WILDLIFE SECTION 



GAME MANAGEMENT 1963 



It is estimated that nearly one-half-million residents of Ontario took ad- 

 vantage of the excellent hunting opportunities this Province had to offer in 1963. 

 In addition, approximately 50,000 non-resident hunters visited Ontario. Most 

 of the latter category came in search of big game. Total hunting licence sales 

 for 1963 are contained in Table I. 



Table 1 



Resident Moose 43,144 



Resident Deer 101,590 



Camp 262 



Dog 12,050 



Farmers Deer 12,658 



Regulated Hunting Camp (Lindsay) 82 



Resident Bear 354 



Resident Gun 376,800 



Groundhog 39,219 



Non-Resident Moose 7,261 



Non-Resident Deer 6,351 



Non-Resident Small Game 7,685 



Non-Resident Spring Bear 1,999 



Non-Resident Wolf 39 



Non-Resident Pheasant Preserve 300 



With an ever increasing number of sportsmen afield the proper management 

 of game resources becomes essential. Gone are the days when stocking, predator 

 control and regulations based on opinion rather than facts, were the only tools 

 of game management. In 1963 a large field staff of 199 conservation officers 

 and 34 biologists obtained detailed information needed for sound game manage- 

 ment, and enforced regulations made under The Game and Fish Act. The task 

 is a difficult one since activities are spread over much of the Province's 412,000 

 square miles; this is an area larger than that of the 14 eastern states bordering 

 the Atlantic from Maine to Florida. Collecting essential information required 

 for proper management covers a broad spectrum of activity. Inventories, col- 

 lection of harvest information and evaluation of habitat are three of the most 

 important. A great deal of information is needed if sound regulations are to be 

 made and programs designed to provide hunting of good quality. 



For example, in 1963, district staff inventoried moose populations by 

 flying over 150 sample plots which exceeded 4,000 square miles in total area. 

 Over 39,000 deer hunters were interviewed concerning their hunt last year; this 

 was almost one third of all licenced deer hunters in the Province. Harvest 

 information was also requested from over 36-per-cent of the Province's 47,000 

 licenced moose hunters in 1963. Thousands more small game hunters con- 

 tributed valuable harvest information to Department officers. These were only 

 a few of the many activities of Lands and Forests staff in the field of game 

 management. The following resume, although far from complete, outlines the 

 status of many of Ontario's game species in 1963 and the Department activities 

 directed towards their management. 



BIG GAME 



Reasonably good to excellent deer hunting has been enjoyed in southeastern 

 and northwestern Ontario for many years. In the western portion of the Pro- 

 vince the present stage of forest growth favours deer and very high deer popula- 

 tions are present, particularly in Kenora, Fort Frances and southern Sioux Lookout 



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