The impetus to introduce conservative features seems to have largely
come through the influence of the forestry movement in the United
States, and, although, voices of prominent Canadians, like that of
James and William Little, and Sir Henry Joly de Lotbinière had been
heard before in advocacy of a more far-seeing policy, the meeting of the
American Forestry Congress at Montreal in 1882, (see p. 480) may be set
as the date of the inception of this movement in Canada.
The definite result of that meeting was the inauguration of forest fire
legislation in the various provinces. In the Province of Ontario, the
Fire Act of 1878, which had until then remained a dead letter, was
improved, in 1885, by inaugurating a fire ranger system, in which limit
holders pay one-half the cost of the rangers. The force of fire
fighters, 37 in the first year was gradually increased until, in 1910,
nearly 1000 were employed at a cost of $300,000. In that year a change
was made, the whole service including inspection being charged against
the limit holder. In New Brunswick, a fire law was passed in 1885,
followed, in 1897, by the introduction of the Ontario ranger system. In
1883, Nova Scotia passed a forest fire law, which, like that of New
Brunswick, remained ineffective for lack of machinery; this was not
provided until 1904, and since then has worked most satisfactorily.
Recently a forest survey of this Province was made. Quebec also enacted
fire legislation in 1883, but did not provide means to carry it into
effect until 1889. Since at first only $5,000 annually was allowed for
its execution, and by 1901-2 not more than $7,226 was expended for fire
protection over an area of 40 million acres, its effectiveness may be
doubted. But in 1905, a special Forest-Protection Branch, with a
Superintendent and a ranger system after the Ontario pattern was
organized, and the service has become more effective.
The need for more organized effort and advice led to the establishment
of special bureaus of forestry. In Ontario, a Clerk of Forestry was
established in the Department of Agriculture in 1883, and, in 1895, he
was replaced by a Clerk in the Crown Lands Department, later named
Director of Forestry (Mr. Thomas Southworth). This office, later, was
changed to a Bureau of Forestry and Colonization, and a technically
educated man was appointed as Provincial Forester, with a view of
developing a forest management, at least in the Reserves. This movement,
however, soon collapsed for lack of appreciation; the office was
transferred back to the Department of Agriculture, which does not
control any timberlands, the Forester resigned, and the bureau was,
finally, in 1907, restricted to the colonization work, the forestry part
being deliberately abandoned.
Meanwhile the Province of Quebec pursued a more enlightened course. To
control the cut, a Culler’s office was established in 1842, which,
however, only checked the square timber, then the principal material. In
1873, after various futile attempts to secure better supervision, a
corps of forest rangers was created; but as they worked without
organization the results were only partial until, in 1889, they were
placed under seven chiefs or superintendents. In 1897, the number of
superintendents were reduced to one, but having to work with incompetent
men, political appointees, this improvement in headship did not produce
much result. In 1907, a re-organization took place by introducing two
professional foresters educated at government’s expense at American
colleges of forestry who upon their return were employed to supply the
technical supervision of cutting on licensed lands, and otherwise to
forward forestry reforms. In 1910, the logical sequence occurred by
placing the entire forest service except the protection against fire
under one of these technical men as chief, with the other one as his
assistant, and a corps of three civil engineers, 40 forest rangers and
six scalers, besides 20 student assistants--the first organized
provincial forest service in Canada, administered under the
Superintendent of Woods and Forests in the Department of Crownlands.[17]
[17] See Report of Canadian Forestry Convention, 1911.
In 1898, the Dominion government had also recognized the need of more
technical administration by instituting a Forestry Branch in the
Department of the Interior under a superintendent with a view of
developing improved methods. At first manned without technical advisers,
who were, indeed, not in existence, gradually the professional element
was introduced, and the scope of the Branch enlarged, the irrigation
interests of the country being added. Under the able guidance of the
present director--whose task under the political conditions surrounding
it is not an easy one--this department may in a few years also become
fully organized with technical men, of whom there are now seventeen
employed, besides student assistants.
These various government agencies and other propaganda produced at
least the important result of committing the governments to see the
propriety of setting aside permanent forest reserves.
