Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

The use of undercover investigators is not a new concept in the field of wildlife law enforcement, however, the concept of full-time undercover investigators (as used in Florida) may be an innovation to further enhance the effectiveness of our chosen profession. Full police powers by wildlife officers is also not an entirely new concept in wildlife law enforcement. It is interesting to note, however, that, at this time only twelve (12) of the fifty-one (51) states have taken the necessary legislative action to give their wildlife officers full police power status. Within the last two (2) years, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Water Fish Commission has initiated a program utilizing full-time undercover investigators, and has also acquired full police powers for its wildlife officers. Today, I will attempt to relate our experiences in the two aforementioned innovative concepts of a progressive wildlife enforcement program.

When Larry Richardson asked me to present a paper at this conference, he gave me a general idea of what he wanted me to expound on. In essence, it was days of converting the findings and writings of our wildlife biologists to laymens language for public consumption in our news releases, magazines and through out radio and TV boradcasts. Today's public is better educated and hep to modern technology than we in the business of Information are prone to give them credit. However, I think just good common sense applies if we are to do a good job of conveying our conservation story in an understandable fashion. Now, I'm more closely allied with the listening and viewing audience than with the reader since my speciality is radio and TV, although I've been known to write an article on occasion. So, with that in mind, my concentration will be centered more toward the radio and TV audience.

The impact of television as a mass media has been a powerful force in this country. Probably no other media has had such a powerful effect in such a short existence. In the wildlife public relations business, we are constantly looking for media which will present our programs in a sharp, specialized and pinpointed approach to an audience. Nowhere is this more applicable than in television. What other medium has such a widespread captive audience. Ninety-six out of every 100 American homes has one or more television sets. Surveys have shown that the average home will have their tv's turned on over six hours each day. Americans are so attuned to this media that by the time they reach age 21,30,000 hours have been logged in front of the television screens. The use of television for the promotion of wildlife conservation and hunting and fishing is relatively new. The first hunting and fishing series was produced only about 20 years ago.

Twenty years or so ago, I & E sections of most state fish and wildlife agencies did little more than issue an occasional news release and publish a hunting and fishing magazine. The news releases, for the most part, were announcements of hunting seasons or changes in fishing regulations and although sports editors, in Kentucky, gave them good play, they were seldom considered real "news." The magazines were generally black and white publications with a newspapertype format. The stories they carried were primarily how, when or where to hunt or fish and the illustrations were usually photographs of people holding big (or not so big!) fish or of groups of people who had done or were about to do something that had to do with hunting or fishing. Sportsmen club news covered many a page in thc early puhlications and we made it a point to use lots of names and pictures of cluh memhers.

Over the past few years, the phrase "enclangered species" has gained tremendous usage III the nati6nal media. It is a popular phrase with a multitude of interest groups: certain preservationists use it in attributing wildlife decreases to hunters; and at least one national gun sport organization claims that hunters are the endangered species; and some universal thinkers stoutly maintain that Man himself is now number one on the endangered list. If I may borrow on the drama of current jargon, I would like to submit that in Information and Education work, we face yet another "endangered species": the disappearing audience. In the division of public relations in Kentucky's Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources we sense that there have been some significant decreases in at least a few of our outdoor-related audiences; correspondingly we have indications that other audiences have grown-and some at a swift rate. How do these perceived changes effect our information work?

In my opinion, the best communications device for informing the public of particularly important messages is through the use of television PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS, also referred to as "spots" or simply "P.S.A.'s". The old cliche, "a picture is worth a thousand words," comes into play and with T.V. spots you have both - picture and words. I realize that there is no substitute for newspaper news releases. P.S.A.'s cannot be produced and distributed in a day as news releases can. However, if the correct approach is taken, television can more than supplement the newspapers as a strong communications tool. I believe T.V. spots should pertain to general subjects such as conservation, hunting and fishing information (naturally, geared to help sell licenses) or to controversial issues. A good example of the latter is the spot we produced when our $4.25 game management permit fee was initiated.

