Eventually a system of renting the hunting or trespass rights on private lands 

 may be required. Suitable public hunting grounds have not met the demand and 

 progress in this endeavour has been slow. Game management programmes and 

 hunting interests have not been able to gain universal support resulting in delayed 

 land acquisitions and deferred programmes. Some impetus is urgently required 

 to solve this attitude. A possible solution may be the formation of county land- 

 owner-sportsmen councils. This approach has been used elsewhere, but notably 

 in Idaho, and has met with great success in keeping lands open to hunting and in 

 maintaining essential contact and good relations between landowners and 

 sportsmen. 



The same pressures are not encountered in northern Ontario since much of 

 the land here is in the Crown and because the population density is far below 

 that of the south. The variety of small game available in the north is limited, water- 

 fowl, the grouse species and varying hares being the chief quarry sought. Hunting 

 pressure in this extensive area remains light. In the north, too, access is a problem, 

 but here the problem is that of insufficient access owing to lack of road networks. 



Comments and observations are presented below on the main small game 

 species and on waterfowl. Some of the major field programmes involving these are 

 described. 



Pheasants 



This species is most abundant in the Forest Districts of Aylmer, Hespeler, 

 Maple and Lindsay, reaching its zenith of popularity on Pelee Island in Essex 

 County. Along with fox and rabbits, pheasants in most of agricultural southern 

 Ontario are the subject of special regulations in the form of a regulated township 

 licence requirement. Pheasant hunting is also offered at four Provincial public 

 hunting grounds, (see below), and at many private shooting preserves, as well. 



Again in 1964, the two Provincial Game Bird Farms at Codrington and 

 Normandale, provided pheasant chicks, poults and adults for distribution over 

 most of the suitable pheasant range in Ontario. Birds supplied as chicks were in 

 turn entrusted to township bodies, sportsmen's groups and interested individuals 

 for rearing and subsequent release. Poults are either released directly or after a 

 period of "conditioning" in gentle-release pens. Almost all the adult birds were 

 retained for release at the Department operated public hunting grounds. 



The Table below shows the numbers of pheasants produced at the two game 

 bird farms in 1964 and the allocation of these birds. 



Pheasants reach their greatest abundance in an association of fertile agricul- 

 tural land with comparatively mild winters. They have declined in parts of Essex 

 and Kent Counties which are touted as being the best as far as farming land is 

 concerned. The probable causes are (1) more intensive farming practices which 



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