WINTER CONDITIONS 

 AND RANGE MANAGEMENT 



Shortly after the deer hunt, district crews began preparing 

 for regular, winter, deer range management work in the 

 eastern deer range. Everything appeared normal with the 

 arrival of snow about the middle of November, but snow- 

 falls continued to be frequent in January and, indeed, 

 throughout the rest of the winter. The few minor thaws were 

 not enough to reduce snow depths greatly. The frequent 

 snowfalls, with little thawing, produced snow depths greater 

 than any recorded since records were begun 18 years ago. 

 Average snow depths across the eastern deer range were 

 greater than 20 inches for 14 consecutive weeks, and greater 

 than 30 inches for eight weeks. Deer were confined to small 

 areas where food supplies became critical. 



Emergency work was initiated about mid-February. -Addi- 

 tional trees were cut in many of the areas where deer were 

 concentrated to provide food from the tops. Emergency 

 work contrasts with normal winter operations which open 

 the canopy and encourage growth of new plants for the deer 

 to eat in succeeding >'ears. The wisdom of this policy became 

 evident during the winter as many of the food patches 

 resulting from previous work provided crucial SListenance 

 to the deer. 



A newly developed technique helped ensure that all 

 nearby food could be utilized. On the basis of previous 

 experimental work, the first large-scale trail-breaking opera- 

 tions were undertaken with bulldozers, skidders and power 

 toboggans, ploughing or packing access routes from where 

 the deer were concentrated to food patches established 

 during previous winters. 



Fortunately, the deer survived much better than could 

 have been expected in view of the widespread starvation 

 which occurred during 1958-9 and 1959-60 when there was 

 less total accumulation of snow. Probably, several factors 

 combined to favour the deer in 1970. First, the mild, late fall 

 allowed them to enter the winter in good shape. Second, a 

 hard crust developed about the middle of February, and this 

 allowed deer to walk on top of the snow in many areas so 

 they could range farther and reach higher for food. Third, a 

 reasonably good balance existed between numbers of deer 

 and amounts of available food, as a result of lower deer 

 densities on the one hand, and more available food pro- 

 duced by deer range management work on the other. 



Our redoubled efforts during the period of deep snow 

 appeared to have a noticeably beneficial effect on the deer. 

 Preliminary figures suggest that only about 12 to 14% of 

 the deer succumbed during this winter in spite of the deep- 

 est snow on record. This mortality is considered moderate, 

 and it is certainly much less than the losses during the 



previous extreme winters of 1958-9 and 1959-60. 

 The mortality varied from district to district. Some of the 



heaviest mortality occurred in Lindsay District and in the 

 districts along the northern edge of the deer range — North 

 Bay, Sudbury, and Sault Ste. Marie. Except in Thunder Bay 

 District, which experienced a relatively severe winter, the 

 deer in northwestern Ontario escaped again. The accumula- 

 tion of snow was not severe, and little mortality was 

 reported. 



DEER RANGE IMPROVEMENT, 1970-1 



Forest District 



Sault Ste. KAarie 



Sudbury 



Parry Sound . . . 

 Pembroke .... 



Lindsay 



Tweed 



Lake Simcoe . . 

 TOTAL 



MOOSE MANAGEMENT 



The recreational opportunities afforded by the presence of 

 moose are numerous and varied. Many people observe 

 moose during the summer. Many more partake of a thrilling 

 hunt during the fall. The goal of moose management in 

 Ontario is to continue to provide opportunities for recrea- 

 tion and economic benefit. 



For the third successive year, the annual mailed survey of 

 hunters was conducted from a central location with the aid 

 of an electronic computer. Progress was made in stream- 

 lining the system, but difficulties still occurred, causing 

 delays in producing the final figures. The figures given below 

 may still be adjusted slightly to account for such influences 

 as hunter bias in reporting. 



THE HUNT 



The total moose harvest for 1970, provisionally estimated at 

 13,664, was the third highest on record. Only in 1965 and 

 1966 were more moose harvested. The improvement in 

 hunting over the previous three years was due entirely to 

 the better hunting weather during the season. Water levels 

 were low, and the weather was pleasant. Thus, there were 

 plenty of opportunities for calling moose and for seeing 

 them along the shores of lakes and streams. By contrast, in 

 1969 the weather was rainy and warm, and water levels were 

 so high that moose seldom came into the open along the 

 shorelines. 



