Nineteenth-century commercial fishing and logging helped grow Michigan’s economy but threatened the sustainability of its natural resources. Logging operations used waterways to transport logs, contributing to river pollution and destroying fish spawning areas, while dams blocked fish passage and damaged habitats. At the same time, relatively unlimited commercial fishing took millions of pounds of fish each year at rates that exceeded regeneration for some species. To help prevent the extinction of the state’s fish species, the Michigan legislature established the Board of Fish Commissioners in 1873 to study the importance of fish culture and create a state hatchery to repopulate the waterways. In the mid-nineteenth century, Michigan also began regulating hunting and fishing to prevent the extermination of wildlife. In 1859 the state created hunting seasons for deer, turkey, and other game, with a $25 fine for violations, and also banned continuous fishing nets and seines in certain places. Although more game laws followed, local and county officials enforced them unevenly. After the Michigan Sportsmen’s Association began lobbying in 1881 for a state game law enforcement office, the legislature created the office of Game and Fish Warden in 1887, and Governor Cyrus Luce appointed William Alden Smith as the first warden and Michigan’s first statewide law enforcement officer.