt,· ~hccp pluck~, or thl•ir eqnivnlent in beef 1h·er5, a clay for cadt one httn<lrccl lhon~nncl fry, ancl an nhnndnnt. . -- .....-·. ~upply of li;-!hls aucl hearts for thcolcler fi~h. The second com:i<lerntion i!i-att ahttmlantsnppl)' of pure spring watcrnt least four foc-t nhovc the ground 011 ,t:hich the house is · lo(·atc:,t This supply mu~t not ·only he enough for the . hatchittg trnui~hs, hnt enough to make n strong current··· . , · thron~h nil the fce,ling hoxcs· nncl poncl~ in which fish ;,' • ;· . ·(·, •·.\\:~: are k<.•pt. · WntC!r should havc. n lcmpcrnturc not higher• •. 1_··:· .: .. ' :· • •. ]:-.'i • than fi_fty degree~, aml the poiuk where fish are kept :·:. .' .. • .. '\·:.-, ~hottlrl ue\·er cxce(•<l sixty-fh·c· dcgrt"'e~ in the hottest :·; .: . '.(~~'.: weather; though the Cnlifornin and Hnglish 'rront will.· > ..' · >·: /~ ·.·.:: bear ten degrees more than thnt for a short time." • :))/.~_\:·: ./·;\ ;f~ •Owing to the stinginess of the last two Lcgislatur<?s \'." •{· .-: . : Y. _;- :/." of Colorado in withholding fuucls for experimenting in i· _· •. '. ••_::;.( i >) improved ha.tc~1ing appara~t~s, ~~,~~~\~~e. b~en .compell~d .<: ~ :: .'~\:: -~·t·.•r • '. ,.. 11 · •· / . , ·: .- , ·• · · : . : : : ?·< • #i=Jiif.~fl::: •·. .. :. ~i ii':\' ri/('o/,\:.}}f: ••f ''..· : .. ·. �,· STATE FISH co1puss10NER. :: ;·:;:: . ·.. ', . month old; but for putting hi: streams and lakes "·here they will haYe to take care of themseh·es and lh·e among other fish, they should be four to five months old, or, say, two inches long.":.•,: •. •. for gr~at,dista1ices, the waters of small fry. The amendments to· the fish laws enacted by the last Legislature, prohibiting the marketiug of food fish in this State l1as ·had an excel1ent effect, in the direction of ~topping the shooting of fish. , Prohibiting the sale of fish has decreased the temptation to kill them, and the result has been a perceptible increase of Tront in the public waters.. .-: l,? ·: -:i ••• •>"u::i·;, • r ,':!~.-• . • • ·t·,.- r.. ~ HO:\IES OF THE TROl~'f. There is in the State of Col<>rado about fh·e th~usand and ~ixty-three miles of water that is nd=ipted to Tront; nearly all of which eiti1er has Trout in it now, or lrns had until recently. '!'his ,,·ater'is distril,ut~cl as follows: I •.•. /:t' . . . . . . . Pl:ittt- nu!l lrihutaries . . . . . . ~ ; ~ S~ miles ~orth 1•;1rk • . . . . . . • • . . , ~:;~j:-~,:, . . . . . . . 251 miles Grtc:n :11111 tribut:irics . . . . . . • _i'~i~~:!· ~ •. . . . . . . 456 miles Grirn.l :11111 trihut11rles . . . . . • . • • :~:: ·-; . . . . . . 1,656 miles S:m .hrnn • , • • • • . . . . • . • ~) ;tf•. ·~ . . . . . . . 4-14 miles Rio Cr:.ntle • • • . . . . . . • . ;·~~~1t•f;i . . . . . . . . 614 miles Arknn""" • • . • . . . . ." • . . ;-14 miles •?::~g;:, . . . . . . . In addition to these, there··~re'i11m1111c-rable mountain lakes ad:iptecl to Trout breedingiind rah,ipg, which ha,·e heretofore been the natural breeding placc:s for the trout that haYe.~tocked the streams· flowing from them. All of these waters were afoue time, literall}~ filled with Nath·e Trout, the pooresfangler iu the state could fill his basket with an hour's sporl •rh~re are still good stre:uils in the rural districts, w,ierestate aid is not.needed, notably; the Rio Grande and ·the rh-ers c.,f San Luis Yal~ ley, together with the 1arger.•streams of ~licldle park anc!_. a portion of those of Routt"iind Garfield counties, but the destroying ,•aridal l1as ·maae.sad havoc with the fisi1 in many localities, especially"in'streams :11ong which railroad~ have been built, the gr~~~J~ ha\'ing n~ed dynamite andgiaut powder to an alarmi1:1g~xtent in fishing. However, this has not been the only.class of fish pirates. Heretofore there have been profe~ional market fishermen infesting the State, who useAil!rit pomler, killing not only such fish as they could ~.cure, but thousands that escaped in the currents of thfsirea~, and depopulating -=JM)t. ··•. 1,w~tt • t\ii·C : -:-~;::0i;t ~ii ;:. ;_. :v :,i ~- _t} . _,f ::~1· .,r:· f; ', '. ·.. ·: ••""if' • ••. }::· t . ::;di~~j RECOMl\lENDA TIONS. 'rhe benefits cleri\·ed by citizens of Colorado through the attractions of our fishing are not easil): computed. They are immense. It is safe to say that at least $150;ooo is dropped-in Colorado by visitors who are enticed • here by the speckled beauties in our streams. \Vith. this fact before us, would it not be good policy on the part of the State to' spend ten or fifteen thousand dollars annually, to keep up and increase the attraction? In answer to this question the legislators may ask: '' \Vill the State· Hatchery do it?" The latter question can not be more forcibly answered tl1an by stating the fact, that during the past summer General John Pierce, and two other gentlemen, !;p~nt a part of one day fishing in Platte Caiion, not far from Denver. The three caught sixty-six trout~ sixty-two of which were red-spotted fellows that-bad been planted there from the State Hatchery. In other words, the gentlemen would have taken only four fish, but for the work of the hatchery. The present plant of the State consists of a hatchery with a . capacity of a trifle over four hundred thousand eggs per y~ar, when crowded, and a .stock of breeding fish to supply twice tha~ number of eggs~ •. .. The Hatchery could be e~larged to twice its capacity at small expense, if a sufficient supply of water could be ·had, but the·water supply is so scanty that it is only by the closest care and attention that the H~tchery can be ..... �( ( lo 17 STATE FISH COllMISSIO:NER. kept up to the_ capacity named. It· is hoped that the ,·omplt:tion of the Burlington ditch, aboYe the Hatchery, will add to the water supply enough to increase the capacity of the plant to one million eggs. This will be· about the extreme of what C3ll be accomplished at that point. Even at three times its present capacity, but little can be done toward keeping up the fishing of the State. The State of ~ew York hatches and distributes anuualh- from tluee to four millions of young 'rront of :tll kimls. and has probably not one.tenth the Trout water of Colorado. Thi~ State should at this time be distributing at least one milli\,n five hundred thousand Trout a year, with prO\·isiot: .~ for an increa!-c as the population grows. I I mos~ cordially endorse the recommendationc; made two ye:u~ ago b}~ my predecessor, as follows: "There is ~reat difficult,·, risk and expeus~ attending tl1e shipment ~f young 'rr~nt for long distances, whi~e there i:-- a time iu the de\"elopment of the e~g when tt can be shipped for ~tty clista!1c~ wit~ottt apprecia)lle. loss. I ha,·e received eggs from Cahforma, ~lame, 'i\hcl11ga~1, ::\Ia~~aclm::.etts.and. England, the loss on which in transportation h;is been less than one _r,cr.cent;. Theyl~n I woulrl snu-o-est, would be to estabhsh m ,·artotts dtstncts in the St:;t~ hatcheries of a capacity. of say two hundred thonsnnd e,ro-s eacl1, at such points ns would be best for obtaininc,. f~;d ancl for com·enient distribution of young fi~h. O~c in San Luis \"alley, one on the waters of tl1e Grand one for th:e San Juan, one for the Arkansas aucl one on' the Gunnison. The5e hatcheries could be built at small expense, and could he used to take eggs already cle,·elopcd at the present Hatchery, or that could be obtained from· other States. They would also make points for the collection of the nath·e ,·nrieties of Trout.. Por the present~ no breedin~ fish need be kept at these ~tations, nnd tJtc; <?re of :ach would occupy the time of one man for stx months m the year. One of these stations is alreadv built at Twin Lakes, and was run with tolerable success in 1885 011 Tront taken from the lake, but was not]_oper_3:~~d j_a !8_86, for want of fquds .. 'l'he· •• •• , • • • a For the year 1SS7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . $ For the )'ear 1889. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ . • .i. - JP' - • ,~ 2,000· 2,000 oo oo 4,000 00 It is simply disgracef~tl that the State of Colorado should permit the head of one of its most beneficial industries to go out among the people asking assistance in the discharge of the duties of his office. Iu his last report, General Pierce, my predecessor in office, gave facts which so nearly accorded with my own experience that tl1ey are reproduced, as follows: "The actual cost of running the Hatchery, including salary of Superintendent and one assistant, feed for fish, care of horse, and repairs and incidents, does not ,·ary mi.1ch from $2,000 per annum, and the cost of distribution of fish has had to be born by interested parties and by the railroads, the latter having offered every facility· ·-: · possible, without which the distribution would have .... been impossible. Depending on gratuitious contribu- . ·.::. •: : tions of means· and teams to distribute the -young fish,.{·>; ..~-~::.1::,'. has proved· a great hindr.ance and .annoyance, and has·:!:; :::..},i·; • . • made it impossible to reach many points that ought t~:,J):/j~.-ul:\~- ·.','.. ~. ,.: : ·, ,~,'.{/i.~;~j;),;,,;~~i ;.'.· . :_/>:·•-·: __ ;ii.'.:(:,;:;·<-.Ji~illli •. :>:.~: 1. .· .=.:.·_~-~.; :.·~:·.; :~.r.~-:· =.~:•·.: \t1:.~~~,n • • ' • •. . ~:};·~~:ff-f~~:f'>~).:.~ .· . I ~ . •.·[; • :~ii~,~~,,:_;_.. ~ ''.1:ft~· superintendent of the hatcheries could manage the whole system, and fish- could be hatcl1ed at a much less cost per thousand than now. In. this way the State would have at each station a man who could do much toward the protection of fish in his district, and would be able to judge what streams and lakes should be stocked, and with what fish; and could give instructions to persons wishing to establish private hatcheries and po~ds." The present fish law (Section 4) gives the Commis~ioner a salary of $500 a year and $500 a year for expenses of the Hatchery. 'l'he Superintendent of the Hatchery is allowed S1,ooo annual salary. Under the provisioi1s of this law (Section 13) the Commissioner is authorized to expend $1,000 a year in the purchase, transportation an.d distribution of om and· fry; but the Legislatures of 1885 and 1887 failed in appropriations to recognize the last items of expenditure. During the • session of 1887 there was appropriated: • ~ i: ;: : .:!;;,&;7;; }i;, • ':,t1i :.\ ·•:~!·:·: .... '·· • •••••--·!. •• ) ••• • ........... • f,~~~~~t-.Jl,,r,°f·: ;_.;:.g ': '.,,'.),t/cJ/1;;·-~~:=·;,,<1:,, '.t.iY• . ::··., ·::;! ·!··:-·1' 0 • ·:· .··:•··\ 0 •• ~ ·: .....~--..,\--:··:':-~~~!-~~:•..~(,.;.~·1. ! ...::·_:-=-· :· ��( 20 ( REPORT OF 1'HE BT.A1'E 1"1Sll COMMISSIONER. 'fhe section ~f the law giving the Commissioner power to grant permits for taking fish from the public waters should be repealed. If granted to one citizen, it can not be consistently:denied another,.and, if indulged, the sln:ams would soon be deprived of fish. Although I ha,·e received many requests, I ha,·e granted only one, when I ga,·e a State official a permit to stock a State pond with Catfish from the Arkansas river. I think it would be a good moye to authorize the Connnis::.ioners to get the snck~rs, which are yery clestrncth·e of trout spawn, out of the lakes and streams in any manner practicable. Twin Lakes, than which there are no prettier bodies of ,vater on the globe, and which arc natural breeding places for trout, are being o,·errun with these pests. There are certain seasons when these robbers can be netted, if the means for employing men and machinery be furnished. In the agricultural regions· of the mountain parks irrigating ditches are simply traps for the destruction of millions of trout annually. 'l'his destruction is frequently unintentional, but oftentimes the ditches are used purposely for catching· fish. It would be suicidal policy to in any way hinder agdcultnral de,•elopment, and at the same time I am not prepared to suggest a feasible plan of protecting the fish from the ditches. Screens have been suggested, but I know from personal experience that they could not be kept free from the debri.r that would collect on them near the surface, and thereby prevent the flow of water. Fish swim deep, and it might be a great benefit to place screens in a · horizontal position, far enough below the surface of the water to allow logs and trash to pass over and still divert the fish to another channel. I would also suggest that ditch owners be required, when necessary to turn water off from the ditcl1~s, to do so gradually, in order that fi~h may go back to the streaui.s·, which they certai11ly will do when they find the supply of water being diminis11ed. When the water is turned off suddenly the fisb are left tq die or be_ captured in the dry ditches. The hatching trouglts at the State Hatchery have not been renewed since tl1e plant. was erected, and having been continuously under water since that time, are rap_. idly decaying, and it will be fortunate indeed if they last during the hatching season just begun, and which will continue until April. Next year the young Native Trout at the Hatchery will be old enough to spawn, when the hatching will continue ttp to July of each . year. Again referring to fisb laws, I may say that the ap· pointment of fisl1 wardens by the boa·rds of commissioners in the several counties has met with only fair results. Occasionally there is an officer who has the independence to act fearlessly, but as a rule men are loth to be informers upon their neighbors. In many instances wardens fail of their duty, through fear of receiving private injury to person or property. Since these wardens do not cost tl1e State any money, it may be well to continue them, until a better plan is suggested. The amendments to the fish laws adopted at the session of 1887, are not clear as to the power of the commissioner in appointing deputies. On the face of the bill it may appear that the wardens were to take the places of the deputies. Taking the benefit of the doul;>t, I have, when informed by reputable gentlemen, of violation of the fish laws, appointed the said reputable gentlemen as deputies. I have also appointed as deputies, a number of gentlemen in various. sections of the State. Notwithstanding the very general impression among the people, that the fish commissioner is a police -officer, wl1ose duty it is to arrest and prosecute all offenders, I have been notified of some. half dozen fish dynamiters being prosecuted and pun-: ished by local officers. One case worked up by the com:.. + ... 1 .,, -.j . ,11,1 :~;~. .. -.:.l~:. , . .:- .• ..t,•t<.• .... r-~,r~ ~., ~ • ' ~· . .·•·;·: . ·: :,· /i~!: . . . ... '• ··•,. . . :i::;f;}.@0i~'J.il+l:tr:i,-. M{it~ .;~f{/~};: .j}{¥ )'.fi:1·'·.:'.iftrl\i,iit:::·•· �. -,·_ IJ .... . . .' . _.·· 23 REPORT OF TIIE missioner, where four persons were proven guilty of using dynamite in the St. Vrain rh;er, the parties escaped the full penalty of the la,v, by an error of judgment in the justice of the peace, in accepting a verdict uot in conform itr with the statutes, and which assessed the fines at $50 each, instead of $100 each. However, the offenders enjoyed one night in jail and were put to the expense of about $100 each in lawyer's fees and the appealing of the case to a higl1er court. The existing laws. command the Commissioner to ''sell fry, or ova, to citizens for stocking purposes at a price not to exceed the cost of producing the same." I think the law should be amended to read, "at the market value of the same," instead of "a price nor to exceed the cost of producing the same." 1\ly opi~1ion for this is b:1sed upon the theory that the State should not set up a market to the injury of ]egitimate business e_nterprises of its own c~tizens. The State could, with . equal propriety, put its convict ]abor in competition with its law-abiding workers. There are six or eight private hatcheries in Colorado, that should be encouraged, rather than be destroyed by State ]egislation. During my manngement I have sold only twenty-se\'ell thou~and small fry, and did this only in cases where I -.._ could not induce the purchasers to patronize the private liatcheries. One instance, I had an order from Boesch & Bunz, of Aspen. I endorsed the check over to Kincaid & Co., who filled the order from their hatchery, to the perfect satisfaction of the purchaser. I did the same thing with other small orders. I would suggest that the Attorney General be required to prepare at tl1e end of each session of the State Legislature, a re,·ised copy of the fish Jaws, and t,1at the ~:- ,, Secretary of State be required to have printed two thou. • ;~: .• ,,:.. sand copies of the same for the use of the Fish Commis·.~· sioner, to_ be distributed among the people. This, I .....~...." •. : f•;·.\! .. . ' ' :}~;~· ·: . .. • , . . •:· ~;. :; :. :. :· ... • . • ., • ~. l-' :..... _...•. •l : , ,:..; .:; -\S:1:jtf think, would materially aid in the enforcement of the. laws, _a~ welJ as save much labor and annoyance in correspondence. t 1 i EXPENSES. FOR 1887 AND 1888. t ff i" ~- ··1•I . ~t~ ·~~ ·l" i.il. J I ' i ,f i- <IJJ .·-.. '-J,J .t 1iJ ·tf :Jli :i~i \t~i • Owing to the change in the wording of the appropriation biJl from "July I to July 1,, to "for the years 1887 and 1888,,, there was a sum amounting to over $600 left in the treasury .of the appropriation made for the Fish Commission in 1885, and which the Attorney General • decided was subject to legitimate ,·ouchers of the pres-.ent Commissioner. But for this fortunate circumstance the Superintendent and the Commissioner would have been obliged "'to go without portions of their salaries, or give up the work. As it is, the Superintendent l1as been carrying, of his own volition, the ordinary expenses of the Hatchery since January 1, 1888. When the fact . is remembered that there must be an assistant at the Hatchery, and that this assistai1t has been, and is now being paid $40 per 111011th, and tl1e appropriation for_ expenses is only $500 a year, it will be seen that there are but $20 to pay for fuel, horse feed, blacksmith bills, repairs, extra transportation of fish and material to and from the Hatchery. . At the close of ]ast year I found the spring wagon owned by the State, which was an old one when purchased six or seven rears- ago, was going • to pieces, and the harness was red need to patches. Tl]~refore, in December last I drew from _the old appropriation named above $460. 50, as follows: Difference in exchange ot wagon, $j4.50; {of this last sum S4.50 was discount on State warrants); one set of harness, S25; coal, hay, grain, biacksmith •bills, repairs, machinery, .... material, etc., $215; fish feed from July 1, 1887, to July . • • 1, 1888, $go; expenses of Commissioner for hire of horse . • and buggy, postage and expenses \'isiting and examin- �HEl'OHT OF STATg FJS II CO~l.\l I ::;SIONER. ing strl'a ms, $56; leaving the balance of the old appropriation in the S tate treasury. Ri.~: ht here I may slate that $ 147. 50 received by me for fr~- was, with a specific statement, turned into the State treasury, November 9, rSSS. . ·i• I CONCLUS ION. The action of the next Legislature wil l se ttle the q11esti"n, whether the .State of Coloratlo is to continue the guucl work of clis trib11ti11g and prop:igating fish for the benefit of its people? The present plant, which is inadequate to the dcm:111cls 1 will 11ot sta nd through a11othvr seasou without repairs. Unless the plant is enlarg<:cl and h atching stati ons built, thousands of miles of watc:r m11st be neglected. Owing to the scare felt, or affected lo be felt, over the inter-state commerce law, by the railroad m en, the distribution of fish in 1S87 was mostly clone through superintende nts and employes of railroads. This year the work of distrib11ti o11 has been under the personal super\'ision of the Snperinte11de nt1 one or two instances excepted. I bear ch eerfu l testimony of the ability of l\Ir. E. V. Bogart, S11peri nte11de11 t of the Hatchery, as a fish cnlturist. There are ft!w, if any, men who could have accomplish c.:tl so. m11ch work w ith the limited means and limited water s 11ppl y at con1ma nd. The production the past season at our lit.t ie h a tc hery of 0\'er four h undi:ed thousand trouts is a mar\'el, especiall y so when the opinion is general a mong fish culturists that the temperature of the water is " too hig h for s uccessful trout breeding." G. F. DEN\'ER, ', .: __: ! ; t ·:_<( I . •.'• • • ..-. . '! WHITEHEAD, F1'slz Commissio11a. COLORADO, November 30, 18S8. .. ...-:-·· ·' i � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/900935325cd8ceb4cc060b69878cd115.pdf 7c8d920be85e4fdb5faca61983862320 PDF Text Text REPORT Colorado Fish Commissioner S T A T E OF COLORADO, Y E A R S 1889-90. D E N V E R : COLLIER & C L E A V E l A N D L I T H . CO., S T A T E 1890. PRINTERS. �REPORT OF THE Colorado Fish Commissioner OF T H E S T A T E OF COLORADO, FOR THE Y E A R S 1889-90. D E N V E R COLLIER & CI.EAVELAND LITH. 1890. : CO., S T A T E PRINTERS. �REPORT. To His Excellency, JOB A. C O O P E R , Governor of Colorado: I have the honor to submit herewith my report for the years 1889-1890. W h e n I took charge, April 1st, 1889, I found the only hatchery in use, viz.: the one nine miles below Denver, on the Platte river, in very bad condition. After more than eight years of service the cheap wooden structure had decayed so badly as to be unfit for another season's work. There was, however, a fine lot of trout fry ready for distribution, somewhere about 300,000. These were sent out over the several lines of railway for planting in the public waters, and were as equitably distributed as the limited means at my disposal would permit. A few thousand fry were sold to private parties. T h e number so disposed of is given in detail in an appendix to this report. I did not encourage the sale of fish to stock private lakes; had I done so there would not have been any left for the public waters. I have pursued the same policy this year and only sold very small lots to four or five persons. People who desire fish to stock private ponds can readily obtain all they need from those who make a business of growing eggs and fry. T h e live fish dealers of Denver are able to supply almost any kind of fish suitable for stocking ponds or lakes. T h e State has so large a territory to stock with fish for the public use, that there is never enough to go around. A s soon as the work of distribution for 1889 would permit, an attempt was made to establish the branch hatcheries that the law called for,—the amount of money at my disposal for each of the three branches, was limited to four hundred dollars �for the construction. I soon discovered that this small sum was inadequate for the purpose, so determined upon m a k i n g use of the old branch hatchery at the outlet of the T w i n Lakes as the best plan to get good results from the outlay. T h i s place was soon put in order, and, owing to the great difficulty of catching the spawning fish from the wild waters, the result was not satisfactory, and it became necessary to await the opening of the next season. Meanwhile, there was much to be done at the Denver hatchery, for it had to be entirely rebuilt in order to hatch the eggs for the season of 1890. T h i s work has been done, many new ponds made, the water supply greatly increased, a dwelling for the superintendent constructed, a stable for the horse and wagon, and a complete change made in order to facilitate the handling and shipping of the fish, so that to-day the establishment is in excellent w o r k i n g order with a much better water supply, greater hatching capacity, and a larger and better stock of breeding fish than at any time since the place has been in use. I found it necessary to change superintendents before the season of 1890 should begin, so I placed W . S. Kincaid in charge October 1st, 1889, he h a v i n g had eight or nine years experience prior to this time. I have no reason to regret the change, and the State has secured the service of a valuable man. The season of 1890 has been very successful, although the branch hatchery at Gunnison did not succeed in securi n g a sufficient number of breeding native trout to enable them to score a success for this year; however, with the further improvements made there the past season, there is a fine showing for 1891. At the T w i n Lakes hatchery there were over 50,000 native trout hatched out and distributed in 1890, and improvements now being made will insure a very large supply of eggs for the next season. A t the Denver hatchery there were over 478,000 eggs and fry distributed for the year 1890; these were sent to almost every section of the State, from Durango to the North Park, and almost as far east as �the Kansas line, over on the Blue, the Grand, the Roaring Fork, the Gunnison and the San Luis Valley. The record of the State Superintendent shows that he alone traveled over 9,454. miles while engaged in the work, and part of the time there were two other persons employed in this labor, whose miles of travel were not recorded, and I wish to add right here, were it not for the aid given by the railroads, this work could not go on. T h i s wide distribution of trout into the public waters includes both stream and lake, and good reports come in from all quarters; the only cry is more fish. T h e season of 1891 bids fair to eclipse all others, every thing is in excellent order, and there are now in the Denver hatchery over 400,000 eggs, and the season not half begun. M A G N I T U D E OF T H E WORK. It has been estimated that there are six thousand miles of trout streams in Colorado, and I feel safe in placing the number of lakes that lie high up in our mountain ranges, mesas and parks, at not less than five hundred. These clear, cold bodies of water are, for the most part, entirely barren of fish-life of any kind, yet experience has shown them to be excellent for the growth of trout, and the reason is plain. T h e y are filled with a superabundance of aquatic insect life that has been g r o w i n g there for ages. Many of them contain what is known as the water dog, a kind of half fish and half lizzard, yet this little water animal is quite harmless, and affords most excellent food for the larger trout. These conditions of fish-food are such in our natural mountain lakes that when trout are placed in them they thrive to an extent almost incredible. Mention should here be made of the valuable work done by Col. F. F. Osbiston, of Idaho Springs, he being among the first to demonstrate, to a practical certainty, the great natural advantages of stocking a barren lake with brook trout, or charr, only inches long, and, in less than two years, taken from its waters these same fish over two pounds �in weight. I have myself visited his lake and seen the trout taken with hook and line from it that would weigh a good pound—and these only yearlings. T h e lake never had any fish of any kind in it until about four years ago, and, when stocked not over three years, a trout was taken from its waters that weighed three pounds and four ounces. T h i s property, known as E c h o Lake, does not exceed forty acres in extent, yet it has, I feel safe in saying, produced many thousands of trout that weighed over a pound each since it has been stocked, and is now simply alive with them. As this is only one among many hundred lakes that are scattered over our mountains, the field for fish culture is far in excess of what is generally known. It would be fair to assume that such a body of water contains enough natural food for 10,000 trout to thrive upon for two years. T h i s would yield five tons of the choicest fish for an outlay of, say, one hundred dollars for the young fish as seed when but 2 1/2 inches long. T h e experience at E c h o L a k e has shown a better growth than one pound in two years from the planting. So, also, in several other lakes of the same class. There are over five hundred lakes in these mountains as large, or larger, than Echo, and all need stocking. If the State should succeed in placing 10,000 trout fry in each of only one hundred of these, the increase of choice fish-food for the people of the State would exceed one million pounds in two years, at no other cost to the State than the planting of the seed, as these now idle waters already contain the food. If half of these should be lost, the gain to the State would still be the product of half a million pounds of the finest fish. T h e State can produce these seed fish for less than $5.00 per M., when grown in large numbers, so that by an expenditure of less than $5,000.00 it is possible to furnish the seed for a food product of over 500,000 pounds. T h e rapid growth of the trout in our mountain lakes is due largely to the presence, in such waters, of countless swarms of �gammarns, or fresh water shrimp. Other aquatic insects exist in great abundance, but the shrimp are the more numerous. BARREN RIVERS AND STREAMS. There is within our 104,000 square miles of territory more than 1,000 miles of suitable waters that now contain 110 trout of any kind. T h e North Park has by far the largest area of such waters. B i g Laramie has only the few trout placed there by private enterprise and