The first movement in this direction was made in 1893, and in 1895, the
first Dominion reservations were made by Executive Order through the
Minister of the Interior. These, to be sure, were located in the thinly
timbered parts of the province of Manitoba, the Turtle Mountains and
Riding Mountain, mainly for the protection of water supply.
Several other similar reserves were set aside by the Minister, but to
give more stability to these reservations, an Act of Parliament was
passed in 1906, declaring their permanence and placing them, 3,380,000
acres, under the administration of the Superintendent of Forestry. There
are so far, some 26 Dominion Forest Reserves created, or in the act of
creation, comprising an area of over 25,000 square miles. The Forestry
Branch is making a brave beginning to survey and manage these reserves
under forestry principles.
Of the provinces, Ontario was the first to recognize the principle of
reservations in 1893, when a partially cut over, partially licensed
territory of over one million acres was set aside as the Algonquin
National Park in the Nipissing District, but the first definite
establishment of a forest reserve policy dates from the Forest Reserve
Act, passed in 1898, which authorizes the Executive, as in the United
States, to withdraw lands for reserves. Some eight reserves and two
parks have so far been established, and the reserved area amounts to
around 20,000 square miles.
Of management on forestry lines on these reserves there is so far little
to be heard, except an effort to keep fires out.
Quebec has followed this example of Ontario, first by setting aside the
Laurentides Park in the Saguenay region, (1,634,000 acres), which, like
Algonquin Park, was more in the nature of a game preserve. During
1906-7, however, under a law authorizing the Lieutenant Governor to set
aside forest reserves, over 100 million acres were placed in reserve.
Apparently, however, no administration of this preserve in the forestry
sense is as yet attempted.
British Columbia, which until lately was only concerned in disposing of
the well timbered crownlands, after having disposed of the best parts,
has placed under reservation the balance, and a forest commission of
inquiry has been constituted to devise further measures in the interest
of forestry. Its report, appearing in 1911, gives a very clear statement
of conditions in the province and the promise of active organization of
a better service.
Of other attempts to foster forestry interests may be mentioned a law in
Quebec, passed in 1882, providing a bonus of $12 per acre for tree
planting, which seems to have remained without effect; another,
providing for a diameter limit of 12 inches on the stump for pine and 9
inches for other kinds (these dimensions are now varied) inaugurated in
1888, may have preserved some young growth on the limits, although,
since pulpwood is now the main product, and supervision has been
inefficient, not much may be expected from such laws. Indeed, the chief
of the forest service reports that 60% of the regeneration is of the
inferior balsam fir.
In Ontario, a very competent Commission was created in 1897, with a
noted lumberman, Mr. Bertram as president, to formulate methods of
reform; but the able report remained barren of results.
The Dominion has been active in encouraging tree-planting in the
prairies. The Agricultural Experiment Station at Ottawa not only set out
object lessons by planting some 20 acres of sample plots, but for a
number of years distributed plant material to settlers. This work was
later taken over by the Forestry Branch and increased to a larger scale,
some 85 acres being in nursery, and the distribution having grown to
15,000,000 seedlings in 1910.
Ontario, under the direction of its Department of Agriculture and in
co-operation with the Agricultural College at Guelph, has lately
embarked in two movements of amelioration, namely, establishing a State
nursery from which plant material at cost, with advice as to its use, is
given to farmers, and purchasing and reforesting waste lands in the
agricultural section.
Tariff legislation is another means which is in the hands of the
Dominion government to be used for encouraging forest conservancy. It
has, however, so far not been used directly for such purpose, fiscal and
commercial policies being uppermost. But the provinces have in this
respect helped themselves by encouraging manufacture rather than export
of raw materials, Ontario leading in this matter by prohibiting export
of unmanufactured logs from Crownlands in 1898. Other provinces impose
an export duty on pulpwood cut on crownlands, as does also Ontario.
At present writing, a reciprocity agreement with the United States is
under contemplation, which would admit wood products from Canada free of
duty--an arrangement which whatever its commercial advantages bodes no
good for a conservative forest policy.
Meanwhile private limit holders, here and there, had begun to see the
need of conservative methods, and by 1908, at least two large Paper and
Pulp concerns had placed foresters in charge of their logging
operations.