[ALBERTA LEGISLATURE LIBRARYl SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS OF THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED MARCH 3 1st ig66 EDMONTON: PRINTED BY L.S. WALL , QUEEN'S PRINTER 1966 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Legislative Assembly of Alberta - Alberta Legislature Library https://archive.org/details/seventeenthannua1965albe TO THE HONOURABLE GRANT MacEWAN Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Alberta SIR: I have the honour to submit the Report of the Department of Lands and Forests for the fiscal year ended March 31st, 1966. I have the honour, to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, HENRY A. RUSTE, Minister of Lands and Forests Edmonton, December 15th, 1966. TABLE OF CONTENTS I - LANDS Report of the Director of Public Lands 10 II - FORESTRY Report of the Director of Forestry 29 III - FISH AND WIFDFIFE Report of the Director of Fish and Wildlife 58 IV - PROVINCIAF PARKS Report of the Director of Provincial Parks 83 V - TECHNICAF Report of the Director of the Technical Division 92 VI - REGISTRATION 100 VII - ACCOUNTS Report of the Administrative Accountant 101 VIII - STATIONERY AND SUPPLIES 108 IX - PUBLICITY 110 X - PERSONNEL 112 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS Hon. Henry A. Ruste Minister of Lands and Forests E.S. Huestis Deputy Minister of Lands and Forests W.L. Nisbet Departmental Solicitor V.A. Wood Director of Lands R.G. Steele Director of Forestry R.D. Loomis Supt. of Forest Management S.R. Hughes Supt. of Forest Protection J.F. Hogan Supt. of Forest Surveys E.P. Shaver Director of Provincial Parks C.R. Harvie Provincial Parks Planner Curt P. Smith Director of Fish and Wildlife S.B. Smith Director of Fish and Wildlife W.C. Hales Fish and Wildlife Administrator M.J. Paetz Chief Fishery Biologist G.J. Mitchell Chief Wildlife Biologist T.A. Drinkwater Director, Technical Division A. McCallum Administrative Accountant H.E. Bennett Asst. Administrative Accountant C.B. Kenway Registrar W.H. MacDonald Publicity Officer R.J. Clark Personnel Officer Miss M. Garrick Stationery and Supplies Miss S.L. Cook Stationery and Supplies EASTERN ROCKIES FOREST CONSERVATION BOARD J.R.H. Hall Chairman A.T. Baker Member REPORT of the DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS 1965 - 1966 HONOURABLE HENRY A. RUSTE, Minister of Lands and Forests. SIR: I have the honour to submit the annual report of the Department of Lands and Forests for the fiscal year ending March 31st, 1966. Respectfully submitted, V.A. WOOD, Deputy Minister. Edmonton, December 15th, 1966. 10 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF LANDS V.A. WOOD The demand for land under the various forms of disposition held fairly steady during the current fiscal year as compared with the previous year although there was a decline in the demand for land under the homestead sale regulations. During the last few years more careful attention has been given than in the past to co-ordinated planning before making lands available for disposition. For example, before a newly surveyed township is made available for settlement the area in addition to being checked by the Lands Division is also checked by the Department of Highways, the Water Resources Branch of the Department of Agriculture and the Alberta Forest Service, in regard to location of roads, drain¬ age ditches, timber areas, etc. All of these factors and any others which may affect the land use are carefully considered before the land is made available for settlement. This type of planning is very essential and beneficial if the public land is to be put to its best use. However, it does increase considerably the administrative work required in the disposition of land. The Director and the Supervisor of the Field Staff attended the Western Land Directors’ Conference which was held in British Columbia in July. The conference consisted of the presentation of papers on various subjects relating to land administration and the inspection of several of the land development projects throughout the provinces. As usual at the conclusion of the conference several comments were made regarding the administration of public lands, which were submitted to the officials of the respective departments in the various pro¬ vinces. HOMESTEAD SALES During the past fiscal year homestead sale applications decreased sharply to 989. There is further indication that the unprecedented interest shown i n homesteading during the past four years is now levelling off. Reasons for the decrease in interest appear to be due to poor crops having been harvested in the northern areas of the province for two years. In May, 1965, portions of several townships in the Snipe Lake Oil Field Area were made available for all types of land disposition. In September, 1965, two newly surveyed townships were made available for homesteading. The land available in Township 78, Range 8, West 6th Meri¬ dian, was all applied for on the opening day but less interest was shown in Township 72, Range 19, West 5th Meridian, due to poor access to the area. Although crop yields