Motivation is not a new word in the English language, but only in the past decade or so has it come into common usage. This recent usage probably came about by psychologists, school teachers, and parents who wonder whether their offspring will be sufficiently motivated to make a success of their lives. My dictionary defines "motivate" as "to provide with a motive; to impel; to incite." Motivation is a noun form of the transitive verb "motivate." So, we want to motivate people, perhaps impel them. It is doubtful that we should incite them except in extreme emergencies. The word "incite" has been too often associated with riots or other civil disturbances. The latter connotation may better be dropped at this point. If we are going to motivate people, or attempt to motivate people, it might be well to first decide what we want people to do. Well, what do we want them to do?

It is indeed an honor and a pleasure to deliver the president's message of this Silver Anniversary meeting of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners, the best regional association in the United States! Will those who attended the first meeting please stand to be recognized. I have been privileged to be associated with the Southeastern since 1947, having been hired as a game biologist in Kentucky shortly after the Association's first conference. Those who attended that meeting in Florida were still talking about it years later. The second meeting was held in Lexington, Kentucky, and it featured notable performances by such young biologists as Earle Frye. Since those early years, the Southeastern Association and its annual conference have grown steadily and achieved national recognition. Throughout its history, the Southeast has been blessed with truly outstanding leaders who pointed the way not only for the region but for the entire nation.

President Gale, Chairman Eltzroth, distinguished program members, ladies and gentlemen. It is with great pleasure that I welcome each of you to South Carolina. I am also pleased that the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners chose the City of Charleston for its 1971 Conference. My only hope is that you will not hurry home immediately following the close of your meetings, but will stay with us for the remainder of the week and enjoy the many recreational opportunities that South Carolina has to offer. The decade of the 1970's has been referred to by many as being the period in our country's history that will see the greatest amount of change in the utilization of our resources. This change is coming about because we are beginning to realize that resources no longer are restricted to what we extract from the ground, grow in the soil, or cut from our forests, but these resources in reality make up the very environment in which we live.

I appreciate the opportunity to meet with the Southeastern Association at this conference marking a quarter of a century of effective environmental efforts. Little did that small group who met 25 years ago foresee that this Association would grow into the strong viable organization it is today-respected as the vanguard association of its kind. Congratulations on your silver anniversary! You fish and game people are the front line troops in the conservation and environmental struggle. I can honestly say that in surveying the entire conservation picture, I don't know of any group that has fought for more causes, taken more abuse, or worked any harder than you have and you can well be proud of your record. The one thing you cannot do, however, is to rest on it. You must continue to carry the burden because, frankly, many of the agencies that should be doing the job are not.

Being associated with MARINE RESOURCES in the State of South Carolina, I am here this morning to put a little salt in your program. Perhaps the first thing that I need to do is give a general definition of an estuary and the coastal zone area. Many versions of an estuary have b€en published but the one given by Pritchard (1967) appeals to me, "An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water which has a free connection with the open sea and within which sea water is measurably diluted with fresh water derived from land drainage." The Coastal Zone has been defined as "a strip of geography where the land meets the ocean." It has also been defined by land-oriented individuals as "the location where the people meet the ocean." In any case, "it is where the action is." It is where extremists of the economic development movement meet extremists of the preservationist movement and get involved in a fight that I hope neither side wins.

It's a pleasure for me to be here today. I had a prepared talk and last night I decided that isn't what I wanted to say, so I tore it up and got it down in notes, so I am going to talk off the cuff this morning. I'd like to take issue with one point that the Mayor made when he said that the group here was primarily interested in fish and wildlife. I think that is only partially true, I think this group here is primarily interested in people and in people's relationship with fish and wildlife. I've got a tough act to follow-Governor West, I think, set the theme and said many of the things I wanted to say. I couldn't help but be tremendously impressed with his knowledge of the problems of environmental management and conservation and I couldn't help but feel how fortunate we are that the new breed of politicians, of public servants, have been so mindful of the importance of our resources and of man's relationship to them. Secretary Reed and Dr.