the generous aid of W y o m i n g ' s Commissioner. T h e rest are such streams as flow above high, impassable falls. T h e streams of this character that have been stocked with trout from the State Hatchery have grown them to great size, showing beyond question that they are well suited to the purpose, T h e s e excellent waters should be stocked with the Eastern brook trout, since they do not wander far from where they are planted. I only advocate these fish as being better, for the reason that our native trout have a natural habit of running downstream upon the approach of winter and are apt to get below these impassable falls. T h a t there is room for both the work of the United States Hatchery at Leadville, and all that the State can do besides is only too apparent. T h e United States Hatchery is not solely for Colorado waters as many persons seem to imagine. T h e y intend to grow trout for other states and territories. T h e i r work so far has only been preliminary and confined mostly to the hatching of the eggs of the Eastern brook trout. T h e y will, however, be in shape to handle large numbers of the eggs of our native mountain trout next spring. The building to be used by the United States Commission, near Leadville, is very large and should be ample to shelter a great many trays of eggs. Our Colorado trout streams are so extensive that the entire output of any one hatchery could be deposited in a single stream and its waters not be overstocked. It is on account of the �magnitude of the work that I have advised the construction of branch Hatcheries in different sections of the State, and in every way sought to encourage private enterprise in order to awaken the people to the importance of what is to be done. I am aware that there are those who feel that the region of the State in which they live has been slighted, but I can only say to them that it is hard for me to make the few fishes feed my five thousand. T h e age of miracles has past and I am free to confess that I am unable to satisfy my friends with 700,000 trout fry for so large a territory. I could easily get rid of seven millions and really need more than that number each year. Both the hatching and feeding capacity at the Denver Hatchery should be enlarged. There is need even now for more extensive improvements in order to properly care for the eggs and fry. An increased flow of water can be had by extending the present system of drains up along the base of the bluff that now yields the water for both ponds and hatchery, and this should be done without delay. T h e number of fish to be carried the present season is much larger than in any previous year. " O P E R A T I O N S CONFINED TO TROUT PROPAGATION." T h e reason why the State Fish Commission devotes so much attention to the propagation and distribution of trout is owing to the fact that most of our waters are naturally adapted to those fish and are by reason of their being cold in summer, not suitable for the development of the eggs of such fish as Bass, Pike, Perch, etc. While such fish will live and grow in very cold water, they need and must have moderately warm water in which to deposit their eggs. It is no use to place such fish in either our mountain streams or the cold icy waters of our lakes. These are the natural homes of the trout, and all varieties that have been introduced have done remarkably well. Neither will Carp, Crop- �pies, Cat Fish nor Sun Fish do well in our mountains except where the water becomes warm in summer. Where the water is suited to the growth of trout other fish of a predacious character should not be introduced. There has been a great deal said against the brook variety of our common Sucker. T h i s fish is the natural food of our large trout, and, being a very prolific breeder, its young forms a large part of the food of our native mountain trout. T h e statement made so often of their being a destroyer of our trout by reason of their devouring the eggs at spawning time is, I find, a mere matter of conjecture and heresay. Investigation has shown that these Suckers are engaged in depositing their spawn in the shallow waters at about the same time as the native trout, and are not feeding but are actually filling the same beds of gravel with their own eggs and do not and could not eat the eggs of the trout without devouring their own. T h e real reason w h y they have increased so much in our mountain streams is that their natural enemies, the trout, have been caught out by men and the gentle S u c k e r allowed to remain. No, don't kill the Sucker but increase the trout and he will take care of the Sucker. Years ago, before man disturbed the balance in nature, the trout were in our streams in great numbers, and the Sucker was there too, but the trout were in the ascendency. N e w varieties of trout introduced into Colorado waters have shown no tendency to change their habit of spawning. Eighteen years of experience with the eastern brook trout, S. Fontanalis has failed to show any changes even at high altitudes. T h e y do spawn in the wild waters and their increase live and flourish. T h e proofs of this are ample. Hundreds of thousands of eggs are annually taken at Dr. L a w ' s hatchery near Leadville, in November, at an elevation of over 10,000 feet. I myself have recently taken and impregnated the eggs from these fish in the wild waters of E c h o �Lake, on November 25, 1890, at an elevation of 10,200 feet above sea level, and was an eye witness to their acts of depositing their own spawn in the gravel around the shallows of the lake. I make this extended note to confute the statements made by others whose assumption, rather than knowledge, guided the expression of their views. T h e growth of our native black spotted trout when placed in new waters is rapid, although they do not attain that exaggerated form so common to Fontanalis when supplied with all the food they can eat The European brook trout, Salmo. Fario, has shown excellent growth in Chalk Creek, in Chaffee county, and in the ponds of General John Pierce, in West Denver. Their spawning habit continues the same. T h e Rainbow, or California trout, S. Irridea, also an introduced variety, has made wonderful growth in our waters, and has given much satisfaction to the anglers; they, also, show no change in their period of spawning. Farther east these fish spawn several months earlier than in California, but here the conditions are more like those of their native waters and their habit remains the same. Our branch Hatcheries have been constructed with a view to propagate our native mountain trout, of which we have several varieties, all peculiar to the R o c k y Mountain region and in every way worthy of the attention of fish culturists, as they are not so shy of being fed as the eastern brook trout. T h e y being summer spawners, it is possible to carry on the operation of the hatchery at a season of the year when ice and snow do not interfere. T h e eggs of these fish will hatch in water of sixty degrees Fahrenheit in eighteen days. Fish culture, when undertaken in an intelligent manner, is profitable, but most people fail because they expect so much from a small area and so little outlay. Many seem to think that fish subsist largely upon water �when the truth is they need a large supply of food. Given plenty of room, the water will grow plant life in great abundance. T h i s growth of aquatic vegetation furnishes food for myriads of water insects upon which the fish feed. There are very few fish that live upon vegetation; even the Carp devours the filth that ignorant people throw into their ponds solely for the insect life that collects upon it. T h e Carp would not be such a maligned fish if it were placed in clean ponds where it had room and plenty of natural food. There are no desirable species of food fish that thrive upon either scenery, water, vegetation or filth. T o feed a vegetable food to a fish is the worst sort of ignorance. W h e n made to pass through their stomachs as food, it contributes so little to the formation of fish flesh that the product would cost many times more than the food. Hence there is no economy in it. Let the weeds or plants grow in your pond, as they are useful to feed the animal life upon which your fish feed. W h e n large numbers of fish are kept in ponds of small area they must be fed by other means than that afforded by the natural growth in the ponds. There is a growing demand upon the part of the people for information in regard to fish culture that should be supplied. In a country remote from the seaboard and large bodies of water where fish are to be had cheap, I see no reason why it is not profitable for farmers w h o employ water for irrigation to grow large numbers of fish, both for their own use and to sell. As an attraction to visitors for sport the trout fishing of our mountain streams and lakes yields an immense return to the people of our State. T h e railroads are directly benefited by this as evidenced by the thousands of people who take their annual outings to our fishing resorts. There is very little violation of our fish laws at present, still the angler loves too well to boast of the great number of trout he has killed in a single day. I �hope that this tendency will give place to a desire not to kill for the mere sake of killing, but to kill only for actual needs of the fish as food while in camp or at the resort. S C R E E N S FOR DITCHES. Reports still continue to come in about the destruction of fish in our irrigation canals, and as no one has made an actual trial of a suitable screen on those canals where the destruction is greatest, I am unable to present facts in regard to their efficiency; a trial alone will convince. From the fact that it is only a question of another season before all of the water flowing in our streams where this destruction is greatest will be used by the canals, I can see no use in placing screens at their headgates, as the trout would certainly perish by reason of their being held there in great numbers with no deep water to afford shelter or food. I believe that by making large dams on the streams above where the ditches are taken out, that the trout would not go below them, but remain in the deep waters all winter, where they would find both food and shelter, for that is all that impels them down stream at that season of the year. Thousands of them do find shelter in all our deep pools and natural lakes where they have access to and are not lost in the ditches. Irrigation is so much a necessity of our country that in time every drop of water will be used, and the placing of costly screens at the headgates would then be of no practical benefit. W e have enough trout waters above all our ditches to afford good angling for all time to come if properly cared for. On the R i o Grande alone there are more than a hundred miles of trout waters above Del Norte and the great canals. �ESTIMATE OF FUNDS AND AT DENVER NEEDED HATCHERY, 1891. $ 1,ooo oo 600 00 1,000 00 . . . 1,00000 500 00 500 00 Improvements needed in order to keep pace with the growth of the business, additional water supply and hatching apparatus . . . Total HATCHERY, $ 4,600 00 3,000 00 $ 7,600 00 1892. Superintendent, salary $ 1,000 oo Assistant, salary 600 00 Expenses fish food, fuel, extra labor, etc., . . . 1,500 00 Expenses of distribution 2,00000 Expenses of Fish Commissioner . . . . . 500 00 Salary of Fish Commissioner 500 co 1 Total $ T W I N LAKES 6,100 00 13,700 00 HATCHERY, 1891. Improvements needed, hatching apparatus, feeding boxes, food, etc $ 2,500 Superintendent, salary 900 Assistant, during hatching season 600 Cost of distribution of fish 1,000 Total 00 00 00 00 • • • 5 5 , o o o 00 TWIN LAKES HATCHERY, Superintendent, salary . . . . . . Assistant, during hatching season . . Cost of distribution of fish . Fish food Total 1891 1892. Superintendent, salary Assistants, salary Expenses, fish food, fuel, etc Expenses of distribution to public waters Expenses of Fish Commissioner Salary of Fish Commissioner . . . DENVER FOR 1S92. . . .$ 1,500 900 00 600 00 00 100 00 $ 3,100 00 . . $ 8,100 00 �ESTIMATE OF FUNDS GUNNISON NEEDED—CONCLUDED. H A T C H E R Y , 1891. Supurintendent, salary Assistant, during hatching season Cost of distribution . Fish food . . $ 900 00 600 00 1,000 00 250 00 Total $ 2,750 00 GUNNISON HATCHERY, Superintendent, salary Assistant, during hatching season . . . . Cost of distribution . . Fish food, etc Total 1892. 900 600 1,200 500 00 00 00 00 $ $ 3,200 00 $ 5,950 00 In the foregoing the improvements asked for will enable the Commissioners to place in the public waters of the State more than three millions of trout. This will not only contribute a vast amount of fish food for the people at a nominal cost, but will tend to attract to our mountain resorts great numbers of visitors who come here for the sport of angling and spend with our people thousands of dollars to defray their actual expenses. T h e expenditure of the small sum asked for at the end of two years will bring back returns far greater than a like sum expended for any other purpose. The experience of the Commissioner goes to show that the small sum of $500 allowed him for actual expenses while engaged in the service of the State is wholly inadequate to enable him to visit and encourage fish propagation over so vast a territory as that embraced within the State, covering one hundred and four thousand square miles. Given a reasonable sum for the purpose, the Commissioner could visit the many sections of our State and instruct and encourage the people in fish propagation and protection. T h e position is one that should not be a sinecure, but a real field of usefulness, as it �tends towards the increase of a vast food supply. Our State has the water and the fish food and by proper means can grow the fish. GORDON LAND, Fish Commissioner. � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/19b8ca4e9dba070165df95b8a106f7f9.pdf f0762b7e88a4064d035216cd05309096 PDF Text Text BIENNIAL R E P O R T OF THE STATE FISH COMMISSIONER OF THE STATE OF COLORADO Y E A R S THE 1891 A N D DENVER, C O L O R A D O : S M I T H - B R O O K S PRINTING CO., S T A T E 1892 1892 PRINTERS �BIENNIAL R E P O R T OF THE STATE FISH COMMISSIONER OF THE STATE OF COLORADO FOR YEARS THE 1891 THE AND DENVER, C O L O R A D O : S M I T H - B R O O K S PRINTING CO., STATE 1892 1892 PRINTERS �LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. To His EXCELLENCY, J O H N L. R O U T T , Governor of the State of Colorado: SIR — I have the honor to submit, herewith, m y report for the years 1891-1892. T h e work of the Fish Commission during the past two years has been very satisfactory in its results, since every effort has met with a marked measure of success; not only have the growth and introduction of trout into new waters shown the wisdom of such planting, but the people have realized, in many instances, direct and substantial benefits much sooner than was expected. Each year the demand for trout to stock either new or depleted waters has grown beyond the ability of the present State Hatcheries to supply. So urgent and interested have the people become in their desire to obtain a stock of fish for the available waters of the many sections they represent, that it is with pleasure I place before you the manifest needs of this, growing and desirable branch of the public service. Fish culture is no longer an uncertain field of labor, nor is it an occupation fit only for the award of some political favor, but replete with a broad and ever increasing opening for the exercise of intelligent skill and impartial judgment. I find so much to do in order to properly provide for the needs of the State in this desirable industry, that I deprecate T H E UNWISE ACTION that prompted the last General Assembly to impose the added duties of a Game Warden upon the Department of Fish Culture, and ask that you recommend the immediate repeal of the entire Act relating to Game and Fish Wardens, as the experience of the past two �years has shown that such a law is a complete failure in its present form. So imperfect and crude an act rarely finds a place upon the pages of even frontier legislation. T h e experience has been costly, the damage to our game interests great. T h e utter inefficiency of local wardens, who are influenced by their surroundings and governed by their friendships, the unwillingness upon the part of those who live in remote sections of the State to inform upon their neighbors, or in any way aid in the enforcement of laws for the protection of the game that they believe is solely to benefit the tourist and city sportsmen, and, finally, when these people who are in every other regard honest, upright, intelligent and law-abiding citizens, witness, as they do every succeeding year, the wholesale k i l l i n g of our four-footed game by skin-hunters and Indians, I am only surprised that they do not kill more than they find convenient for their winter's use. Whatever the game laws may be for the needs of the future, the rights of those who occupy a place on the confines of our western wilds should not be forgotten. I would like to ask that BOUNTY no LAWS be passed that embrace a premium on either bear or mountain lions. T h e claim made that these animals are particularly destructive to both stock and game is not well founded, since in the case of game, as is well known, the deer, antelope and elk existed in far greater abundance w h e n there were no such laws than they do now ; and as for the k i l l i n g of stock by mountain lions, I am of the opinion that the worthless beings, I will not call them men, who pursue and hunt these animals with dogs solely for the reward, are far more destructive to the live stock interests than are these solitary beasts of prey. A s for the wolves and coyotes, I am led to advocate for the sake of the sheep and cattle interests, the passage of an act g i v i n g a greater bounty, and one in w h i c h the punching of a clear cut hole in each ear of the scalps presented, shall serve as a sufficient cancellation, and thereby allow of the skins and scalps being subsequently sold entire, thus enhancing their value to the hunter. �S T A T E FISH COMMISSIONER. 5 I do not desire to be understood as advocating the abandonment of any form of protection of our fourfooted game, but rather favor the enactment of such RESTRICTIVE LAWS as shall tend to make their enforcement less difficult and provide a State Game and Fish Warden whose supervision shall extend over the entire State, and who shall have power to arrest without warrant until such process can be had at the proper place, and also be authorized to seize all illegally killed game and confiscate and dispose of the same for the benefit of the game and fish interests, and above all things, provide him with funds to defray his necessary expenses and not expect him to use his meager salary for such purpose, as is now the case with the stupid law that at present mars our statutes. I do not favor a law that will call for such a number of wardens as that now in force, it is not necesary; nor do I favor the enactment of a law that will create districts, for that calls for patronage and political preferment, and the past experience has shown that such local officials are of little use. The State has not the money to spare to support such an army of paid partisans, nor is it necessary. One well paid officer or State Marshal, with two deputies, can, if the proper man is selected, enforce the game and fish laws over the entire State, he having no fixed section in which to reside and become too well known. Such an officer would command the respect of the people and render violations of the game laws extremely hazardous. My report in detail, which is to follow this outline, will show many points of interest to the general public, the angler and the huntsman. In concluding this brief mention of the work entailed, I beg to submit for your approval and recommendation the real need of as liberal an appropriation as the merits of this branch of the public service deserves. Very truly, GORDON State Fish December 14, 1892. LAND, Commissioner. �STATE FISH HATCHERIES. TROUT PROPAGATION. T h e location of a trout propagating establishment that is intended to grow y o u n g fish in large numbers for distribution in the various streams and lakes of the State, should a l w a y s be placed w h e r e an abundant supply of pure, cold, non-freezing water can be had, and, also, w h e r e the means of ready transportation is available. T h e r e is y e t another requirement, and that is a never-failing supply of suitable food to feed the v o t i n g fish. O n l y experience can impress upon the minds of those w h o seek to g r o w trout upon a large scale, the actual needs of the conditions here noted. D u r i n g the time I h a v e held the office of State F i s h Commissioner I h a v e been importuned b y many persons to establish State F i s h Hatcheries in the various sections k n o w n to each writer. I am unable to recall a single instance w h e r e any of the places mentioned had even one of the prime requisites to j u s t i f y its selection. A proper location for such a purpose must needs possess all three of the essentials outlined. T h i s is imperative ; and it is due to the lack of these features that failure has so often attended the efforts directed towards the propagation of trout in m a n y places, both east and west. An intimate k n o w l e d g e of w h a t is most desirable for the production of the best possible results has prevented me from m a k i n g selections that m i g h t prove disastrous, and hence it is, that w i t h the m e a g e r means at m y disposal I have been enabled to send out to the waters of the State so large a number of desirable food fish. T h e several State F i s h Hatcheries are in e x c e l l e n t shape for the conduct of the necessary work outlined for the c o m i n g season. T h e demand from all sections of the vast territory to be supplied, is such, that double, or even quadruple the present outlook is needed in order to meet it and place at the disposal of the people a desirable �food supply, that lends the added charm of angling, and that will grow in lake or stream with no outlay or effort other than the trifling cost and trouble of planting. T h e expense to the people of the State for the annual introduction of from one and one-half to two millions of young trout into the depleted or barren water of our lakes and streams is less than two cents per capita of the entire population, as shown by the census of 1890. T h e demand is so great and the results already obtained so satisfactory, that a more liberal fund placed at the disposal of this most important industry would inure as a public benefit and place fish culture where it properly belongs, as an established branch of the State service. T h e business of fish propagation can be more certainly carried to a successful issue as it is now understood, than the propagation or growing of either sheep or cattle or of any other domestic animal. W h a t is needed is an abundant supply of suitable water and food and the requisite knowledge necessary to perform the work. T h e need of more water at the State Hatchery near Denver is urgent and should be obtained at once. A l l that will be required for many years to come can be readily had by extending the head of the present ditch or flow-line up along the base of the bluff and draw from the under-flow that now runs to waste in the channel of the marsh or slough close by. T h i s can best be done by piping from a system of wells or galleries that should be placed at the head and so arranged that at any time the supply could be increased at moderate cost when needed for an increased business. T h i s will be sure to follow, as the Denver station will continue to grow in importance on account of its nearness to all lines of transportation and the cheap food supply for the fish while being grown to a suitable size for introduction into the lakes and streams. T h e branch hatcheries, located at T w i n lakes and Gunnison, are used at present for summer work on account of the coldness of the water supply during the w i n t e r ; though by proper outlay, both of these stations could be made available for winter work. However, they are placed where most excellent results can be had �during the summer months, when our native trout are s p a w n i n g ; and I will ask, that each of these stations be provided with enough funds to enable the person in charge to produce the full capacity of each hatchery. WORK OF DISTRIBUTION, 1891. DISTRIBUTION April 9 OF T R O U T F R Y FROM D E N V E R H A T C H E R Y DURING 1 8 9 1 . STATE In South Platte, eight miles above station 6 cans the Poudre river above Fort Collins 6 cans A p r i l 22 In the B i g T h o m p s o n above Loveland 6 cans April 25 In the Platte at Buffalo station 6 cans April 29 In the Platte near Slaghts 6 cans May 1 In the Platte near Buffalo station 6 cans May 5 In Clear creek above E m p i r e 6 cans May 7 In Clear creek near Georgetown 4 cans June 15 In Clear creek near Georgetown 4 cans J u n e 17 In E l k creek near Pine Grove 2 cans J u n e 20 In t h e Platte at Baily station 2 cans June 22 In Platte at G r a n t station, y e a r l i n g trout 4 cans June 30 In Platte at Buffalo station, y e a r l i n g trout 4 cans April 23 In the South A r k a n s a s near Salida 6 cans April 20 In A p r i l 28 In May 2 In the Cottonwood near Buena Vista 6 cans Horse Creek and tributaries, sixty-five miles east of Colorado S p r i n g s 10 cans June 8 In Palmer l a k e 4 cans June 10 In Prospect l a k e 4 cans June 12 In Monument l a k e near M o n u m e n t station 2 cans June 14 Near Husted on M o n u m e n t creek 2 cans June 26 Near S a g u a c h e in Saguache creek 6 cans April 9 In Republican river near W r a y , Colorado—Brook trout 6 cans A p r i l 26 In North St. Vrain near L y o n s — B r o o k trout 6 cans June 9 In Estes p a r k streams, 6 c a n s Brook trout, 2 c a n s Cali- June 23 In South St. V r a i n near L y o n s — B r o o k trout fornia trout. 6 cans Distribution of Native trout from the T w i n Lakes State Hatchery during 1891: From 100,000 eggs placed in the hatchery, 75,000 trout fry were obtained and placed in the lakes and in L a k e creek. �Distribution of Native trout from Hetzer's lake in Middle park to the streams of North park during 1891: Grizzly creek and Illinois creek received 150,000. Total trout fry distributed from the State Fish Hatcheries, 1891, 685,000. WORK OF DISTRIBUTION, 1892. DISTRIBUTION FROM D E N V E R H A T C H E R Y , T R O U T FRY. March 28 In Prospect lake, near Colorado Springs, Brook trout.. 8 cans April 1 In Surface creek, near Delta, Brook trout 6 cans April 10 In West Plum creek, near Perry p a r k 6 cans April 16 In streams near Trinidad, 4 cans Brook, 2 cans Cali- April 16 T o G. O. Shafer, D e n v e r . April 29 In the A r k a n s a s , near Salida, 4 cans Brook, 2 cans Cali- April 29 In the Cottonwood, near Buena Vista, 4 cans Brook, 2 May 3 In L a k e San Cristobal, near L a k e City, 4 cans Brook, 2 M a y 10 In P a l m e r lake, Brook trout 2 cans May 10 In M o n u m e n t creek, Brook trout 4 cans fornia fornia c a n s California c a n s California 6 cans 1 can 6 cans 6 cans 6 cans M a y 12 In S a g u a c h e creek, near Moffat, Brook trout 6 cans May 17 In West Plum creek, near Sedalia, Brook trout 4 cans May 17 In South A r k a n s a s near Salida, 6 cans Brook; 2 cans April 9 In the Platte river near Pine Grove 6 cans April 8 In the Platte near Buffalo 7 cans A p r i l 12 In Deer creek near Baily Station 8 cans Buffalo creek above station 6 cans A p r i l 23 In E l k creek near Pine Grove 6 cans A p r i l 27 In the Platte near Estabrook, 2 cans Brook, 2 cans California A p r i l 23 In California A p r i l 27 In stream near Buffalo Scans 4 cans 6 cans April 28 In S n a k e river near Dillon, 3 cans; one can at Webster, April 30 In Goose creek above Buffalo Station April 30 In the Platte, Rainbow trout 2 cans May 4 In Craig creek near Estabrook 4 cans 011 the Platte river May 14 In the Boulder creek, 5 cans Brook, 2 cans Rainbow 4 cans 6 cans 7 cans �May iS In the Poudre river, 6 cans Brook, 2 cans Rainbow M a y 23 Brook trout t a k e n to Leadville, exchanged with Dr. May 23 In Crestone c r e e k near Moffat, Brook trout L a w for Native trout June 2 In 8 cans 6 cans 6 cans streams near Leadville, 6 cans Brook, 2 cans California 8 cans June 12 In Clear creek, Chaffee Co., Brook trout 4 cans June 14 In South A r k a n s a s , near Salida, Brook trout 6 cans June 21 In June 22 Boss lake, near Salida, Brook trout 6 cans In the head waters of the A n i m a s river, near D u r a n g o , 6 cans Brook. 