in the northern part of the province were below average during the fiscal year, there was a 15% increase over the previous fiscal year in the amount of crop share and homestead lease loan indebtedness collected. PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION 1 ■IM CIVILIAN HOMESTEAD LEASES V/////A VETERAN HOMESTEAD LEASES 42 43 4 4 45 4 6 47 4 8 49 50 51 52 53 54 5 5 5 6 57 58 FISCAL YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 62 63 64 65 6 6 12 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION 13 SALES AND CULTIVATION LEASES During the year there were 260 parcels of land offered for sale by public auction of which 232 were sold. The highest price received was $150.00 per acre for a quarter section offered for sale at Calgary. The average price per acre received was $23.67, a slight decrease from the fiscal year 1964 - 1965, where the average price was $24.32. During the year the administration and control of 53 parcels of land was transferred in favor of the Department of Municipal Affairs* 5 parcels to the St. Mary and Milk Rivers Development and 4 parcels to the Department of Public Works. Four free grants of land were approved during the year, and 18 parcels of public land were exchanged, mainly for the purpose of assisting farmers to estab¬ lish more centralized and economic units. Eighty-seven cultivation permits were issued during the fiscal year. The following amounts were collected during the year from agricultural farm sales and public land sales. New Sales Principal Interest Public Land Agricultural Farm Sales $124,506.83 $1,119.77 Tax Recovery Agricultural Farm Sales $ 1,485.53 $ 27.35 Public Land Sales $261,238.77 $8,797.78 Tax Recovery Sales $ 3,651.14 $ 136.42 Under the Crown Cultivation Leases Act the department paid out a total of $88,531.44 on account of taxes. The total assessed value of land under culti¬ vation leases, exclusive of the clearing project areas, is $1,340,780.00. It should be noted that both the amounts paid out on account of taxes, and the total as¬ sessed value of land under cultivation leases, is slightly higher than the previous year. SPECIAL LAND USE The overall total of applications processed for mineral surface leases, pipeline agreements, pipeline installation leases, licences of occupation, ease¬ ments, rights of entry and miscellaneous leases was approximately the same as during the previous fiscal year. However, a larger proportion of the applications were for mineral surface leases, pipeline agreements and licences of occupation as the drilling activity on public lands continued to increase. The multiple uses of lands and greater participation by other government bodies in land dispositions necessitated a greater amount of time being spent in contacting the various agencies before a disposition is executed. Streets were constructed to service 60 lots in the new Calling Lake Sub¬ division. These lots were made available at a draw held in Athabasca and 45 lots were leased. 14 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS Further cleanup work was carried out in abandoned townsites in the Coal Branch area. GRAZING As the open grassland areas of Alberta are being fully utilized for grazing, the wooded areas of the province provide the only new grazing available. To en¬ courage the development and improvement of these wooded areas, the Grazing Lease Improvement Regulations were established in 1965 to authorize financial assistance to grazing lessees wishing to convert brush covered lands to improved pasture. Assistance for the development of stock water and other range improve¬ ments is also authorized by these regulations. Grazing conditions in 1965 were generally good to very good throughout Alberta except for portions of the Peace River area which suffered from drought. A range survey of grazing lease lands and related deeded holdings com¬ menced in 1965 in southeast Alberta. The object of the survey is to determine more accurately the grazing capacity of individual ranches and to advise ranch operators on methods of more efficiently utilizing the range resource on their deeded land and leased lands. The Chief Grazing Appraiser and the Range Survey Supervisor met with Canada and U.S. Department of Agriculture personnel in Montana to investigate the suitability of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service method of calculating grazing capacity for Alberta. The Chief Grazing Appraiser instructed members of the field staff in the identification of native plants and grazing types and in the determination of grazing capacity. No new invasions of Alberta’s rangelands by noxious weeds from ad¬ joining areas were noted. Chief Grazing Appraiser J.A. Campbell retired on September 30, 1965, after 21 years of service with the Lands Division. For 1966 the grazing rentals and taxes for grazing leases, grazing per¬ mits and road allowance leases are to be calculated on the same basis as for 1965, using the same percentages of forage value as fixed by Order-in-Council 1655/62. PERCENTAGE OF FORAGE VALUE PAYABLE AS RENTAL AND TAXES DISTRICTS South Central North 20% 16 2/3% 12 1/2° The average price of beef for the six month period of 1965 was 17.46$ per pound as compared to 17.98$ per pound for the same period in 1964. The com¬ bined rental and tax charges for 1966, for grazing leases and road allowance leases for the period from January 1 to December 31, 1966, and on grazing per- PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION 15 mits for the period from April 1, 1966 to March 31, 1967, have been set for each district as follows: RENTAL PER ACRE FOR 1966 ing Capacity A B C ZONE Southern District 20% Central District 16 2/3% North District 12 1/2% 24 36 1 'n 30 1/44 22 3/44 32 27 1 744 22 3/44 174 40 21 3/44 18 1/44 13 3/44 50 17 1/24 14 1/24 114 60 14 1/24 12 1/44 94 Grazing rental on a per head basis Bow Island, Grassy Lake, Purple Springs and Seven Persons Grazing Reserves Pinhorn Grazing Reserve Twin River Grazing Reserve Buck Mountain, Minburn and Rannach Grazing Reserves Wanham Grazing Reserve Buffalo Park Grazing Association for 1966 was set as follows: $3.00 per A.U.M.* $2.30 per A.U.M. $2.20 per A.U.M. $2.00 per A.U.M. $1.90 per A.U.M. $ .60 per A.U.M. Where no caretaker or facilities were provided by the department, grazing rental on a head tax basis was set as follows for 1966: Grazing District “A” (South) 754 per month per animal unit. Grazing District “B” (Central) 654 per month per animal unit. Grazing District “C” (North) 454 per month per animal unit. During 1965 grazing permits were issued to groups and individuals who previously held allotments in the Vauxhall area in the Bow River Irrigation dis¬ trict. Approximately 5,900 head of stock were grazed. Special administration arrangements are provided in conjunction with the Federal Government in this area. The Buffalo Park and South Park Grazing Associations in the Wainwright area graze and cut hay on the land leased by the Department of National Defence under special administrative arrangements. During 1965 there were 1,800 head of stock grazed by 54 patrons and 964 tons of hay were cut. * - A.U.M. - animal unit month or per month per animal unit. o < □ 16 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION 17 GRAZING RESERVES Dry Land Map Acreage Patrons Head of Stock Grazed 1 . Buck Mountain 9R 16,982.08 28 1,010 2. Pinhorn (near Etzikom) 3R 76,358.5 122 2,498 3. Minburn 5R 13,527.44 79 2,311 4. Rannach 6R 13,350.373 79 1,334 5. Twin River 1R 31,214.93 59 1,547 6. W anh am 7R 15,049.5 39 1,261 Total - 166,482,823 406 9,961 Irrigated 1 . Bow Island 8R 2,758.32 47 1,086 2. Grassy Lake 10R 2,711.54 (used with Purple Springs) 3. Purple Springs 2R 1,905.42 55 834 4. Seven Persons 4R 6,146.06 56 864 Total - 13,521.34 158 2,784 Combined Total - 180,004.163 564 12,745 HEAD TAX ALLOTMENT AREAS Head of Map Location Patrons Stock Graze 1 . East Burnstick 2 34-6-5 6 469 2. Horse Lakes Grazing Assoc. 3 75 8c 76 - 16 - 5 15 209 3. North Burnstick 2 35 8c 36 - 6 8c 7 - 5 8 270 4. Northeast Burnstick 2 35-6-5 9 345 5. Northwest Burnstick 2 35-7-5 4 79 6. Southwest Burnstick 2 34-7-5 1 102 7. South Cow Creek 4 38 - 8 8c 9 - 5 4 103 8. Sundre Grazing Assoc. 1 31 8c 32 - 6 8c 7 - 5 5 238 9. West Burnstick 2 used with Southwest Burnstick 10. West End Stock Assoc. 5 31 8c 32 - 6 8c 7 - 5 3 170 Totals - 55 1,985 A total of 15 wild horse round-up authorities were in effect to March 31, 1966 and during the period from April 1, 1965 to March 31, 1966, six Letters of Authority issued. Approximately 300 head of horses were rounded-up within the authorized areas from April 1, 1965 to March 31, 1966. 18 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS COMMUNITY PASTURES - GRAZING LEASES Name Map Location Acreage No. of Patrons No. of Stock 1. Barnwell Graz. Assoc. 63 3,142.44 71 274 2. Basin Valley Graz. Assoc. 74 1,713.56 10 273 S. Bear Canyon Graz. Assoc. 35 1,433.5 8 48 4. Beaver Valley Graz. Assoc. 67 2,979.86 8 197 5. Big 4 Lease Assoc. 14 3,035 5 248 6. Blackfoot Graz. Assoc. 28 24,557.45 56 1,385 7. Bluefield Graz. Assoc. 6 11,726.14 15 570 8. Boundary Creek Assoc. 3 636.84 7 104 9. Bowell West Graz. Assoc. 12 8,008.73 4 286 10. Bow Island Forty Mile Graz. Assoc. 9 28,967.43 40 941 11. B.T. Graz. Co-op Ltd. 17 26,234.99 33 854 12. Bunker Hill Graz. Assoc. 75 6,397.19 5 384 13. Burkes Lake Stockman’s Assoc . 32 3,622 12 344 14. Butcher Creek Graz.. Co-op Ltd. . 60 1,432.41 10 239 15. Campbell Creek Graz. Assoc. 53 2,711.5 - - 16. Carcajou Graz. Assoc. 48 1,442.2 - - 17. Castle River Stock Assoc. 27 6,159.192 11 303 18. Chauvin District Graz. Assoc. 21 1,113 11 105 19. Clear Hills Graz. Assoc. 55 8,877.4 13 457 20. Clear River Graz. Assoc. 44 3,491.6 3 70 21. Clearwater Graz. Assoc. 64 3,123.8 8 57 22. Comrey Graz. Assoc. 1 29,953.68 21 1,004 23. Cressday Graz. Assoc. 80 12,032.66 - 24. Cresthill Farmers’ Community Cattle Graz. Lease Assoc. 19 14,432.04 10 773 PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION 19 Map Name Location Acreage No. of Patrons No. of Stock 25. Deimuth Lease Assoc. 8 1,736.08 5 66 26. Drowning Ford Graz. Assoc. 25 33,069.5 64 1,696 27. Dunn Lake Cattle Assoc. 20 3,595.97 14 311 28. Eastern Irrigation District 31 4,879.89 4 209 29. East Peoria Smoky Graz. Assoc. 56 6,127.4 9 209 30. Elk Island Graz. Assoc. 34 1,936.39 4 70 31. Fincastle Graz. Assoc. 71 772.04 - - 32. Fir Grove Stock Assoc. 5 4,342.677 6 204 33. Four Mile Creek Stock Improvement Assoc. 43 18,013.677 13 588 34. Frog Lake Cattle Assoc. 42 10,288.57 9 747 35. Gamier Lake Graz. Assoc. 58 17,842.3 9 353 36. Goodfare Graz. Assoc. 76 6,663.3 10 217 37. Green Prairie Grazing Assoc. 13 2,875 4 139 38. Hays Stock Grazing Assoc. 37 15,462.784 31 610 39. Highland Graz. Assoc. 11 8,222.25 13 423 40. Island Lake Graz. Assoc. 47 5,775.2 6 454 41. Jumping Pound Stock Assoc. 15 12,765.75 8 1,219 42. Keg River Community Livestock Improvement Assoc. 41 1,550 3 46 43. Lakes Graz. Assoc. 18 1,906.76 4 239 44. Lekenwa Cliff Graz. Assoc. 52 1,598 5 114 45. Little Bow Graz. Assoc. 30 4,337.1 8 323 46. Little Smoky Graz. Assoc. 39 11,086.1 6 376 47. Lobley Grazing Assoc. 62 4,714.5 5 189 48. Lomond Graz. Assoc. 24 82,166.46 184 5,497 49. Long Valley Graz. Assoc. 36 4,349.7 4 237 20 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS Name 50. Lucky Lake Graz. Assoc. 51. Many Island Lake Graz. AsSoc. 52. Milk River Co-op Graz. Assoc. Ltd. 53. Nemiscam Community Pasture #1 54. Nemiscam Community Pasture #2 55. North Eaglesham Graz. Assoc. 56. North Goodwin Stock Improvement Assoc. 57. North Group Cattle Assoc. 58. North Wapiti Stock Improvement Assoc. 59. Old Frontier Graz. Assoc. 60. Peace River Graz. Assoc. 61. Peace Valley Stockman’s Assoc. 62. Pipeline Graz. Assoc. 63. Poll Haven Community Pasture 64. Ross Lake Community Pasture 65. Rowley Graz. Assoc. 66. Simonette Graz. Assoc. 67. Silver Valley Graz. Assoc. 68. Smoky Lake Graz. Assoc. 69. Smoky River Graz. Assoc. 70. Spring Creek Graz. Assoc. 71. Spruce Ranching Co-op Ltd. 72. Stirling Pasture Company Ltd. 73. Tide Lake Graz. Assoc. Acreage No. of Patrons No. of Stock 5,595.5 9 406 17,565.28 40 968 12,643.92 23 1,374 4,780.6 28 214 33,951.39 8 715 2,889 6 159 12,913.8 11 427 10,571.42 10 730 5,796.74 4 75 10,047.35 14 1,982 8,380.3 4 75 6,728.9 - - 23,144.98 20 868 10,462 53 1,271 4,473 30 455 5,425 37 436 3,058 - - 3,368.7 4 179 11,362.98 9 368 4,149.5 - - 4,081.6 7 296 19,138.17 34 2,280 747 24 142 15,990.97 13 441 Map Location 33 10 50 7 45 49 72 22 69 54 59 79 23 4 2 61 77 46 68 78 66 40 29 16 PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION 21 Map Name Location Acreage No. of Patrons No. of Stock 74. Tulliby Lake Stockman’s Assoc. 26 16,748.6 38 1,831 75. Waldron Ranching Co-op 65 15,581.58 96 4,977 76. West Blueberry Cattlemen’s Assoc. 51 1,920 5 83 77. Whitemud Creek Graz. Assoc. 73 12,301.35 5 248 78. Winagami Graz. Assoc. 57 3,996 10 226 79. Wolf Creek Graz. Assoc. 70 6,809.6 1 59 80. Writing On Stone Graz. Assoc. Ltd. 38 15,390.05 43 697 Totals 783,315.563 1,375 45,434 ASSOCIATIONS HOLDING ANNUAL GRACING PERMITS Boundary Creek Graz. Assoc. 191.5 acres Lomond Graz. Assoc. 2,814.09 » Total 3,005.59 ” In Vauxhall Area: East Hays Group Community Pasture 2,084 acres Hays Stock Grazing Assoc. 27,226.9 Riverbend Graz. Assoc. 2,663 ” Vauxhall Graz. Assoc. 57,102.3 ” West Group Hays Community Pasture 1,676 ” Total 90,752.2 22 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS FIELD INSPECTIONS In order to better serve the public and to increase efficiency of inspections, further decentralization of the . field staff was brought about. New Supervisory District Offices were opened at Medicine Hat and St. Paul. An increasing volume of work in the Peace River and Grande Prairie areas necessitated the splitting of these two Supervisory Districts with an additional District Supervisor being stationed at both Peace River and Grande Prairie. The former Lac La Biche and Bonnyville Sub-Agencies were consolidated to form a new Sub-Agency with the office being situated at St. Paul. With a complement of 18 full time Land Appraisers, 2 part-time Land Ap¬ praisers and the assistance of the Public Land Appraising Co-ordinator and Assistant Co-ordinator, the season ended with practically no carry-over of in¬ spections. Continued co-operation of the Forest Service in making a helicopter available for inspections of land not readily accessible to four-wheel drive veh¬ icles, assisted tremendously in the completion of the season’s work. LAND GLASSIFICATION During the past year, land use zoning has continued in co-operation with the Forestry Division. A system of classification based on the capability ratings has been adopted, and zoning is being completed. Aerial photograph interpretation and finalization of the classification of the Pembina River - McLeod River, and the Caroline - Cochrane areas were com¬ pleted in preparation for adoption. Watersheds inspected during the past year includes: 1. Pouce Coupe 2. Areas east of Lac La Biche 3. Prairie Creek (Rocky Mountain House) 4. Red Deer River and Little Red Deer (Caroline - Cochrane) 5. . Sturgeon Lake 6. Christmas Creek - Timeu Creek (Whitecourt - Ft. Assiniboine area). The following townships were inspected and reported on for suitability for settlement purposes: Township 68, Range 21, West 5th