American Committee
International Wild Life Protection
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.ADVISORY BOARD
Thomas Barbour
MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY
Frederick R. Burnham
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Charles M. B. Cadwalader
ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA
James L. Clark
THE CAMP FIRE CLUB OF AMERICA
Harold J. Coolidge. Jr.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAMMALOGISTS
W. Redmond Cross
NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Stanley Field
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Frank B. Foster
PHILADELPHIA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Childs Frick
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Joseph Grinnell
MUSEUM OF VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Executive Committee
Childs Frick, chairman Harold J. Coolidge. Jr. John C. Phillips Warren Kinney Laurance S. Rockefeller
Dr. W. Reid Blair, secretary
ZOOLOGICAL PARK, NEW YORK, N. Y.
ADVISORY BOARD William P. Harris. Jr.
MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Edward House
CARNEGIE MUSEUM
Edward Mallinckrodt. Jr.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, ST. LOUIS JOHN T. MCCUTCHEON
CHICAGO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Robert T. Moore
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
John C. Phillips
AMERICAN WILDLIFE INSTITUTE
Kermit Roosevelt
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUDUBON SOCIETIES
Dean Sage. Jr.
BOONE & CROCKETT CLUB
RODOLPHE M. DE SCHAUENSEE
WILDERNESS CLUB
Alexander Wetmore
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
SECRETARY’S REPORT
December 14, 1938.
This Annual Meeting marks the end of eight years of active life for the American Committee.
The American Committee for International Wild Life Protection for
J seven years had office space in the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On March 14 the Committee transferred its headquarters to the Administration office of the New York Zoological Society in the Zoological Park, New York City. The new Executive Committee included Messrs. Childs Erick, Chairman, Harold J. Coolidge, Jr., Warren Kinney, John C. Phillips, and Laurance S. Rockefeller. Dr. W. Reid Blair succeeded Mr. Harold J. Coolidge, Jr. as Executive Secretary. The following have been added to the Advisory Board: Messrs. Thomas Barbour, for the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Charles M. B. Cadwalder, for the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, W. Redmond Cross, for the New York Zoological Society, Kermit Roosevelt, for the National Association of Audubon Societies, Dean Sage, Jr., for the Boone and Crockett Club, and Alexander Wetmore, for the Smithsonian Institution. The American Committee continues to operate independently as heretofore. The transfer of the office to new quarters in the Nev/ York Zoological Park will in no way affect the status or continuing policies.
The American Committee for International Wild Life Protection has this year sustained an irreparable loss in the untimely death of Dr. John C. Phillips, which occurred on November 14. Dr. Phillips had been Chairman of the American Committee since its formation up to 1938, and had devoted much of his time to furthering the work of this organization. For a great many years Dr. Phillips had been active in wild life conservation,
I not only in this country, but throughout the world. Among his literary contributions his "A Natural History of the Ducks" in four large volumes, is considered by'zoologists as one of the best monographs ever written on a natural history subject. Because of his practical knowledge of wild life
Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
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wproblems he was selected as an official delegate from the United States to Wthe International Conference for the Protection of Fauna and Flora in B\frica, held in London, in 1933. This Conference, which was attended by ^representatives of nine countries adopted a Convention which will eventually bring about the creation of numerous national parks and game reserves within which hunting and the capture of fauna will be regulated and prohibited by law. The Convention also provided for the establishment of intermediate
zones within which hunting and collection for scientific purposes may be carried on under the control of participating governments.
The most imports.nt international event in the field of conservation during the past year was the reconvening in London of the this African Conference last May. Dr. Phillips attended this Conference on behalf of the American Committee, this time not officially, however, but at the invitation of Lord
Onslow, President of the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the
Empire, who presided. He felt that the Convention was a marked success.
The terms of the original Convention have now been ratified by seven of the original nine powers participating. Reports were made by officials of the various countries concerning the progress of the regulations of the Convention and their enforcement in the African territories. New topics and conclusions were introduced for consideration and study before the next meeting which was set to be held at the same time as the forthcoming Convention
on Fauna Protection in tropical Asia and the western Pacific which is now scheduled for the fall of 1939. It is to be hoped that the United States will send official delegates to the latter.
