Canadian Forestry Journal, January, 1920 



33 



FORESTRY LEGISLATION IN CANADA DURING 1919 



By F . W . H. Jacombe, Dominion Forestry Branch. 



Below is given a resume of forestry legisla- 

 tion concerning Dominion and Provincial forest 

 lands in 1919: 



DOMINION OF CANADA. 



Two Acts were passed to amend the Dominion 

 Forest Reserves and Parks Act; one of these is 

 general in nature, the other provides for the 

 withdrawal of certain lands from the forest re- 

 serves. Under the former, authority was given 

 to forest officers to seize the outfit and equip- 

 ment of persons arrested for capturing or killing 

 game or fish. Amendments were made to the 

 Act further defining the power of the Order in 

 Council to convey to the Province of British 

 Columbia the surface rights in connection with 

 mining claims in the Dominion forest reserves in 

 British Columbia. Power is also given to ex- 

 propriate lands for Dominion parks. 



Under the latter Act, a total of about seven 

 hundred and fifty square miles was withdrawn 

 from the forest reserves. The chief withdraw- 

 als are in Manitoba (343.22) square miles, and 

 in Saskatchewan (378.09) square miles. 



By order in council of March 29, 1919, a 

 considerable increase was made in ground 

 rents, dues and fees for cutting timber on 

 Dominion lands. 



ONTARIO. 



The Legislature passed the Popuar Pulpwood 

 Export Act, giving authority to the Minister of 

 Lands, Forests and Mines to authorize the ex- 

 port of poplar pulpwood in an unmanufactured 

 state during such a period as should seem proper 

 to him (suspending the operations of the 

 "Manufacturing Clause"). 



QUEBEC. 



In Quebec the law regarding the protection 

 of the forests from fire has been amended by 

 legislation compelling every license-holder to 

 have his limits patrolled from May I to Novem- 

 ber I, by rangers, paid by him, but appointed 

 by the Minister of Lands and Mines, and de- 

 voting their whole time to the work, the num- 

 ber of rangers to be prescribed, when necessary, 

 by the Minister. Monthly returns of fires, and 

 of the number of fire-rangers employed are pre- 

 scribed, returns of co-operative fire protection 

 associations to be accepted for the members 

 thereof. Offenders against this and other pro- 

 visions of the fire-protective regulations may be 

 tried summarily before a justice of the peace. 



Other legislation extends the provision of the 

 existing law cancelling the sale, lease, etc., of 

 land in case of fraud, etc., to sales, leases, etc., 

 made prior to 1868. 



NEW BRUNSWICK. 



According to the new regulations which 

 came into effect on August 1, 1918, the max- 

 imum height of stumps was fixed at sixteen 

 inches from the ground. All trees to be taken 

 from the woods up to the diameter of six inches 

 at the top for balsam fir and spruce, and seven 

 inches for pine. 



All lumber left in the woods in contravention 

 of the regulation to be charged for at $7.50 per 

 M. The lopping of tops is again enjoined. 



Permission was given to the licensee to cut 

 and remove, under supervision of the forest 

 engineer of the district, down or damaged 

 lumber, irrespective of size. By subsequent 

 amendment the licensee may also be called 

 upon by the Minister to remove such timber. 



By the new timber regulations which went 

 into effect August 1, 1919, the stumpage on 

 softwood (coniferous) and poplar logs was 

 increased one dollar a thousand feet, board 

 measure; a diameter limit of nine inches is 

 placed on the cutting of jack ("princess") pine: 

 all sound butted trees are to be sawn down 

 "as low as possible, and never higher than six- 

 teen inches from the ground, regardless of snow 

 conditions"; and stumpage is reduced by one- 

 third on all trees wholly killed by fire or 

 killed by the spruce bud-worm. 



ALBERTA. 



Authority was given to the Public Utilities 

 Commission to apply to the provincially char- 

 tered railways the regulations of the Dominion 

 Board of Railway Commissioners. 



BRITISH COLUMBIA. 



The Forest Act was amended in several par- 

 ticulars. Lease-holders on renewing their 

 licenses are placed under the same conditions 

 and subjected to the same ground rents as the 

 holders of special timber licenses. 



Under certain conditions special timber lic- 

 enses were made exchangeable for pulp licenses. 

 Provisions were made to enable holders of min- 

 eral rights to exercise these rights where the 

 lands so held were covered by timber lease or 

 special limber licenses, in case of failure of the 

 respective right-holders to come to any agree- 



