GAME PRESERVATION IN DOMINION PARKS 133 



would receive enclosed in a natural range and brought under a pre- 

 servatory administration. It is believed that adequate protection can 

 only be afforded by centralizing the herds and driving them down into 

 some locality where they can be confined within a restricted area, an 

 area where proper patrols can be estabUshed, where game regulations 

 may be enforced, and where energetic steps may be taken to lessen 

 the menace from wolves. The selection of a suitable area for a reserve 

 of this nature is now engaging the attention of the Branch. 



I may add that the creation of a sanctuary for the 

 Woodland ^jj^j ^jigou ^jn provide an opportunity to protect 



another native species, which is also in danger, namely, 

 the woodland caribou. The range of the wood bison coincides in part 

 with that of the woodland caribou and the creation of a reserve in this 

 district would serve the double purpose of affording much needed 

 protection to both. 



g . In addition, this whole territory abounds with fur- 



for Fur- bearing animals. In the opinion of Thompson-Seton 



Bearers jj. jg ^ better fur country than Algonquin park and 



such a reserve would become a sanctuary which would add consider- 

 ably to the conservation of our natural resources by the production of 

 valuable fur-breeding animals, which should have sanctuaries provided 

 similar to those for other beneficent animals and birds. 



It is judged impracticable to confine fur-bearing animals in small 

 enclosures for many years, unless the quality of the stock is maintained 

 by infusion of new blood periodically, which, in the case of most fur- 

 bearers, will necessitate open ranges or sanctuaries from which to 

 obtain the new wild stock. The Parks Branch has recommended, 

 therefore, the establishment of large sanctuaries for .fur-bearing 

 animals in the Northwest Territories and in Northern Ontario and 

 Quebec. The overflow from such preserves would provide hunters 

 and trappers with an adequate and never-ending supply of pelts and 

 the fur industry of Canada would, again, become one of its chief 

 sources of wealth. 



Vigorous steps have been taken recently by the Parks 



Bounty on Branch to protect the game in the Northwest Terri- 



Wolves . , ; .,-.,, r , 



tones by destroymg the prmcipal destroyer of the 



beneficent wild life — the wolf. The Parks Branch, which administers 



the Dominion wolf bounty in the Northwest Territories, recommended 



the extension of the comparatively small area within which a Dominion 



bounty of $20 has for some years been paid. This bounty is now paid 



