RECEIPTS FROM SALE OF HUNTING STAMPS LESS THAN ESTIMATED

Mr. GABRIELSON. That is the duck-stamp money. was about $650,000.

Last year it

These estimates were made in June and early July, and this year the sale of stamps was estimated as $750,000; and the item was put in on that basis.

Ninety percent of this duck-stamp money must be used for the acquisition, development, and administration of refuges, and 10 percent for administration of the law and enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, However, Congress passed a law eliminating all continuing appropriations; so that we have to come here and estimate and receive the appropriations for the duck-stamp money. This estimate of $750,000 was made last summer.

Mr. CANNON. I notice it has been revised to $1,208,668.

Mr. GABRIELSON. That includes the balance of $458,668 that was carried forward from last year.

This estimate of $750,000 is greater than the receipts from the sale of stamps will probably be. The reports of sales of duck stamps so far this year would indicate that the receipts will be much less than $750,000. Our estimate for 1937 was based on the number of stamps. which we thought would be sold this year, and we assumed that the same number would be sold next year. Since we sold 635,344 stamps during the fiscal year 1935 we thought the sales would be increased by at least 100,000. However, such has not been the case.

Mr. CANNON. You have some new language here on page 364 of the bill which has some significance, especially in view of the statement just made by Mr. Gabrielson. Under the former law it would have permitted you to expend that $750,000 provided it came in from the sale of stamps?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes.

Mr. CANNON. And in the event the sale of stamps failed to aggregate $750,000, you could use only the amount of money derived from the sale of stamps?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes, sir. That was under the old Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act.

Mr. CANNON. Under the language which you now suggest, in the event of a failure of the sale of stamps to bring in $750,000 the deficit would have to be made up by the Treasury?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes. That is why I am telling you that I don't think the receipts will amount to $750,000 this year, nor next year either.

Mr. CANNON. Then there is a very present likelihood we will have to make up a deficit from the Treasury if we enact the language suggested here in this bill. What would you say the deficit would be?

Mr. GABRIELSON. From the reports that we have received on the sales of stamps from the major post offices, my guess would be hat that item would be nearer $500,000 than it would be $750,000.

Mr. CANNON. How do you account for the mistake in the estimate? Mr. GABRIELSON. Under the hunting regulations that we have in force this year there were many less hunters bought stamps and hunted ducks.

Mr. CANNON. What was the actual number of stamps sold last year?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Last year there were 635,344 stamps sold.
Mr. CANNON. This year the number has been smaller?
Mr. GABRIELSON. From the reports.

You see, we get reports from the major post offices. Comparing those with the reports of last year from the same post offices, I think that the sales will be in the neighborhood of 500,000.

Mr. CANNON. That means that under this new language we will take a quarter of a million dollars from the Treasury to make up the difference?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes,

Mr. CANNON. How is this $750,000 to be expended?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Ninety percent of it goes to buy land and to develop and administer refuge areas under the law for the protection of migratory birds.

Mr. CANNON. What do you intend to do with the remaining 10 percent?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Ten percent goes for overhead that we pay to the Post Office for printing the stamps and distributing them, and for the enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Hunting Stamp Act.

Mr. THURSTON. Where do you get your administrative expenses? Mr. GABRIELSON. We get our administrative expenses out of that 10 percent. That is where we get whatever we deed in the way of funds to administer the law.

Mr. THURSTON. When you buy a piece of land, what do you do to it?

Mr. GABRIELSON. It depends on the land. Sometimes we have to build dikes and dams to make it an effective refuge.

Mr. THURSTON. What I mean is this: After you buy a piece of land and finish this work of developing this land, then how do you supervise it?

Mr. GABRIELSON. This appropriation is available for the maintenance and protection of those lands.

Mr. UMSTEAD. The act provided, did it not, that this money should come out of licenses?

Mr. GABRIELSON. From duck stamps.

Mr. UMSTEAD. For the purposes just mentioned and discussed by you?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes.

Mr. UMSTEAD. So, if this change of language is inserted, then that will, in effect, be an amendment to the bill to provide for a minimum of $750,000 regardless of the amount of the sale of stamps; will it not?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes, sir. That is the reason I am bringing it to your attention.

When we made this estimate, we thought that we would sell $750,000 worth of stamps next year. It was not the intention to ask for any more than the sale of stamps would bring. I am telling the committee that it will not amount to that much.

Mr. UMSTEAD. If the new language is/not included in the appropriation asked, and your previous estimate of $500,000 is appropriated, that would still be carrying out the full intent of the act of Congress, would it not?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes, sir. As long as we get the duck stamp money for this purpose, we will be carrying out the original intent. Mr. UMSTEAD. That is really all you expect?

Mr. GABRIELSON. That is all we expect. Congress in section 4 (a) of the Permanent Appropriation Repeal Act, 1934, made it necessary for us to submit an annual estimate for our appropriation after June 30, 1936, instead of using the proceeds of the sales of stamps, as provided by the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act.

Mr. UMSTEAD. So you are saying now to this committee that you think that $500,000 is all that should be appropriated?

Mr. GABRIELSON. $500,000 is all that we expect to get from stamp sales.

Mr. UMSTEAD. But in your jugdment you think that the appropriation for that item should be reduced from this estimate to the amount that you estimate the sale of stamps will bring?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes, sir; unless you are willing to take that out of the general fund and we are not asking for that. In preparing our estimate we intended to ask for what we thought would be the proceeds of the stamp sales.

Mr. THURSTON. Does this contemplate any definite, certain program as to additional land that you desire to purchase, where the land will be located, and so on?