2 cans California July S In July 8 In 8 cans streams near Del Norte, 4 cans Brook, 2 cans California 6 cans South A r k a n s a s , near Salida, 3 cans Brook, 1 can California 4 cans July 8 In T w i n lakes, near Granite, 3 cans Brook, 1 can Cali- July 22 In the Upper Conejos c r e e k , Brook trout 6 cans M a y 19 In Boulder canon, 5 cans Brook, 1 can Rainbow 6 cans fornia May 20 In May 21 In May 26 In 4 cans Chicago creek, near Idaho Springs, 5 cans Brook, 1 can California South Platte, 7 cans Brook, 1 can California 6 cans 8 cans Platte and Craig creek, 5 cans Brook, 2 cans California 7 cans May 28 In L a k e Edith, 5 cans Brook, 1 can California 6 cans 6 cans May 31 In South Boulder, near Black H a w k June 6 In Platte, near South Platte, 4 c a n s Brook, 2 c a n s Cali- June 7 In Platte, near Slaght's, 4 cans Brook, 2 c a n s Cali- June 8 In Clear creek, near Georgetown, 4 cans Brook, 2 c a n s June ri In Bear c r e e k , above Morrison, 5 cans Brook, 1 can fornia fornia California California June 18 In 6 cans 6 cans 6 caus b cans Jefferson lake, in s o u t h Park, 4 cans Brook, 2 c a n s California 6 cans J u n e 24 In upper Platte, near Webster 6 cans J u n e 25 In North Poudre, above Fort Collins 6 cans J u n e 28 J u n e 29.: July 5 July 11 In North Boulder, above Boulder City In In In 4 cans lakes at head w a t e r s of T e n Mile, near Robinson. .. 6 cans head waters of Bear c r e e k , 3 cans Brook, 1 can California July 11 6 cans streams near A l m a 4 cans In South St. V r a i n above Boulder, 5 cans Brook, 1 c a n California 6 cans �July 20 In head waters of Poudre river, 5 cans Brook, 1 can July 25 August 24 In B i g T h o m p s o n above I.oveland In E c h o l a k e near Idaho Springs, 2 cans California, August 24 In l a k e s near Idaho Springs, 2 cans California, 2 cans May 3 In L a k e George, 4 cans Brook, 2 c a n s California 6 cans May 3 May 20 In Hay creek near Lake George, Brook trout In stream near Hartzel, Brook trout 2 cans 6 cans May 28 In Monument reservoir near Woodland p a r k . Brook May 28 In stream near Green M o u n t a i n falls, California trout 1 August 27 In stream near Cascade, Native trout 2 cans California 6 cans 2 c a n s Native 4 cans 4 cans Native 4 cans trout 6 cans can August 27.. In Fountain in Manitou. Brook trout 1 can August 30 In stream, fountain station, Brook trout 4 cans Sept. 16 In Grizzly lake, near Buena Vista, Brook trout 4 cans DISTRIBUTION OF T R O U T F R Y FROM T W I N L A K E S H A T C H E R Y DURING 1892. Placed in the hatchery about 600,000 eggs. 500,000 were hatched, and 400,000 fry were placed in the T w o lakes and in L a k e creek, and about 100,000 brought to the Denver Hatchery and part of them distributed from there and a small stock kept on the place. Total output of Native trout for the year, 500,000. GUNNISON HATCHERY. T h e hatchery located at Gunnison had such a small fund available for use, that I had the place improved by the individual labor of the superintendent in charge, at such times as he could devote to the work apart from his duties while engaged in the care and handling of the fish. So efficient has been the services rendered by this skillful and industrious man, that with an annual appropriation of only twelve hundred dollars, out of which �sum all expenses, even his salary, had to be paid, the State has to-day a trout hatchery in perfect w o r k i n g order, that needs only the stock of eggs to place it among the profitable producing establishments of its class. T h e output of this station during the past two years has been 165,000 trout fry, the lack of funds alone preventing a better result. Still the fact that by reason of only one person being employed a delay has been occasioned does not reflect upon the possibilities of the plant nor prevent its being used to most excellent advantage the present season. I regard this station as one possessing many advantages, that only demands a moderate outlay to demonstrate. T h e distribution from this plant was necessarily confined to local waters. In summing up the work for the year 1892, the results show, that in addition to the labor and cost of construction, at the several stations, there have been deposited in the waters of the State a stock of food fish to aggregate 1,784,500. Were only one third of these to live to attain the weight of four ounces each there would be a gross product, as a food supply, of over 140,000 pounds of fish. Experience has shown a better growth in most instances. One hundred fish taken from U n e v a lake on the T e n Mile in Summit County, that did not contain a fish of any kind prior to their introduction two and one-half years ago, were weighed and the gross w e i g h t exceeded three hundred pounds. One female from this lot yielded by actual count, over 5,500 eggs. T h e variety here noted was the Eastern Brook Charr—Salvelinus Fontinalis. In Jefferson lake on the main range near Kenosha in Park County, even greater growth has been known in the same period. In fact in every section the result of planting has been most encouraging. In the North park and in the Laramie river, Rainbow trout have been taken that weighed over five pounds. These are waters that were never k n o w n to contain trout of any kind, and as the specimens taken were all introduced varieties, no doubt can exist as to their growth ; it being well known that neither the Eastern Brook nor the Rainbow trout are indigenous to this region. A t Wellington lake, an entirely new body of water that was �formed by the construction of a dam across a natural chasm about two years ago, has proved to be a splendid place for the growth of trout. Recently over 900,000 eggs of the S. Fontinalis were taken from the parent fish grown at this place. T h i s evidence, I trust, will set at rest the insane story started by misinformed persons that the Brook trout do not deposit their spawn in our mountain streams and lakes. A t Black lake, the property of Gen'l A. H. Jones, located on the slope of Mount Powell in Summit County, the development of all the varieties of trout is something marvellous. T h i s perfection of a lake presents in the month of June an exhibition of trout engaged in depositing their eggs at both outlet and inlet that would repay a journey across the range to see. Here I found the California Rainbow trout paired with the Black Spotted Natives. I took both eggs and milt from either variety and impregnated several pans of the eggs to be sure that I was not in error as to their identity. T h i s cross will prove most interesting to fish culturists ; as they belong to the same species the crosses will not prove to be mules or hybrids. A t Hetzer's lake near the edge of the North park and close to the Rabbit Ear range of mountains, is still another evidence of what may be done by stocking a barren lake. In this instance, the trout introduced were our own Black Spotted R o c k y Mountain fish, that have a friend in every Colorado angler, whether it be to please the taste as food or take the fly as sport. I found these fish engaged in depositing their spawn at the inlet (I will here note that this lake has 110 visible outlet, but its surplus water leaches through the natural wall that forms its outline on the north and east, in well defined and numerous springs) in the month of June in such great numbers that it was easy to obtain all the eggs needed. T h e fish were quite large and in most perfect condition, both male and female. A few years before my visit, this lake was a barren body of water not having in it a fish of any kind. T h e great abundance of insect life that was everywhere present showed that what it lacked was fish; these, Mr. Hetzer and others supplied by carrying them alive from the waters of a neighboring stream; at the same time, in their eagerness to stock the lake, they took with �the larger fish what they thought were young trout and placed them into the l a k e ; this was building better than they knew, for they were actually supplying to the future fish a perfect food in the form of the little D u l c i s minnow, that never grow large, but are very prolific and as they subsist upon food so small that the trout ignore it, they, in turn, serve as food for the larger and more predaceous trout. There is a tiny scarlet insect so abundant upon the surface of this lake that at times the color effect is most noticeable. STOCKING THE PUBLIC WATERS. In stocking the lakes and streams of the State with trout, it has been deemed best to place such fish in those waters that were either entirely barren of fish life of any kind or had become so depleted from excessive fishing as to demand their re-stocking. In selecting waters for this purpose I paid due regard in the order of priority to those places h a v i n g suitable waters and the greater population, or whose needs were shown by the annual rush of visitors who sought the resorts mostly for the attractions of angling. Still this consideration did not deter me from placing a few fish of a new variety in waters that were reasonably well stocked naturally. I did this in order to gain a start and learn from an actual trial the desirability of a further plant w h e n opportunity should occur. T h e only apology I feel like offering to those w h o fancy they were neglected in the general distribution is that the paucity of the fund available for the purpose precluded the possibility of my so doing. I have, however, kept a record of their needs and shall endeavor to have their wants supplied from the output of another season. There are so many places to be stocked and the results to be obtained are so full of promise that I would ask the members of the Ninth General Assembly to accord to fish culture as liberal an appropriation as the possible benefits to be derived would warrant. �T h e very general interest manifested by the whole people in this branch of the State's enterprise is so marked that it has afforded an added incentive to renewed effort in order to satisfy their demands. I have found every possible aid extended to those h a v i n g live fish in charge from interested persons in every section of the State; in many instances the people have borne the entire expense of planting the fish into the public waters, and from both railways and express companies I have had every facility placed at m y disposal. T h e r e seemed to be no politics in fish; partisan preferences were either ignored or forgotten; it was a people's movement without regard to the issue. Information has been given at the several State Hatcheries to all who sought it, in relation to the care and propagation of fish, and, j u d g i n g from the accumulation of correspondence at my office on the subject, the people evidently believe that the State pays for a free bureau of information that includes the services of a typewriter; but, unfortunately, my office is not so favored, not even a homely one with Titian hair. T h e r e is at this date in the trays of the Denver hatchery, over 850,000 eggs of one variety of trout and there are two other varieties yet to spawn. Information as to feeding and the care of y o u n g fish will be cheerfully g i v e n ; also, any information on the subject to those who desire it, by direct application to the Commissioner. T h e attempt to introduce it here would entail an amount of space beyond the limits of this report. N e w varieties of fish for Colorado waters are needed and I have taken steps to obtain them the presen season. �ESTIMATE OF FUNDS NEEDED FOR 1893-1894. A T DENVER H A T C H E R Y , 1893. Superintendent's Salary $1,000 00 Assistant's Salary 600 00 E x p e n s e s , fish food, fuel, horse food, etc 1,000 00 Expenses, distribution to public waters 1,000 00 Expenses, Fish Commissioner 500 00 Salary, Fish Commissioner 500 00 Improvements needed to supply an increased business, additional w a t e r supply and feeding flumes 2,500 00 Total $7,100 00 A T DENVER H A T C H E R Y , Superintendent's Salary 1894. $1,000 00 Assistant's Salary 600 00 E x p e n s e s , fish food, fuel, labor, etc : 1,200 00 E x p e n s e s of distribution, increased output 1,500 00 Salary of Commissioner 5°° E x p e n s e s of Commissioner 5°° 00 Total for two y e a r s TWIN L A K E S $12,400 $ 5.300 00 00 HATCHERY—1893. Superintendent's Salary Assistant's Salary Cost of distribution Improvements, fish food, horse food, etc Total 00 $9°° 00 60000 500 00 1,000 00 $3,ooo 00 �TWIN LAKES HATCHERY—1894. Superintendent's Salary $900 00 Assistant's Salary 60000 Cost of distribution, increased stock 800 00 Repairs, improvements, fish food, etc 1,000 00 3,300 00 Total for two years GUNNISON $6,300 00 HATCHERY—1893. Superintendent's Salary $90000 Assistant's Salary 60000 Improvements, h a t c h i n g boxes, etc 2,00000 Fish food and distribution 1,000 00 Total $4 500 00 GUNNISON Superintendent's Salary HATCHERY—1894. $900 00 Assistant's Salary 600 00 Cost of distribution 500 00 Fish food, fuel, extra labor, etc 500 00 Total for t w o y e a r s $2,500 00 $7,000 00 In submitting the estimate for the next two years I am convinced that with such capacity as the State will then have available for fish production, the outlay is one in which the people of the State derive a direct benefit, inasmuch as it is generally conceded that the actual value, taken solely as a food supply, is sufficient to justify the expenditure, as it will place into the public waters more than four millions of fish annually, where they can grow and w a x fat for the use of the people. T h i s expense will not tax the population of Colorado more than two cents per inhabitant. �THE GAME AND FISH WARDENS. a n y t h i n g but satisfactory in the matter of game and fish protection, owing mainly to the lack of means for its proper enforcement and the many imperfections in our present laws. There are so many manifest errors, I would ask that the entire law relating to our four-footed game b e repealed and a new and less difficult law enacted in its stead. It will require legal skill and ability as well as a complete knowledge of the needed requirements and conditions to formulate a law that will prove satisfactory. I do not favor a law that will permit of the k i l l i n g of animals of the deer kind as early as the month of July. A law should be enacted to restrict or prevent the traffic in game, hides, heads and horns. Also a means provided whereby persons desiring to take alive animals of the kind mentioned for domestication, should be required to obtain a permit before so doing, and thus put a check upon the business of capturing such animals in large numbers solely for sale to the first w i l l i n g purchaser. T h i s has grown to be such an abuse that more than ninety head of elk have been so disposed of this season in Routt County alone, while the capture of y o u n g deer and antelope is a regular business. N o other State permits of this abuse. T h e forming of the State into game districts is an error, and m y experience with local wardens has been such, as to protest against any law that provides for their appointment. In only two instances have wardens, under the present law, proved efficient and untiring in their sevice to the State. I will mention one, Mr. C. H. Withington, who took charge of the Third District at the outset and taking with h i m his own horses and spending his own money, enduring the privations and hardships of exposure in the field at all seasons and under all the trying circumstances presented, this intelligent, honest and fearless man has kept his large game district so free from game law violations, that it has convinced me that the State can secure better results from �one good, clear-headed man, who is intelligent enough to know when and how to act, than from an army of less capable persons. T h e laws that finally passed the last General Assembly were so cut to peices by amendments as to render most of them inoperative. T h i s has so hampered all efforts to enforce them, that the best I can say of the result shown from the experience of paid wardens, is, that it has served to direct attention to the fact that we have game and that it is being destroyed and shipped both to markets within and beyond the State, and that the remedy is in better laws and a better means for their enforcement. T h i s interest is so large that it will engage the entire attention of the State Game and Fish Warden, and should not be, as now, an added duty of the Fish, Commisssoner, whose whole time is taken by the growing needs of Fish Culture over so vast a territory as that embraced within the limits of this State. � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/8a5a0b9f8dfe910b77f0d9a8ffd69f02.pdf 435895cf8d576a542ee8e3c82a89d3f2 PDF Text Text BIENNIAL REPORT State Fish Commissioner - G a m e Warden COLORADO 1893 AND 1894. W . R. CALLICOTTE, Fish C o m m i s s i o n e r a n d G a m e Warden. D E N V E R , COLORADO: T H E SMITH-BROOKS P R I N T I N G CO., S T A T E 1894 PRINTERS �BIENNIAL REPORT OF T H E State Fish Commissioner - G a m e Warden OF COLORADO FOR 1893 AND 1894. W . R. CALLICOTTE, Fish C o m m i s s i o n e r a n d G a m e Warden. D E N V E R , COLORADO: T H E SMITH-BROOKS PRINTING- CO., S T A T E P R I N T E R S 1894 �OFFICERS OF THE State Fish Commission and G a m e W a r d e n s . W. R . CALLICOTTE, Fish Commissioner and Game Warden, Denver, salary, $1,200.00. C. M. WHITE, Deputy Warden, Grand Junction, salary, $1,200.00. W M . CARDNELL, F. E. MOODY, Deputy Warden, Glenwood Springs, salary, $1,200.00. Deputy Warden, Monte Vista, salary, $1,200.00. T. A. CALLICOTTE, A. F . ABBOTT, Superintendent of Hatcheries, Denver. Assistant Superintendent, Denver. JAMES BRUNER, Assistant Superintendent, Twin Lakes. J . W. CURTIS, Assistant Superintendent, Gunnison. F . H. SARLES, Assistant Superintendent, Durango. Salaries, $50.00 to $75.00 per month. Numerous Special Game and Fish Wardens have been appointed as the necessity seemed to warrant. �REPORT. TO D A V I S H. WAITE, Governor of the State of Colorado: The State Fish Commissioner and Game Warden presents herewith his biennial report of operations, covering the period from April 1, 1893, to April 1, 1895: Your commissioner entered upon his duties April 5, 1893. A t this date the state had three fish hatcheries—one located near the Platte river, eight miles from Denver; one located near Twin Lakes, four miles from Granite Station, and eighteen miles from Leadville; and one at Gunnison City, in Gunnison county. The difficulties with which we undertook the work seemed almost insurmountable. There were but few stock fish with which to begin the work. W e mean by stock fish, fish of sufficient age and size to produce eggs. There were no reports giving data with regard to difficulties to be overcome at the various locations of hatcheries. These had to be learned by experience at the several stations. With all the fine locations for trout hatcheries that might have been secured, it seems incredible that such poor locations have been made; not one seems made with the judgment that should have been used by men versed in trout culture. With the amount of money expended the state should now be able to produce at least five millions of fish per year. �Public sentiment was not in sympathy with the work. There seemed to be an idea that the business was conducted in the interest of a few sporting men from Denver, and other cities in and out of the state. At Twin Lakes this feeling was so marked that it became necessary to guard the traps for catching spawners by day and by night to prevent their threatened destruction by the citizens. I am satisfied that much of this opposition is but a just criticism upon the former commissioner. A fish commissioner who spends a great portion of his time wining and dining with sportsmen and tourists, and who is constantly accepting their courtesies cannot expect a public sentiment among the masses different from what I found it on my inception into office. When the mass of people understand the real benefits of trout propagation, their co-operation will be unanimous. In the natural way of reproduction, trout do not mature as much as 1 per cent, of their ova, while by artificial means we can hatch and plant at least, under proper conditions, 75 per cent, of the number of ova taken. After an experience of nine years in practical trout culture, I am satisfied that the rearing of trout can be made a success if the same attention be given it as is given to other successful enterprises. Suitable location with reference to water, food, transportation, and market are the essential features to success. Attendants who will give their entire time and attention to the business are essential. Trout culture will, in time, be one of the profitable industries of the state. W e have the finest of waters for trout, both in lakes and streams. In the early settlement of this country the settler found an abundance of trout in most of our streams and lakes. The idea that these waters would ever be depleted seemed impossible. �With the settlement came the sportsmen, the market fisher, the fish hog, the dynamiter, the sawmill, the placer, the ore mills, and the irrigation ditchs—all sources of destruction to fish. These have done their deadly work, until many of our streams have not a fish left to tell the sad story. The idea of preventing the destruction of the fishes, and the restocking of the streams by artificial means, has been successfully carried out. Many streams, almost depleted, have been restocked with new varieties and furnish thousands of trout for sport and food. The laws now in force are sufficient, if enforced, to cure most of the causes of trout destruction mentioned. Numerous arrests and convictions have been made during the last two years. This, with the constant planting of trout, has created a healthful publie sentiment in favor of enforcing the laws. When a stream or lake has been stocked, and artificial stocking practically demonstrated, the residents themselves will preserve the fish. In many cases samplers and reduction works could settle the material coming from their works with but little expense, and thus open up some of our best trout streams. Horizontal screens should be used at the head of irrigation ditches coming from trout streams. Trout fishing should not be authorized to begin before July 1, as the native trout are spawning in May and June. It should close November 1, as the Eastern brook trout spawn in November and December. The California trout spawns from January to May. I have taken spawn from this trout at the Denver hatchery as early as December 25; while at Twin Lakes I took it as late as June 1. The high altitude, and consequent low temperature, has extended the time for spawning until it so nearly corresponds with the native trout's spawning season that we have been �enabled to cross the two varieties. W e produced at Twin Lakes about 20,000 of this hybrid trout and planted them at that place. The introduced varieties, brook and California trout, have done well in Colorado waters. The Eastern brook grows rapidly and to a larger size than he does in his native Eastern home. His habit of remaining near the place of planting makes him a valuable trout for stocking streams largely used for irrigation. He may be planted above the point where ditches are taken out and will work up stream rather than down. The native mountain trout goes far up the mountain streams in the spring and returns to the lower waters in the fall. On his return is the time the ditches catch him. The California trout have made some phenomenal growths in Colorado. California trout planted in Rock creek, near Carbondale, one year ago, now weigh one-half pound. One caught in the Platte in North Park weighed eight pounds; this was a five-year-old fish. Numerous catches have been made of this fish in the Gunnison, running from one pound up to as high as ten pounds in weight. The largest caught was at Gunnison; it weighed ten and one-half pounds, and could not have been over six years old. He seems to be the most hardy and gamey fish we have. He does well in the waters at the Denver hatchery, where the brook and native trout will not live. The Eastern brook trout were affected in 1893 with an epidemic. This seemed to be a fungus growth which attacked the fish, soon causing death. Mr. J. M. Schaedler, of Aspen, in charge of Hallam Lakes; Mr. Grubb, of Carbondale; Mr. Fred Lammers, of Denver; the United States hatchery near Leadville, and the Denver State Hatchery lost fish from this cause. �I am satisfied that weak fish may be produced by breeding in from the same stock. I, therefore, secured 200,000 eggs from Massachusetts and planted the young fry in our streams. I also made an exchange with the Wyoming hatchery. The native trout at Sweet Water lake were attacked by a parasite, a small worm, just back of the forward fin, and many died from this cause. The demand for trout for public waters has exceeded the supply by at least 3,000,000. I am satisfied that the money expended in fish culture is well spent. It comes back to the people in the supply of food fish, healthful recreation and pleasure. The expenditure per annum amounts to about two cents per capita. Should one-half the trout planted in the last two years mature and reach an average of one-quarter of a pound in weight, the value at ten cents per pound would be $44,612.50. The expenditure amounted to but $15,000 for two years. Trout are worth fifty cents per pound in the retail markets of Denver. Black bass have done well in the lakes near Denver. W e have secured a number of spawners and placed them in the ponds at the Denver hatchery, W e also placed 1,000 yearlings in the slough or pond on state lands at the Denver plant. Carp have been secured from private parties and sent to those desiring them. These two families will propagate and do well only in the lower and warmer waters of the state. The bass should not be planted with trout as his cannibalistic habits will soon destroy the trout. The carp and bass may be placed in the same ponds as the young carp will be excellent food for the bass. The Denver hatchery should make an effort to propagate more extensively these two classes of fish. W e have furnished trout at 15 per 1,000 to private parties. All such sales were made from fish �belonging to private parties who had leased to the state their spawners, the state giving them one-third of the young fry. About 60,000 young fry and 80,000 ova were thus permitted to be sold through the state fish commission. This enabled the purchaser to get his fish at cost of production as the state shipped the eggs to nearest express office free. By this means the state was enabled to place the entire output in the public waters. I am satisfied that a system of leasing would economize in the propagation of fish, and could be made a source of encouragement to those who are beginning the work of fish culture. The state might offer various private plants a fixed sum for the production of 100,000 or more trout suitable for distribution. These could then be distributed by the commissioner at state expense. This would result in the establishment of numerous hatcheries and the state would get her fish at the same price, or less, than it does under the present method. I am satisfied that private plants would produce them at $3 per thousand. The state plants could be leased to private parties on a similar plan, the state receiving one-half or less for use of plant. If the fish commisson were given authority to prevent fishing in newly stocked lakes or streams, it would be much better for the fish interests. As the law now is, many of the yearling trout are caught and kept. By posting the streams stocked and closing them for two years the benefit to the state would be greatly increased. The stock of fish already planted in the state could be improved by securing ova from other states and thus infusing new blood. Following I give tables and the particulars with regard to the several hatcheries: �CAPACITY AND V A L U E OF HATCHERIES. Capacity Value Denver Hatchery 500,000 $10,000 _*State owns site T w i n Lakes 500,000 1,000 . State leases site Gunnison 500,000 2,000 . State leases site Durango 500,000 5.000 County owns site 1,000 .. State owns site Littleton $19,000 *Reverts to original owners when not used for fish purposes. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF THE PRODUCTION OF TROUT. During W. R. Callicotte's term, 1893-94— Denver Hatchery 1,000,000 Gunnison Hatchery T w i n Lakes Hatchery Durango 600,000 1,000,000 150,000 Now in Hatcheries 1,000,000 3,750,000 In 1891 and 1892 during Gordon Land's term, the total production was 1,784,500. Increased output for 1893-4, 1,965,500. The hatcheries have been put in condition to increase the output in the future. Cost of fish production and game protection, Gordon Land's term, 1891-2, $34,600; W. R. Callicotte's term, 1893-4, $27,000. COST OF PRODUCTION AND VARIETIES OF TROUT PRODUCED. Eastern Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontenalis) 2,500,000 Native Mountain Trout (Salmo mykiss) 1,000,000 California Trout (Salmo gairdneri shasta) 250,000 �The cost to the state of the production of trout to a suitable size for planting in the public waters, is as follows: During Land's term, 1891-2, cost $8.40 per thousand. During Callicotte's term, 1893-4, cost $4.00 per thousand. The value of trout produced estimated at $10 per thousand, is as follows: 1891-2, $17,840. 1893-4, $37,500. It will be seen that the increased output has resulted in a saving to the state of $19,660 in the two years closing in 1894, estimated at the above rate, which is a reasonable one for trout two or three months old. DENVER HATCHERY. In charge of T. A. Callicotte. Product 1,400,000. This plant is located nine miles from Denver, and one mile from Irondale. The water supply comes from the under-ground flow or springs along the bluff. The temperature is 54 to 56 Fahrenheit as it flows from the springs. It is somewhat alkaline. The supply is not sufficient to sustain but a few thousand adult trout. A better water supply may be obtained by a system of tiling, thus taking up the entire flow which goes to waste in the slough near by. Brook trout will not live longer than to two and threeyear-olds in these waters. They die at the spawning season, the most critical period of trout life. Native trout will not live in the waters. Seven hundred taken from Twin Lakes to this plant died in July after the water became warm. At this time the water reaches a temperature of 60 and above. I tried hatching and rearing natives in these waters, but all died as the water became warmed up to 60. �California trout do well here, and it is the only trout that should be kept in stock at this plant. This is an excellent plant for propagating bass and carp and a better stock should be kept here. The place is suited for hatching all varieties of trout, but the fish must be taken away to colder and better water if they are to be kept. I find the water is lacking in vitality both for eggs, allevin and fry. It will not hatch more than half the trout per tank that can be hatched in the mountains. In connection with the hatchery is a residence of six rooms, good stable and other improvements necessary for the superintendent and family. With this hatchery there has been a leased spring and hatching house. This lease has expired, and the improvements now belong to Mr. Broadwell, the lessee. During the last two years this hachery has been in charge of T. A. Callicotte, superintendent, and A. F. Abbott, assistant. Excellent work has been done, the hatchery having been worked to its greatest capacity. A few thousand young fish were lost because of the crowded condition of the hatching tanks at close of hatching season. One thousand black bass were purchased and placed in the large pond, but the high water in spring of 1894 carried most of them into the Platte river. New metallic trays have been substituted for the old trays with wooden frames. This prevents fungus and has enabled us to hatch a larger per cent, than has formerly been hatched. The eggs hatched at this plant were taken from Mr. Orahood's lake, Mr. W . R. Callicotte's lake, from trout kept in the ponds, and 200,000 were imported from Plymouth, Mass. The stronger fish were produced from the imported eggs and from eggs taken from Callicotte's plant near Aspen. �The advantages of this plant are a nearness to food supply and easy transportation facilities. A team is kept here by which, in a short time, any of the railway lines may be reached. By driving to the slaughter house, eight miles distant, a fresh food supply is obtained daily. I would suggest that the Littleton station be made a nursery and stock fish station auxiliary to the Denver plant. Many who have visited this plant during the past two years and know the excellent work done, and who have read the lies circulated by partisan newspapers and unscrupulous politicians, have been thoroughly convinced of the villainy used in political campaigns to gain votes. W e were compelled to do the work on a $7,000 appropriation for two years, with the added work at Littleton, while the former administration received $8,700 for doing less work. The auditor refused to allow us the full amount of the appropriation. LITTLETON SITE. This site was purchased for the amount of $300 appropriated by the Ninth General Assembly. It consists of about thirty acres of land lying along the Platte river, four miles above Littleton. It has excellent spring water of a proper temperature and quantity to hatch and rear trout. Your commissioner spent $300 from Denver hatchery fund in clearing and preparing the grounds for ponds. This plant should be prepared to hold stock fish, and for a nursery or feeding station for trout hatched at the Denver station. A hatchery could also be operated at the same time. A separate appropriation should be made for this station. �The Denver station having been cut down to $1,700 less than in the previous two years, there were no funds that could be used to further improve this place. TWIN LAKES HATCHERY. In charge of James Bruner, assistant. Product, 1,000,000 trout. This plant has the poorest location of any of the state hatcheries. It is situated one-half mile below the lower lake on ground leased of Mr. Decker. The water is conveyed from the surface of the lake, one-half mile, in a ditch; it, therefore, becomes so warm that trout are hatched in eighteen days. The trout hatched here are too weak to be transported, and, therefore, most of the hatch were planted in the lakes. The former weir and traps were cheap temporary affairs that went out with the rise of water in 1893. The state has no ponds here, but must depend upon capturing spawners from Lake creek. Nothing could be done here after the weir went out. I, therefore, sent one man to Hetzer's lake, in Middle park, to take eggs, another to my own ponds near Aspen, and I went myself to Sweetwater lake. W e were thus enabled to secure about 500,000 eggs all told. The travel and expense of securing eggs in this manner is too great to warrant its continuance. Feeling the necessity for a suitable weir and traps in the outlet to the lakes, I had constructed from plans of my own a permanent weir. The weir has an apron ten feet broad and a sloping dam seven feet from apron to bottom, all made of two-inch lumber covered with inch boards. The weir is made of half-inch iron rods, placed one-half inch apart. It works like a charm, capturing over 2,000 trout in �spring of 1894, from which we took half a million eggs. A watch house was also built for the attendant. The entire cost was .$600. This plant should be removed to a more suitable location for hatching and keeping fish. Mr. F. B. Hoelzer, who lives above the upper lake, has a most excellent location. He has three good ponds, a six-room frame dwelling, good stables, shop, a small hatchery, 160 acres of land, 500 spawners, 15,000 young fish. There is sufficient meadow land to feed a team, all fenced. He has given your commissioner an option on the entire plant for $3,500. This is a bargain and would make, with a small expenditure, not to exceed $1,000, the finest trout plant in the United States. The ponds and other necessary improvements are worth the price he asks for the entire plant. I would recommend its purchase and the immediate sale of the old log building, the present hatchery, and removal of the fixtures to this place. This is the best trout location in the state for securing native mountain trout. The lakes have an area of more than 2,000 acres, with an average depth of eighty-four feet. The removal of a natural obstruction two miles above the lakes would open up thirty miles of excellent spawning grounds. The state should secure a permanent site here before it is too late. More than half a million trout have been planted here within the last year, including brook, rainbow, native and hybrid. GUNNISON HATCHERY. ent. In charge of J. W . Curtis, assistant superintend- Product, 1,000,000 trout. This plant is located in Gunnison City, and is supplied with water from the underflow and from the �city water works. Temperature varies from 38 to 52 degrees. The water from the underflow will kill trout placed in it, but will hatch the eggs, and sustain the allevin to the time at which they begin to feed. By mixing the waters from the water works (Gunnison river) and the under flow, fish have been successfully produced. The water gets so cold that it takes the ova from one to four months to hatch. The Gunnison is liable to overflow the ponds it has in the past. The hatchery is a cheap frame building, 20x60, containing sixteen hatching tanks. One room affords the assistant quarters. The seven lots on which this building and improvements are located are leased for fish purposes. The state had no spawners, and it became necessary to rustle for eggs in order to do anything here. Through the kindness of Messrs. Hider and Hartman we have been able to make this plant a success. These gentlemen leased their fish for stripping purposes to the state, the state hatching the eggs and retaining two-thirds of the amount hatched. W e were also able to trap, catch and buy a number of spawners until, at present, the state is fairly well supplied with spawners at this plant. A breaking of one of the dams caused a loss of a fine lot of spawners. This plant has never been made a success until the past two years, owing to a lack of understanding the water, and of spawners. Not over 8,000 fish were produced, and these at the expense to the state of $2,700.00, or $337.50 per thousand. The plant is better for native trout hatching than for winter work. Mr. Curtis has made a success of this plant by his study and perseverence. He has remained up on cold nights keeping up fires, skimming off the mush ice, and thawing out the outlets with heated iron rods. �A much better location could be made in that locality where spring water of a uniform temperature and supply could be had, and a good plant made at less expense than at the present site. Galvanized iron hatching tanks have been used here with great success. No fungus is found on eggs or fish when hatched in these tanks. DURANGO HATCHERY. In charge of F. H. Sarles. Product, 350,00 trout. In accordance with the act of the Ninth General Assembly, your commissioner and the governor of the state selected as a site for this plant a spring brook and tract of land along the same, situated twelve miles from Durango and three miles from Hermosa Station, on the Silverton railway. The adaptability of these waters was indicated by the number of trout already there. The site is composed of about five acres of ground purchased by the county from Hon. J. W . Wallace, at a cost of $500. The amount was donated by the honorable county commissioners of La Plata county. The deed and contract are recorded in said county. The appropriation for this plant was $1,000 for the structure and $75 per month for the assistant. The building constructed is a frame, 38x42 feet, set on a stone wall three and one-half feet high. A shed room is built on one end, and a portion of the main building is set off as a bed room, affording living room for the superintendent. A pipe line of nearly 1,000 feet conducts the water to the hatchery. The water supply is also connected with the Animas river, thus affording ample supply to hold all the stock fish the state may need. This is an excellent location, and only needs a more liberal appropriation to make it second to none in the state. The auditor did not permit the use of �the full appropriation for this plant, hence, there is a deficiency of about $500 which the state owes Mr. F. H. Sarles for money expended in the construction. When the fixtures are all in, this plant will hatch 1,000,000 trout. Excellent work has been done here by Mr. H. M. McDill and by Mr. F. H. Sarles; the improvements are better and more permanent than at any other plant in the state, and have cost the state less money for similar work. The ponds have been supplied with young brook and rainbow trout, which will spawn when two and three years old. This plant is finely situated to supply the southwest with young trout. In this part of the state are many fine streams and lakes which need restocking. The citizens have manifested great interest in the enterprise, and are anxious to have the work continued. One hundred and fifty thousand brook trout were hatched the first year. The fish were kept in the hatching tanks for several months before distribution. A very small per cent, were lost in hatching, and the fish were healthful and strong from allevin to time of distribution. I hope that a liberal appropriation will be given this plant for the southwest. �ESTIMATE OF FUNDS NECESSARY FOR 1895-6. D E N V E R H A T C H E R Y , 1895. Superintendent's salary - Assistant's salary $1,000 oo - - 600 00 5°° 00 Fish feed, horse feed and repairs.. 5°° 00 Expense of fish commissioner 5 ° ° 00 Commissioner's salary — Water rent - Distribution of fish... Fish and ova from outside. — - 00 - — - 5 ° ° 00 — 00 1,000 $ Total 4,840 00 FOR 1896. Superintendent's salary $ 1,000 00 Assistant's salary 60000 Commissioner's salary 50000 Commissioner's expense 5°° 00 Fish feed, horse feed and expense 5°° 00 Water rent 2 Total... 4° 00 — $ 3 , 3 4 0 00 L I T T L E T O N S I T E , 1895. Assistant's salary $ Construction of ponds 9°° 00 1.500 00 For team, wagon and feed 600 00 Construction of hatchery 1,000 00 Total... - - $4,000 00 FOR 1896. Assistant's salary $90000 Fish and horse feed 500 00 Improvements 60000 Total - $2,000 00 T W I N L A K E S S T A T I O N , 1895. Assistant's salary $900 00 Fish feed and horse feed.. 500 00 For new location and improvements For a new hatching house Total..- 3,500 00 1,000 00 $5,900 00 �FOR 1896. 00 Assistant's salary Fish feed and horse feed 5°° ° ° For distribution 300 For improvements - _ . , Total 00 500 00 $2,200 00 G U N N I S O N S T A T I O N , 1895. Assistant's salary $9°° 00 Fish feed and horse feed 300 00 F o r improvements... 5°° For distribu 1 ion - Total... 00 300 00 08 - For 1896.. - 00 - D U R A N G O S T A T I O N , 1895. Superintendent's salary - Fish from outside $900 00 - 300 00 Team, wagon and horse feed 500 00 Fish feed and distribution of trout 300 00 Balance on construction from 1894 500 00 Stable, ponds and dams 1,000 00 Total - l3,5oo oo F O R 1896. Superintendent's salary $ 900 00 Fish feed and horse feed 300 00 Distribution of trout 300 00 Improvements — 500 00 Total... $2,000 00 FOR PRESERVATION OF GAME, 1895. Salary of fish commissioner and game warden $ 700 00 Contingent expenses and special wardens 2,000 00 Three deputy wardens at $1,200 each 3,600 00 Total $6,300 00 For 1896 $6,300 00 �DISTRIBUTION OF TROUT TO PUBLIC WATERS. 1893. The trout produced have been planted as follows : E a g l e River, between Red Cliff and Wolcott, Brook Trout L a k e Creek, above T w i n Lakes, Brook Trout T w i n Lakes, Native Trout 100,000 25,000 100,000 Twin Lakes, California Trout 25,000 Cottonwood Creek, near Buena Vista, California Trout 20,000 Perry Park, Brook Trout 10,000 Florida Creek, Brook Trout 20,000 Animas River, Brook Trout 25,000 South Platte, Brook Trout 25,000 Upper Boulder, Brook Trout 10,000 North Fork, Brook Trout 10,000 South Platte, near Horse Creek, Brook Trout 10,000 L a k e George, Brook Trout 10,000 Tarryall Creek, Brook Trout 10,000 Fontaine Creek, Brook Trout 5,00o Platte, near Garos, Brook Trout 10,000 Deer Creek, Brook Trout 10,000 Clear Creek, Brook Trout 10,000 E m p i r e Creek. Brook Trout 10,000 Eagle River, near Minturn, California Trout, 10,000 Eagle River, near Wolcott, California Trout 10,000 Rock Creek, near Carbondale, California Trout 10,000 Roaring Fork, above Aspen, Native Trout 50,000 Roaring Fork, above Aspen, Brook Trout 50,000 Muddy Creek, in Middle Park, Native Trout 50,000 Hetzer's L a k e , in Middle Park, Native Trout 50,000 T w i n Lakes, Native Trout 100,000 Gunnison River near Gunnison, Native Trout 100,000 F r y i n g Pan, near Thomasville, Brook Trout F r y i n g Pan, near Norie, Brook Trout 5,000 10,000 1894. T w i n Lakes, Native Trout T w i n Lakes, California Trout Platte, from Buffalo to Jefferson, Brook Trout 500,000 25,000 225,000 Platte, from Buffalo to Jefferson, California Trout 25,000 E l k Creek, a tributary of the Platte, Brook Trout 25,000 �Pine Creek, a tributary of the Platte, Brook Trout 20,000 Bear Creek, above Morrison, Brook Trout 20,000 Poudre, near Livermore, Brook Trout Big Thompson, Brook Trout Eagle River, below Minturn, Brook Trout Grizzly Creek, near Glenwood, Brook Trout F r y i n g Pan, near Ruedi, Brook Trout 5,000 30,000 125,000 4,000 20,000 Roaring Fork, near Carbondale, Brook Trout 20,000 Roaring Fork, above Aspen, Native Trout 50,000 Maroon Creek, near Aspen, Brook Trout 20,000 Gunnison River, near Gunnison, Native Trout 40,000 Tomichi, above Gunnison, Brook Trout 35,000 Irwin Lake, near Crested Butte, Brook Trout 2,000 Spring Lake, near Crested Butte, Brook Trout 4,000 East Fork Gunnison, Brook Trout 15,000 St. Vrain, Brook Trout 20,000 Clear Creek, Brook Trout 20,000 Rio Grande, near Wagon Wheel Gap, Brook Trout 10,000 Conejos Creek, Brook Trout 10,000 Lajara Creek, Brook Trout 10,000 Pine River, Brook Trout 50,000 Animas River, Brook Trout 50,000 L a k e San Cristoval, near L a k e City, Brook Trout 30,000 Dallas Creek, above Dallas, Brook Trout 5,000 Dolores River, Brook Trout 10,000 Silver Creek, above Mears Junction, Brook Trout 10,000 Cheyenne Creek, near Colorado Springs, California Trout 10,000 Fountaine, California Trout F,agle River, near Wolcott, California Trout Roaring Fork, near E m m a , California T r o u t . . . 1,000 25,000 10,000 Gunnison River, Brook Trout 300,000 F r y i n g Pan, near Aspen Junction, California Trout 100,000 South Platte, near A m m o n ' s place 6,000 Trout have been retained at the several stations for spawners. There are still in the hatcheries about 1,000,000 trout to be distributed in 1895. �REPORT OF GAME WARDEN'S WORK. I undertook this work fully determined to prevent the illegal killing of game if possible. My first object was to create a better sentiment favoring the preservation of game. To do this I had published and posted throughout the game country, an abstract of the game laws and an appeal to all good citizens to assist us in their execution. I published the game laws in pamphlet form and distributed to applicants free. railway companies in refusing to transport game illegally taken. I attempted, with partial success, to secure the co-operation of other states and territories in the same line. W e organized the sportsmen of the state into an organization known as "The Colorado Sportsman's Association." W e secured to some extent the co-operation of the press. W e began investigations, arrests and prosecutions early in 1893, and have kept it up for the past two years. W e have practically stopped the business of professional hunters. Some of them have been arrested the second time and confined in the county jail, but most of them have left the state or have quit. We have investigated 285 reported violations; have arrested 101 persons; have convicted seventyeight violators of the game laws. The fines have ranged from $2.50 and costs to $300. In a few cases, imprisonment has been imposed, the longest term being ninety days. DIFFICULTIES. The unfavorable public sentiment, resulting in acquittals and in screening offenders from prosecutions, has to a great extent been overcome by numerous prosecutions and efforts to enforce the laws. �More responsibility should be placed upon the local officers. The panic of 1893 and consequent great number of idle laborers, made it very difficult to enforce the laws. Many of the silver miners were compelled to resort to the rod and gun to supply themselves and families with food. "The free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold at the present legal ratio of 16 to 1," and other legislation securing employment to idle workmen, would greatly assist in the preservation of fish and game. The territory is too great to be "watched" by the wardens. They must, to a great extent, depend upon the residents to give information. Often word is sent to the office at Denver, when local officers could be called on at once and the prosecution made with less expense to the state. The ranchmen in the lower country are too busy to go into the game country, the mountains, during the open season, August 15 to November 1. In November when the game comes down from the hills to winter, the hunting season is closed. They claim that the sportsmen have secured a law for their own benefit and they, the ranchmen, are loth to comply with the law and insist on killing their "winter's meat" in November. Let us have more leisure for the farmer and less for the aristocratic sportsmen. The Indians have been a source of annoyance. Their depredations, however, have been greatly exaggerated. The Indians living on the Southern Ute reservation reserved by treaty (the Bruno treaty, 1873), the right to hunt in their own manner and fashion, on all the territory included in their then reservation. �This includes about all the game country in southwestern Colorado. W e made no effort to preserve the game in this section, as it would be useless to arrest white men and allow the Indians to kill the game. The Navajoe Indians have no right to hunt in Colorado. The Northern or White River Utes have no right to hunt in Colorado. They make regular excursions in the northwestern part of the state to kill game. They are encouraged by the citizens up there to come, as the killing of deer saves the stockmen's cattle. None will act as deputies in arresting the Indians. They leave when ordered out by the wardens, but return when the warden is gone. To arrest a band of these fellows means a great expense to the already over-taxed counties, as they must be fed if imprisoned. It would take a regiment of soldiers to watch these redskins and keep them out of Colorado. The idle soldiers now stationed at Fort Logan might be given good, healthful exercise in keeping these fellows on their reservation in Utah. Hunting trourists and specimen hunters are becoming too numerous for successful game preservation. Many have crossed the ocean and traversed a great portion of the continent to secure an elk head. Hundreds are legally killed each year by non-resident, aristocratic nabobs, who care nothing about game preservation. They also mortally wound more than they kill and save. It is difficult to make a case against these fellows as they keep within the provisions of the law. Those not residents of the state must be prohibited from hunting or our game will soon all be des- �troyed. Forest fires destroy the haunts of game and render the streams unfit for trout. The state should adopt some means of better forest preservation. The laws should be divested of all indications of partiality to the sportsmen, as the game must be preserved, if at all, by those who reside in the game country. A closed season on elk, lasting for five years, would be an excellent means of again restoring this fine animal to his old haunts. Mountain sheep are not allowed to be killed at all, hence, they have increased a hundred-fold in the past three years. The work of game warden should not be imposed upon the fish commissioner, as he has enough to do in his work of supervising the hatcheries and distributing fish. Your fish commissioner and game warden has spent almost his entire time in the field attending to the production and distribution of trout, investigating reported violations, making arrests and attending prosecutions. A deputy has been kept at the office, and directed the work as reports or complaints came in. It is a rule of this office to answer all communications as soon as received. Hundreds of letters have been answerd covering all matters pertaining to fish and game. Permits were given to those making collections for schools, for scientific purposes, and for propagation. Numerous permits were given to take suckers and whitefish. I believe the interests of the public would be better served by placing the whole matter of fish, forest and game under the supervision of a commission of three. The fish business could be placed under a competent superintendent, appointed by the commission. Under the present law the commissioner �28 B I E N N I A L R E P O R T S T A T E F I S H COMMISSIONER. may be a figurehead, drawing a salary, while other men do the work. It is now a one-man power, and very likely to be used in the interest of some class rather than for the state. Most of the states have a fish commission composed of three members. Your commission is under obligations to the express companies and railway companies for free transportation furnished for men and fish. The work could not have been done so effectually without their aid. The Rio Grande officials and train men have especially assisted in the distribution of trout. The special game wardens who have served without pay and have so nobly assisted us, deserve the thanks of the state for their work. Prosecuting attorneys and others who aided in enforcing the laws will be kindly remembered. We are under obligations to the press for the many courtesies shown. To my able assistants I shall ever feel grateful for your untirng efforts to make this department a success. You have been honest and faithful to the trust reposed in you. Very respectfully submitted, W . R. CALLICOTTE, Fish Commissioner and Game Warden. � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/a27efe8ed3a669d219f370764b93e740.pdf fbefac99bc49568ea27aab146462fd95 PDF Text Text BIENNIAL REPORT S T A T E FISH C O M M I S S I o n e r STATE OF COLORADO Years 1895 and 1896 DENVER, C O L O R A D O T H E S M I T H - B R O O K S PRINTING C O . , S T A T E 1897 �BIENNIAL OF REPORT THE S T A T E FISH C O M M I S S I O N E R OF T H E STATE OF FOR COLORADO THE Years 1895 and 1896 DENVER, C O L O R A D O THE S M I T H - B R O O K S PRINTING C O . , S T A T E 1897 PRINTERS �REPORT OF T H E S T A T E FISH C O M M I S S I O N E R OF COLORADO. TO HIS EXCELLENCY, A L B E R T W . McINTIRE, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO. Sir—I have the honor to submit my report for the years 1895 and 1896, including the departments of fish culture and the game and fish wardens. I found upon succeeding to the office of State Fish Commissioner a meagre and insufficient appropriation to carry on the work at the several state hatcheries. In making the needed appropriations the legislature did not contemplate that there was a period of four months overlapping from the outgoing administration, the expenses of which had to be borne by the appropriation to the incoming office holder, and in this particular instance the bills of expense were based upon the assumption of an ample fund being available to pay them. As near as I could learn, there was about three thousand two hundred dollars ($3,200) of such claims against the state fish and game department the day I assumed the duties of office, there being a single item of expense for the purchase of eastern trout eggs for the year 1895 of nine hundred dollars (¥900), and an express bill of one hundred and nineteen dollars ($119) on the same. This, and other items, all added to defeat the evident intent of the legislature to properly provide for the expenditures of the incoming office holder. �Another difficulty was encountered in three of the regular state hatcheries. I found that although an ample and proper provision had been made for needed improvements at the several stations for the years 1893 and 1894, and for their future usefulness, by a liberal appropriation from the ninth general assembly, that no such improvements were made, everything was in a filthy and deplorable condition and out of repair. I at once had such improvements made as to enable a moderate amount of work being done. In view of the insufficient means at my disposal. I closed the Twin Lakes station and confined the work to such places as could be run to advantage. I am not in favor of an effort to run a multiplicity of state fish hatcheries; a much better result can be obtained by one or two good establishments, with a concentration of the labor employed. The state does not own at present one really good location; it is handicapped by a partial ownership of several very poor ones. I have found the results of the past twenty months devoted to fish culture most unsatisfactory. There is more encouragement for the future, from the fact that at several of the hatcheries a fairly good stock of breeding fish have been grown to a size where they are available to obtain the needed eggs for incubation. GAME WARDENS. The department of game and fish protection has been fraught with such hampering conditions as to call for an abolition of the office if better means can not be provided for the proper enforcement of our laws. The experiment of trying to get deputies to bear their own traveling expenses and accomplish anything like beneficial results has been tried, and I am free to say is a flat failure. The amount provided for in the act which creates the office is not excessive and would be sufficient to do satisfactory and commendable work, and I still maintain that the force in the employ of the state, which the act provides, is enough to afford proper protection were they given the use of the fund that the law intended they should