Meridian Township 100, Range 20, West 5th Meridian Township 100, Range 21, West 5th Meridian Township 100, Range 22, West 5th Meridian Township 105, Range 20, West 5th Meridian Township 105, Range 21, West 5th Meridian . Participation in field staff tours included the Peace River District tour and a Central Alberta District tour. These trips assist in co-ordination of our field staff inspection work. In addition to the above work, an increased number of files and photographs of special cases in land disposition were reviewed. These included tax recovery lands, lands for sale, and lands for purchase. PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION 23 HOMESTEAD LEASES CIVILIAN NO. AREA Leases in force at April 1, 1965 3511 890,093.03 Leases issued during fiscal year 18 4,745.35 Leases patented during fiscal year 284 67,898.92 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 352 80,492.44 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 2893 746,447.02 HOMESTEAD LEASES VETERAN Leases in force at April 1, 1965 396 110,553.82 Leases issued during fiscal year 1 318.00 Leases patented during fiscal year 53 14,536.60 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 19 5,691.06 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 325 90,644.16 HOMESTEAD SALES CIVILIAN Sales in force at April 1, 1965 3074 797,769.40 Sales granted during fiscal year 777 218,776.62 Sales patented during fiscal year 67 16,639.77 Sales cancelled during fiscal year 173 47,113.66 Sales in force at March 31, 1966 3611 952,792.59 HOMESTEAD SALES VETERAN Sales in force at April 1, 1965 109 30,152.84 Sales granted during fiscal year 33 10,754.50 Sales patented during fiscal year 9 2,556.96 Sales cancelled during fiscal year 6 1.602.80 Sales in force at March 31, 1966 127 36,747.58 HOMESTEAD LOANS Loan contracts in force at April 1, 1965 Loan contracts issued during fiscal year Loan contracts cancelled during fiscal year Loan contracts paid in full during fiscal year Loan contracts in force at March 31, 1966 1194 101 24 178 1093 HOMESTEAD LOAN SALES Sales in force at April 1. 1965 134 35,621.87 Sales granted during fiscal year 43 11,624.47 Sales patented during fiscal year 40 11,226.79 Sales cancelled during fiscal year 1 354.02 Sales in force at March 31, 1966 136 35,665.53 24 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS CLEARING PROJECT LEASES AND SALES NO. Civilian Homesteads 1 Veteran Homesteads 4 TOTAL 5 Crop Share 4 Cultivation 0 Purchase Agreements 56 The above leases and sales are included in other reports. AREA 320.00 1,297.00 1,617.00 1,274.92 17,945.83 CULTIVATION LEASES Leases in force at April 1, 1965 Leases issued during fiscal year Leases cancelled during fiscal year Leases in force at March 31, 1966 907 172,494.75 82 16,562.53 100 20,435.32 889 168,621.96 ACCRUED AREA Leases in force at April 1, 1965 Leases issued during fiscal year Leases cancelled during fiscal year Leases in force at March 31, 1966 237 16,064.09 1 70.00 37 2,273.67 201 13,860.42 PUBLIC LAND SALES Sales in force at April 1, 1965 Sales issued during fiscal year Sales patented during fiscal year Sales cancelled during fiscal year Sales in force at March 31, 1966 1548 226,067.08 425 53,106.70 341 38,218.64 13 1,402.86 1619 239,552.28 AGRICULTURAL FARM SALES Sales in force at April 1, 1965 Sales issued during fiscal year Sales cancelled during fiscal year Sales in force at March 31, 1966 1266 227.031.89 292 52,312.77 49 9,596.85 1509 269,747.81 RIGHTS OF ENTRY Rights of Entry at April 1, 1965 5919 Rights of Entry granted during fiscal year 180 Rights of Entry cancelled during fiscal year 92 Rights of Entry at March 31, 1966 6007 Applications received during fiscal year 183 Applications pending at March 31, 1966 26 PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION 25 CROP SHARE LEASES CLEARING PROJECT NO. AREA Leases in force at April 1, 1965 4 1,274.92 Leases issued during fiscal year 0 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 0 Leases in force at March 31. 1966 4 1,274.92 PURCHASE AGREEMENTS CLEARING PROJECT Sales in force at April 1, 1965 76 24,337.84 Sales issued during fiscal year 0 Sales patented during fiscal year 20 6,389.95 Sales cancelled during fiscal year (amend) 2.06 Sales in force at March 31, 1966 56 17,945.83 SEED CROP LEASES Leases in force at April 1, 1965 3 16,349.60 Leases issued during fiscal year 0 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 0 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 3 16,349.60 MISCELLANEOUS LEASES Leases in force at April 1, 1965 1113 74,328.75 Leases issued during fiscal year 127 9, ,638. 