Vigorous Reforms in British Columbia Despite 



Bad Fire Season 



Four ont?tandii]g features characterized the forest administration in British 

 Colnmbia for 1914. The Timber Royalty Act was passed, defining for half a century 

 ahead the stunipage price of Crown timber. The Forest Branch successfully struggled 

 with one of the worst fire seasons. Revenue was well maintained despite the war and 

 financial depression. Ex])lorations were made confirming previous conjectures as to 

 the large amount of timlier remaining to the Crown reserve. 



The report of the British Columbia Forest 

 Branch for 1914, made by Mr. H. R. Mac- 

 Millan, Chief Forester, to the Hon. William 

 R. Ross, ]\rinister of Lands, gives an excel- 

 lent survey of the work being done in con- 

 nection with the timber industry of the 

 western provinces. 



During the twelve months ending Decem- 

 ber 1st, the Branch collected $2,157,019, the 

 net decrease compared with 1913 being only 

 $32.3,770. The amount collected as royalty, 

 stumpage, etc., was $467,380 as to $536,179 

 for 1913, the decline in operations being 

 accounted for by the war and general finan- 

 cial conditions. The estimated general ad- 

 ministrative expenditure for the fiscal year 

 ending March 31st, 1915, is $254,204. ' On 

 account of the severe fire s-eason the expen- 

 diture under the Forest Protection Fund, to 

 which the government and limit owners con- 

 tribute ecjual sums, reached $394,758 as to 

 $318,600 in 1913. However, $18,000 of the 

 1914 outlay is to be refunded by the railway 

 companies. 



BESULTS OF RECONNAISSANCE. 



Nearly a million acres of merchantable 

 Crown timber were reported by reconna.s- 

 sance parties. These areas have been mark- 

 e . on the official maps to be protected from 

 alienation. Altogether, 12,000,000 acres 

 were reported on during the year on which 

 5,000,000 acres of statutory timber laud 

 were located. This carries a stand of 30,- 

 000,000,000 feet of merchantable forest 



The saw mills of the province are given 

 as: ISO up to 15 M. feet daily capa ity; 

 96 between 15 M. and 40 M.;*58 over 40 

 M., and 81 shingle mills. 



The report emphasizes the fact that there 

 is no lack of timber to cut and no lack of 

 mills to cut it. But a market must be 

 sought. The jiopulation of the province, 

 which in 1912 and 1913 used one-fifth of the 

 lumber, does not now use one-twentieth. 

 The only imjjortant market is the Canadian 

 prairie which, in any single year, never took 



over 60 per cent, of the output of the mills. 

 The export market in any one y^ar of the 

 past decarle has not taken over 4 per cent. 

 The yearly capacity of the 334 saw mills is 

 given at "2,535,570,000 feet. From 1,000,- 

 000,000 to 1,200,000,000. had been cut an- 

 nually for the prairie trade, but last year 

 owing to the building depression the quan- 

 tity fell to 700,000,000 feet and this was 

 not all delivered. 



In order to extend the market it is re- 

 commended that production must be cheap- 

 ened to meet American cost. More lumber 

 could be sold to the prairie farmers. The 

 export trade might he developed with the 

 United States east of the Mississippi, Aus- 

 tralia, the Orient and Europe. The war 

 brought a sudden flood of orders to pulj) 

 and X'aper mills. Paper shipments reached 

 45,816 tons and high-class chemical pulp 

 10,698 tons, despite shortage in available 

 shipping. To minimize the effects of the 

 war on the timber trade, restrictions on the 

 export of logs were temporarily relaxed. 



FIBST FOBEST BESEEVE. 



The first provincial forest reserve in Bri- 

 tish Columbia was established on December 

 31st, 1914. It includes lands in the Elk 

 river valley of an area approximately 100 

 square miles. The Alberta line forms its 

 eastern boundary. 



The total damage caused by forest fire 

 is given at $436,532 compared with $18,354 

 in 1913 and $629,915 in 1910. Last year 

 there were 1,832 fires, covering 355,124 

 acres. In 1914, 190 regular forest guards 

 were employed as to lo9 the i>revious year. 

 There were 115 extra patrolmen and lookout 

 men compared with 65 the year before. 

 Although the staff was much larger, the 

 expense increased only from $206,000 to 

 $214,000 for the fire patrol force. Scarcely 

 any variation occurred in the chief causes 

 of fires, campers and travellers being still 

 responsible for most of them. 



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