Canadian Forrstnj JoHrnul, July, 1915 



123 



Forest Protection in Quebec 



By W. C. J. Hall, Chief of the Forest Protection Branch of the Quebec 



Government. 



That Quebec Province has made f.ood progress in the matter of forest fire protection, few 

 will dispute. Mr. W. C. J. Hall, a valued director of the Canadian Forestry Association, 

 recently undertook to correct an article published in the Montreal 'Gazette,' which asserted that 

 forest fires were raging without much effort at prevention. How effective was Mr. Hall's 

 reply may be se€n by the following, which gives a first-rate summary of the whole provincial 

 situation in regard to the problems confronting Mr. Hall's department.— £di(or. 



As regards other provinces I am 

 not prepared to speak, so my remarks 

 are eontined to conditions in Quebec. 



The Local Government holds the 

 unlicensed lands and the lands under 

 license to cut timber, "timber lim- 

 its"; the lands sold have passed out 

 of its hands and are under the care 

 of the proprietors. 



Thus the Government has in round 

 figures some 70.000 square miles un- 

 der license to cut timber, plus a much 

 vaster territory in rear thereof to 

 look after as regards protection from 

 fire. The Government expects an 

 owner of land to take necessary pre- 

 cautions, besides which the law pro- 

 vides that he shall do so and prohibits 

 the setting of fire in certain periods, 

 supplemented by the prohibition at 

 all times when a drought prevails. 



It is obvious that the Government 

 must devote its attention to the pro- 

 tection of Crown lands licensed or 

 unlicensed, and I beg to state in my 

 capacity of Chief of the Forest Pro- 

 tection Branch of this Province that 

 the Government has done and is doing 

 its full duty towards this object, and 

 stands prepared at this or any other 

 time to compare results with any other 

 province of the Dominion or any 

 State to the south of the 45th paral- 

 lel. We have at least 25.000 square 

 miles under the co-operative system 

 of protection, and we have most ur- 

 gently recommended the limit-holders 

 in the remainder to adopt the same 

 system — in this connection let me 



suggest to the editor of the Gazette 

 that he obtain from the Department 

 of the Interior, Ottawa, Bulletin No. 

 42, and after perusal of same I feel 

 confident he will admit that the Gov- 

 ernment is using due diligence to pro- 

 tect the Provincial domain. 



Well Under Control. 



AVe have been suffering from 

 drought for over a week now, with 

 the ground "dry as tinder." which 

 is wholly a correct statement, and 

 have had some very serious situations 

 to contend with, but thanks to the 

 unstinted efforts of the lumbermen 

 and their staffs of fire-rangers, and 

 the Government inspectors, and the 

 co-operative system, there is no seri- 

 ous conflagration to report on Crown 

 lands. Upper Ottawa is safe. Lower 

 Ottawa has all fires but one under 

 control, on the St. ^Maurice no large 

 fires and small ones extinguished or 

 fully controlled. Fire took place on 

 the du Loup limits, not under the co- 

 operative system. No reports from 

 this locality. Bad fire on the Batis- 

 can, reported extinguished la.st night. 

 Fire in settled township at discharge 

 of Lake St. John ; origin, a settler 

 burning brush. Fire on river Mur- 

 i-ay. reports just in that it is extin- 

 guished. No fires reported in the 

 Gulf region, or on the north of the 

 peninsula of Gaspe. Settlers' fires 

 menacing Crown lands in Bale des 

 Chaleurs. but being fought success- 

 fully. Several fires in Eastern Town- 



