Report of the Department of Lands and Forests for fiscal year ending March 31, 1950 Page 138 



DIVISION OF SURVEYS AND ENGINEERING 



ANNUAL REPORT 



To facilitate and expedite the issuance of water power leases for the develop- 

 ment of electric energy, legislation was passed amending the Water Powers Regulation 

 Act. 



Under the provisions of this Act as amended. His Majesty the King, in the 

 right of Ontario as represented by the Minister of Lands and Forests, may enter into 

 an agreement with the lessee for the development of the water power, generally for a 

 term of twenty years with the right of renewal for two further and successive terms 

 of ten years each. 



It is of interest to note that leases granted by the Department for the develop- 

 ment of electric-energy from our natural water power resources cover an installed 

 capacity of approximately 1.000.000 horsepower which compares with an installed 

 capacity of about 7.000 horsepower at the beginning of this century. 



The control of water for the use of the power companies, timber operators and 

 summer resort residents at various seasons of the year, presents a major problem. A 

 policy of segregating the use of certain waterways for the specific use of power 

 development and that of summer resort development is under review. A survey of 

 existing dams in the Province is under way and ultimately, a complete history of 

 each dam will be secured, which will enable a policy to be formulated in regard to 

 its maintenance and future use to the best interests of everyone. 



The demand for summer resort lots on Crown Lands has continued during the 

 past fiscal year, resulting in the continuance of an extensive survey program. The 

 surveys of 1,435 parcels were completed, creating a new all time high and being an 

 increase of 20 per cent over the previous year. 



The boundary between the Territorial Districts of Thunder Bay and Algoma 

 between the Canadian Pacific Railway and Lake Superior was resurveyed and certain 

 stations of the Geodetic Survey of Canada were tied in to the survey fabric of Ontario 

 to provide control for mapping of aerial photography. Potential water power reserves 

 on the Montreal River near Lake Superior were surveyed. 



Retracement surveys were carried out in the newly discovered uranium field in 

 the vicinity of Alona Bay of Lake Superior, north of Sault Ste. Marie to provide base 

 control for geological surveys made by the Department of Mines and also, to provide 

 control for legal surveys for the numerous mining claims which have been staked in 

 this area. 



The plans of setting up a photographic library to record prints of all air photo- 

 graphs taken in connection with the Forest Resources Inventory have been finalized. 

 These photographs will be made available to lumber and mining companies and to 

 the general public, from 360,000 negatives. 



The aerial surveys section of this Division has completed the preparation of the 

 base maps of the territory, comprising 25,440 square miles south of the French and 

 Mattawa Rivers included in the program of the Forest Resources Inventory 

 Program. 



In the undeveloped sections of the Province, there are in existence a consider- 

 able number of subdivided townships, where due to the passage of time, lumbering 

 and fires, it is found the majority of survey posts and survey lines are obliterated. 