have. From September, 1895, to February, 189C, all funds for either salaries or expenses of both fish and game departments were withheld by the state auditor pending a decision of the state supreme court. This was most unfortunate, since it happened at a time when funds were most needed. The entire state press lost no opportunity to denounce the glaring inefficiency of this unfavored branch of fish and game, no censure was too severe, yet the real cause was easily ascertained by inquiry at the state house. This aggravating condition of af- �fairs (lack of needed expenses) still continues, and the odium which attaches in consequence to the head of the department is such as to deter him from ever again seeking to serve his state as its game and fish warden. In furtherance of the state's game and fish interests for the future, my conclusions are that the public are in earnest and demand that proper means be provided; that such additions to our existing laws be made as experience has shown to be necessary; that the value which attaches to game and fish preservation is of enough importance to merit a liberal allowance by appropriation to enable those charged with the execution of the laws to effect their enforcement; that the care and preservation of our forests be added to the duties of game and fish wardens. I do not favor the proposed delegating of all the duties of the fish, forestry and game departments upon the several county sheriffs, unless a change is made in their compensation as to fees and mileage, and that a limit be placed upon their expenditures. Indians and skin hunters and those who still persist in killing for the profits which the market affords, continue to create a demand for game law enforcement. The methods of game destruction now employed by the Indians are such as to result in entire extermination of our deer and elk in a very few years if they are permitted to pursue them. They are by far the worst hide hunters in our state. I would favor an absolute prohibition against the dealing in or traffic in game hides, tanned or untanned, better by far waste the few hides taken from lawfully killed game than to permit a market for the sale of skins. The disarming of the Indians upon the part of the federal government would put an end to their annual work of game slaughter. They are now fed and cared for by the government and there is no real need of their being permitted to prey upon our state game. In event of our state passing a protective law on elk or deer for a term of years, as our neighboring state of Utah has done, it will be interesting to know how the alleged Indian rights are regarded. Very truly, GORDON LAND, State Fish Commissioner. Denver, Colorado, December 14, 1896. �FISH CULTURE. DENVER HATCHERY—DISTRIBUTION OF TROUT, 1895. April 22—Platte river, near Buffalo, two cans adult California trout (males). April 24—Exchanged for black bass to stock lower Gunnison and Grand rivers, 100 old (males) California trout, 500 two-year-old California trout, 400 California fry, 1,000 in all. There being no fish of the bass or perch family in the Colorado or its tributaries, this exchange for a like number was believed to be advantageous. May 2—Estabrook station, South Park railroad, 800 yearling Rainbow trout. May 2—Bailey's station for Deer creek, 450 yearling Rainbow trout. June 21—Pine Grove for Elk creek, 300 brook trout fry, 75 California yearling trout. June 7—Loveland, placed in reservoir as an experiment 250 yearling California trout. July 19—Westcliff for Texas creek, 225 yearling Rainbow trout, 500 brook trout fry. June 13—Lawson, for streams in Middle park, 150 Califorma yearling trout, 500 California trout fry, 500 brook trout fry. May 31—Morrison, for Bear creek, 2,000 California trout. July 22—Loveland, for lake near headwaters South Poudre, 300 yearling Rainbow trout. June 4—Trinidad, for Purgatoire creek, 4,000 California trout. July 9—Boulder, for North Boulder creek, 150 yearling California trout, 500 California trout fry, 500 brook trout fry. « �July 14—For headwaters of Republican river, 150 yearling California trout, 500 California trout fry, 500 brook trout fry. September 10—For Cottonwood lake, near Buena Vista, 350 California yearling trout. September 10—For South Platte river, 200 yearling California trout, 500 California trout fry, 500 brook trout fry. LA PLATA COUNTY HATCHERY—DISTRIBUTION OF TROUT, 1895. May 10—7,500 brook trout, streams near hatchery. .May 19—7,500 brook trout, Hermosa creek. May 21—12,000 brook trout, Florida river. May 30—20,000 brook trout, Pine river. June 12—12,000 brook trout, Hermosa park. GUNNISON HATCHERY—DISTRIBUTION OF TROUT. 1895. May 27—Delivered to Heider & Hartman 50,000 trout fry, account of share of eggs hatched at this station, per agreement with former Fish Commissioner. June 10—8,000 brook trout, Tomichi creek. July 3—8,000 brook trout, Ohio creek. July 5—8,000 brook trout, Crested Butte. July 14—3,000 brook trout, Gunnison river. July 15—4,000 brook trout, Gunnison river. October 16—3,000 brook trout, East river. November 1(5—3,000 brook trout, West creek, near Pittsburg. July 10—8,000 brook trout, Lake San Cristobal. TWIN LAKES HATCHERY—DISTRIBUTION OF TROUT (NATIVES), 1895. August 12—5,000 native trout, in Lower Twin Lake. August 12—10,000 native trout, in Half Moon creek. August 12—10,000 native trout in Lake Fork Arkansas river. August 12—25,000 native trout, in Lake creek, near hatchery. August 12—10,000 native trout shipped to Buena Vista and placed in Cottonwood lake. The distribution for 1895 was of such fish as were left over from the stock of my predecessor. �DENVER HATCHERY—DISTRIBUTION OF TROUT, 1896. May 5—Trinidad, Colo., for Purgatoire creek, 2 cans brook trout, six cans California trout. May 7—Glenwood Springs, for Canon and Grizzly creeks, six cans California fry. May 9—Pine Grove, Colo., for Elk creek, six cans California fry. May 12—Idaho Springs, for Bear creek, eight cans California fry. May 13—Estabrook, Colo., for Craig creek and Platte river, two cans brook trout, four cans California fry. May 15—Bamah, Colo., for Horse creek, four cans California fry. May 20—Villa Grove, Colo., for Saguache creek, six cans California fry. May 20—Leadville, for headwaters Arkansas river, two cans brook trout, six cans California fry. June 1—Boulder, Colo., for Upper Boulder creek, five cans California fry. June 3—Slaghts' station, for Platte river, three cans brook trout, three cans California fry. June 10—Shipped to Bailey's station, for Deer creek, three cans California fry, three cans brook trout. June 12—Idaho Springs, for Echo lake and Chicago creek, eight cans California fry. June 18—Longmont, Colo., for South St. Vrain, six cans California fry. June 23—Shipped to stock headwaters of the Republican river, four cans California fry. June 24—Cotopaxi, Colo., for streams in Wet Mountain valley, two cans brook trout, four cans California fry. June 27—Boulder, Colo., for North Boulder creek, six cans California fry. June 29—Glenwood Springs, creeks, six cans California fry. for Grizzly and Mitchell July 1—Lawson, Colo., for Grand lake and Grand river, Middle park, four cans California fry. July 7—Silver Plume, Colo., for Clear creek, six cans California fry. �July 9—Cassell's, Colo., for Platte river, three cans California ffy, three cans brook trout fry. July 11—Jefferson, Colo., for Jefferson lake, four cans California fry, four cans brook trout fry. July 14—La Veta, Colo., for Cuchara creek, six cans California fry. July 19—Wagon Wheel Gap, for Bellows creek, four cans California fry. July 21—Alma, Colo., for Lake Minnehaha, six cans California fry. July 22—Los Pinos, Colo., for Elk creek, three cans California fry, three cans brook trout fry. August 3—Buena Vista, Colo., for Cottonwood lake, four cans California fry. August 3—Aspen, Colo., for Castle, Maroon and Roaring Fork creeks, four cans California fry. August 7—Fort Collins, Colo., for Poudre river, six cans California fry. September 13—Shipped to Ridgway, Colo., for public streams near by, four cans California fry. GUNNISON HATCHERY—DISTRIBUTION OF TROUT, 1896. One hundred thousand brook trout were placed in the various tributary streams and in the Gunnison river. Also, 20,000 Rainbow trout, during the season of 1896. There are now in the troughs at this station about 275,000 brook trout eggs, December 14, 1896. LA PLATA COUNTY HATCHERY. Distribution from this station for 1896 was entirely local, and owing to poor water, very small and unworthy of note. The superintendent informs me, under date of November 30, 1896, that he has about 250,000 eggs of the brook trout in the troughs and may possibly get 25,000 more. He also reports that the eggs are in no better condition than last year, which was very bad. The quality of the water here is not fit for trout culture. �REMARKS UPON THE SEVERAL STATE FISH HATCHERIES. DOUGLAS COUNTY LOCATION. I found upon assuming the duties of office that the state had not acquired the proper location at this place, only having a small portion of the water supply and less than half of the property, yet the price paid appears to have been $300, the amount agreed upon to purchase the whole forty (40) acres. In consequence of this poor water supply and the evident buncoing of the state out of a really good hatchery location, I have not tried to build upon or improve it. LA PLATA HATCHERY. I would advocate the abandonment of this station, experience having shown that such water is not suitable for the proper incubation of trout eggs. Its known liability to floods and other natural disadvantages being so marked as to justify the statement that its selection was an error of judgment. The expense of its maintenance should not be continued. TWIN LAKES HATCHERY. I would favor the closing of this station. Malicious persons have twice blown up, with giant powder, the screen at the outlet of the lakes, which was needed during the breeding season to secure spawning fish. No better place can be had in the state for the successful growing of our native trout. Money was appropriated by the ninth general assembly to improve this station, but it was wasted at Aspen and elsewhere. GUNNISON HATCHERY. This station needs better facilities to make it what it should be, a really good summer and winter hatchery. To do this a larger and better water supply should be brought in from �the river and the hatching trough and pond capacity increased. The location is central and has all the needed natural advantages to afford excellent results. With a moderate outlay, great numbers of trout can be turned out annually. This season; 1896-1897, the hatching troughs are full of trout eggs. �ESTIMATE OF FUNDS NEEDED FOR FISH CULTURE FOR THE YEARS J897-J898. DENVER H A T C H E R Y , 1897. State superintendent's salary $1,000.00 Assistant superintendent's salary 600.00 Fish commissioner's salary 500.00 Fish commissioner's expenses 500.00 Improvements needed at hatchery for water supply and hatching troughs 1.500.00 Expenses, extra labor, fish food, fuel and horse f e e d . . . . 700.00 Expense of distribution of fish to public waters 500.00 Total $5,300.00 DENVER HATCHERY, 1898. State superintendent's salary $1,000.00 Assistant superintendent's salary 600.00 State fish commissioner's salary 500.00 State fish commissioner's expenses 500.00 Expenses, extra labor, fish food, fuel and horse feed. .. . 700.00 Expense of distribution of fish to public waters 500.00 Total $3,800.00 GUNNISON H A T C H E R Y , 1897. Superintendent's salary Improvements to make a forty-trough hatchery Improvements on ponds and water supply Total $ 900.00 1.000.00 500.00 $2,400.00 �GUNNISON HATCHERY, 189S. Superintendent's salary $ 900.00 Expenses, labor, fuel, etc 500.00 Assistant labor to care for ponds and water supply... . 600.00 Total $2,000.00 DOUGLAS COUNTY LOCATION. This property can be improved with funds furnished Denver hatchery. and should be run in connection with same force. f �ESTIMATE FOR STATE FISH AND GAME WARDEN. FUNDS NEEDED FOR J897-J898. Salary state warden, 1897 Salary three deputies, 1897 $ 700.00 3,000.00 Total $4,300.00 1898. Salary state warden Salary three deputies $ 700.00 3,600 Total $4,300.00 1897. Contingent and necessary expenses $2,000.00 1898. Contingent and necessary expenses $2,000.00 FISH AND GAME WARDENS. The work of the wardens during the past two years has been rendered less effective by failure to obtain from the state funds for actual expenses while engaged in the performance of their duties and for a period of four months not even their salaries. Yet, notwithstanding the many difficulties encountered, the fact of their having placed a check upon game law violations and added more than $2,000 in the way of fines and sales from confiscated game, to the various county fish and game funds, is much to their credit. I am confident that with the fund allowed by law for their necessary expenses at their disposal, they could and would have made game law violations hazardous and of extremely rare occurrence. �Changes should be made in our present game laws to prevent the marketing of game brought here from other states at any season of the year. This would aid in the better enforcement of our own law at all times. Our existing laws are among the best in force in any state, and only need available money to enable the wardens to act promptly. GORDON LAND. State Fish Commissioner and Game Warden. � https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/files/original/729988b8ff27fd7571336b69c3017bcc.pdf dff03099e237bdc65355302ae3b7ea72 PDF Text Text BIENNIAL REPORT B«i>lle*t9 • lMii« State Forest, Game and pish Commissioner STATE OF COLORADO For the Years 1897 and 1898 J. S. Swan, Commissioner DENVER, COLORADO CO., STATE PRINTERS THE SMITH-BROOKS PRINTING 1898 �BIENNIAL REPORT State Forest, Game and pish Commissioner ^^. ^r^.r^^ STATE OF COLORADO With Compliments i^ For the Years 1897 and 1S98 J. S. Swan, Commissioner DENVER, COLORADO THE SMITH-BROOKS PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS 1898 ^7, of tyf,(Mt/t%\ ��LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. Commissioner's Depjirtmeiit of Forestry, Office. Game and Fisli, Denver, Colorado, Ueoember 1, 1898. To His Excellency, ALVA ADAMS, Covernor of Colorado, —In compliance an act entitled passed by the eleventh general assembly and approved April IG, 1897, I have the honor to transmit herewith a report of the transSir forestr}', actions game and of this witli section 8, of fisli, department my since incumbency commissioner, from April 9, 1897, togetlun- with an audited account of all moneys expended for the t^^^, fiscal years, beginning December 1, 1896, and ending Decemlier 1, 1898. Also certain recommendations. as Respectfully subuiitted, J. S. SWAN, Commissioner. �BIENNIAL REPORT State Forest, Game and Fish Commissioner FORESTRY. Up to the time of the meeting of the eleventh general assembly of Colorado, in 18D7, the subjects of game and had constituted matters for treatment under a dishead by our law makers, while the subject of forestry had been also treated as a subject for separate legThis rule was departed from, however, by the islation. legislature named, and during its session a bill Avas passed and apj^roved April 16, 181)t, embracing the three subjects and creating the Department of Forestry, Game and Fish. This enumerates the duties of the commissioner and wardens provided for therein and repeals all acts inconfish tinct sistent therewith. and authority Commissioner in relation to the forest areas of the state and embraces this clause: ''He shall have the care of all woodlands and forests which nmj at any time be owned or controlled by the state, and shall cause all such lands to be located and recorded in a book to be kept for that purpose." Sec. 9 of the act sets forth the duties of the �6 BIENNIAL REPORT This requirement would seem to come dangerously if it does not actually conflict with that provision of the Constitution of the state which directs that "The board of land commissioners shall have control of all state lands," and makes it the duty of the board "to protect and carefuly preserve such lands in such manner as will secure the maximum possible amount therefor." This authority conferred by the Constitution, cannot be divested by any act of the legislature. near, However, with the single purpose in view of complying with each and every provision of the law, both in letter and s])irit, I applied to Mr. L. C. Paddock, register of the state board of land commissioners, for such information as would enable me to compile the record of the state forest lands, for my office. Mr. Paddock replied that that was a matter for his department alone, but however that might be he had no such data in his oflfice and would therefore be unable to furnish it to me or adNo other means ocvise me as to how it was to be had. curred to me for securing the record unless I required the paid wardens to do the work, and as there are but three of these in the state, and the task would have been no small one, I considered it more essential to the state's interest that they should not be diverted from the more urgent duty of protecting the game and fish, and forests as well, from the work of jiot-hunters, hide-hunters and despoilers generally. ' The combining of the subject of forestry, with the subjects of game and fish, gave rise to a question as to the constitutionality of the entire act almost immediately upon its enactment and ap{)roval, and has proven a serious obstacle to the proper enforcement of the law throughout my entire term of office. While more than one prosecution in various counties had been decided adversely to the state, no attempt was made by me to take any of the cases to the supreme court, to test the question raised as to the constitutionality of the law, for the reason that there was a case pending at the time in the county court of Arapahoe countj', involving that ques- �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FTSH COMMISSIONER. 7 which the state had Avon in the justice court and afterwards on appeal in the county court named. This case was appealed by the defense from the decision of the county court, and is now in the supreme court of the tion state. have done what I could through the attorney general's office to have this case advanced so that an early opinion may be had I am advised that the defendants are not sufficiently interested in having the issue involved passed upon, to join with the state in such a request and as in the usual course of procedure in that court, the defendants have until April next in which to Although I their briefs in the case, the prospects are not bright that the court of last resort will have passed upon the question before the adjournment of the twelfth general assembly. Assuming that such will be the case it would file seem to be the imperative duty of the twelfth general assembly to pass a new law relating to the subjects of game and fish alone, and another relating to forestry-, and by the provisions of the latter act impose the duties in connection with its enforcement upon the Commissioner and Wardens of the Game and Fish Department as under the present law. This would be a simple method of having the official duties in connection with forestry and game performed without extra cost to the state, and at the same time effectuall}' dispose of the question of constitutionality which has Avorked so potent for evil in the attempted enforcement of the present forestry, game and fish laAV. Owing to the ilnusual dryness of the past season the regular autumn forest fires have raged in the state this year Avith exceptional fierceness and destructiveness. Vast areas of the finest timber growth in the state, particularl}^ throughout the western and northwestern sections, have been sacrificed to the fiery element. As I have no figures on which to base a reliable estimate of the number of acres burned over I refrain from doing so, but the loss Avas enormous, and a repetition of the calamity should be guarded against by every means at the disposal of the State and federal authorities. �BIENNIAL REPORT 8 The responsibility for tlie fii-es may be safely laid, most part, to that spirit of unthinking reckle.. ness and indifference in respect to game laws no les, than forest regulations, which seems to exist to a large extent among our annual camping population. The only remedy I can suggest is a cordial co-operation between the state and federal forestry authorities, together with the enactment of laws that will provide adequate measures for the proper punishment of an offense that should be classed among the most serious and for the needless of crimes. Along with this there must be a public sentiment that will corapel all prosecuting officers and the courts as well, to do their whole duty without fear or favor. GAME. Theie is little question but that game of all kinds has greatly increased in Co' ido during the past two years. This fact is abundantly testified to by most persons with whom I have talked upon the subject, who have taken advantage of the "open" season for recreation and the chance of sport thus presented, and coi*roborated by my own personal observations made dui'ing frequent visits to the game sections of the state, the past season. This, desi>ite obstacles in the way of a strict enforcement of the law for the protection of game, sometimes well nigh discouraging and at all times real and tangible. Some to mind of these obstacles which come most readily are: — The question raised as to the constitutionalthe law. because of the subject of forestry being treated in the same act and as a kindred subject, with First ity of game and fish. — The lax enforcement of the game and fish laws in the past history of Colorado, making a sincere Second �8TATE FOREST, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. * 9 attempt to enforce these laws against all alike, seem in nature of a new departure, in a legal sense, and an attempt to abridge the rights of those who have lived by killing and marketing game at all seasons, and those (chiefly residents of the game sections) who have killed game at all seasons for personal and domestic use. Third The disinclination of many of the district attorneys throughout the state, especially in the game districts, though by no means confined to such, to do their whole duty in the enforcement of a law that seems to lack popularity among a certain class of the voting .-vhe f, — population. The same apparent disinclination on the part of some judges of courts of record, no less than justices of the peace, especially in the means confined to such, before them responsible demeanor cases. game districts, but by no to hold guilty parties brought for their acts as in other mis- Other obstacles coii' \be pointed out but the foregoing are the main one^ if we include the fact that jurors who are themselves guilty of violations of the game law (as frequently happens in the game districts), are not inclined to convict another for a like offense. How these obstacles aye to be met is the question and my answer to it is that they cannot be overcome until public opinion demands that it shall be so. The obstacles noted above apply chiefly as suggested, to the game sections of the state. In the cities and elsewhere far removed from the game the constitutional question has been the reliance of ofl'enders who have sought to esca]ie the enforcement of the law. of the hour, Considering the rapid development of the movement game and fish in this state within the past two years, the people behind that sentiment should find no more difficulty in finally impressing their ideas upon officers of the law than they have in convincing the legislature that strict game and fish laws are both profitable and popular. for the protection of �BIENNIAL REPORT 10 Owing to the failure of special wardens, in many by them, I am unable to give a complete list of all the cases brought during the past two years for violations of the game and cases, to report prosecutions instituted fish laws. I can say this, however, that the number would have been much greater than it is under like provocation, had this department been operating under a law the constitutionality of which was not questioned. Because of the decisions in El Paso county declaring the act unconstitutional the law became practically inoperative there, so i' was thought best by me to permit some other cases, there and elsewhere, to go by default rather than invite adverse decisions as to the constitutionality of the act, and a consequent weakening of the law in the public mind. It seems remarkable and it is said to be unusual, for nisi prius courts to so readily declare unconstitu- law so essential to the public interest and so harmless in effect, and in favor of the constitutionality of which, as much at least, can be said as against it. Two facts seem to have been ignored or overlooked, first, that the act establishes a department to which is tional a committed the ca're of forests, game and fish, and there- fore the establishment of the department is the subject and whatever properly relates thereto is within the constitutional requirement that an act must contain but one subject, and second, that forest preservation is as essential to the adequate and complete protection of game and fish as is a close season, and hence strictly germane to the subject of game and fish of the act, protection. It is worthy of remark that the highest courts of other states, as well as the supreme court of the United States, have with great uniformity sustained game and fish laws generally even when they indirectly interfered with interstate commerce. Although the decisions by nisi prius courts could not be regarded by this department as changing in any �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. manner its autlioi-ity be no question that evil and its influence 11 and duty under the law, there can its effect has been far reaching for most detrimental to the proper en- forcement of the law. It is but just to state in this connection that many other district and countj^ courts and justices of the peace, have refused to hold unconstitutional the law, notwithstanding the decision of the El Paso county courts, and the measure of success with which my efforts have been attended, in the enforcement of the law% is largely the result of the numerous convictions secured in these courts. Notwithstanding the idea which so largely prevails game districts, and notably in Routt and Kio Blanco counties, where the largest herds of large game are to be found, that game laws were made for the city "dudes" and "tourists" generally and not for the ranch men and other residents of these counties, it must be in the said to the credit of the latter that they are to a large extent united in their opposition to market hunters and pot hunters generally. This circumstance has been of great advantage in stopping wholesale game slaughter and has made possible the increase of the game herds. Another rind by no means small difficulty in restricting the killing of large game within the period and numbers permitted by law, is met within the annual raids of the TJncompahgre and Uintah Indians into Colorado from their reservations in eastern Utah. It has been the habit of these tribes for years past to move into the western part of the state each year, along in the latter part of October and extending their visit well through November, for the purpose of killing deer and elk, in such quantities as to provide themselves with the desired quantity of meat and hides. The slaughter of game by this agency in the past years has been very great. Just how great it is impossible to say, but it would probably be within bounds to place the number at from five hundred to one thousand head each season. �BIENNIAL REPORT 12 Having determined to these annual raids, I to make an effort to put a stop made a journey to Ft. Duchesne, Utah, early in October, 1897, accompanied by Hon. John Sharp, the commissioner of game and fish from that state. At the post we met Captain Beck, then the agent of both the Uncompagre and Uintah Ute Indians, to whom I stated that it was my desire to be given an opportunity to impress upon the Indians the fact that by going into Colorado and killing game out of season they were violating the game laws of that state, and subjectThis opporing themselves to arrest and prosecution. tunity was afforded me on the following day, October 13, when a council of the Indians was called by Captain Beck, at Ouray Agency, for that purpose. Through Interpreter McAndrews situation to the Indians as best as I I explained could, and my the re- by Agent Beck, who further explained to the council of red men the probable consequences of further violations of the Colorado game marks were ably fortified laws. Some of the younger bucks did not seem to take kindly to the idea that they were to be deprived of their annual raids, but the older men and chiefs seemed inOn clined to listen to the advice as to the inevitable. leaving Duchesne Captain Beck promised me that he would do what he could to keej) the Indians from again going into Colorado to hunt, and that if they did make their appearance despite his efforts, he would be only too glad to send troops to return them to their reservations, on receiving notice of the fact. Soon after my return to Colorado I learned that the Indians were again in both Routt and Rio Blanco counties killing game; the band in the former county being Uintahs and those in the latter being of the tribe of Uncompagre or White river Utes. I at once notified General Otis, commander of the department of the Colorado, of the presence of the Indians in western Colorado killing game. Troops were dispatched by his order, and with the valuable assistance of Sheriff Wilber, then the �STATE FOREST, GAME AND PISH COMMISSIONER. 