M Another important event in the Conservation world which took place in
^■London at about the same time was the Whaling Treaty Conference. The Protocol amending the International Agreement of June 8, 1937, for the Regulation of Whaling, signed at London on June 24, 1938, will go to Congress for approval after January 1, 1939.
Dr. Phillips conferred while abroad with the Chairman of the Netherlands Committee for International Nature Protection, Mr. Peter G. Van Tienhoven, who is also Chairman of the International Informatory and Correlating Office for the Protection of Nature, in Brussels, and who was in London at the African Convention. Dr. Phillips also saw Dr. Tordis Graim, the Secretary of the Brussels office. The American Committee made its contribution to the Brussels office, this year $250, before the transfer of our office to New York in March. The Brussels office has been most helpful to us during the past year, both in the Harper work and in helping us to assemble information on South American countries in preparation for the Eighth International Conference of American States being held in Lima,
Peru, at the present time.
During the summer we received a letter from Mr. Van Tienhoven regarding the abuse of wild life, particularly of South America, by tourists cruising in tropical countries where they bought various kinds of animals
I and birds for pets and endeavored to bring them back to this country. The animals usually died in transit or were rejected by the Customs, and Mr.
Van Tienhoven felt that by writing to the steamship companies something might be done about this needless waste of native fauna of tropical
Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
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§ countries. We sent out forty some letters calling the attention of various prominent steamship lines to this state of affairs. We have received very bordial and cooperative replies from about twenty five of these companies which is very encouraging.
Another of our projects in connection with a foreign office for international work was the submitting to the Netherlands Committee for International Nature Protection of the report ma.de by Dr. C. R. Carpenter on f,Wild Life Conditions in Atjeh, North Sumatra, With Special Reference to the Orang-utan". The material for this report was collected during the latter part of the Asiatic Primate Expedition, headed by Mr. Harold Coolidge. This special survey was made under the auspices of the American Committee and in cooperation with the Netherlands Committee. We hope that the Netherlands Committee will publish this report, as it contains some very interesting material.
Early in the year we brought out our Special Publication No. 9 which was very well received. Mr. Harper is continuing the research on Extinct
and Vanishing Mammals of the World, which is now near completion. Mr.
Ccolidge will report to you in greater detail on these matters.
The work which has most occupied this office for the past fev; months
has been the preparation and sending out of about four hundred questionnaires
to correspondents in Central and South America to obtain information
Jon the current measures for protection and improvement of wild life conditions, national parks, and protection of rare and vanishing species. Our response has been an interesting one and indicates that a great deal could be done in these countries in conserving wild life resources. In South America some conservation work has been dons in a few countries. The most progressive of these countries in conservation interest seems to be Argentina. Practically nothing has been done in any of the Central American countries. On the basis of the information collected we have submitted a Resolution to the State Department for presentation at the Eighth International Convention of American States being held in Lima, Peru/ This Resolution has been approved and Mr. Alfred Eidder is attending the Conference as the representative of the American Committee for International Wild Life Protection. If our Resolution is passed it will open a tremendous new field of endeavour for the work of this Committee.
There is to be a meeting of the Pan American Institute of History and Geography early in the coming year at which we hope the subject of conservation may be brought up, thereby strengthening the work we hope to do a3 a result of the Lima Conference.
The American Committee did not send its usual representative to the meetings of the American Society of Mammalogists this past year as these meetings were held in California.
t Items of Interest
————————— -Cape Hartebeest-
In February we received an appeal from the Eaffrarian Museum in South
Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
Iifrica asking for our assistance in efforts to preserve the last remaining Lerd. of pure blooded Cape Hartebeest (Alcelaphus caama caama) . We not only sent an immediate cable on this matter, but urged other conservation organ- zaticns to take similar action. Appropriate letters were addressed by several members of the Board to the South African Minister in Washington as well as the Minister of Lands in South Africa. Although the immediate reply we received from the South African Government indicated that they felt it impractical to set aside any reserve we are hopeful from reports which we have had since (such as the newspaper clipping we sent out to you with a news letter telling of a Resolution placed before the Government by the South African Museums Association) that the issue is not yet closed and something may be done before it is too late. We hope for some line of procedure such as the action taken two years ago to preserve the Mountain Zebra in the installing of'a reserve for them which is proving very successful,
-Mexican Sea-lions- At the suggestion of Dr. A. Brazier Howell of the American Society of Mammalogists we investigated the Ross Cat and Dog Food Company which had a concession from the Mexican Government for the capture of sea lions in Pacific Mexican waters for meat canning purposes/ We found that this concession had been cancelled and the exploitation of the species arrested, but we are told by Dr. Clinton G. Abbott, Director of the Natural History Museum of San Diego, who is closely in touch with the situation, that the
J company has made repeated efforts to renew the terms of this contract but Without success. Dr. Abbott, who is nearer to the scene of action, will beport to this Committee any further developments in the matter.
