138 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



buffalo trails, beaten by the great herds of elk, and, now, there remains 

 hardly a single head. In Vancouver island, also, a herd used to roam 

 near Cameron lake between Nanaimo and Alberni, and I fear every 

 one of these has been shot in the last eight or ten years. If, in these 

 sanctuaries, the elk is being successfully conserved, that is a creditable 

 achievement. 



The Indians, of course, are a difficulty. But for the little pro- 

 tection afforded, the wood buffalo would have been exterminated ere 

 this. It is a magnificent animal, much finer than even the prairie 

 buffalo. I think the Victoria museum has a fine specimen. 



Are not the caribou up the Skeena as large as the Tunguse? I 

 have one or two heads from the Skeena which must have been magnifi- 

 cent animals. 



Mr. WiIvWamson : The black mountain caribou are not as big as 

 the Siberian caribou. I do not think we have in this country any 

 animal to equal the Siberian Tunguse. 



Dr. HswiTT : Sir Clifford Sifton remarked that one of the objects 

 of this Cqmmission is to bring together various divergent elements 

 working along similar lines. For instance, it seems to me that this 

 Commission might assist in promoting the cooperation of the Forestry 

 Branch and of the Dominion Parks Branch in game preservation. 

 There would be much more unity of purpose, and therefore of success, 

 if the work were brought more together under one head and if a 

 Branch, which is essentially engaged in forestry preservation, were 

 willing to delegate the duties of game preservation to a Branch which 

 has an efficient staff engaged for that purpose. I was very pleased to 

 hear from Mr. Williamson of the formation of bird sanctuaries and 

 I have, therefore, to correct the mistaken views which I derived from 

 other sources. But there is some ground for my making such a 

 mistake, as the Parks authorities keep their activities so dark. Those 

 of us who are working hard to obtain bird sanctuaries should cer- 

 tainly be the first people to hear that such refuges have been set apart. 

 Under whose authority will these bird sanctuaries be administered and 

 in what way? 



Mr. Williamson : The bird sanctuaries which we have established 

 are simply reserves. As the Dept. of the Interior controls Dominion 

 lands in the West, it can reserve any areas it wishes, and we take 

 advantage of this to have certain areas reserved. Many of them may 

 be unsuitable for bird sanctuaries, as in the case of lakes which dry 

 up during summer. 