13 Rio Blanco county, who has an extensive acquaintance among these Indians, and a considerable knowledge of their language, together with Warden J. T. McLean, who accompanied him, the Indians were moved out of the state and back onto their reservation without serious trouble or the spilling of any blood. It was noted that the Indians had but few deer or deer hides on their ponies as they hurried back to their homes. The greater number of the ponies that had been brought along to carry away the game departed with sheriff of empty packs. The work of expelling the Uintahs from Routt county, was not, unfortunately, attended with such happy results. Learning that a considerable number of these Indians were in camp in the hills near Lily park, and that their purpose there was to lay in the usual winter's supply of meat and hides, Warden W. R. Wilcox advised me of the fact and asked for instructions. My reply was to the effect that I had just returned from Ft. Duchesne and Ouray agency, where I had been for the purpose of warning the Indians that they would not be permitted to continue their huntingexcursions into Colorado, and the Indians being thus advised he should take what assistance he could get in his county and proceed to the Indians' camp and induce them to leave promptly or make some arrests. I also warned him to exercise extreme patience and forbearance in dealing with the Indians. I have no reason to doubt that Wilcox followed these instructions so far as he was able to do so. On October 24, Wilcox, accompanied by ten special wardens, went to the camp of the Indians and after an unsuccessful effort to induce them to leave the state in peace, an attempt was made to arrest some of them and take them to the county seat for on the charge of having violated the game laws The result of the attempt is now a matter of state history. In a fight which followed, two bucks were killed outright and two squaws wounded, one seriously. Both of the latter are reported to have finally trial, of the state. �BIENNIAL REPORT 14 recovered. Shortly following the fight, troops arrived from Duchnese and the Indians were taken back to their reservation. In an investigation into the action of the wardens, which followed by a commission appointed by you for that purpose, composed of Judge D. C. Beaman, of Denver; Hon. C. E. Noble, of Colorado Springs, and Judge Joshua Waldridge, of Routt county, the wardens were exonerated of all blame and the killing of the Indians was declared to be unavoidable and brought about by their own action. A similar report was made by E. B. Rej^nolds, a special agent sent by the commissioner of Indian affairs, to investigate the matter. The commission called attention to the negligence of the federal authorities in permitting the Indians to leave their reservations in Utah and go into Colorado to violate the laws of that state and to harass and disturb the settlers and their families. Again, the present year, these Indians from both reservations have returned to their old haunts in Colorado on their old mission of game slaughter. In addition to that oifense it is known that the Indians do not hesitate to kill range cattle. This involves personal loss to the settlv:'rs; but for them to attempt to resent it, would more than likely put them and their families at the mercy of the savage instinct for revenge. On ap- Sumner, commander of the military department of the Colorado, troops were dispatched, the latter part of October last, and the party of Uncompagres found camped near Rangely, Rio Blanco county, were returned to their reservation. The Indians were forced to leave before securing any considerable amount of game, but the government authorities are entitled to small credit on that account, as they have never been known to take measures to keep the Indians upon the reservations in advance of complaints of their presence elsewhere, intimidating settlers and destroyplication to General ing property. About the middle of the past month it was again �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 15 reported that a numerous band of the Uintah tribe was in Routt county, in the vicinity of their old haunts, near Lily Park. The military authorities were again notified and it was expected that in the course of time the Indians would again be removed but not before they had time to kill a large number of deer and as many of the white man's cattle as their desires might prompt. The failure of the authorities to see to it that the Indians are not permitted to leave their reservations at any time, except for some legitimate purpose and by permit, indicates that some one is responsible for the unlawful raids into Colorado. Under the present policy the Indians secure b}^ repeated excursions what they formerly got on one trip, and the- difference is not greatly to the advantage of game It protection. would seem that the people of the state, and es- pecially those of western Colorado, are entitled to de- mand, once and for all, that these annual Indian raids cease, and if the federal authorities continue to ignore that demand the responsibility of what is almost sure to follow ipust be upon their heads. If it again becomes necessary for the settlers to take the matter into their own hands in removing these Indians from the state, they will probably prove equal to the emergency, and it is likely to be done in a way that will prove a lasting lesson to the Indians. The protected large game of Colorado is composed principally of elk, deer, antelope and mountain sheep. There are yet a few buffaloes in the number many is so small that little is known state, but their of them, and to will be a surprise to learn that even a single specimen of this noble game which once roamed the parks of Colorado in large herds, is still to be found in it the state. The principal range of the most numerous species game, protected and otherwise, is to be found throughout that part of the state principally lying west of the main range dividing the Atlantic from the Pacific slope. of �BIENNIAL REPORT 16 The great natural parks, consisting of extensive plateaus and basins hemmed in by high mountains, afford a very favorable range and shelter for all kinds of game, especially the varieties named above. The most highly prized game that falls victim to the we except the grizzly to be found in rifle of the hunter in this state, bear, is the elk (Wapiti), which if is still considerable numbers. At present this fine game is protected all the year round, and there can be no doubt that the result of such protection is a material increase in the elk herds within the past two years. The range of these animals extends from Routt county, in the northwest part of the state, to Saguache county and even southward in the southwestern part of the state. I believe these animals are sufficiently numerous to justify a change in the game laws by the next assembly, providing for a short open season during which they may be killed. No doubt the knowledge that elk may be killed in Colorado for a season, no matter how brief, would result in again attracting a large and desirable class of sportsmen each year to Colorado, who are now compelled to go elsewhere, if they would inolude an elk head in their string of trophies of the season's hunt. The most numerous variety of large game to be found in Colorado is the mule-deer. Its range is throughout the entire western part of the state, and in the mountains and foothills, in less numbers in the eastern part. It is claimed that the deer occupying the southwestern part of the state, is the Virginia deer, a species distinct from the mule-deer. Concerning this claim I know nothing, of my own personal knowledge. Antelope perhaps come next to deer in point of numbers, of the large game of the state. They are still to be found in numerous and considerable bands in all the great parks and on the plains extending eastward from the mountains. Thanks to the law which has been in force for some years forbidding the killing of mountain sheep at any �STATP: FOREST;, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. IT season, that highly prized species of game has undoubtedly increased in a satisfactory manner. In speaking of the slow increase of these animals under most favorable conditions, I have heard it asserted that the greatest obstacle to their more rapid increase, is due to the destruction of many young lambs by that As both the noble bird, the great American eagle. mountain sheep and the eagle show a preference for the high and rocky places it is quite probable that the close association results to the disadvantage of the sheep. It has been suggested for that reason that a bounty should be placed on eagles. Though at one time there was a bounty paid for bear scalps in this state, there was never a time when they might not be legally slain, but it has recently been suggested to me that bruin should be afforded a season of protection along with other prized game of Colorado. am not prepared to state that such a provision in necessary to prevent the extinction of that gamey species of game that is generally reputed to be able to ijrotect itself, but it is true that the bear is growing in favor as a most desirable quarry by a large class of sportsmen, and there is a strong feeling of protest against destroying them in any but a sportsmanlike manner. The opinion that the bear is highly destructive to domestic stock is now held by but few person^^ competent to judge, and always lacked credible testimony to support the charge. I the law is The grizzly, or silver tip bear, is plentiful in western Colorado, and the same may be said of the brown and black bear. It would perhaps be to attempt to give the little number better than guess work of the different varieties game now in the state, but I am tempted to some figures on the subject, nevertheless. Mr. Frank S. Wells, of Marvine Lodge, in Rio Blanco county, an old resident of that section and a guide and hunter of experience, gives it as his opinion of large offer �BIENNIAL REPORT 18 that in the counties of Rio Blanco and Routt last season, there were as many as four thousand to five thousand elk; at least eighty thousand deer; from ten thousand to fifteen thousand antelope, and that game of all kinds has increased since then. These figures are given for what they are worth, but they are believed to be fairly reliable, coming from one whose experience entitles his opinion in the matter to be regarded with Assuming that his estimate is correct, there should be in round numbers not less than seven thousand elk, one hundred thousand deer and twenty-five thousand antelope in the state, and according to my judgment there are fully as many mountain sheep as This would seem to be a pretty fair stock, and elk. even with game protection no more successful than it has been the case during the past two years, the yearly increase in the future should equal the number killed. As it is the rule for does to bear twins, and the exception to have a single fawn, it can be estimated w hat the increase amounts to, counting but half of the deer respect. when, as a matter of fact (because only males can be legally killed at any season), the does With these figures in sight the greatly predominate. problem of preserving the game in Colorado for many years to come is still a hopeful one, notwithstanding the work of both red and white violators of the law. The one, protected, if not encouraged in his wrong doing by, the government; the other, supported by a wrong public sentiment which will, in time, be brought to a realizing to be females, sense of As its best interest. there are no registered guides in Colorado and no license requirement for hunting, there is no means of ascertaining with any exactness the number of big game annually killed in the state nor the profit accruing to the state on account of tourists attracted here by reason of the inducements offered in the way of hunting and fishing. I will, however, set forth briefly, the experience of another community where every facility for the protection of game is afforded, and where the �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. conclusion is drawn that such protection is 19 a highly profitable investment to the state. Maine, I will quote from the Commissioners of Inland Fisheries and I refer to the state of ''Keport of the Game" of that state, for the year of 1897. The report, as the title would indicate, relates to both fish and game, but I will quote here principally those paragraphs referring wholly to game. I quote: ''Never before in the history of the state have inland fish and game interests been so much discussed in the public press and by our citizens as during the year just closed." ''There are several reasons One * why this has been so. that our people are coming more and more to understand the pecuniary benefits to be derived by restocking our lakes and ponds with land-locked salmon and trout aud having suitable laws well enforced for the protection for the inland fish and game." is "Another reason is the guide law. so called, enacted by the last legislature." "The laws for the protection of fish and game have ever been found to be notoriously diflScult of thorough enforcement, and those charged with this duty have never escaped severe criticism." The concluding paragraph will strike a responsive chord in the breast of all those who have had aught to do with prosecuting violations of the game and fish laws There is evidently a free masonry of action in Colorado. among those who protest against the enforcement of these laws that is not confined to the boundaries of any state. The report of the Maine commissioners shows that under the guide law, one thousand three hundred and sixteen (1,316) guides are registered, and that for one season's guiding their compensation amounted to 1155,754, or three dollars per day for each guide for the time employed by him during the open season. The report fixes the amount received by the taxi- �BIENNIAL REPORT 20 derdmists of Maine, for mounting large game, birds and thousand dollars for one season. The number of residents guided during one season fish at fifty was 3,384, and of non-i*esidents, 7,123. number of moose (which nearly corresponds in importance and size to our elk) reported killed in one season was 250; total number of caribo'u, 239; The total number of making a grand total number game killed deer, 8,947; total of bears, 160; total of large in one season of 9,596. This is a great record for a state containing a total area of less than one-third of that of Colorado and answers emphatically and affirmatively^ the question often asked in Colorado: "Can game protection laws be made to protect and preserve the game?" Now as to the important question of revenue to be derived by the state from game protection. The report of the Maine commissioners shows that during one season, non-residents who employed registered guides, expended in that state at least two millions of dollars, and that residents while engaged in hunting and fishing, expended at least |150,000 more. This latter is regarded as a distinct gain to the state, by reason of the game protection these citizens were induced to spend this money at home instead of being for compelled to go elsewhere. It seems to me that this showing should convince the most skeptical that strict game laws strictly enforced, is good policy for any state, such as Colorado, naturally abounding in game, and that liberal appropriations by our legislatures for such purpose will prove investments that will repay the outlay many fold. The registered and licensed guide system having been found to work so advantageously in Maine, there is no reason to suppose it would not prove equally as satisfactory in Colorado. The system would give the guides standing and protection, and at the same time put them upon their responsibility as being jointly required with wardens to permit no illegal killing of game and to at �STATE FOREST;, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 21 once arrest and prosecute any one detected in violating the laws. The provision in our present law for the appointment by the Commissioner at his pleasure, of special wardens without pay, and the one giving sheriffs of counties and constables the same power as wardens and requiring them to enforce the law in the same manner are not effective in protecting the game to any great exIt is impossible to discriminate properly among the numerous applicants for appointment as special wardens, many of such appointees having used such authority for anything but a good purpose, and there is no ef- tent. fective means of has been issued. withdrawing such appointment once it It is the exception, too, to find a sheriff" or constable, as such, who is at all zealous in the enforcement of the game and fish laws, though I am glad to testify to the fact that there are notable exceptions, and many good sportsmen and staunch supporters of the game law give, without pay, valuable service to the state as special wardens. The number wardens in the state holding not much short of two hundred. The appropriation for the pay of the three wardens who are on salary, and for one-half the pay and expenses of the Commissioner of this department, together with an appropriation of one hundred dollars for printing the of such appointments from laws in me is pamphlet form for free distribution, which is all that can be properly charged against game protection, amounts to three thousand eight hundred dollars per annum. My judgment is that the number of pay wardens should be increased to at least six, so as to better cover the game districts of the state, and provision should also be made for the appointment and pay of additional wardens to serve when required. Usually for three or four months immediately before, during and following the close of the open season. All the additional expense thus created, and probably much more, could be secured without cost to the state �BIENNIAL RErORT 22 by means of a bunting- license and otber licenses to be issued in connection with fish ponds and game preserves. I might add here that the limiting of the number and quantity of game and fish which one person may kill in a day, meets with considerable opposition from some of those whose superior skill and opportunities enable them to indulge in what may be justly termed unreasonable and exterminating slaughter. This opposition is based on the fact that ducks are migrator^', but public sentiment, in mj judgment, is overwhelmingij' in favor of a limit regardless of the migratory character of the game. The wild pigeons were migratory and once existed in the Mississippi valley in countless millions, and yet they have disappeared. Other states have already enacted limiting laws, and it is altogether likely that such laws will be generally adopted within the next two years. Although there is yet opjjosition to the existence and enforcement of all game laws, there has been a remarkable change of public sentiment in their favor all over the country, including Colorado, within the last few years. An objection often urged is that game laws are not obeyed, cannot be perfectly enforced, and hence should not be enacted. The fact is that no laws are either obeyed or perfectly enforced. The game laws are to-day as well obeyed and enforced throughout the state as the laws against gambling, illegal liquor selling and many others. If all the laws enacted were o|)eyeiL,jjv«. would need no criminal courts, wherens^the y nre (^o.n.^.tnntly engaged in more or less fruitless efforts to. --efiioit'ee- obedience to law. ,^-.« ».«, This objection comes from people who either are opposed to law in general, or are thougtit4esS'"(Tr misinformed. Its logical result would be the repeal of all laws, and it therefore deserves no consideration whatever. To attempt to exjjlain in detail what legislation I would recommend would require more space than I feel �STATE FOREST, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 23 necessary to devote to it in this report, especially so view of the fact that some of the leading sportsmen of the state, and those interested in the passage of salutary game and fish laws, will prepare and consider a bill for introduction into the legislature. This should insure its prompt passage without attempt at amendment, which too often results in making a defective law of what was .•a measure of much merit upou its introduction as a bill. is in FISH. There is no appropriation made by each succeeding legislature, not excepting that for the protection of game, that pays better on the investment, both in coin and in general public approval, than that made for the maintenance of the several state fish hatcheries. My experience has taught me, during my occupancy of this office, that a great majority of people of all classes of the state, not only fully commend what is done by each legislature in providing funds for the propagation and distribution of trout fry into the many fine trout streams of the state, but the same public opinion would approve of considerably greater appropriations for the same purpose. The only condition that I desire to add to this state- ment is that the money so appropriated shall be hon- estly expended, agreeable to the purposes of the appro- and the result to be what should reasonably be anticipated from a given expenditure with the hatcheries under the control of an energetic and competent priations, management. The state has at the present time three hatcheries in operation. The appropriations made by the eleventh general assembly were for the maintenance of these One on the three. They are located as follows: Brighton road and near the Platte river, nine miles distant from Denver, commonly called the ''Denver Hatchery;" one near the Gunnison river, and adjoining the �24 BIENNIAL REPORT town site of Gunnison on the west, linown as the "Gunnison Hatchery ;" and the third one located near the Las Animas river, twelve miles from Durango, and commonly called the "Lsi Plata Hatchery." For the better understanding of yourself and the members of the legislature, I hope to incorporate with this report, in its printed form, views of the buildings, s grounds and surroundings of these hatcheries. The state has some troughs and a little other personal property in a log building at the abandoned hatchery at Twin Lakes. The commissioner should be given legislative authoritj' to sell this property at the best price obtainable before it is permitted to 16se its entire value from non-use, and to cover the money so derived^ into the state treasury. The state also owns a hatchery site in Douglas county, of about thirty acres, for w^hich the state paid three hundred dollars some time in 1893, and three hundred dollars additional is said to have been spent upon As a demand for it in the way of improving the land. an additional hatchery, so located, is not apparent, I would recommend the disposal of the land at the best price obtainable exceeding or equaling the cost of the tract to the state. The work of the several hatcheries under my administration has been very satisfactory to me and I have confidence to believe a full inquiry into the methods employed and success attained at these hatcheries in the propagation and distribution of trout fry the past two seasons, will meet with your commendation and the approval of the general public. This success is in part due to the efforts and cooperation with me, of Mr. E. F. Campbell, the state superintendent of hatcheries, together with the intelligent and conscientious work accomplished by each of the assistant superintendents in charge of the several hatcheries. The names of these assistant superintendents, together with a complete statement of the improvements �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 25 made and young fish hatched at each hatchery the past two seasons, appear elsewhere in this report. As a result of the restocking of the clear streams most of such streams are now well supplied with trout, and Colorado in consequence has lost nothing of its reputation as being the country of beautiful streams from which the expert with the rod, line and fly is always rewarded with a good string of the ''speckof the state, led beauties." The only streams that might be noted as exceptions are the beautiful White and Bear rivers, in Rio Blanco and Routt counties, and some of the tributaries iVll of these head waters of the Grand river. streams have been, if they are not to-day, the finest fishing streams in the state, but constant fishing has depleted them to a large extent, and, owing to their distance from railroads and the difQculty in successfully transporting fry to replenish them, they have been practically neglected in the annual distributions of fry from A shipment of fry which was the state hatcheries. fairly successful, from the Denver hatchery, to each of the White and Bear rivers, and another to Grand lake, made last Ispring, were to the best of my knowledge, the first stocking of those waters by the state; or at least the first stocking of the two first named. It is my judgment that these waters should not be neglected in future, but should be liberally restocked each season, and in order to do so successfully a hatchery should be established at some central location in Northwestern Qolorado, most convenient to all the waters named, or perhaps it should be located with reference to the White and Bear rivers only. Such a location would come more nearly meeting the needs of additional hatchery facilities than any other I can suggest. In selecting a location I consider it to be of prime importance to keep in sight the question of successful distribution of the product, and on. that score the section named can put forth a strong claim for a hatchery. to the �BIENNIAL REPORT 26 The product of the Denver hatchery might be increased many fold and yet be insufficient to fully meet the demands made upon it by the trout streams of merit, which may be fairly considered as being within its exclusive territory. The onl}^ question considered when speaking of ''territory" of this hatchery, or another, relates to the time necessarily consumed in putting the young fish into the streams from the hatcheries. Economy of time is very important in connection with the most successful planting of fry. Considering the number of campers who annually camp along and whip the waters of the Platte river and its tributaries, it is not too much to say that all of the product of the Denver hatchery since its establishment, could have been placed in such streams to good advantage; but, instead, this product has been also made to supply the upper Rio Grande del Norte river and tributaries, the head waters of the Eagle river and all of the many streams flowing therein throughout its length, and other streams and lakes of eastern and western Colorado, more successfully stocked from this hatchery than any other. The upper Gunnison river and the many fine trout streams that contribute to swell its volume, both below and above the town of Gunnison, can easily absorb ajl the trout hatched at the Gunnison hatchery, even though its yearly product in future may be increased several fold. But, in addition to these streams flowing into the Uncompagre waters, river, many which are good trout streams, must depend upon the of this hatchery for fry. There are many fine streams in southwestern Colorado and in the center of that section, the La Plata hatchery is located. Its capacity is not as great as either of the other hatcheries and its entire product is yearly distributed to good advantage into the Rio Las Animas, the upper Dolores river and tributaries, and the Rio de los Pinos, the Rio Piedra and the Rio San Juan. All of these are among the finest trout streams in the state. �STATE FOREST, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 27 In 1113^ judgment all of the hatcheries are admirably situated with reference to their contiguity to the streams which they are designed to restock, and if any thing is wanting in the future, as to the Gunnison and La Plata hatcheries, it will be new locations in the same territory with reference to securing better water supply as to the former, and a greater supply as to the latter. The