35 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 117 7,243.96 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 1123 76,723.14 Permits issued during fiscal year 960 LICENCE OF OCCUPATION Licences in force at April 1, 1965 827 Licences issued during fiscal year 161 Licences cancelled during fiscal year 61 Licences in force at March 31, 1966 927 EASEMENTS Easements in force at April 1, 1965 1978 Easements issued during fiscal year 157 Easements cancelled during fiscal year 27 Easements in force at March 31, 1966 2108 MINERAL SURFACE LEASES Leases in force at April 1, 1965 1999 85,812.03 Leases issued during fiscal year 655 5,991.00 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 141 882.88 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 2513 90,920.15 26 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS TOWNSITE LEASES NO. AREA Leases in force at April 1, 1965 4 388.57 Leases issued during fiscal year 0 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 2 336.87 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 2 51.70 PIPE LINE AGREEMENTS Agreements in force at April 1, 1965 1478 12,222.95 Agreements issued during fiscal year 420 4,549.49 Agreements cancelled during fiscal year 5 13.15 Agreements in force at March 31. 1966 1893 16,759.29 PIPE LINE INSTALLATIONS Installations in force at April 1, 1965 40 216.43 Installations issued during fiscal year 2 24.08 Installations cancelled during fiscal year 0 Installations in force at March 31, 1966 42 240.51 SAND AND GRAVEL LEASES Leases in force at April 1, 1965 352 Leases issued during fiscal year 58 Leases renewed during fiscal year 15 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 41 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 369 Permits issued during fiscal year 129 QUARRYING LEASES Leases in force at April 1, 1965 5 Leases issued during fiscal year 1 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 1 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 5 GRAZING LEASES Leases in force at April 1, 1965 4213 4,284,526.65 Leases issued during fiscal year 275 300,626.99 Area added by amendment 50,126.90 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 208 202,309.98 Area deleted by amendment 33,222.08 Leases renewed during fiscal year 541 388,948.57 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 4280 4,399,748.48 PUBLIC LAND ADMINISTRATION 27 GRAZING PERMITS NO. AREA Edmonton 1049 172,903.02 Calgary 972 244,358.32 Peace River 403 112,130.48 Grande Prairie 126 37,085.73 HAY PERMITS Number of Permits issued 355 Number of tons cut 5021/4 ROAD ALLOWANCE Leases in force at April 1, 1965 1840 72,497.52 Leases issued during fiscal year 135 3,989.06 Leases cancelled during fiscal year 99 3,480.56 Leases in force at March 31, 1966 1876 73,006.02 AUCTION SALES LISTED SOLD Public Lands 260 232 Highest price per acre $150.00 Average price per acre $ 23.67 TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL PARCELS Department of Municipal Affairs 53 St. Mary and Milk Rivers Development 5 Department of Public W'orks 4 Free Grants Exchange of Lands 4 18 28 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS INSPECTIONS GENERAL NO. Requests outstanding at April 1. 1965 1377 Requests called during fiscal year 3544 Reports received during fiscal year 2654 Requests outstanding at March 31, 1966 2267 SOIL SURVEY Requests outstanding at April 1, 1965 1512 Requests called during fiscal year 3141 Reports received during fiscal year 3653 Requests outstanding at March 31, 1966 1000 Collection reports received during fiscal year 501 APPLICATIONS NO. Grazing (new) 411 Grazing (Renewal) 395 Road Allowance 174 Homestead Leases 2 Homestead Loans 193 Homestead Sales 989 Mineral Surface 1039 Pipe Line Agreement 358 Pipe Line Installation 47 Cultivation 128 Purchase 74 Miscellaneous 250 Licence of Occupation 369 Easements 187 Sand and Gravel 78 Right of Entry 183 Agricultural Farm Sale 403 Accrued Area 10 TOTAL 5290 Cancelled Applications 1345 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS 29 FORESTRY REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF FORESTRY 1965/66 Several important developments occurred within the administration of the Alberta Forest Service during the year, particularly in forest management and education fields. Details of the regulations applicable to the “quota system” of timber dis¬ posal were resolved after numerous meetings with the Alberta Forest Products Association and government officials. Implementation will commence on May 1, 1966. Thereafter surplus quotas will be sold as well as issuance of earned quotas. The necessity of more detailed merchantability information on forest types resulted in a concerted reconnaissance program that taxed field staff and Head Office supervisory staff to the limit. Additional funds and considerable use of aircraft were employed to excellent advantage. All of the staff involved deserve commendation for their efforts. The benefits of the quota system to the timber operators, to government and particularly towards wise management of the forest resource should be obvious in the near future. The first Forest Technology students entered the Forest Technology School at Hinton for their second and final year of their course. Lecture staff and facilities were provided by the Alberta Forest Service subsequent to an expan¬ sion of the school by the Department of Public Works. The Forest Service also commenced an advanced in-service training program that will be extended to our field staff as facilities permit. These are most important steps to develop the educational standards