specimen collections from 18 traplines, and studies in pelt 

 priming. 



Last year, for the first time, Conservation Officers were 

 supplied with monthly computer printouts of production 

 for all furbearing species by all trappers (A provincial total 

 of 11,000). 



New work was initiated in the analysis of pelt data from 

 the Ontario Trappers' Association. The objective is to 

 obtain information on productivity, range quality and pelt 

 priming. 



Other work included a study of new techniques of 

 trapping beaver, aerial photography to locate beaver lodges, 

 and habitat evaluation. 



RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT SECTION 



The policy of the Ministry in northern Ontario favours local 

 residents, mainly Indian bands, in the development of 

 renewable, natural resources. The following projects were 

 carried out during the past fiscal year under the 

 Federal-Provincial Resource Development Agreement. 



Indian Delegates. Indians attended district meetings and 

 took an active part in the planning of projects for their 

 reserves under the Agreement. 



Fur. Trappers and their families from James Bay were 

 assisted in establishing themselves on vacant traplines in 

 central Ontario. 



Lake Surveys. Intensive and short-term surveys were 

 made of lakes to assess their potential for commercial or 

 sports fishing. 



Commercial Fish Management. Commercial fishermen 

 were instructed in the netting, cleaning and packing of fish 

 in a project expected to improve substantially the quality 

 of the product and its marketability. Advice was also given 

 on camp sanitation, care of equipment, and bookkeeping 

 methods. The use of trap-nets of a special type was 

 demonstrated to Indian fishermen on Lake of the Woods. 



Tourism. Indian bands along the coasts of Hudson and 

 James Bays have been assisted in setting up and operating 

 goose camps at Fort Severn, Winisk, Attawapiskat, 

 Kapiskau River, Fort Albany and Tidewater. In total, the 

 camps grossed $81,000 for the 1971 season. 



Hide Collection. Moose and deer hides were collected 

 from hunters throughout the province, and 4,500 hides 

 were distributed at tanning costs to Indian bands for 

 handicraft work or personal use. The hunter received a 

 hand-warmer in return for his donation. 



Timber Management. Much of the Ministry's tree 

 planting on Crown lands in the north is done by Indian 

 groups. At the same time, to assist Indians in managing 

 reserve forests, the Ministry provides technical advice on 

 reforestation, logging techniques, and lumber production. 

 At the present time in Kenora District, there are eight 

 reserve operations and 12 Indian Crown operations. 



RESOURCE ECONOMICS BRANCH 



The former Forest Economics Unit of the former Timber 

 Branch became the principal element of the new Resource 

 Economics Branch, established on April 1 , 1971 . 



During the past year, the Branch released "Primary 

 Wood-Using Industries in Ontario, 1971", the third edition 

 of the directory. Another release, "Rural Lands and 

 Landowners of Southern Ontario", reported the major 

 findings of a mail survey conducted during the summer of 

 1969. 



Work continued on the study of the rationalization of 

 timber licences in northwestern Ontario, which is under- 

 taken in co-operation with the forest products industry in 

 the area, and on the application of benefit-cost measures to 

 ranking silvicultural priorities. Annual surveys of lumber 

 production, pulp chip production and utilization, and 

 interprovincial movements of forest products were also 

 carried out. 



Many enterprises were assisted in establishing new 

 wood-using facilities, expanding existing facilities, or 

 finding new producers or purchasers of forest products. 

 One example was a market study which aided an Ontario 

 manufacturer in becoming a leading Canadian producer of 

 hockey stick handles. 



Canada's economic recovery, which began toward the 

 end of 1970, became firmly established in the second 

 quarter of 1971. The 1971-2 fiscal year must be viewed as 

 one with a significant improvement in the wood industries. 

 The economic recovery is exemplified by the veneer and 

 plywood industry which had its industrial selling price 

 index rebound and even surpass the high level of the second 

 quarter of 1969. 



The most spectacular improvement occurred in the saw 

 and planing mills. The price of lumber products increased 

 by approximately 25 per cent during the year. Canadian 



housing starts in 1971 reached a record-breaking 234,000 

 units, an increase of 22 per cent over 1970. With Ontario 

 accounting for more than 40 per cent of these starts, the 

 effect was that most existing saw and planing mills 

 increased their production. At least a dozen mills either 

 undertook new production or expanded existing mill 

 capacities in the Province. 



The lumber production of Ontario sawmills during 1971 

 was 919.4 milhon board-feet, an increase of almost 12 per 

 cent over the previous year. Most of the increase was in 

 softwood lumber, 15 per cent over 1970, while hardwood 

 lumber output increased by only one per cent. Never- 

 theless, hardwood lumber prices were unusually high. They 

 were distorted, in part, by the hard maple market which 

 was affected by the boom in Japanese bowling alley 

 construction. Maple lumber output increased by eight per 

 cent. The affect of the Dutch elm disease is noted by a 

 decline of 29 per cent in Ontario's elm lumber production. 



The production of wood pulp chips from Ontario saw 

 mill residue materials also increased spectacularly. Almost 

 950,000 bone dry tons of pulp chips were produced during 

 1971 , an increase of 175,300 tons, or 23 per cent, over the 

 previous year. This increase was a direct result of the 

 greater lumber production and the ten new chip-producing 

 mills which started operation during the year. 



The Ontario pulp and paper industry encountered a 

 disappointing year. The national shipments of pulp and 

 paper products decreased by 3.5 per cent from 1970 levels, 

 and the annual operating ratio for the Canadian newsprint 

 mills was a mere 82.6 per cent, the lowest level since 1963. 

 The primary factor was the continuation of the soft world 

 market for pulp and paper products which resulted from 

 the start-up of new production facilities in British Columbia 

 and the southern United States. 



33 