trout with which the lakes and streams of Colorado are principally stocked are the native or black spotted mountain trout (Salmo mykiss), the eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), and the Rainbow or California trout (Salmo irideus). There are other varieties of trout in some of the lakes and streams, but they are few in number and the ones named are by far the principal varieties in point of numbers. The state hatcheries, during the past two seasons, have propagated and distributed the rainbows and eastern brooks only, though it would be my policy another season, should the appropriations justify it, to arrange for securing the ova and making a hatching of the natives at both the Denver and La Plata hatcheries, following the distribution of the rainbow fry. This could not be done at Gunnison, because of the altitude and the fact that the rainbows and natives spawn at too nearly the same time there, and the former cannot be hatched and distributed in time to make room in the troughs for the eggs of the latter. The conditions as to altitude, etc., make it possible two hatcheries. to accomplish this at the other During my term of office the water supply has been increased and improved at all of the hatcheries. In that part of the report relating to the "Denver Hatchery" I shall recommend the purchase of an additional piece of land for that hatchery on account of the large number of springs thereon and the great additional amount of water to be thereby obtained. In addition to the consideration of the subject by the legislature of how to hatch and distribute the great- �28 BIENNIAL REPORT est number of fry into the waters of the state at the expense, it will also be well to further consider the ter of the protection of the fish after they have put into the streams. While there always has beeu, and always will least matbeen be, a amount of illegal fishing done with hook and line, the amount of fish so taken is comparatively inconsequential, and if the fish laws of the state continue to be rigidly enforced the practice will grow less and less. The arch enemy of the fish streams and greatest obstacle to the work of keeping them stocked, is the dynamiter. This method of taking fish is so generally abhorred and condemned that the comparatively few who practice it do their work with the greatest stealth, selecting secluded and isolated places for their operations. For this reason, the evidences of the dynamiter's work is usually only disclosed by the presence of dead and mangled fish of all sizes, floating down stream, yet it is praccertain crime on the perpetrator of the outrage or catch him in the act. The effect of the dynamite is to kill all fish, big and little, indiscriminately, within reach of its force, and to maim and bruise many others that must afterwards die. tically impossible to fix the I have perhaps received more complaints of this nature than of all other offenses combined, but I fail to remember one instance in which the complainant was willing to be identified with a prosecution of the kind himself, nor could or would furnish the name of one witness whose testimony would offer the chance of a conviction. The remedy that suggests itself to me is that dynamiting public streams or lakes be made a felony and that a reward be paid out of the game and fish fund, be given the person or persons furnishing testimony which results in a conviction for the offense. There is a wide divergence of opinion between the champions of the several varieties of trout propagated by the state and turned into the streams, but I believe the consensus of opinion to be that each variety has its �: STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 29 strong points and a variety that will thrive and increase stream will not do so well in another. Thus while the native mountain trout and the eastern brook trout seem better adapted to the colder waters of the higher streams and lakes, the rainbow trout will seek the larger streams and waters of a much higher temperature lower in one down. The rainbow trout has made the great reputation enjoyed by the Gunnison river as being one of the finest fishing streams in the state, and the demand there is that no other variety of fry be placed in its waters. Again, other sections call for other varieties for the restocking of other streams. My experience and information leads me to believe that one great advantage on the side of the rainbow and eastern brook trout is the fact of their seeming greater vitality and hardiness. I am satisfied that the rate of loss both with ova and fry in the hatchery and in the distribution of the fry is not so great as with the native trout. If I mistake not this is also the opinion held by E. A. Tulian, Esq., superintendent of the United States fish hatchery near Leadville, this state. One of the greatest sources of destruction of fish in the streams is that resulting from the pollution of the waters by mill operations. Our existing law on that subject, which section 36, of the forestry, follows game and fish is found in law of the state, "It shall be unlawful to empty or cause or suffer to be emptied or dispersed, any saw-dust or other destructive substance into any of the waters of this state containing food fish, or in any such place or within such distance as to cause to be carried into such waters by nat- ural causes." This section has presented a very difficult problem department in the matter of its enforcement. to this On the one hand we have arrayed the interests that champion the cause of clear streams in behalf of fishing �BIENNIAL REPORT 30 and the claims of the domestic users, and on the other hand the mining and milling interests, representing the paramount industry of Colorado. So far as the law relates to pollution by saw-dust, the requirement is not a hard one, as saw-dust may be destroyed by burning or controlled by other means, and I have not hesitated to prosecute without discrimination all offenses of this nature where the necessary evidence of guilt was forthcoming. Short!}' following my assumption of the oflQce of Commissioner at the head of this department, I caused concerning game, all of which will be found elsewhere in this report, a circular entitled "Fish" addressed "To whom it may concern," but particularly directed in reply to numerous communications received at this office asking for an interpretation of the section of the law now under to be issued, along with — — other circulars consideration. The circular explains itself. Following the issuance of this circular, I visited several of the prominent concentrating and stamp mills, whose operations were resulting in the discoloration in some instances, and the actual pollution in other cases, of the waters in the streams on which the mills were located. I or any representative department have visited the owners or operators of any of these mills, for the purpose of devising a means of impounding the tailings proceeding from the crushed ore, and thereby XJi'eventing the further pollution of the streams, we were uniformly met with courtesy and In each instance in which of this offered every facility for ascertaining the situation. The mill men declared their willingness to do all was possible consistent with reasonable expenditures, to impound the tailings, but in each instance were able to demonstrate that such work could not afford more than temporary relief, for the reason that the mills were necessarily located in narrow gulches or canons, and it was impossible to find a sufficient tract of level that �HTATE FOllEST, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 31 ground within reasonable distance on which settling ponds might be constructed. Considering the extreme importance of the mining interests to Colorado, I have not considered myself justified, in view of the foregoing explanation, in instituting wholesale prosecutions against mill operations for j)olluting the waters of certain of the fish streams of the state. The same reason I have given for refraining from prosecuting the mill men applies to the operations of the placers with equal if not greater force, on account of the greater volume of water employed. It seems to me that the time must come, if indeed it be not already here, when certain streams of the state must be given over to the mining industry of the state for all time so far as the state's fish interests are concerned, and other fish streams, of which there are many, whose location will save them from such destruction, will needs be stocked and guarded with increasing care. This doubtless is a subject which calls for the early consideration of the law-making body of the state, and I trust that the twelfth general assembly will find time to enact a law, in place of the one now on our statutes, more clearly setting forth the duties of this department in the matter of polluted streams and providing a means by friendly civil proceeding perhaps, of determining what streams belong to the mining industry and which are to be saved for the trout. By courtesy of Hon. John Sharp, the state fish and game warden to secure of Utah, I from Utah was enabled in November, 1897, thousand two lake, near Provo, five hundred yearlings, large mouth or Oswego black bass. These fish were placed in the Grand and Gunnison rivers at several points between Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction in the first named river and between Delta and Grand Junction in the last named. The successful manner in which this fine fish has been introduced into the lakes and streams of Utah leads �BIENNIAL REPORT 32 me to hope equally at and believe that they home will find themselves in Colorado. The belief in some minds that these fish will ascend the streams and prove destructive to the trout, I do not regard as being well founded. The large mouth black bass, as distinguished from the small mouth, seeks lower waters and of a higher temperature than does the trout, and I have been reliably informed of instances in Utah where the cold streams emptying into the lakes, teem with trout, while the lakes are alive with bass, yet neither fish to any great extent follows into the territory of the other. An additional lot of these bass, both yearlings and spawners, two years old and passed, numbering two thousand of the former and four hundred and fifty of the latter, were secured for the state, by Mr. R. D. Haney, from some of the lakes near Denver, and i)laced part in the Grand river at the mouth of the Eagle and below, and part in the Las Animas river at Durango. I have made several efforts to secure a stock of the yellow channel cat-fish with the intention of placing them in the larger streams of western Colorado, but so I still hope that this purpose will far without success. time in the future. some accomplished at be This variety of cat is extremely palatable and would, doubtless, flourish and attain a good growth in the streams mentioned. All varieties of cat-fish are, I believe, found in the lower waters of the streams flowing eastward from Colorado. I have frequently heard it asserted, though I do not vouch for the accuracy of the statement, that cat-fish are not native to any of the waters w^est of the Continental divide. However, my eiforts to stock the western streams During the cat-fish have not been wholly fruitless. with month of November just passed, I succeeded in closing a contract for a number of mud-cat spawners and also a number of blue channel cat spawners. These mud-cat are of the large kind that attain several pounds in weight �STATE FOREST, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 33 under favorable conditions. These are to be placed in the Grand and Gunnison rivers. In leaving the subject of fish, I do so with a sense of having but poorly performed my task, but, before concluding, I desire to acknowledge my obligations on behalf of the state, for the many courtesies received from most of the railroads and express companies in connection with transportation furnished officials of this department and in transporting the young fish to the streams throughout the state without charge. Without desiring or seeming in the least particular to dictate to the appointing power, permit me a few words on a subject which may not be regarded by some as being properly a part of this report. I want to state, as my judgment, that the best results to the state from the operations of this department, can only be secured by the inauguration of a policy controlling appointments upon merit and fitness alone. The work of the department for the most part, as all must recognize, is such as requires special knowledge and experience in order to insure the greatest success therein, based attainable in its operations. The hearty cooperation of all citizens in its work is also essential if the objects sought to be accomplished are to be realized at their full. To that end there should be no consideration of politics in connection with this department of all others, and it should be in no wise threatened or disturbed solely on account of party supremacy in the state. Those best qualified to give the best service to the state should be assured of retention while satisfactory service continues. Such a rule would prove an inducement to the constant and continued acquirement of knowledge on a subject that under other conditions an official or employee, by the grace of political influence alone, might deem it a waste of time and mental energy to gain. The government hatchery in this state, as are those elsewhere, is conducted under civil service rules, and it �BIENNIAL REPORT 34 admitted that the annual work done is a credit to the government and to the competent superintendent in charge, E. A. Tuliau, will be geueially at that establishment Esq. system of tenure of office in connection with propagation has proven profitable to the government, why should it not prove equally so to Colorado? If this fish CHANGES IN LAWS RECOMMENDED. Following are some of the changes and additions that occur to me, which should be made in the existing forestry, game and fish laws of the state: new law should be enacted relating to the subThis action would disjects of game and fish alone. pose of all questions that have been raised as to the A constitutionality of the existing act on those subjects. A new law should be enacted relating to the sub- The duties in connection with this department could be placed upon the commissioner and wardens of the game and fish department without ad- ject of forestry. ditional cost to the state. The salary of the Commissioner should be increased from twelve hundred dollars per annum to at least eighteen hundred dollars. The heads of all other departments are jjaid a sum much greater than this, even, and I do not know of a department the duties of which are more onerous and exacting, if properl}' discharged, nor more important to the state. The provision in the law relating to trap shooting by regularly organized clubs, at pigeons, should be cut out for the reason, in my opinion, that it is doubtful if such a provision has any proper and legal place in a game law. Under the existing law, there is a provision for the appointment of special w^ardens, but no means are pro- vided for carrying into effect the revocation of such appointments if such action is thought to be desirable. �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 35 Those who have abused the use of such appointments during my administration, have failed to return the written appointment on demand by me. There is a considerable demand that the limit of twenty birds per day be taken otf ducks and geese, for the reason that these birds are migratory, and that not many other states thus protect them. It might be well to raise the limit in number to be in possession of one person at any time, to say fifty birds. There is a provision in the existing law for the "establishment" of parks "for breeding, domesticating and raising of elk, antelope, deer or mountain sheep," but no provision is made whereby such animals may be secured A very material omisProvision should be made remedying this defect in the law which would at the same time settle the question of ownership of all such animals now held in such parks which were secured prior to and since the passage of the existing act, on the for the stocking of such parks. sion it would seem. subject. The provision in the existing law making it "unlawful to use any dog or dogs for the purpose of running or coursing mountain sheep, deer, antelope or elk,'' is not stringent enough. It should be made lawful for any person to kill any dog found coursing such game, and subject its owner, if found, to prosecution and fine. There should be a short open season, say of two weeks, on horned elk. I believe their numbers will justify it and permission to kill this much prized game, even for a short season, will attract many persons and much money here that now annually goes to other states. The and forbidding the polluand made more specific as to the duty of the Commissioner and wardens in relation to all conditions of pollution that have arisen and may arise. section relating to tion of fish streams should be amplified There should be a provision forbidding the removal �BIENNIAL REPORT 36 of evidence of sex from the hide of any elk, deer or antelope while the carcass is being transported or in possession of any person who may be legally entitled to possess the same. It has been suggested that for the state to offer a bounty on Bald and Golden eagles would be the means of saving many fawns and lambs of mountain sheep. The Commissioner should be given greater authormatter of granting certificates to any member of any society of natural history or certain other persons, to kill or take out of season, any of the game protected by the act. Such authority should be made a ity in the source of revenue to the game fund. No person should be permitted to kill to exceed one each, in one season, of the various kinds of large game permitted to be killed. There should be a provision for a shooting license at reasonable cost, with which should be issued coupons, one each for each kind of large game permitted to be killed and one each for the heads and hides thereof, to be attached to any such carcass, head or hide. The absence of such coupon from the carcass, head or hide of any of such animals thereafter taken, to be prima facie evidence of the illegal possession thereof. made for additional revenue to fund from licenses to be issued to the Provision should be the game and fish owners of private lakes and fish ponds, whereby the owner of such lake or pond would bet given authority and protection of the law in marketing his product. Provision should be made for the couponing or tagging of all heads, hides and scalps found in stock or held by taxidermists and glove makers. To regulate the business of taxidermists has been one of the greatOften under pretense est difficulties I have met with. of long ownership of an ''old lot of scalps and hides," such dealers are able to defeat the law in continually getUnder the coupon ting new stock to replace the old. system the possession, of any hide or scalp without a ��STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 37 coupon attached would make it subject to seizure and would be prima facie evidence of unlawful possession. The killing of any buffalo should be made a penal offense, with a proper reward to any one furnishing evidence on which a conviction is secured. It has been suggested to me that there shoud be a close season for bears, but just when and for how long such season could be fixed to the best advantage I am not prepared to state. THE DENVER HATCHERY. E. L. HAGER, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT. This hatchery is situated upon a tract of land containing little less than twelve acres, near the Platte The site was preriver, nine miles distant from Denver. sented to the state in 1880, by Waddingham and Daniels on condition that when it ceases to be used for fish hatchery purposes title shall revert to doners. It is stated that at the time the tract was secured a larger acreage could have been had on the same terms, or at If this is true it least for a small money consideration. was a short-sighted policy that it was not done. The land adjoining, which should be secured by the state to permit a proper increase of hatching facilities at this plant, either by long term lease or by purchase, is now the sole property of Mr. John Daniels, and its value has very materially increased since the plant was established. I am not at the present moment prepared to say what an additional tract of eight or ten acres of this land would cost the state, either by lease or purchase, but Mr. Daniels has stated that he would only ask a reasonable price. I would urgently recommend that authority be granted b}^ the legislature to secure this additional tract, or the water issuing from the springs thereon, on some terms, as the need of the use and control of all of this �BIENNIAL REPORT 38 water is absolutel^y essential to the proper and possible increase of the fry product. Under my predecessor, Mr. Gordon Land, there existed a contract between the state and Mr, Daniels, for the use of this water at a rental price of twenty dollars per month. This contract or lease did not extend beyond the term of office of my predecessor, and I did not on those terms. Doubtless twenty years, much better conditions could be secured, and, too, on a short term lease running but two years, the state would not be justified in going to the expense of making necessary improvements in ditching and tiling, in order to secure the full use of the water to be obtained by such means. It is my opinion that the land wanted can be had at such price as will justify the state, on the ground of economy, to purchase it outright. feel justified in on a long- term renewing it lease, say for The temperature of the water at this hatchery the year round, is fifty-four to fifty-six degrees Fahrenheit, making it most favorable for the quick hatching of the ova and the successful development of the alevin and fry. Only a small per cent, of the 1897 appropriation for amounting to twenty-nine hundred dol- this hatchery, can be properly charged to the account of fry proNine hundred dollars of the amount represents the salary of the superintendent in charge and about forty per cent, of the balance went to paj' for the permanent improvements that will stand for many years to come. Some of these improvements are: The painting of the outside of every building on the premises, including the roofs, (excepting the residence part of the hatchlars, duction. ery, which was painted) none of these buildings had ever been in contact with paint before; the entire re-shingling of the hatchery, which had probably not been shingled since its construction, and which leaked like a sieve; the construction of a rearing house, twenty by fifty-two feet, together with twenty-six troughs, sixteen feet by twelve inches in dimensions. A water supply was also built for this house, consisting of an underground flow through ; �STATE FOREST;, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 39 brought from springs on the premises, two hundred and fifty-two feet in length. In the hatching house are twenty troughs of the same dimensions as those mentioned above. Some of these are old, and have only been continued in use by much patching. New troughs to replace some of these will need to be provided soon. All of the above mentioned improvements were tiling, in 1897, after my assumption of the office of Commissioner and under the direction of Sui3erintendent made Hager. In addition, the largest pond on the premises was constructed. In the way of personal property a new delivery wagon, that is a credit to the state, a new set of double harness, and an additional horse, have been purchased. The rearing house was built to serve the purpose of another building of about the same dimensions, which had been constructed and maintained by the state, on the premises of Mr. J. M. Broadwell, near by, for the purpose of securing the use of the water to be had there at an annual rental of one hundred and twenty-five dollars. I cut off this expense by develojjing sufficient additional water on the state's property with which to supply the troughs in the new rearing house. Under the terms of the contract made with Mr. feroadwell by my predecessor, he was permitted to hold possession of the old building and the troughs therein. The fry distributed from this hatchery in 1897 were those that were turned over to me by my predecessor in April of that year. Their number, including both rainbows and eastern brooks, was two hundred and seventythree thousand, besides two thousand kept in the hatchery ponds. The eggs taken by us from the eastern brook trout November and December, 1897, mostly in the former month, numbered one hundred and twenty-five thousand. The rainbows begin spawning here early in December in and continue for three or four months. Five hundred and seventy-five thousand eggs were taken from these �BIENNIAL REPORT 40 From these eastern brook and rainbow hundred and twenty-seven thousand fry were hatched and distributed the past season. trout in 1897-8. ova, six There are now in the ponds on the hatchery prem-ises the neighborhood of one thousand eastern brook spawners, two years old and upward, and four thousand of the rainbows all in fine, healthy condition. in With this stock of spawners and given an additional supply of good water, and some additional troughs, I can see no reason why the product from these fish for 1899 should not be increased by fifty per cent. With the addition an increased water supply it and hatch ova which may be procured from some of the lakes from native trout, and if this is done fifteen hundred thousand fry will not be an excessive estimate of the product of this hatchery of will also be possible to secure for 1899. In concluding these remarks in relation to this hatchery I want to commend the services to the state of Mr. E. L, Hager, the assistant superintendent in charge, and also those of his willing aide, Mr. C. Dowdell. Mr. Hager is a man of unusual force of character, and he has taken a pride in Jiis work there that could not have been greater had he owned the establishment. The very commendable condition as to the buildings, grounds, and ponds and fish therein, vindicates the application and worth of his intelligent energy. During the when sitting of the legislature will be a time most interesting period of its operations. The spawning and hatching process will be progressing during most of that period, and the eyed ova, and the alevins can be seen in the troughs. A visit at such a time by the men who must decide upon appropriations to be made to maintain this this hatchery can be seen at the important institution of the state, will give them a clearer idea of what has been done and the needs of the future, than the most careful reading of any report I could make on the subject. ��STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 41 THE GUNNISON HATCHERY. H. S. CROOKS, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDtJNT. The location river, on leased nison, adjoining Gunnison an addition to the town of Guni- of this hatchery is near the lots in it on the west. The water supply is from an underflow secured by means of underground piping to the hatchery from wells sunk at no great, distance from the river, and from an overflow from the city waterworks. The suj^ply from the wells is the best for use in the hatchery, though at times it has been insuflicient and at such times it has been necessary to add a quantity of the river water. The temperature ery troughs, is of this water, as used in the hatch- thirty-eight to fifty degrees Fahrenheit. On account of this low temperature the process of hatching the ova is usually slow, often requiring nearly twice the time consumed at either of the other hatcheries. At the time I took charge of the department in April, 1897, this hatchery was perhaps in the worst condition of any of the hatcheries. There were one hundred and fift^'-four thousand fry but as these had been reared on shares, the state got but one half of them, and these seventyseven thousand were the sum total of the distribution from this hatchery in 1897. By actual count the only spawners on hand in the ponds at this time were two hundred and thirty-four eastern brook trout and fifty-six rainbows. With this small number of rainbows it was impossible to secure enough ova to make a hatching, and efforts to obtain ova from other sources failed. At this time the hatch house was an unpainted ramshackle old store building twenty by sixty feet in dimensions, with a glass front and with roof and sides that leaked rain and atmosphere in excessive quantities. in the troughs, In this condition, the building was really unfit for �BIENNIAL KEPOirr 42 winter hatching-, and it has been told me as a fact that the water had been Icnown to freeze solid in the troughs containing