The first requirement for a recreation program by a Conservation Authority 

 is the extensive survey in which the needs are examined with the present and 

 future population in mind. These needs are balanced against the available recrea- 

 tion lands on which various conservation practices can be carried out. Spectacular 

 land forms and the locations of rare geological formations or of unusual flora 

 or fauna are noted. Good access from first-class highways is essential. 



Authorify Administration 



The conservation reports are presented to the Authorities for their guidance 

 in developing a broad conservation program. The Authority must assume the 

 initiative for carrying out any of the recommendations made in the report. Usually 

 the Authority decides which measures are most urgent, and these are undertaken 

 first. 



If any Authority expects to receive financial or technical assistance from the 

 Province for a scheme (and most projects receive such assistance) it must re- 

 quest the assistance of the appropriate government department. If, for example, 

 a scheme undertaken by an Authority has to do with land use, it receives ap- 

 proval from the Ontario Department of Agriculture. If the scheme involves for- 

 estry or wildlife problems, then the appropriate branch of the Department of 

 Lands and Forests must be contacted. In the case of flood control, the Authority 

 must engage a consulting engineer to do the engineering and design work up to 

 the point of calling for tenders, and to carry the work through to the construc- 

 tion stage. Similarly, where an Authority acquires large conservation areas which 

 may include parks and recreation, it may be necessary to employ men especially 

 trained in this work to design the areas. 



Financing 



Three classes of financing are mentioned in The Conservation Authorities 

 Act. The first is for capital expenses such as dams, reservoirs, reforestation land 

 and conservation areas. The au*' 'y's share of payment for these must be 

 borne by the member municipaliiies which benefit from the scheme. The second 

 is maintenance of capital works, and this is paid entirely by the Authority in the 

 same way. The third is called "administration costs" and includes all those 

 activities to whch an Authority might be expected to engage in except capital 

 and maintenance costs. Such charges as salaries and travelling expenses, ofiice 

 rent and equipment, tree planting machines, exhibits, visual equipment, printed 

 material, farm ponds, the investigation of reforestation lands, and all other 

 small conservation projects, are described as administrative costs. 



Grants are made by the Provincial Government to all types of conservation 

 schemes except for maintenance. Grants are a matter of policy and may change 

 from year to year. At the present time, grants for flood control schemes are fifty 

 per cent; for large scale reforestation schemes, grants are fifty per cent for land 

 purchases, and one hundred i>er cent for management. For conservation areas 

 in which parks are situated, the acquisition of flood plain lands, and all items 

 included in administrative costs, the grants are also 50 per cent. 



For large flood control schemes, the Government of Canada, under The 

 Canada Water Conservation Assistance Act, may contribute on the basis of 

 371/2 per cent. A similar grant from the Province of Ontario leaves 25 per cent 

 of such large flood control schemes to be raised by the Authority. 



Administration 



Each city, town, village or township located wholly or partly within a 



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