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

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The goal of the new ministry is to provide opportunities for outdoor recreation and resource development for the continuous social and economic benefit of the people of Ontario and to administer, protect and conserve public lands and waters. Partial achievement of this objective is met by our Division of Parks which administers 119 provincial parks having a total of more than 10.4 million acres. Each park is different. Some offer excellent campsites, swimming and boating. Others retain historical features along with other facilities and interpretive programs. Many remain open during the winter for camping, snow- mobiling and hiking. Recently, we introduced a snowmobile trails maintenance program to permit private clubs to improve their special areas and trails, all funded by the provincial government under supervision of Natural Resources. Most Ontario sportsmen have heard about our Division of Fish and Wildlife which administers hunting and fishing regulations as well as offering sound advice on likely hunting areas. Those of you who are interested in cottage properties will be familiar with our Division of Lands which provides the mechanism for the leasing of Crown Land for cottage sites. Of particular interest to you is our forest management programs. During the fiscal year 1973 74, approximately 787,000,000 viable tree seeds were utilized in the Provincial Forest Regeneration program. A total of 65,362,395 in nursery stock plus five million tubed seedlings was produced in ministry nurseries for use in plant- ing on Crown and private lands.

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A MESSAGE FROM THE HON. LEO BERNIER, MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES. Yes, we have a new name. But it ' s more than two years old now and many people are still confused about our transition from Lands and Forests to our present title - Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Perhaps I might explain. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources came into being April 1, 197 2 following a major restructuring of government. Our composition includes the former Department of Lands and Forests, the Department of Mines and Northern Affairs, Conser- vation Authorities Branch from the former Department of Energy and Resources, Historical Sites Branch from the old Department of Tourism, various parks commissions and other agencies. A major function of the former Lands and Forests operation and one which the new ministry has assumed is that of forest protection. Last year marked the Golden Anniversary of our provincial air ser- vice which has played a vital role in forest fire surveillance and suppression throughout the province. The air service - one of the finest in the world - comprises a fleet of 43 aircraft including the recently acquired Grumman Trackers which are being converted into water bombers. To mark this 50th anniversary, Bruce West, a well known author and columnist with the Globe Mail, has written an exciting account of the early days of bush flying in Ontario called, appropriately, The Firebirds . It is available through my ministry and at our district offices throughout the province as well as the Government Book Store, Bay and Grosvenor Streets, Toronto. I recommend it as an interesting history of bush flying in Ontario.

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A total of 318,158 acres of Crown and private land received regeneration or tending treatment. This included planting or seeding of 150,225 acres; 131,618 acres being on Crown land. Stand improvement and tending was carried out on 167,9 03 acres of Crown and Private land. A total of 3,249 agreements was made under The Woodlands Improvement Act covering an area of 161,306 acres of private lands. Sixty agreement forests are under management covering an area of 254,652 acres, and 28 Regeneration Agreements are currently in effect with Timber Licensees, mainly in Northern Ontario . In 1973, aerial spraying operations, to control the spruce bud- worm, were carried out on an area of 88,300 acres of Crown land in Northern Ontario. An additional 12,000 acres were treated to control other insects and diseases in the southern part of the Province. During the past decade the volume of Crown wood cut increased by 35 per cent from 376 million cubic feet to 506 million cubic feet annually. Ontario was the first province in Canada to complete an inventory (in 1959) of its forest resources. Since 1960 a program of re- inventory has been instituted. It is designed to maintain an up-to-date record of our forest resources. Ontario ' s forest economy has now reached a level of maturity which exceeds that in other provinces by a wide margin. Level of manufacturing creates more jobs per cunit (100 cubic feet) of wood utilized. Ontario ' s forest industry employs almost as many workers as British Columbia but harvests less than 35 per cent as much wood. For each cunit of wood produced there is a value added by manufacturing of $139 for Ontario