Canadian Forestry Journal, August, ipi6 



661 



continental and Temiskaming and 

 Northern Ontario lines (Govern- 

 ment ownedj the rangers are paid 

 by the province and are hence under 

 closer control. 



The meagre information concern- 

 ing losses on unlicensed lands is the 

 reasonable product of a small staft 

 of rangers, plus poor supervision. 



The failure of the Government 

 statistics from licensed lands to un- 

 cover more than a small part of the 

 annual fire record proceeds from the 

 fact that rangers on the berths are 

 not paid by the province but by the 

 licensees and therefore not subject 

 to the same degree of control. In 

 addition, the supervision of these 

 men is such as. applied to a modern 

 manufacturing plant, would breed 

 laxness and waste at every turn. 



Perhaps the most important of all 

 ■explanations is that Ontario is the 

 only province owning a large area 

 of Crown Lands which does not re- 

 •quire all rangers to submit individ- 

 ual reports of each fire on special 

 forms. The Department depends 

 tipon the vague, happy-go-lucky and 

 incomplete entries in the rangers' 

 ■diaries which are not turned in until 

 the end of the season. The rangers' 

 diaries pay little attention to the 

 really important information con- 

 nected with forest fires — the extent 

 and character of destroyed areas. 

 This system may give the Depart- 

 ment some knowledge of the num- 

 bers of timber hires, but is an entire- 

 ly unreliable index of the annual 

 loss. 



The Timber Berths. 



The reader will not require more 

 argument than a reproduction of the 

 Department's own statements to 

 recognize a ^'ery pronounced lack of 

 business efficiency on the timber 

 lands under license. Eight super- 

 visors only were made responsible 

 for the inspection of 286 men. The 

 meagreness of this managing force 

 is a bid for poor discipline. On- 

 tario has about 10,000.000 acres un- 



der license by lumber and pulp com- 

 panies. The cost of patrol and fire 

 fighting is borne entirely by the 

 licensees. The salaries of the eight 

 supervisors appointed by the Gov- 

 ernment, are also paid ultimatelv bv 

 the licensees. This 10,000,000 acres 

 represents, obviously, the most ac- 

 cessible and valuable timber remain- 

 ing to the province. Yet in provid- 

 ing protection against fire, the Gov- 

 ernment, as trustee, requires the 

 eight supervisors to assume the di- 

 rection of an average of 36 men each. 

 The Ontario Government in the Mis- 

 sisaga Forest Reserve gives four 

 supervising officers to ^-0 rangers 

 and this ratio of one oivicer to ten 

 men is the least that can be done 

 without throwing efficiency to the 

 winds. Eight supervisors cannot 

 get the maximum service from 286 

 men over such an immense territorv 

 as 10,000.000 acres, and the best 

 proof of this statement is the annual 

 report of the Department of Lands 

 and Forests. 



Is 300,000 Adequate? 



Ontario spends over $300,000 an- 

 nually for forest patrol, including ex- 

 penditures by the province and by 

 limit-holders. Is this adequate? 



The inadequacy is not in the 

 amount expended, but in the thing 

 it buys. Money can be wasted with 

 as much facility in a forest as in a 

 town. Ontario' is not getting, by 

 any means, all that it is paying for 

 in the way of forest fire protection. 



The best protected forest area in 

 Eastern Canada is probably the 24.- 

 000 square miles in Quebec under 

 the care of the St. Maurice and the 

 Lower Ottawa Forest Protective 

 Associations. These were organized 

 bv limit holders on business lines, 

 with competent managers, and a 

 plan whereby one inspector is as- 

 signed to about ten men. 



Their patrol, including time and 

 money spent on building lookout 

 towers, trails, camp fire places, re- 

 pairing telephone lines, etc.. costs 