-South African Protection- The South African Society for the Protection of Wild Life sent us a copy of a letter which they have issued to a list of names of American magazines which we sent them, warning the American sportsmen against a certain type of^glowing advertisement of safaris which is being circulated by some professional hunting services in South Africa and which misrepresents the true facts about the game and the hunting.
-Woburn-
While in Europe last summer Dr. Phillips visited Woburn Abbey where he reported several new calves among the European Wisent and some three hundred Pere David Deer. At the same time Dr. Phillips wrote us that he felt it was important that something should be done in the near future in regard ^o preserving the old Chiltingham cattle of which barely twenty or so are left. The London Zoological Society has been contributing to their protection for some years, but there is no guarantee that this aid will continue.
-Sea Otter-
An important and encouraging phenomenon among the rare, and in this ^■case supposedly extinct, species this past year has been the reappearance ■of a herd of some three hundred Sea Otter off the coast of Monterey Countv ■California. J *
Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
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t -South America-
Specific regulations have been passed in Ecuador pertaining to yachts /isiting the Galapagos Islands to prevent the destruction and removal of aative species from any of the islands. The requirements are as follows:
Any yacht visiting the islands first must obtain from the nearest Ecuadorean consulate a permit, costing 50 cents a gross ton of the vessel's measurement. This fee is in addition to other regular dues, and the permit must be shown to the territorial representative at the island before the yacht's crew disembarks. Any yacht found there with no permit must pay the required fee plus a fine equal to four times the cost of the permit. Ecuadorean consulates are required to satisfy themselves as to the authenticity of proposed scientific expeditions to the islands, and will notify the ministry of national defense of any permits issued. This is a very constructive move on the part of the Ecuadorean Government which makes the situation in the Galapogos Islands look much more hopeful.
The results of our questionnaire to South and Central American countries were interesting, especially in the matter of species needing active protection as: in Bolivia the Chinchilla, Vicuna and Guanaco, in Chile the Coypu, Chinchilla, Euillin and Guanaco, in Peru the Vicuna and the Guanaco, in Venezula the Guacharo Bird; and there were various other species which, according to our informants, would soon be in need of conservation measures. This list of rare animals will become longer in the not too distant future, when one considers the rate at which South America
fis opening up its resources to foreign trade and commerce. In all the continent of South America we could procure accurate and definite information as to size, location, and special features on only four or five national parks and none of these were reserves for fauna protection in particular.
With these facts in view it is obvious that if 7/e can, as we are hoping, achieve the passing of our Resolution, there will be a tremendous amount of worth while work to be done, especially in view of the fact that we, the American Committee, have taken the initiative in this matter.
Respectfully submitted
W. Reid Blai r Executive Secretary
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Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB REPORT OF THE TREASURER
December 1, 1938.
To the Members of the Boone and Crockett Club:
I have the honor to report the following receipts and disbursements for the
twelve months1 period from December 1, 1937, to December 1, 1938:
CASH BALANCE December 1, 1937 ..................................$ 584.60
RECEIPTS:
Annual Dinner and Luncheon .............. $ 596.50
Dues and Initiation Fees ................1,110.00
Book Royalties ....................... 90.20
Bond Interest ........................ 240.00
Stock Dividends ....................... 174.75
Big Game Records Fund................. 1,837.74
Brown Bear Group....................... 4.808.14 8.857.55
Total December 1, 1938 $9,441.95
DISBURSEMENTS:
Annual Dinner and Luncheon.............• $ 462.25
Treasurer's Office Expenses ............ 133.48
Secretary1s Office Expenses ............ 215.76
Social Security Tax .................. 1.04
Year Books ............................. 224.50
Int’l Wild Life Protection Committee • • . . 400.00
Safe Deposit Box....................... 6.60
Big Game Records Fund • . «............. 2,053.12
Brown Bear Group .... ............... 4.808.14 8.504.89
BANK BALANCE December 1, 1938 ............................. 1,137.04
CAPITAL ACCOUNT $2000 Harlem River & Portchester 1st Mortgage 4% Fifty Year Gold Bonds due 1954 - May 1938 coupons attached
$4000 Colorado Fuel & Iron General Mortgage 5% Sinking Fund Gold Bonds due 1943 40 shs Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Common Stock
30 n General Motors Common Stock
25 n Standard Oil of New Jersey Common Stock
30 n General Electric Common Stock
Auditing Committee:
Re
fu
tted
Treasurer
Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
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The Annual Meeting and Dinner of the Boone and Crockett Club was held in the Union Club, New York City, at 7:50 on the evening of Wednesday, December 14, 1938.
In the Presidents absence the meeting was called to order by the Vice-President, Mr. E. Hubert Litchfield.
The Minutes of the previous Annual Meeting were read by the Secretary and on motion duly made and seconded, were approved .
There were present the following members of the Club:
Ira N. Gabrielson Dean Sage, Jr.
W. Redmond Cross Sasha Siemel Clarence L. Hay C. V. Whitney Fairman R. Dick William G. Sheldon Frederic C. Walcott R. R. M. Carpenter John K. Howard Childs Frick Francis T. Colby Bayard Dominick F. Trubee Davison James L. Clark Henry G. Gray William N. Beach
E. Hubert Litchfield C. Arthur Comstock Alfred Ely J. Watson Webb Townsend Lawrence DeForest Grant Henry P. Davison
Alexander Lambert Richard Derby William B. Bristow Arthur W. Elting Oliver D. Filley Theodore Roosevelt Richard Borden Harold J. Coolidge, Jr, John P. Holman Albert K. Fisher Robert A. Bartlett Carl Rungius Chauncey J. Hamlin John Rogers
F. Carrington Weems Karl T. Frederick Archibald B. Roosevelt A. C. Gilbert Robert G. McKay A. Perry Osborn Charles H. Townsend Brooke Dolan Robert M. Ferguson William Lord Smith
The following attended as guests:
James P. Chapin Bradford Washburn
Alexander Wetmore Edward House
The Secretary reported that during the year there had been seven deaths among members of the Club - George Bird
Grinnell (Honorary President for life); of the Regular Members,
Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
Benjamin Chew, Frank Lyman, Robert Forbes Perkins, John C. Phillips and Owen Wister, and of the Associate Members,
Laszlo Szechenyi.
During the year the following were elected to Regular membership: Mr. William Sheffield Cowles, Mr. Henry P.
Davison, Mr. Richard Borden, Mr. DeWitt L. Sage, Mr. A. C. Gilbert and Mr. Karl T. Frederick. To Associate membership: Mr. Ira N. Gabrielson and Lord Lonsdale.
The report of the Treasurer, Mr. W. Redmond Cross, certified by the Auditing Committee, consisting of Mr. Archibald B. Roosevelt and Mr. F. Carrington Weems, was submitted, and on motion duly made and seconded, this report was adopted and ordered filed with the minutes.
Mr. Alfred Ely, reporting for the "Records of North American Big GameTT Committee, stated that the manuscript was in the hands of the publishers. Mr. Cross then took the floor and told the members of the Club what a tremendous amount of
work had been done for the publication by Mr. Ely, and^ moved
that he be congratulated for his splendid task.
Dr. Richard Derby, reporting for the Alaskan Brown Bear Group Committee, said that the Committee had in hand $8,550 in cash and pledges, and that the Committee felt sure that the balance of the funds would shortly be raised.
The report of the American Committee for International
Wild Life Protection was submitted by Mr. Childs Frick, and mimeographed copies of the report wrere presented
to the members.