An analysis was made of 956 rumen samples collected from whitetailed deer in the Appalachian Mountain, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain provinces in the Southeast during the four seasons. The study indicated that deer select the same type of diet seasonally although foraging in ecologically different areas. Hardened woody twigs had the lowest frequency of occurrence and lowest volume of all food categories. Green leaves of woody plants ranked highest in frequency of occurrence and volume. Mushrooms ranked third in frequency of occurrence and fifth in total volume. The annual contribution of forbs, grasses and sedges, fungi (mushrooms), and dry leaves totaled 35.9 percent by volume, equalling the amount provided by green leaves of woody plants.

In the spring of 1968 Japanese honeysuckle was planted on four wildlife food plots in the Arkansas Ozarks. Two years later, with moderate fertilization and occasional mowing, this evergreen species produced 239 ovendry pounds of winter forage per acre, 12 times more than the surrounding forest. The nutrient quality of leaves was consistently high throughout the year. Leaves retained through the winter contained about 14 percent crude protein, more than eastern redcedar, flowering dogwood twigs, panic grasses, and pussytoes, the most common native forages eaten by deer during the winter. Honeysuckle leaves were more digestible than any native forage. Since honeysuckle was not browsed heavily by deer until mid-winter, most current annual growth was available after mast had been eaten and when green forage was scarce.

During four years of deer collections from three areas in Arkansas, 550 female reproductive tracts were analyzed. Four hundred and twenty-six tracts collected during fall hunting seasons proved to be of little value. Of 124 does collected by spotlighting and from road kills in spring, 101 were pregnant. Eighty-nine of these were adult does and 12 were fawns. The mean conception date (MCD) of adult does from the northern study area was November 13-three weeks earlier than MCD in the central and southern areas. This was a highly significant difference. The ovulation rate of 108 adult does collected statewide was 1.77 ova per doe. A pregnancy rate of 93% was calculated for 92 adult does collected in spring. The reproductive rate for 108 adult does was 1.66 fetuses per doe. This indicates that 93% of the fertilized eggs implanted. Analysis of variance of each parameter indicated that there were no significant differences between study areas.

Hybridization of white-tailed and black-tailed deer was investigated over a three year period in Tennessee. White-tailed deer were placed in pens with black-tailed deer of the opposite sex, and hybrid deer were readily obtained. Hybrids were placed in pens with fertile, purebred white-tailed and black-tailed deer of the opposite sex. None of the hybrids produced young during their first year of life. During their second year of life, 50 percent of the hybrids produced young of which 66 percent were stillborn. Previous to this, all white-tailed, black-tailed hybrids were reported to be sterile. Hybrids could not be distinguished from blacktails, and white-tailed characteristics were lost.

A study was conducted on Mt. Mitchell Wildlife Management Area in w~stern North Carolina to determine the effects of dogs on movement patterns, behavior and mortality of radio-equipped deer in a rugged, mountainous habitat. Data were obtained from 11 of 15 radio-instrumented deer. Six were radio-monitored during the raccoon, bear and deer seasons and although four were legally harvested no mortality could be related to the effects of dogs. From February to July, eight of the radio-instrumented deer were subjected to 20 experimental chases by hunting hounds. Chases averaged 54 minutes in duration and 2.36 miles in distance with maximums of 165 minutes and 6.77 miles recorded. The chases were generally downhill and streams were crossed repeatedly. Chased deer quickly left their home ranges but returned in all cases where mortality did not occur.

Of the 126 deer killed by hunters within a 746-acre enclosure at Albany, Georgia, during a 10-year period, 24 (19 percent) were not found by the hunter. Archers lost 4 of 8 deer killed (50 percent), gunners using buckshot lost 16 of 61 (26 percent), and gunners using shotgun slugs lost only 4 of 57 (7 percent). Antlered bucks were lost at more than twice the rate of antlerless deer. Only 2 of the 24 lost cripples were fawns, the lowest rate recorded for any group. In both sexes, yearlings were lost at a higher rate than older deer. Archery loss data from Virginia are in· eluded for comparison.

