PHEASANT HUNTING UNITS 



Four pheasant hunting units operated by the Department in 

 1966 offered quality, "pay-as-you-go" hunting to 3,484 sports- 

 men. At Presqu'ile, Darlington and Sibbald Point Parks and 

 on the Gananoque Provincial Hunting Area, 5,169 pheasants 

 from the Codrington and Normandale Game Bird Farms 

 were released. A limited number of pheasants were released 

 in Tiny Marsh of Simcoe County, in the Gamebridge area 

 of Ontario County, and Brighton in Northumberland County 

 to provide opportunities to hunt pheasants outside the 

 natural range of this game bird. 



The open season for public hunting of pheasants on a por- 

 tion of each park extended from October 12 to November 30. 

 Permits were made available on a first-come, first-served 

 basis at a fee of $5.00. The number of hunters in each hunt- 

 ing area was restricted and the bag limit was three pheas- 

 ants regardless of sex. 



Statistics on pheasant hunting areas operated by the Depart- 

 ment in Provincial Parks are as follows: 



Table 15 



PUBLIC PHEASANT HUNTING AREAS, 1966 



Sibbald 

 Presqu'ile Darlington Point 



Hunting Area in acres 415 415 450 



Number of Hunters 436 892 996 



Number of Birds Released 910 1,460 1,453 



Number of Birds Recovered 721 1,248 1,282 



Birds Per Hunter 1.6 1.4 1.3 



In the three parks listed above, 2,324 hunters participated in 

 1966, compared to 1,592 the year previously. Pheasant hunt- 

 ing in Earl Rowe Provincial Park was discontinued in 1966 

 because of intensive park development. 

 MULTIPLE PURPOSE HUNTING UNITS 

 I he Gananoque Provincial Hunting Area is a 1,041 acre tract 

 of land in Leeds and Frontenac counties, acquired for the 

 purpose of providing hunting for several game species 

 including rabbits, ruffed grouse, woodcock, waterfowl and 

 deer. Pheasants are hunted on a put-and-take basis. 

 Habitat improvements to the management area in 1966 in- 

 cluded planting 60,000 conifers and 575 shrubs suitable for 

 ruffed grouse winter shelter and escape cover. 

 Statistics for the 1966 season are as follows: 



Table 16 



GANANOQUE PUBLIC HUNTING AREA, 1966 



Number of hunters 1,160 



Number of Pheasants released 1,346 



GAME HARVESTED: 



Pheasants 1,023 



Ruffed Grouse 46 



Ducks 5 



Woodcock 14 



Cottontail Rabbits 115 



European Hare 14 



Total ' 137 



Units of Game per Hunter: 1.0 



WATERFOWL HUNTING UNITS 



Five marshlands adjoining Provincial parks were managed 

 in 1966 to provide the public with opportunities to hunt 

 waterfowl. Department blinds were available to sportsmen 

 for a daily fee of $4.00 at Long Point and Rondeau on Lake 

 Erie, and $2.00 at Darlington Park on Lake Ontario. These 

 controlled shooting areas are managed to provide hunting 

 of reasonable quality by attracting and holding waterfowl in 

 the marsh through a system of refuges and feeding sanctu- 

 aries. Seasonal permits for waterfowl hunting were issued 

 at $4.00 each on the less intensively managed units at Holi- 

 day Beach and Presqu'ile Provincial Parks and a portion of 

 Rondeau Provincial Park. Statistics for these areas for 1966 

 follow: 



Table 17 



SUMMARY OF PUBLIC WATERFOWL 



HUNTING AREAS, 1966 



*Season permits. Other figures denote daily permits. 



Total number of hunters in all units — 4,531. 

 Popularity of the Provincial public hunting ground system 

 has grown in recent years. Plans are underway to increase 

 the number of managed wildlife areas throughout the 

 Province. 



Since the land acquisition program began in 1962, 15,655 

 acres have been purchased for fish and wildlife manage- 

 ment purposes. During the current fiscal year, 6,197 acres 

 were acquired on seven wildlife management areas. 

 Under current legislation, the Minister may enter into agree- 

 ments with the owners of lands respecting the management, 

 perpetuation and rehabilitation of the wildlife resources of 

 Ontario. At the present time, this program of landowner 

 assistance is in the planning stage, and will be designed to 

 provide assistance to landowners in the form of protection 

 against vandalism and careless hunting practices, and to 

 increase game densities by improving quality and quantity 

 of game habitat through provision of technical advice and 

 other assistance to the landowner. 

 PUBLIC HUNTING GROUND PROGRAM 

 The objectives of the Public Hunting Ground Program in- 

 clude assuring that significant areas of Provincial Crown 

 lands are retained from alienation or that land is acquired 

 by the Crown to provide for hunting, fishing and associated 

 recreation; providing hunting in areas where such oppor- 

 tunities have become restricted and the need for public 

 hunting land is urgent; providing public access for purposes 

 of hunting, fishing and other associated recreational pur- 

 suits on Crown lands; and the production of wildlife to full 

 capacity on private lands through technical and other assist- 

 ance to the landowner, and to make wildlife surpluses avail- 

 able to the public under Department-landowner agreements. 

 The need for public hunting grounds is greatest in Essex 

 County; Lambton County near Sarnia; Middlesex and Elgin 

 Counties near London and St. Thomas; Lincoln County near 

 St. Catharines; Wentworth County near Hamilton; Waterloo 

 County near Kitchener and Guelph, and Halton, Peel, York 

 and Ontario Counties within a 50-mile radius of Toronto. 

 The amount of land recommended for acquisition in each 

 county is based on proximity of the area to population 

 centres, capability of the area to produce wildlife and the 

 possibilities for intensive management of a variety of wild- 

 life species, costs of acquisition and development and 

 danger of destruction of wildlife habitat. 