of our rangers to meet the higher qualifications required in the performance of their work. To overcome the recruiting and inexperience problems of fire-fighting the fire overhead and fire-fighting training programs were increased significantly to include almost 350 persons in the training for this year. A new program was also developed for 17 and 18 year old boys called the Junior Forest Rangers. Three groups of 12 boys each were placed in. the field to work 5 days a week on forest conservation schemes and receive instruction one day a week on various phases of conservation. The number of forest fires during the year was very small with one fire causing almost the total area of loss. A second Dornier DO-28 aircraft was received to replace a Courier aircraft. The VHF radio equipment was extended to the Slave Lake Forest. The Department of Public Works provided a substantial number of new buildings and projects. Funds available from the Northern Development Council permitted the construction of two major airstrips. More details of activity during the year are contained in Branch reports. FOREST PROTECTION WEATHER The winter of 1964-65 was one of the coldest winters on record in the past ten years. While snowfall was about normal in southern forest regions, most of 30 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS the Peace River and central areas recorded over double the average snowfall. The spring started off cool and very wet over most of the central and southern areas. The northern areas, on the other hand, had below normal precipitation and drought conditions existed in the north Peace River and Footner Lake regions. The summer was cool in most of Alberta with the exception of August which was generally hot for the first three weeks and very cool the last week. Thunder¬ storm activity was generally light for most of the summer throughout all the province. September was very cool and precipitation was frequent. October was a warm month all over Alberta in striking contrast to the cool wet September and the on¬ set of the winter weather came in northern districts by the 3rd of November. FIRE SUPPRESSION Suppressive action was taken on 252 fires. An area of 54,334 acres was burned over, consisting of 49,769 acres of forested land, 4,279 acres of non- forested land and 286 acres of private land. The 252 fires are shown below by size class. 133 Class ‘A’ or small fires (/ acre or less) 92 Class ‘B’ fires (over % up to 10 acres) 17 Class ‘C’ fires (over 10 acres up to 100 acres) 8 Class ‘D’ fires (over 100 acres up to 500 acres) 2 Class ‘E’ fires (over 500 acres) . In addition to the above, action was taken on 27 fires that were not the responsibility of the Forest Service. These fires burned over an area of 340 acres. FIRE DETECTION Expansion of the fire detection system continued, bringing the total number of lookouts to 138. A distance of 44,500 miles was flown by aircraft on fire patrol and 40 fires were discovered. The fires reported by tables. different agencies are shown on the accompanying AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS Government Owned Leased Total Helicopters 3 6 9 Fixed Wing 3 8 (includes 4 11 small water bombers) Total 6 14 20 FORESTRY 31 Total hours flown - 7,415 Cargo carried - 854 tons of equipment and 14,136 men Fire - aircraft used on 121 fires New aircraft - one Dornier DO-28 purchased to replace one Courier aircraft. FIRE CONTROL COMMUNICATIONS Communication facilities were rented from Alberta Government Telephones. Teletype circuits totalled 1,225 miles and they carried 134,432 messages. The radio network of the Forest Service comprised 813 radio units. The VHF equipment installation was completed in the Slave Lake Forest and the specifications for the Footner Lake Forest were submitted to Alberta Govern¬ ment Telephones. 32 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS AREA BURNED BV CAUSE 1965 NON -FORESTED 4565 ACRES FORESTED 49,769 ACRES TOTAL 54,334 ACRES INCENDIARY 1.8% 960 ACRES SETTLERS 0.-4 % 200 ACRES LIGHTNING 97.5 % 52,996 ACRES OTHERS 0.3 % 178 ACRES THE 0.3% , 178 ACRES UNDER "OTHERS" INCLUDES RAILWAY, INDUSTRIAL UNCLASSIFIED, UNKNOWN, PUBLIC PROJECTS, CAMPERS AND SMOKERS. NUMBER OF FIRES BV CAUSE 1965 TOTAL FIRES 252 THE 21 FIRES OR 84% UNDER "OTHERS" INCLUDES RAILWAYS, PUBLIC PROJECTS, UNCLASSIFIED AND UNKNOWN. FORESTRY 33 COMPARISON OF FIRE CAUSES BY PERCENTAGES FOR THE YEARS 1954 to 1965 INCLUSIVE CAUSE 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 Campers 36.5 14.7 14.4 17.8 23.1 20.9 23.0 13.1 18.0 15.3 17.2 15.1 Smokers 11.8 9.9 12.0 9.5 13.8 12.2 11.8 9.0 4.0 6.9 10.9 7.5 Settlers 17.6 21.9 24.0 16.7 17.0 13.2 12.0 9.4 6.1 5.2 14.8 4.4 Railways 3.5 6.0 1.2 1.6 5.6 2.6 2.5 0.2 3.6 1.3 1.8 2,8 Lightning 5.9 15.1 17.8 18.3 17.5 23.0 22.2 41.8 37.8 47.5 25.1 45.2 Industrial 7.1 6.0 5.0 12. .8 6.0 5.3 9.1 7.5 14.7 6.9 . 