A postal survey of 301 archery deer hunters was conducted during April-May, 1970 to determine the utilization of South Carolina game management areas by archery hunters during 1969. The hunters were asked three questions; namely (1) the number of deer killed, (2) the number of visits made to the management areas, and (3) the number of hours spent while hunting deer. Due to an oversight, the random selection of archery hunters to be contacted in the postal survey was made from returned "hunt permits" on which each archery hunter had previously answered the same questions asked in the postal survey. The questions on the returned hunt permits had been "answered" by the archery hunters at the close of each scheduled archery hunt that was held during the September-December, 1969 hunting season. A tabulation of the information obtained from the postal survey revealed that the 301 archery hunters had killed 30 deer.

Food items were identified from crop contents of 21 juvenile wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris, Vieillot) collected in Clarke County, Alabama during July, August and September of 1965, 1966 and 1967. Estimated ages ranged from 45 days to 105 days with an average of 75 days. By volume, vegetable materials comprised 73.2 percent and animal materials 26.8 percent of the diet. Grasses, primarily seeds, represented 61.5 percent of the total volume with bahia grass (Paspalum notatum) seed comprising 48.6 percent. Grasshoppers were the most important animal food representing 15.5 percent of the total volume. Grasses and grasshoppers made up 77 percent of the total volume, indicating the importance of openings as a source of summer foods.

This paper reports on the behavior of nesting wild turkeys (Meleagris gaZZopavo osceola) obtained by radio-tracking 97 wild hens during the spring and summer of 1968 through 1971 on two study areas in Florida. More than 80 percent of the 71 nests found were in natural scrub vegetation. They were made when the hens scratched shallow depressions in the soil. A few leaves or other dried vegetation were placed by the hens with their bills over each newly laid egg just before the hens left their nests after laying. Nesting material probably accumulated inadvertently in that way rather than by deliberate construction of a nest prior to laying. Egg covering material was obtained within the reach of hens from their nests. Eggs were covered more often during the laying period than after incubation was underway. Eggs were laid in the nests about mid-day at a rate of less than one per day. Hens generally remained at their nests longer when they laid the seventh egg.

Wild caught, captive alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) over a seven-year period exhibited a successful nesting rate of 48 percent in six pens maintained on Rockefeller Refuge. Hatching success in pens (56 percent) closely correlated the 58 percent determined for wild alligators inhabiting natural marsh. Pen construction methods, stocking rates, and maintenance techniques were implemented to simulate natural marsh conditions, thereby encouraging breeding and contributing to the well being of the alligators. Diseases posed no problem during this investigation although fighting did cause some concern during the early stages of the study. Courtship activities, nest construction techniques and maternal duties following egg laying were highly variable among the various alligators under study. Also, courtship behavior was highly ritualized. Behavior of pen reared alligators as compared to wild captured adult alligators were compared.

Samples from fresh and saline waters in Louisiana showed little relation between foods eaten by young alligators and organisms available in these environments. Crustaceans were the principal foods in both freshwater and saline areas. Alligator stomachs from a freshwater area contained more than 6 times as much food as those from an adjacent saline area. The stomach capacity in the freshwater area was twice as great as in the saline area. The study suggests that young alligators which remain for extended periods in saline areas will have reduced growth rates as a result of reduced food intake.

A study was initiated on Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in order to investigate the possibility of using an electrical current as an aid in capturing alligators. A modified 110-220 volts-A.C. fish shocking unit and a 110-220 volts-D.C. pulsating unit were used in this study. Best results were obtained with the 110-220 volts-D.C. pulsating unit. This method is limited to areas of low water salinity and best results were obtained when the animal was partially exposed and the unit could be applied directly. Mortality occurred where alligators were repeatedly shocked and also if the prod was applied to the under surface of the stomach. The best results were obtained by applying the shock to the side of the neck just anterior to the front legs. Alligators were completely immobilized for approximately 15-25 minutes. Field test were limited as the unit was found to be greatly affected by salinity.