Mr. GABRIELSON. We have a very definite program; yes, sir. We will go as far as the money allows us. That is all we can do. We also have to administer a number of refuges purchased from emergency funds, under this item.

Mr. THURSTON. From year to year?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes.

Mr. THURSTON. If this additional $250,000 is allowed you, what will you provide?

Mr. GABRIELSON. It would just expedite the program that much. Mr. THURSTON. You will use all but 10 percent of that in acquiring additional land?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes; in developing and administering refuges. Mr. THURSTON. And that would follow the program you already

have?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes.

Mr. THURSTON. What is the total program? How much does that include?

Mr. GABRIELSON. The total program laid out by Mr. Darling involved 7,000,000 acres of land embracing nesting grounds, intervening resting, and feeding areas for use during migrations, and areas suitable for wintering concentrations in the South.

Mr. UMSTEAD. What was that based on? How much price per acre, approximately?

Mr. GABRIELSON. He made a rough figure. I think he expected it would go to 25 or 30 million dollars.

Mr. THURSTON. If you get more money to buy more land, then you will want more money for maintenance and for improving it and for administrative expenses. Appropriations for your Bureau will be increasing from year to year. How much is your total appropriation for the Bureau that you are asking for next year?

Mr. GABRIELSON. $2,665,000 including stamp funds.
Mr. THURSTON. How much was it the present year?

The

That

Mr. GRABRIELSON. $1,446,492 exclusive of stamp funds. duck-stamp money was not an appropriation last year. $2,665,000 for 1937 includes $750,000 estimated on the duck stamps. This year that came direct to us from the sale of stamps, so it was not included in the appropriation for this year.

Mr. THURSTON. How much was your appropriation in the fiscal year 1935?

Mr. GABRIELSON. It was $1,054,084, exclusive of the sale of stamps.

Mr. THURSTON. About your policy of purchasing land: Do you buy all in a given tract that is contemplated, or do you buy a portion in one place and then expect to supplement that subsequently? Mr. GABRIELSON. We try to buy an entire unit.

Mr. THURSTON. So it does not put you in a position where you are obliged in order to have a complete tract to come back and purchase more?

Mr. GABRIELSON. No. If we purchased part of a unit and thereby established an incomplete project, the values of remaining suitable lands would be enhanced which would necessitate our paying increased prices to round out the project. On each unit we lay out what we need for the refuge and mark the area that we want, and then we proceed to buy the entire area.

BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY-ONLY

GOVERNMENT AGENCY ENGAGED IN

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

In connection with the gross appropriation for the Biological Survey, I would like to call the attention of the committee to the fact that this is the only provision made by the United States Government for perpetuation of the wildlife of this country, which is one of the most valuable natural resources that we have. It is really small compared to the appropriations made for other purposes that are no more valuable.

Mr. THURSTON. Doesn't the appropriation that we make to the Forest Service help somewhat in that?

Mr. GABRIELSON. Not in the conservation of birds. They help in the conservation of animals, but not ducks and other migratory waterfowl. Few forest areas help any on that program. This is the only appropriation that the Federal Government makes that goes directly into the conservation of our wildlife resources.

Mr. THURSTON. Are you receiving cooperation from the States? Mr. GABRIELSON. Very good cooperation from nearly all of them. Mr. THURSTON. Are they spending any considerable amount of money in this work?

Mr. GABRIELSON. In purchasing refuges?

Mr. THURSTON. Yes, sir.

Mr. GABRIELSON. Some of them are spending some. Not many of them have enough resources to buy this kind of refuges. A few are purchasing small refuges that will be located out around ours, to serve as feeders to them.

Mr. THURSTON. It is said out in the Mississippi Valley that whenever they get a heavy snowstorm, particularly if there is sleet, which will cause a blanket that will cover the bird life, that that will do more to decimate and lessen the number of game birds than all the predatory animals would do in that region. What is your opinion on that subject?

Mr. GABRIELSON. I am not inclined to agree entirely with that statement. I have been in the field a great deal, and I have seen very few cases where I thought birds have starved to death.

I have, however, seen them get trapped under the sleet and smother. That happens especially where the cover is poor; where there is very little shrubbery and bushes to afford shelter for them. I have seen that happen where they had scanty cover.

Mr. THURSTON. There is that school of sportsmen and hunters who maintain that snow, especially if you have sleet, decimates more birds than all the wild animals that inhabit that region. That is quite a live subject.

Mr. GABRIELSON. That can be true in some areas, particularly in the Middle West, where the predatory forms are not very abundant or very important. It is not true in all parts of the country.

Mr. CANNON. The greatest menace to bird life in my State is the domestic cat.

Mr. GABRIELSON. That is a very important factor.

Mr. CANNON. These cats are picking up the birds in great numbers. In fact they are already exterminating some species. Do you have any method of controlling them?

Mr. GABRIELSON. That is a very important subject. They can be controlled only by trapping or shooting.

Mr. THURSTON. Probably these are cats that get away and become

wild.

Mr. GABRIELSON. Yes. There are a lot of cats that become wild and when this happens they become very efficient predators. They are certainly as wild as any other wild animal.

Mr. THURSTON. Trucks and wagons will go along and shake out grain. The grain falls in the paving. The field mice and the birds come there to get the grain, and these cats inhabit the fences along the paving and use that as their killing ground.

MIGRATORY WATERFOWL PROGRAM-EMERGENCY FUNDS

Mr. CANNON. Your statement on the emergency funds for the migratory waterfowl program will go in the record at this point: