THE    UNIVERSITY       OF WISCONSIN 
                             COLLEGE OF AGRICULIURr 
 
                                        Madison 6 
DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT                                     424
UNIVERSITY FARM PLACE 
 
 
                                     April 9, .11. 
 
 
   Mr. Albert Hochbaum 
   Delta Waterfowl Research Station 
   Delta, Manitoba 
 
   Dear Albert: 
 
   I congratulate you on your letter to Gabe. Your logic is sound and statesmanlike,

   and I think you are wise in raising the question of Canadian sponsorship.
It ±s 
   unlikely that a Canadian administrator of Nalaher's quality will come
very often. 
 
   I read the two 1939 reports with a lot of interest and agree with you
that many 
   of the ideas there expressed have now become a fact. I think your idea
of a ten 
   year history of Delta is very good, but I hate to promise to write it
when I see 
   no immnediate oportunity to write anything. We are still so heavily loaded
with 
   enlarged courses that none of us can get anything done until summer. You
rmi~t, 
   in the meanwhile, find someone else to do the job. Failing this, I am
willing 
   to think about it later. The reports are returned. 
 
   Is the undated carbon called "Harvesting the Waterfowl Crop"
a new paper or part 
   of the book that is being debated with the Institute? Please enlisjhten
me about 
   this. Certainly the discussion of long range shooting contained in it
is very 
   conservative, and highly in need of being emphasized. This carbon is also
being 
   returned. 
 
   The shortage of ducks at my place this spring is greater than ever. During
the 
   week when my woods was flooded I used to have twenty-five or fifty pairs
of 
   mallards in it. This year there is one pair. As nearly as I can maks out,

   there are five wood ducks on the whole bottom, and no teal. We used to
have 
   scores of teal every spring. All this would, of course, prove nothing
except 
   that there has been a persistent trend in this direction over a decade.

 
   On the other hand, at least 200 geese are using my marsh, going out to
corn all 
   day long. Art has probably written you that some 9,000 are gathered at
Heorcon. 
 
   You still have not told me just what this Montana job is. I would like
to be 
   sure that it is something that really suits you rather than something
that 
   merely happened to come along. 
   If I have missed the point about "Harvesting the Waterfowl Crop",
please come 
   back at me. 
 
   Say hello to Pete and give my love to Joan, 
 
                                                            Yours as ever,

 
 
  AL:pm                                                     Aldo Leopold

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