FISH AND WILDLIFE BRANCH 



OBJECTIVE 



To manage the lands and waters of the Province to ensure 

 that (a) the maximum recreational and economic benefits 

 are gained from the wildlife and fish species while keeping 

 management practices compatible with other land and water 

 uses; and to (b) permit the full harvest of the annual natural 

 increases of fish and game species on a sustained yield basis. 



ORGANIZATION 



The Fish and Wildlife Branch is divided into two sections 

 and their subordinate units with duties and responsibilities 

 as follows: 

 WILDLIFE 



Game Management: Maintenance and increase of game 

 abundance through improvement of habitat, regulations, 

 inventory of game numbers, measures of participation by 

 hunters, establishment of public hunting areas and develop- 

 ment of agreement with landowners to provide improved 

 game habitat and hunting opportunities. 

 Fur Management: Biologically sound management of fur- 

 bearing animals; counselling of trappers to assist them in 

 achieving the highest economic returns for their furs; regu- 

 lations; stocking of animals in depleted areas; and licensing 

 of fur farms. 



Field Services: Enforcement of the hunting and fishing regu- 

 lations; development of training programs for conservation 

 officers related to law enforcement; development of pro- 

 grams to secure the co-operation of the public in observing 

 regulations and conduct of safe hunter examinations. 

 FISHERIES 



Game Fish and Hatcheries: Lake and stream surveys; fish 

 population studies; fish management units; public fishing 

 areas; hatchery production; fish stocking; and licensing of 

 private hatcheries. 



Commercial Fish: Licensing of commercial operators; devel- 

 opment of fisheries in Patricia area under Federal-Provincial 

 Resources Development Agreement; and compilation of 

 statistics on fishery effort and production. 

 Fisheries Inventory: Inventory of the waters of the Province; 

 organization and co-ordination of the field programs; imple- 

 mentation of data processing systems to utilize inventory 

 information for biological, economic and other uses. 

 Indian Resource Development: Technical assistance to 

 Indians in liaison with the Department of Indian Affairs and 

 Northern Development. 



WILDLIFE SECTION 

 Game Management 



Ontario offers more than 400,000 square miles of varied 

 habitat in which game species adapted to each area exist. 

 Accordingly, there are outstanding opportunities both for 

 nature study and hunting. It is impossible to estimate the 

 numbers of residents and visitors who participate in bird 

 watching, photography and other studies of bird and animal 

 wildlife. The sale of hunting licences, however, provides an 

 accurate estimate of the numbers of those who participate 

 in hunting as outlined below. 



Table 1 



HUNTING LICENCE SALES, 1966 



TYPE OF LICENCE 



NUMBERS 

 SOLD 



Resident Moose 



Resident Deer 

 Dog — Raccoon 



Moose and Deer 

 Farmer's Deer 



Regulated Hunting Camp (Lindsay) 

 Resident Bear 

 Resident Small Game 

 Summer Hunting (Groundhog) 

 Non-Resident Moose, Deer and Small Game 

 Non-Resident Deer and Small Game 

 Non-Resident Small Game 

 Non-Resident Spring Bear 

 Non-Resident Wolf 

 Non-Resident Pheasant Preserve 



1,314 

 12,693 



48,498 

 122,412 



14,007 



15,017 



84 



813 



388,243 



46,403 



12,698 



8,858 



11,998 



.3,910 



50 



250 



Once again there was an increase in the numbers of all 

 licences sold, with the exception of the resident moose, 

 which declined by 12,000. 



The increasing interest and participation of sportsmen 

 makes the development of a modern and effective wildlife 

 management program essential. Inventories of game and 

 their habitat, collection of harvest data, evaluation of habi- 

 tat in the development of means to improve it, the creation 

 of realistic regulations and their enforcement, the use of 

 appropriate stocking techniques and the development of a 

 suitable educational and public relations program are all 

 part of game management. 



Accompanying this is a continuing need to develop our staff 

 of biologists, foresters and conservation officers, which has 

 been done through special courses in the Universities and 

 at the Ontario Forest Ranger School at Dorset. 

 DEER HUNTING AND MANAGEMENT 

 Over 146,000 deer licences were sold in 1966 compared with 

 140,000 in 1965. In addition, 12,700 non-resident moose 

 licence holders could hunt deer if they wished. To obtain 

 information on the hunt, 29,854 hunters were interviewed 

 at checking stations and 3,719 were contacted in mailed 

 surveys. 



