Canadian Forcslrii Journal, Januari/, 1918 



1481 



Forests of the McKenzie Basin 



By H. J. Bury, Chief Timber Inspector, 

 Department of Indian Affairs, Ottawa 



An Interesting Estimate of tlie Timber Contents 

 of 630 Million Acres of the Far North. 



It is a common impression IhaL the 

 limber resources of the hinds inchidecl 

 in tlie drainage basin of the Mc- 

 Kenzie River and its iril)utaries are 

 not extensive and in consequence 

 Uttle attention is cUrected to a con- 

 sideration of them. 



It is true that comparatively httle 

 exjjloitalion of the forest wealth of 

 this large territory has been under- 

 taken owing to lack of transport 

 facilities but that is no reason why 

 we should not take stock of the 

 ciuantitN' of timber with a view to the 

 safe-guarding of the forests during 

 the present time and the adoption of 

 effective administration in the near 

 future. 



The McKenzie river is 2525 miles 

 in length and has a drainage area of 

 approximately one million square 

 miles, being the seventh largest drain- 



age basin in the world. 



C'Land of Little Sticks") 



A considerable portion of this area, 

 about 200 million acres, has no tree 

 growth of any kind and is known as 

 the "barren lands," whilst another 

 150 million acres situated in Arctic 

 and sub-arctic regions bears only a 

 sparse and stunted growth of timber, 

 the trees struggling hardily lor exis- 

 tence against adverse climatic con- 

 ditions. Tnis territory is termed by 

 the inhabitants "the land of little 

 sticks." 



The following table shows the area 

 of the different classes of land with 

 respect to tree growth in each of .the 

 river basins., and it will be seen that 

 out of a total of 630 million acres not 

 more than 49)^ or about 8 per cent, 

 carries timber oi commercial value. 



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Typical scene near i he delta of the McKenzie, showing scrubby growth of willow, with Eskimo tents ai d 



natives in the foreground. 



