Lakehead University Forestry Association - Yearbook (Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada)

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-3- in itself, a major psychological deterrent to the commitment of significant efforts to forest management. The attitude towards our forests was expressed in 1965 by a Canadian writer, Edward McCourt, who said: The Canadian shield is fascinating country of enormous wealth, but there is too much of it. Too much rock, too much prairie, too much tundra, too mucli mountain, too much forest. Above all, too much forest. Even the man who passionately believes that he shall never see a poem lovely as a tree, will be disposed to give poetry another try after he has driven the Trans-Canada highway. Although this notion lingers on in the minds of some people, there are now few foresters who are prepared to argue that adequate forests for the future can be ensured by the simple, traditional process of liquidating the remaining wild forests and entrusting their renewal to unassisted natural processes. Twenty years ago such an attitude was commonly held amongst members of the profession. We have advanced, at least, beyond that stage! In Ontario increasing responsibilities for forest management have been assumed by a large bureaucracy, the Ministry of Natural Resources. Within the multitudinous layers of responsibility in this organization, the new, enthusiastic graduate will encounter, at an early stage in his career, the dead weight and frustration of organizational procedures, red tape, and inertia. For one who becomes frustrated under these conditions, the temptation is strong to resign and go elsewhere. Such action may or may not prove beneficial for the individual, but it does nothing to assist the organization in the improvement of performance. In the challenging period in which we now find ourselves, high levels of professional competence, dedication, idealism, courage, and persistence remain the prime requisites of all those who go forth from Lakehead University to improve forestry practice in Ontario, or elsewhere. Ko W. Hearnden, Chairman School of Forestry

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-2- In the months ahead, we shall be endeavoring to continue our program of recruitment of new full-time faculty members. We do not expect tiiis to be an easy task because of a number of problems, including non-competitive salary levels, a national shortage of potential instructors having an adequate background of education and experience, and the generally unfavourable con- ditions under which universities are now obliged to function. Looking at the national and provincial forestry scenes, one is aware that the winds of change are blowing briskly. At the federal level, it appears that, although the Canadian Forestry Service, as such, has virtually disappeared into the Ministry of the Environment, a national forestry advisory committee is beginning to give serious attention to the need for the definition of a national policy on forestry. The British North America Act, of course, conferred ownership of forest lands and resources upon the provinces. Through corporation and personal taxes, however, the federal government is a principle beneficiary of the exploitation of forest resources in the provinces. One could argue, then, that it has a major responsibility for insuring the main- tenance of the productivity of the forests by financial measures and cooperation with the provinces. During the past several years it has become apparent that traditional timber licensing systems, little changed from those first developed in the middle of the last centry, will undergo significant change. The abolition of such licenses in the province of Quebec, the establisliment of a forest authority in New Brunswick, and more recently, in Ontario of the Algonquin Forestry Authority presaged the assumption of governments of increasing control and responsibility for forest resources exploitation activities. One can but hope that we are not witnessing the initial development of burgeoning govern- mental bureaucracies which will have the effect of increasing the cost of timber harvesting without significant improvements in the value of the wood produced or in the environmental consequences. For better or for worse, it appears that forest management, and most of the activities which fall under the umbrella of management will become a crown monopoly in most if not all provinces. It is regretable, indeed, that the forest industries, long ago, did not choose to exercise better stewardship of the large areas of public forest land en- trusted to them under long-term licenses. In the north western region of Ontario there is a growing belief that current and projected levels of timber harvesting will soon approximate the calculated allowable annual cut for the region. Predictions of potential timber shortages for some wood-using industries are heard. This possibility, when considered together with proposals by vociferous environmental groups for the setting aside of decidedly large, single purpose, wilderness areas, indicate a need for a much intensified application of forestry techniques, practices and principles, without delay. There is no doubt, in my mind, that we are entering a most challenging and stimulating period for forestry in Ontario. The opportunities for graduates to carry into practice the theories and techniques acquired in the lecture room, laboratory, and in the field, are now better than at any time heretofore in the history of forestry in Ontario. Until recent years, the apparent limitlessness of the forest resource in the Boreal region constituted,

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r }f rayer of tire lAJoods am the heart of your hearth on the cold winter nights, the friendly shade screening you from the summer sun, and my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your thirst as you journey on. I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table, the bed on which you lie, and the timber that builds your boat. I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your homestead, the wood of your cradle, and the shell of your coffin. I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty. Ye who pass by list en to my prayer harm me not ' Author Unknown