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Mr, F. Trubee Davison, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, submitted the following names to be voted upon by the Club as officers for the ensuing year.
President - Kermit Roosevelt Secretary - Dean Sage, Jr.
First Vice-Presidents: Treasurer - W. Redmond Cross '
W. Douglas Burden
C. Suydam Cutting Executive Committee, Class
E. Hubert Litchfield of 1941:
Vice-Presidents, Class of 1941: W. C. Chanler
Percy C. Madeira James L. Clark
Leonard C. Sanford William G. Sheldon
The Chairman called for additional nominations and
there being none forthcoming, the Club voted on those submitted
by the Nominating Committee. They were unanimously elected and
the Secretary was instructed to cast one ballot in the name of
the Club.
Mr. Harold J. Coolidge, Jr. next read a memorial resolution prepared by Dr. Thomas Barbour and himself for Dr. John C. Phillips. On motion duly seconded, it was resolved that the
memorial be made a part of the minutes of the meeting, and the
Secretary was instructed to send copies to the members of Dr. Phillips 1 family.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned for dinner.
After dinner, Mr. Ira N. Gabrielson, Chief of the Biological Survey, spoke most interestingly on conservation problems, describing in particular detail what had been accomplished on the Sheldon Antelope Refuge. In the field of migratory water-fowl conservation, Mr. Gabrielson said that the Biological Survey had restored huge areas of land to suitable conditions for
Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
feeding and breeding grounds for migratory water-fowl, and stated that the Survey was still engaged in this work and planned to restore several million more acres.
Mr. Richard Borden next showed colored pictures of Stone Sheep taken on an expedition into the Peace River country of Northern British Columbia during the past summer. His pictures were the first colored movies of Stone Sheep ever to be taken and were received with great enthusiasm by the members of the Club.
Dr. James P. Chapin, Assistant Curator of Ornithology at the American Museum, showed slides and told the interesting story of the discovery of the Congo Peacock.
In conclusion, Mr. Bradford Washburn spoke and showed
slides of his recent ascent of Mount Sanford in Alaska. He
also showed moving pictures of a mountain climbing expedition
on which skis were effectively used by the climbers. Mr.
Washburn concluded his talk with the comment that the advent of
the airplane in Alaska had opened up for hunting hitherto in-
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accessible areas and that it was most important to give careful consideration to the problems of preserving the wild life in Alaska.
At the termination of Mr. Washburnfs talk, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted, Secretary.
Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
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MEMORIAL MINUTE TO DR* JOHN C. PHILLIPS
FOR THE
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB.
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With the passing of John C. Phillips most of us have not only lost a friend, but we have also lost a torchbearer whose greatest pov/er was that of kindling the unlighted torches many of us carried in the darkness. John Phillips was in the truest sense a gentleman and a New Englander. In him were combined courage, modesty, sound judgment, and a sense of humor, together with devotion to his family and friends. While his camp fires had glowed in such far-off places as Mexico, Arabia, Korea, and the Congo, he also knew and loved best of all many of the wilder parts of his own country, particularly certain sections of New England.
As a sportsman, author, naturalist, and a force in conservation, he has contributed uniquely by his quiet leadership, his researches, and his many writings, including several charming essays.
His interests, like his travels, covered a wide horizon and his farsighted generosity, not only enriched several museums with rare collections, but has also made possible extensive researches in widely different fields. The’ results of some of these investigations have given us a better understanding of baffling wild life problems.
John Phillips was in tune with nature and being so, he, more than anyone, could point the way for those of us whom he had inspired in advancing the cause of conservation, especially through the preservation of primitive areas as -well as vanishing species for the use of future generations, not only in county, state, and nation, but also in all parts of the world and particularly in Africa. He was a founder and for seven years the chairman of The American Committee for International Wild Life Protection.
During his nineteen years as an active member of the Boone and Crockett Club he held several offices and loyally served the Club in many ways. Of him, more than .almost anyone, it can be said that he devoted his life to advancing those ideals and standards of sportsmanship and conservation which are so intimately associated with the heritage of the Boone and Crockett Club.
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Boone and Crockett Club Records (Mss 738), Archives and Special Collections. Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library. University of Montana-Missoula.
Boone and Crockett Club Records
