1876 



Canadian ForP'ifrii Journal, September, 1918 



A County that Values its Woodlands 



A unique project in woodland 

 conservation has been brought to a 

 successful issue at Conestoga> 

 Ontario, in the heart of a highly 

 developed industrial and agricul- 

 tural section. On August 28th, at a 

 gathering of representative men of 

 the locality and of Ontario and Fed- 

 eral Governments, Mr. Walter J. 

 Snider of ConesLoga, formally handed 

 over to the Forestry Branch of the 

 Ontario Government the supervision 

 of 40 acres of wooded river flats lying 

 at the confluence of the Grand and 

 Conestoga Rivers. The property 

 has been in the possession of Mr. 

 Snider's family since 1850. Many 

 of the trees are of great age and ma- 

 jestic in size and form, the whole 

 woodland being regarded as one of 

 the most attractive beauty spots 

 in all Canada. Mr. Snider's action 

 transfers to the Ontario Forestry 

 Branch the management of the tract, 

 any cutting to be done according to 

 plans of the Chief Forester and pro- 

 vides that upon the removal of any 

 trees a proper number of seedlings 

 shall be planted. There is consider- 

 able room for tree planting in the 

 grounds at present. In the words of 

 Mr. Snider's letter to the Minister 

 of Lands and Forests at Toronto, 

 "this would provide a forestry and 

 reforestation demonstration on a 

 small scale right in the heart of the 

 older portion of Western Ontario." 

 The Afinister accepted Mr. Snider's 

 valued offer and promised to bring 

 in the required legislation at the next 

 session. 



The meeting at Conestoga was 

 attended by Hon F. G. MacDiarmid, 

 Minister of Public Works, represent- 

 ing the Ontario Government; E. J. 

 Zavitz, Provincial Forester, Clyde 

 Leav'tt and A. V. Wh'te for the 

 Commission of Conservation; Homer 

 Watson, President, C. Dolph, 

 Secretary and D. B. Detweiler, 



Chairman of the Committee, of 

 Waterloo County Grand River Park 

 Ltd; Dr. A. S. Vogc, Director of the 

 Toronto Conservatory of Music and 

 Dr. Fraser, Provincial Archivist; 

 Mr. Orpheus Shantz, Chicago, a 

 leader in conservation work, and 

 many others. 



The enthusiastic interest shown in 

 the question of woodland preserva- 

 tion by the people of Waterloo 

 County if5 not confmed to a single 

 illustration. In 1913, when it be- 

 came known that a piece of lovely 

 woods known as Cressman's Bush, 

 on the banks of the Grand between 

 Doon and German Mills was about 

 to be sold at public auction and pro- 

 bably handed over to a portable 

 saw mill, a group of public-minded 

 citizens banded together as "Waterloo 

 County Grand River Park, Limited" 

 and with no anticipation of personal 

 profit bought Cressman's Bush. 

 This has since been preserved as a 

 public recreation ground. With the 

 Conestoga property it will form a 

 very beautiful public estate, a great 

 asset to the county for all time to 

 come, and an increasing attraction 

 10 outside visitors. 



The point of interest that rightly 

 appealed to several speakers at the 

 inauguration ceremony at Conestoga 

 was that the public concern, as there 

 manifested, in the perpetuation of a 

 beautiful and useful woodland would 

 be certain to prove contagious in 

 other parts of Canada. While the 

 forest lands proper, in the less settled 

 parts of Ontario, were under direct 

 Government care, the woodlot in the 

 older sections had been permitted 

 as a rule to deteriorate or disappear. 

 This was bad economy from every 

 point of view, in which aesthetic 

 considerations were by no means to 

 be disregarded. The power of an 

 actual example such as the Conestoga 

 and the Cressman conservation pro- 

 jects, will have a stimulating effect 

 upon public sentiment wherever the 

 enterprise becomes known. 