the ova. During the summer of 1897 I ordered the reconstruction of the hatchery building and other needed repairs and improvements on the premises. The hatchery building was reshingled, reboarded outside and lined inside throughout with matched lumber. The glass front was removed and replaced with a tight board front containing a single door and moderate sized windows. Several living rooms were set off in the front part of the building for the use of the superintendent. In addition to these repairs an addition tw^elve feet wide running its entire length was constructed on the east side of the building and the entire structure including the roof was painted. The hatchery, in its old condition, contained sixteen troughs. have added fourteen to this number in the reconstructed building. These troughs are twelve and thirteen feet in length by twelve inches in width. As the Gunnison hatchery now^ stands, it is about the most complete, commodious and substantial of any owned by the state. Another improvement made here last year was the constructing of a work and store house. The building is frame, fourteen by sixteen feet, shingle roof, and painted. We Other improvements made the same year were the construction of 1,425 additional feet of underground fluming and i)iping to increase the water supply for the hatchery and ponds, and the building of several ponds. One thousand feet of the underground piping of galvanized iron, which furnishes about one half the supply of water to the hatchery, has now been constructed seven years, and its rotted and rusted condition is injurious to the water. Another danger is that it may collapse at any time and shut off the w^ater supply to the hatchery. Another season must not be allowed to pass until this pipe line is enlarged and renewed. The �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 43 work will probably be five hundred to seven hundred dollars. The product of fry at this hatchery the present season was three hundred and eighty thousand, of which three hundred thousand were eastern brooks and balance rainbows. The product would have been much greater if it had been possible to secure as many rainbow ova as was secured of the eastern brooks. Of the eastern brooks we now have a nice lot of spawners in the ponds and the ova now being taken from these will probably amount to all we can handle in the troughs and will insure a large increase in procost of the duction of fry next season. I am informed by Mr. .Crooks, that he has recently succeeded in catching several hundred rainbow spawners from the river and hopes to be able to get enough of them in the ponds to insure the taking of enough eggs to fill the troughs at the proper time. With the existing facilities at this hatchery, together with an appropriation sufficient to buy ova, if enough cannot be obtained from the spawners in the ponds, it is safe to say that the number of fry that can be hatched and reared another season will easily double the product of 1898. Mr. H. S. Crooks, the assistant superintendent at this hatchery, has labored hard and faithfully to put the plant in its present creditable condition, and under all the circumstances no hatchery in the state has made a better showing. His conduct of the affairs under his immediate charge has been most satisfactory to me and apparently to his neighbors in Gunnison City, and I am confident in asserting that the people of the state have had full value received for what has been paid Mr. Crooks for his services. �BIENNIAL REPORT 44 THE LA PLATA HATCHERY. W. E. PATRICK, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT. This hatchery is situated in the valley of the Las Animas river, twelve miles from Durango, and two miles from Hermosa station on the Silverton branch of the Denver and Kio Grande railroad. The hatchery premises consists of a tract of three and fifty-two hundredths acres. So far as I have been able to learn, title in the tract is vested in the county of La Plata, with provisional title in the state, to the effect that it shall continue to be the property of the state so long as it is used for fish hatchery purposes. The frame hatchery building, which is thirtj^-six by forty-six feet in dimensions, is in excellent repair and was the best building of the kind owned by the state at the time of my taking charge in April, 1897. There are fourteen troughs fourteen feet in length and fourteen and sixteen inches in width. Only part of the building is now used for hatching purposes. Part of it is occupied as living quarters for the assistant superintendent and his family, and part of the space is not occupied at all except to store coal, fry-delivery cans and other articles. The number of troughs can be doubled without disturbing the family quarters as now arranged. There is a barn on the premises large enough to house a horse and wagon, and a hay loft above. In 1897 I caused to be erected an ice house of plain lumber and shingled roof, fourteen by twenty feet in dimensions, and also had the premises inclosed with a tight wire fence. • an underground flume, six by eight inches, an underground flow of The supply from this water to the hatchery troughs. source had been diminishing until I had the line extended somewhat, and upon investigation the flume was found to have grown almost full with the roots Since the removal of this obstruction the of willows. There is 1,200 feet in length, conveying ��STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 45 supply of good hatcbiug water would be sufficieut for twice tlie i)resent uumber of trougbs. Tbe water for tbe pouds on tbe premises is supplied from a brook formed from a number of springs near by. In 1897 tbe fry reared and distributed from tbis batcbery numbered eigbty-nine tbousand. Tbe present season, under tbe successful management of Assistant Superintendent W. E. Patrick, tbe number was tbree bundred and fifty tbousand, ninety tbousand of wbicb were rainbows and tbe balance eastern brooks. Anotber season watb additional trougbs in tbe batcbery and given sufficient appropriation to bandle a hatching of native spawn, following tbe distribution of tbe other fry, there is no reason why tbe record of the La Plata hatchery should not exceed that of 1898 by more than double the production. The water here is most excellent for hatching the ova, and the spawners in tbe ponds are strong and healthy. Tbe Durango and throughout that secand interest in the hatchery, and are always ready to contrib- citizens of tion of the state take great pride work of this ute in every way to its success. The limit of its possible development under good management can only, be reckoned by the amount of money appropriated yearly for its use. Under the competent management of Superintendent Patrick the hatchery had made a record the past season second to none in the state. In achieving this success he has had the hearty good-will and coopei'ation of all the public spirited citizens of Durango and vicinity. Before closing tbis record I can not afford to omit mention of the work of private individuals in assisting the state, at their own personal expense, in restocking the streams of southwestern Colorado. I refer to the operations of the Emerald Lake hatchery, owned by Mr. W. T. Kirkpatrick and associates. In 1896 the lake �BIENNIAL REPORT 46 was located under the reservoir act and the water in the lake was raised. A hatchery was established which has now been in operation three years and its product placed in the lake each year until the present season, when the four hundred thousand fry produced were placed one-half in the lake and one-half in the Rio de los Pinos. Such work as and this on the part of Mr. Kirkpatric-k worthy of gen- his associates reveals a public spirit eral recosrnition. �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 47 ESTIMATE OP APPROPRIATIONS REQUIRED FOR MAINTENANCE OP GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT. What For Commissioner's salary ._ 1 Commissioner's traveling expenses Stenographer's salary Superintendent of hatcheries' salary Superintendent of hatcheries' traveling expenses Six chief game wardens' salaries ($900 each) Six chief game wardens' traveling expenses ($300 each).. Distribution X)f fry from hatcheries _ Biennial report Publishing laws for two years Totals DENVER HATCHERY. Assistant superintendent's salary One employee's Improvements, salary ice house, ova maintenance, etc Additional grounds, six to teu acres (estimated) Totals GUNNISON HATCHERY. Assistant superintendent's salary One employee's Improvements, Totals salary ova, maintenance, etc �48 BIENNIAL REPORT ESTIMATE— Concluded. LA PLATA HATCHERY. What For �STATE FOREST, GAME AND PISH COMMISSIONER. TROUT FRY DISTmBUTION, DENVER HATCHERY— Continued. EL PASO COUNTY. Year 49 �50 BIENNIAL REPORT TROUT FRY DISTRIBUTION, DENVER HATCHERY— Continued. LAKE COUNTY. Year 1897 �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 51 TROUT FRY DISTRIBUTION, DENVER HATCHERY— Concluded. RIO BLANCO COUNTY. White river SUMMIT COUNTY. 1897 Upper Blue river, Upper Blue tributaries of Ten-Mile river river SAGUACHE COUNTY. 11,000 15,000 �52 BIENNIAL REPORT TROUT FRY DISTRIBUTION, GUNNISON HATCHERY— Continued. GUNNISON COUNTY. Year �STATE FOREST, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. TROUT FRY DISTRIBUTION, GUNNISON HATCHERY— Concluded, RIO Year GRANDE COUNTY. 53 �BIENNIAL REPORT 54 TROUT FRY DISTRIBUTION, LA PLATA HATCHERY— Concluded. LA PLATA COUNTY. Year Disposition Hermosa ;tta creek, Junction creek, Florida river, Cs reek ne river, Vallicetta river, Ju MONTEZUMA COUNTY. Mancos river Mancos river SAN JUAN COUNTY. Needle creek �. STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. STATE FISH HATCHERY—ACCOUNT. DENVER. By appropriation for fiscal year 1897 appropriation for To fiscal year 1S9S E. Daniels, water rent C. T. Shelton, hay, grain and fuel E. L. Hager, superintendent, supplies Dowdell, assistant C. Wm. Eisenbaugh, labor.. ._ McPhee & McGinnity, lumber, cement, Denver Sewer Pipe & Clay Co etc . Braid &Brayton, horseshoeing J. M. Broadwell, water rent Kroeger Packing J. for 1896 Co., fish feed M. Wilson, hatchery wagon B. Sutherland, carpenter work and labor... Colorado Telephone Co The Standard M. & S. S. Co Roberts Livery Co R. G. Osbom Frank Stevens, labor. F. J. Cooke, labor. S. .' W. Weigand, labor John Lee. labor A. C. Hunt, surveying P. W. H. Fitzpatrick, labor B. Lloyd, labor Flint & Lomax, zinc, hacksaw blades T. P. Maloney, horseshoeing Hajrwood Arms Co., fish netting, seine Miscellaneous expenditures Totals 55 �BIENNIAL REPORT 56 STATE FISH HATCHERY—ACCOUNT. GUNNISON. By appropriation • for fiscal appropriation for fiscal year 1897 year 1898 �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 57 SUPERINTENDENT PISH HATCHERY— DENVER. SALARY ACCOUNT. By appropriation for fiscal year 1897, appropriation for To W. S. E. L. fiscal Kincaid Hager I year 1898. 900 00 goo 00 345 00 .._ Totals 1,455 00 I 1,800 00 SUPERINTENDENT FISH HATCHERY—GUNNISON. SALARY ACCOUNT. By appropriation for fiscal year 1897 �BIENNIAL RBPOllT 58 FOREST, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONEB. TRAVELING EXPENSES. By appropriation for fiscal year 1897 appropriation for fiscal year, 1898 _ .. . .. �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. FOREST, GAME AND FISH— CLERK AND STENOGRAPHER. SALARY ACCOUNT. By appropriation for fiscal year 1897 appropriation for fiscal To Miss Pogue Miss Altimes Miss Tweedale Gertrude A. Schuyler Eleanor Draper Annie E. Metcalf Esther P. Stephenson Totals year . 1898. 59 �. BIENNIAL REPORT 60 GAME AND FISH—WARDENS. FOREST, EXPENSE ACCOUNT. By appropriation for fiscal appropriation for fiscal year To balance. __ II W. H. Clark W. go 57 55 McLean 463 10 R. Wilcox 525 00 T. J. 900 00 2 35 H. Withington C. goo 00 1897.. year 189S Thomas James Kilduff 46 50 Lyttle... 218 85 R. E. Goodell, Jr _._. M. R. Lovell _.. 211 94 65 00 Ed. Slaughter 150 00 H. Walzl 47 81 J. Totals $ 1,800 00 DISTRIBUTION OF By appropriation for 1897. appropriation for To M. J. FRY—ACCOUNT. f Wilson 134 20 A. Zulger 42 00 E. Slaughter 211 50 C. Dowdell P. H. Fitzpatrick ___ _ 40 00 66 75 P. R. Morris 7 CO R. D. Hanly 44 00 S. L. S. Lane M. Miller Geo. O. Blake Balance 500 00 500 00 1898. 88 60 346 30 2 00 ._ 17 65 Totals $ i.oco 00 �STATE FOREST,, GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. PUBLISHING GAME LAWS—ACCOUNT. Bj' appropriation for fiscal years 1897-8 61 �CIRCULARS Issued by the Department of Forestry, Qame AND Fish. �CIRCULARS ISSUED BY THE Department of Forestry, Game AND Fish. Circular No. 1— Game and Fish. STATE OF COLORADO. DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, GAME AND FISH. Denver, May 3, 1897. To whom it may concern: The forestry, game and fish kiw enacted by the last general assembly is now in force. By the act all wild game, animals and birds therein mentioned, and the fish in the public waters, are declared to be the jjroperty of the state, and the taking, killing, or having the same in possession, except as therein pro- vided, is prohibited. The open seasons are as follows: Wild turkeys, prairie chickens, grouse and sage chickens, August 15 to November 1. Doves, August 1 to October 1. Ducks, geese, brants, swans and other water fowl, September 1 to May 1. Deer and antelopes with horns �BIENNIAL REPORT 66 (for food and immediate use only). September 1 to OcTrout and other food fish (over six inches tober 15. long), June 1 to December 1. One deer or antelope, twenty birds (doves excepted) and twenty i>ounds of fish i^er day. per man, only al- lowed. All waste prohibited. killing of all other protected game animals, birds, insectivorous and otherwise, and fish (except beaver injuring ditches, white suckers by permission of the commissioner, and trap shooting at pigeons by incorporated clubs) prohibited at all times. Game to be taken or killed in the day time and with shoulder gun only; tish to be taken with hook and line The taking or only. Night hunting or fishing with artificial light, and netting, prohibited at all times. Chasing four-footed protected game with dogs, and using protected game for trap baiting, prohibited. The taking or killing of bison, mountain sheep, elk, pheasant, ptarmigan or quail, prohibited at all times. Hunting and fishing on posted enclosures without permission prohibited. Transportation and possession during the closed season, and cold storage, serving in hotels and restaurants, taking, killing or shipment for the purpose of sale and selling, prohibited at all times. Protected game and fish brought from another state can be held in possession, offered for sale or sold, only upon positive and competent evidence of lawful killing in and exportation from such state. Ex parte affidavits from shippers will not suffice. Obstruction hj dams having no fish waj's, and pollution by saw dust or other destructive substances, of streams containing food fish, prohibited. Penalties for violation, |1U to |oOO fine, and imprisonment ten daj's to six months. Permission may be granted by the commissioner to collect certain animals and fish for scientific purposes. Authority is given to game wardens, sheriffs and constables to enter and search wagons, camps, ware- �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 67 houses, etc., and to confiscate and to turn over to the poor houses, hospitals and poor people, all game and fish held in violation of the act; to arrest without a warrant all violators, and to call for assistance if necessary to enforce the law. On and after this date, and until the open seasons of this year begin, none of the protected game or fish can be lawfully- had in possession, and it is the intention of this department to enforce the law. Proprietors of hotels, restaurants and cold storage warehouses, market and commission men, will be afforded an opportunity to dispose of all protected game and fish on hand, until the tenth instant, after which date especial attention will be given to those i)laces furnishing a market for game and fish illegally taken. Proprietors of sawmills, stamp and reduction mills, and placer mines, are notified to so dispose of their sawdust and tailings as not to pollute the waters containing food fish. One-half of all fines collected is i)ayable to the j)erson who furnishes the information as to the violation (^ . the law. J. State Forest, Game and S. SWxVN, Pish Commissioner. �BIENNIAL REPORT 68 Circular No. STATP] 2— Fish. OF COLORADO. DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, GAME AND FISH. Denver, June To whom it may 25, 1897. concern: Numerous communications have been received by de])artment inquiring as to the law relating to saw ii|ills, placer mines, stamp and reduction mills and other o])erations which to a greater or less degree pollute the waters of the state. In order to answer these inquiries and to inform those interested as to the interpretation placed on the law by this department, and indicate the policy intended to be pursued, this circular is issued. Among the natural rights of the people, which have existed from time immemorial, is that of having the water in natural streams flow substantially in its original purity, and a violation of this right is a nuisance at common law. This right to pure water inheres in all users of water whether the use be for stock watering, irrigation, domestic purposes, the propagation of fish or other lawful purposes. The fish in all public waters, at common law and by statute, belong to the state in its sovereign capacity as the representative of and for the benefit of its people. The relative rights of those whose interests require the water in its purity and those whose interests require tills �STATK FOREST^ GAME AND FI8H COMMISSIONER. 69 its use in such a way as to lessen its purity, have been the subject of frequent controversies in the courts. One of the leading cases arose in California in 1884, where a placer mining company was polluting the waters and tilling the channels of the Yuba and Feather rivers with debris. Millions of dollars were involved on either side. The United States circuit court held that neither miners' customs, congress nor the state legislature had any power to authorize the pollution of the waters to the injury of others. (\\'oodrutf vs. Bloomtield (_t. M. Co., 18 Fed. Rep., 754.) In Indiana, in 189o, the chemical impurities from a strawboard factory polluted the water used for the city of Indianapolis. The company used the best modern appliances for purifying the water before turning it back into the stream, which it claimed was all it was legallj^ bound to do, and that as its business was a lawful one in itself, the consequences were such as must necessarily follow industrial improvements; that otherwise its business would be destroyed. The United States circuit court declared that as against the right to have the water flow in its natural purity, there was no public policy in favor of industrial improvement which would justify oijerations which polluted the stream, even when the most modern appliances were used to prevent it. (Ind. Water Co. vs. Am. Strawboard Co., 57 Fed. Kep., 1000.) In this state the question never reached the appelwhen the court of ajjpeals decided that a stamp mill, although a prior appropriator, had no right either by law or custom to pollute the water with particles of sand which cut out the pipes and valves of a water company, when it appeared that the tailings could be impounded at a reasonable expense so as to prevent the injury, and that under such circumstances the mill company might take the necessary steps to prevent it. But the court expressly declined to decide what the law would be in this state where the prior appropriator of water could not possibly enjoy its use without late courts until April last, �BIENNIAL REPORT 70 some detriment to the water unappropriated. (Suffolk (I. M. Co. Ts. San Miguel Con. M. and M. Co., 48 Pac. Rep., 828.) In April, 1897, the supreme court of California decided that the right of the state to protect food fish extended not only to all the water on public lands, but also to all waters that were a common passage way for fish, even though flowing over lands held by private ownership, and that the attorney general could maintain an action to enjoin as a public nuisance the pollution of such waters. (People vs. Truckee L. Co., 48 Pac. Rep., 374.) The supreme court of the United States, in a case decided last year, held that the power of the state to protect its game (which includes fish) could be extended to prohibit the shipment of game out of the state although lawfully killed within it, notwithstanding it indirectly interfered with interstate commerce. It is there said that the police power of a state to prevent the adulteration of food ''necessarily carries with it the existence of a like power to preserve a food supply.'' (Greer vs. Conn, 16 S. C. Rep., 600.) Section 2393 of the General Statutes of Colorado provides that it shall be the duty of every miner to take care of his tailings on his own property or be responsible for damages. The forestry, ''Sec. 36. game nnd It shall fish law of 1897 provides: be unlawful to empty, or cause or suffer to be emptied or dispersed, any sawdust or other destructive substance into any of the waters of this state containing food fish, or in any such place or within such distance as to cause it to be carried into such waters by natural causes." The constitutionality of this act has been questioned because it treats of forestry in connection Avith game and fish. These subjects are so closely allied to each other that it has been the custom in many states to combine them in one act. But it does not seem the act be valid or not. of vital If it importance whether the former law is is not, �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. 71 unrepealed; and if there wei-e no statutes on the subject, the common law Avould be in force. Many streams in the state are already rendered impure by mills, etc., but this has been by sutferance, and furnishes no precedent as to legal right. The great importance recognized, as is also the of the mining industr}- is fully numerous other industries to the existence of which pure water is a necessity. The question of the preservation and propagation of fish is of growing imi)ortance, not only as a food supply, but as an attraction to visitors of a desirable class, whose presence results in the bringing of wealth to the state for investment in every branch of industry. There is therefore a natural unity of interest among the people, but an antagonism of methods, and it seems that the latter should not be carried to such an extreme as to protect either to the material detriment or entire destruction of any of the others. Until the question has been definitely and finally decided by the supreme court, and the policy of the state in this respect thus declared, it is not the purpose of this department to construe or enforce the law to an unreasonable extent or go further than necessary to give reaall sonable protection to the fish belonging to the state, leaving the individual users of water to look after their own interests. To that end all new enterprises, not fully in opera- be required to use reasonable efforts in good faith to arrange their systems of operation so as to prevent the debris and other impurities materially detrimental to fish from reaching public waters containing food fish. Those already established and in full operation will be required to make similar efforts without unreasonable delay. Those refusing to conform to these requirements will be prosecuted. No advice or instructions as to what will be sufficient can be given in advance, but those interested must assume the responsibility of deciding for themselves. General Statutes, section 3259, provides that before tion, will �72 BIENNIAL REPORT any timber, ties, etc., shall be lloated dowu any streams, the person desiring: to do so shall execute a bond, to be approved by the county commissioners of the county where the operations are to be carried on. In order to prevent, as far as possible, any injury to the fish from such operations, a compliance with that section will be required. J. State Forest, Game and S. SWAN, Fish Commissioner. �STATE FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. Circular No. 73 3— Game. STATE OF COLORADO. DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, GAME AND FISH. Denver, August To whom it may 13, 1897. concern: As the open season for the killing of game birds beginS on the 15th of the present month, and closes with the last day of October, and the open season for the killing of horned deer and antelope begins with the 1st day of Sejjtember and closes with the 15th day of October, this circular is issued to more fully call the attention of the hunting public to the number of large game birds that may be legally killed by each person under the provisions of the game law of the state, approved April 16, 1897. While it should be needless to say that there is no provision in the law giving one class of citizens greater privileges in the matter of the killing and having game in possession than another class, the idea that such a I)rovision in the law, though unwritten, is tacitly recognized, had gained credit in certain quarters. No reliance should be placed on such contention. The laws relating to this department, like all others, apply to every one alike, and all game wardens and special game wardens are instructed and required to so enforce them. �'^-^^^^Z.i.^^ 74 REPORT FOREST^ GAME AND FISH COMMISSIONER. But one horned deer or antelojje may be had in possession of one person at any time, and no part of sucli animal that might be used as food shall be wasted or thrown away. The head and horns, hide, or any part of a deer or construed to mean one such animal. No animal, nor part thereof, shall be offered for shipment or shipped by any common carrier or railroad companj' unless accompanied by the lawful possessor antelope, is thereof. Individuals having the right to be in possession of the law shall mean generally such as have killed the same. The pbssession, at one time, of twenty game birds of the kinds that are [termitted to be killed is allowed. The taking or killing of any mountain sheep, elk or bison of the large game, and any quail, pheasant, partridge and })tarmigan, and all insectivorous birds and game under beaver, is prohibited at all times. An attempt is to be nuide in good earnest by this department to enforce the game laws of the state without discrimination or favoritism, and the cooperation of all good citizens and sportsmen is earnestly solicited to this end, so that the game of the state may be so preserved and protected, that Colorado may, among its other resources and attractions, continue to merit the name and fann? of "The Hunter's l*aradise." Any person caught in the violation of these laws will be vigorously prosecuted. J. S. SWAN, Commissioner. �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Annual/Biennial Reports Description An account of the resource Agency annual and biennial reports beginning with the 1877 Fish Comissioner's report. Reports are grouped by title, which changed over the years. There are time periods when no report was issued; for example no reports were issued from 1965-1985 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/">IN COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE PERMITTED</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Biennial Reports of the Fish Commissioner, 1877-1898 Description An account of the resource <p>Eleven reports covering 1877-1898. The 1877 report is the first annual report of the agency.</p> <p>Varying titles:</p> <ul> <li>1877: Fish Commissioner's Report</li> <li>1879-1882 (2 reports): Biennial Report of the Fish Commissioner of the State of Colorado for the Two Years <em>YEAR-YEAR</em></li> <li>1883-1884: Biennial Report of the Fish Commissioner of the State of Colorado for the Term Ending December 31, 1884</li> <li>1885-1888 (2 reports): Report of the State Fish Commissioner of Colorado, for <em>YEAR</em></li> <li>1889-1890: Report of the Colorado Fish Commissioner of the State of Colorado for the Years 1889-1890</li> <li>1891-1892, 1895-1896 (2 reports): Biennial Report of the State Fish Commissioner of the State of Colorado for the Years <em>YEAR </em>and <em>YEAR</em></li> <li>1893-1894: Biennial Report of the State Fish Commissioner and Game Warden of Colorado for 1893-1894</li> <li>1897-1898: Biennial Report of the State Forest, Game and Fish Commissioner of the State of Colorado for the Years 1897 and 1898</li> </ul> <p>For the next set of reports in this digital collection see: <a href="https://cpw.cvlcollections.org/items/show/444">Biennial Report of the Game and Fish Department, 1899-1926</a>.<br /><br /></p> <p>Print copies in CPW Library: SH 11 .C58</p> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/">IN COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE PERMITTED</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource English