Wealth in Fish and Game 



By Thomas Ritchie, Pres. BfllerUl*, Onti Fiih and Game AtsooUtion. 



The public are slowly awakening 

 to the vast importance of conserv- 

 ing the natural resources of this 

 Province and commencing to realize 

 what wealth would accrue if these 

 were wisely administered, yet little 

 practical effort, so far, has been made 

 to secure to the people the full fruits 

 of what nature has so bountifully 

 bestowed upon us. 



It is not necessary to dwell here 

 upon the value of preserving and 

 properly utilizin^ic our forests and of 

 afforesting th(> tnillions of acres 

 which have been eut over and other 

 land unfit for agricultural purposes, 

 or of dealinp with the rich stores of 

 mineral wealth that these may en- 

 rich our own people rather than for- 

 eigners, or of developing the power 

 we hold in our numerous lakes and 

 rivers, or securing for the present 

 and future generations a supply of 

 food fish in our great lakes. Every 

 citizen is interested directly or in- 

 directly in these matters, and each 

 stands to profit thereby if the com- 

 munity can be brought to see things 

 in their proper light and so insist 

 that they be dealt with in a prudent 

 and effective manner. 



Of the above sources of wealth 

 the public are more or less aware, 

 but there is still another which ought 

 eventually to prove of immense 

 value to the country of which but 

 few are cognizant, that is, our game 

 fish and other game. Now it is not 

 on account of the value of these in 

 themselves (indeed they are of com- 

 paratively little intrinsic value") that 

 attention ought urgently to be 

 directed to their conservation, nor is 

 it for the purpose of affording 

 pleasure to a few persons of leisure 

 in our own midst. This is worthy 

 of some consideration, but is not by 

 any means of the most importance. 



for so far as the great body of our 

 people are concerned, perhaps not 

 more than one in a hundred caret 

 one iota whether there be any game 

 in either forest or stream. What is 

 here insisted on is that it is on ac< 

 count of the economic value to the 

 province as a whole, not for the 

 benefit of the few, that active and 

 effective measures ought to be insti- 

 tuted for their protection. 



The matter of chief importance 

 connected with our game fish and 

 other game is the attraction these 

 have for foreign tourists and the 

 amount of money left by them in the 

 country each season. There seems to 

 be little conception at present of 

 what value this source of wealth will 

 eventually become to the province of 

 Ontario if due precautions are taken 

 in time to prevent our rivers. lakes 

 and forests from being depleted. 



Every one knows of the valuable 

 asset we have in the silver mines of 

 Cobalt and Oowganda and the gold 

 of Yukon ; none need to be told of 

 that, but few seem to be aware that 

 in the attractions we possess in onr 

 rivers, lakes and forests lies latent 

 a greater fund of wealth than all 

 these combined. This will appear to 

 most persons to be rather a broad 

 assertion and somewhat startling, 

 but nevertheless it can be shown to 

 be a fact. 



The state of Elaine had for many 

 years expended large sums in pro- 

 tecting and restocking the rivers and 

 lakes with game fish, and to satisfy 

 the people there that the expenditure 

 was profitable and yielded a rich re- 

 turn, the government took steps in 

 1007 to ascertain definitely how 

 many persons entered the state that 

 year attracted by what the fish and 

 game offered. They found that 

 above half a million persons, men. 



37 



