STAND IMPROVEMENT 



Stand improvement encompasses both the treating of forest 

 stands to achieve maximum quality and quantity, and 

 special harvesting techniques to aid natural regeneration. 

 During the fiscal year 1966-1967, 102.658 acres of Crown 

 lands and 5,976 acres of Agreement Forests received treat- 

 ment to improve the quality and quantity of the final crop. 

 SPECIAL PROJECTS 



Prison Camps: About 17,000 man-days of labour were pro- 

 vided to this Department by the inmates of the forestry 

 camps operated by the Department of Reform Institutions. 

 The total area covered in this program was 1,300 acres. 

 Beaver Creek Correctional Camp, near Gravenhurst, oper- 

 ated by the Collins Bay Penitentiary, also supplied about 

 900 man-days of inmate labour. 



Junior Rangers: Timber work, includmg tree planting, stand 

 improvement, cone collection and nursery work, occupied 

 15,000 man-days. The total area covered in this program was 

 5,400 acres. 



TIMBER SECTION 



Forest Management Planning 



The development of forest areas is based on management 

 plans that provide detailed information about the volume of 

 annual cut, cutting methods, regeneration treatments, road 

 and camp locations, and other facts essential to orderly 

 management. The plans are based on such considerations 

 as the arrangement of species and age-classes on produc- 

 tive forest lands, the proximity to existing road networks, 

 division of the forest into compartments, and the age of 

 maturity of the main groups of species. 

 Standard management plans are based on inventory data 

 gathered using photo interpretation, point sampling, and 

 computer compilation methods. The information is entered 

 in stand ledgers, which also serve as a record of changes. 

 Standard plans have been prepared following the re- 

 inventory of Crown management units started in 1958. The 

 essentials of this type of planning are contained in the 

 Manual of Management Plan Requirements. 

 The initial management plans, based on the inventory 

 method used prior to 1958, are retained until replaced with 

 standard plans, and form the basis for the management of 

 a large proportion of the Crown management units in the 

 Province. 



Management plans form a framework into which 10-year 

 operating plans are fitted. An operating plan shows in detail 

 the stands to be cut, regenerated, and tended, the roads to 

 be built, and other improvements to be made to carry out 

 operations on the management units. 

 The status of management plans is as follows: 



5,001.5 sq. mi. 

 13,463.2 sq. mi. 

 67,043.5 sq. mi. 



5,001.8 sq. mi. 



155.0 sq. mi. 



64,199.5 sq. mi. 



4,530.9 sq. mi. 

 25,730.7 sq. mi, 



4,881.8 sq. mi. 



Table 19 



1. Crown Management Units: The plans for these units are 

 prepared by Department staff. There are 78 Crown man- 

 agement units covering 90,665.0 square miles with 70 

 management plans: 



9 standard management plans in force 

 13 plans being processed for approval 

 48 initial management plans in force 



7 management units not under plans 



1 unit operating under approved 

 operating plan 



2. Company Management Units: The management plans for 

 Company management units are prepared by licensees. 

 There are 66 Company units with 99,342.9 square miles 

 under licence to 45 companies. The status of management 

 planning for these units is as follows: 

 43 approved management plans 



9 plans being processed for approval 

 12 plans not yet due 



2 units inactive 

 The explanation for the 12 plans not yet due is that be- 

 cause of changes in area, etc., 12 licensees have been 



required to prepare new management plans. 



3. Agreement Forest Units: The management plans for these 

 units are prepared by Department staff. There are 60 

 units covering approximately 329 square miles. The status 

 of management planning for the Agreement Forest units 

 is as follows: 



6 approved standard plans 46,336 acres 



20 being processed for approval 58,%2 acres 



16 plans in the process of preparation 49,696 acres 



18 interim or annual plans in force and 



land acquired since inventory 55,430 acres 



Total — 329 square miles, or 210,424 acres 



Scaling 



In an effort to adjust the Department's scaling methods to 

 the fast changing techniques of cutting and moving wood 

 from stump to mill, extensive trials were conducted with 

 the new concepts of wood measurement, designed to speed 

 up and simplify scaling operations while retaining control 

 over movement of wood. 



The most promising wood measuring methods in this 

 respect to date are; tree length scaling, weight scaling, and 

 sample scaling. In addition, some preliminary work was 

 done in connection with the development of a simple log 

 grading technique for hardwoods and pine, where an 

 estimate of quality for timber cut and scaled is of a particu- 

 lar value to all concerned. 



