DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS FOR 1928 13 



Tourist and Summer Resorts 



At no period in its history has Ontario been visited by so many tourists and 

 visitors, with the resultant marked activity in the demand for summer homes 

 and fishing or hunting sites. With its numerous placid lakes, rippling brooks 

 and streams, verdant shores, islands and other picturesque features, this Province 

 offers an array of attractive scenic wonders. The Department is meeting this 

 increasing demand by selecting suitable wooded areas on well located lakes 

 easily accessible by rail or automobile, and surveying them into small parcels, 

 which are sold at reasonable prices. Not only the hunter and the angler are 

 attracted, but the camera man, the painter and the author. 



Wild life in Algonquin and Quetico Provincial Parks continues to increase. 

 In the former, wild deer may be seen every day, during the summer months, 

 even in the populated parts around headquarters. In Quetico the beaver is 

 on the increase as is evidenced by the flooding of the portages and other highways 

 through the park. In the past the Government has found it necessary through 

 its own rangers to trap a certain number and the coming year like steps may 

 be taken. 



The value of these game preserves to the hunter, angler and other sportsmen 

 cannot be estimated, as these wild animals, though scrupulously watched and 

 protected within the parks, are free to roam at will outside these confines and 

 sufficient appear to do so to make a continuous supply of game in the surrounding 

 territory. Notwithstanding the varied opinions expressed and the occasional 

 adverse criticism offered regarding the alleged wolf menace in Algonquin Park, 

 the report from our Superintendent shows that the deer is abundant in the 

 greater portion of the park. In one range of hills alone during the period when 

 the deer forsake the swamps to come out on the sunny hillsides, two rangers 

 counted no less than 70 deer. During the winter period when wood hauling, 

 the rangers encounter deer on every hand. 



During the past year with a staff of 30 rangers and 71 shelter houses, only 

 43 wolves were secured by shooting, traps and snares. Two years ago on the 

 road to Big Opeongo Lake, 14 wolves were secured, but last winter not a wolf 

 or a wolf track was to be seen on this road for a distance of 16 miles. There has 

 been a decided increase in the game animals within the park and every indication 

 in the general increase of wild life proves that the park is not the breeding ground 

 of the ravenous wolf and that under a close patrol by the rangers he is being 

 gradually hunted down and trapped. 



Rondeau Park continues to be the increasingly attractive spot in the older 

 part of the Province. With its suitably located sites there is a large demand 

 for summer cottages for which long term leases are issued, substantial improve- 

 ments have been made to the buildings, roads and general equipment until to-day 

 It is one of the most attractive picnic and recreation grounds in Ontario. 



The lure for the far North, the lust for exploration and the desire for the 

 rustic and the wilds, away from the "madding crowds," is taking an increasing 

 number of holiday seekers and vacation enthusiasts into the renowned Temagami 

 Forest Reserve, where islands in Lake Temagami afford an abundant opportunity 

 for pleasure seekers, holiday campers, boys' and girls' camps. Ontario offers a 

 warm welcome to pleasure seekers of all classes. 



Surveys and Water Powers 



The usual amount of survey of Crown lands was carried on during the year, 

 comprising the running of base and meridian lines, township outlines, lake and 

 river traverses, summer resorts and miscellaneous survey. 