7.7 9.5 Incendiary 1.2 13.8 12.0 14.4 10.3 15.3 12.2 10.5 6.8 12.8 16.6 9.9 Public Projects 4.7 1.8 1.9 2.2 1.5 2.6 1.9 2.2 2.5 0.5 4.7 2.8 Unclassified 2.3 3.5 4.7 1.1 1.5 2.8 1.9 1.9 2.2 0.9 0.9 1.6 Unknown 9.4 7.3 7.0 5.6 3.7 3.4 2.5 4.4 4.3 2.7 0.3 1.2 SUMMARY SHOWING TOTAL NUMBER OF FIRES AND BURNT OVER AREAS FROM 1954 to 1965 INCLUSIVE Year Total Fires Non- Forested Acres F orested Acres Total Area Acres Suppression Costs $ 1954 85 71 ,008 57,869 128,877 77,453 1 955 232 76,716 124,578 201 ,294 165,906 1956 258 116,679 577,801 694,480 657,092 1957 180 3.777 11,709 15,486 129,956 1958 464 75,753 155,240 230,993 1,475.347 1959 469 36,805 51 ,154 87,959 1,184,341 1960 474 9,497 10,463 19,960 345,623 1961 811 36,288 157,257 193,545 2,365,862 1962 278 1 ,386 3,120 4,506 210,869 1963 554 3,055 14,554 17,609 609,502 1964 338 6,325 8,732 15,057 396,719 1965 252 4,565 49,769 54,334 574,516 TOTALS 4,395 441,854 1,222,246 1,664,100 8,193,186 ANNUAL STATEMENT OF FIRES BY CAUSES, MONTHLY DISTRIBUTION, ETC. 34 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS AREA 5 s 5 s 200 EL 52996 - i - - - 54334 100 0 z H g ” - 8 ” - 193 z - Z 286 0.5 CROWN LAND | o: 5 - 52996 § s - - - 45048 99.5 IU 0 5 < □ 228 245 - 755409 207 S z 2 757497 DISCOVERED BV • ° - - 8 CM CO 15.1 CM 10 to 13.9 i g E! -o -o 2 - CN 24.2 Tr CO CN g - - 2 MONTHLY DISTRIBUTION Q - CN ” i -> •O 2.4 £ CO - o CN - CN 11.5 s - - 3 • ,r CO - a ts CO B 13.9 S: m CO s CN CN g 31.7 s CO to (N 2 CO >o 5 ’16.7 » -■ CN CO 2 $ 15.5 | - - - - - *o 5 - CN 80 3 CN 80 5 • - - ° a: CD D Z - 15.1 7.5 5 2.8 45.2 9.5 9.9 g - - 2 S a - - CO 252 UJ - CN 0.8 Q - - CO CO 3.2 O - - CN OO - 6.7 CD 2 10 £ T - CN - s 36.5 < iqn:> jo 0001 in juo^Ainbg gUIJU^ldSUEJX JOJ S09JX jaqum^ S99JX SEiujsuqx J9qiun^[ qjEl S999IJ ^ S9ix 9uqM S999ld I^[ S9JX AEM|IE^ S999ld ^ pooMpnj SpjOD pooMdjnj spjoo J^[ sjsod ‘guijid ‘sgjox squill puno'a * TJ -UII snonpp9Q - s§ox pooMAu - -m-q-j m snojgjiuox - sgoq; poomAjx - ’m-q-j nn S9i99d§ jjy - jgqiunx •iu-q-j m SJILUJ9J J9quilj; Sn09UEJJ99Sipj jgquinj^ SJIIUJ9J jgqunx JEI99d§ - S99U99IX jgquin^ JE9A o oo o cm go GO O oo m oo oo i—i i o r" cm Tf m m oo on oo^tDOior^ooo^ Tf00tDC0I>'^H00O'sh OnCM OOinOOOOOOnD OO oo" ^ in I> tF Tjn" i> oT HlMlN^^lNOOH m oo b m oj to -- i ^ o i> ■— CM© h rt h h h oj on on ci w mcMoono^t^min oo ^ ^ cm cm ro rs e c mnoonooo.— i^anoncM oooomancM.— loomanco CMCMCOOOOOCOI>OOir) —i p_ , r-4 rsi i OOCM^fOOr^^HCOOOCTi oo^^mcMr^oooanr^ 1—1 CM CM CM CO CM CM OO CO OO O ^ -H oo o an oo oo oo i—1 CM CM CM GO CM CM ^ m h ^ oo co ^ r^oi>nDGooo^^onan OOOcOOO^fOOi— <00^0 CO OO GO OO CM CM GO 0O 0O GO '^lmnDi>GOininnDcoin an cm oo — i m h b cd oo oi On i—i on o in oo o m- CM TfTfT^iO'^'^fiOOO CM no CMnot^OO.— 'OCOOO f^oanr—cM^fr^f— i^f^o OoooonDinminnonDin oo 05 o pH CM oo no m in m no CO no no no CD no no I> 00 05 o CM oo rf m m m m no no no no no no an on G> an On an an an 05 on 1—1 52 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS SILVICULTURE Reforestation Totals by Forests Scarification Seeding Seed Collection Thinning Seedlings Planted Forest (acres) (acres) (lb.)-(oz.) (acres) (number) Footner Lake 613 - - - - Peace River 1,471 1,213 57 - 28,200 Grande Prairie 482 482 • - 86,481 Slave Lake 1,768 1,587 - - 20,650 Whitecourt 1,909 1,909 - - 33,550 Lac La Biche 1,560 1,932 - - 28,370 Edson 752 752 1 - 41,400 Clearwater- Rocky 1,878 1,848 - 221 127,300 Bow River 1,026 750 54 484 46,600 Crowsnest 814 225 44 10 90,200 Others North Western Pulp & Power Ltd. 6,222 443 198,000 North Canadian Forest Industries . . 65 - Muttart Tree Farm - - - - - Totals 1965-66 18,495 11,141 221 715 700,751 FORESTRY 53 Ten Year Summary Year Scarification (acres) Seeding (acres) Seed Collected (pounds) Thinning (acres) Seedlings Planted (number) 1956-57 302 2,000 1957-58 522 3,000 1958-59 1,851 322 10,000 1959-60 2,551 115 2,125 35,000 1960-61 5,964 1,145 3,851 24,000 ! 1961-62 10,013 3,475 6,672 125,000 1962-63 10,688 7,900 1,540 173,000 : 1963-64 9,015 8,242 325 281 261,000 ' 1964-65 10,477.8 6,769.5 4,361 1,005 325,083 1965-66 18,495 11,141 221 715 700,751 ' Totals 69,878.8 38,787.5 19,417 2,001 1,658,834 ! Nursery Seedling production continues to expand. A large increase in number of seedlings will be needed to meet the requirements of the new quota system. Container planting is continuing and results ensure much larger scale pro¬ jects each year. It is noteworthy that the entire North Western Pulp & Power Ltd. planting consisted of container seedlings. Thinning Machine thinning with a Marden Brush Cutter accounted for most of the work done. Results of this machine look very good and projects are to continue in dense young pine stands. 54 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS Forest Land Else Petroleum and Natural Gas - Green Area Applications received for land surface rights from petroleum and natural gas industries. Forest 1963/64 1964/65 1965/66 Athabasca - 3 11 Bow River 1 7 7 Clearwater-Rocky 36 113 103 Crowsnest 8 3 7 Edson 22 79 68 Footner Lake Included with Peace River 200 Grande Prairie 40 48 40 Lac La Biche 22 35 61 Peace River 48 71 47 Slave Lake 404 806 798 Whitecourt 404 308 199 Total 985 1,473 1,541 The number of land use applications shows only a small increase for the year under review but the actual work load rose sharply as much more attention was given to problems of combatting soil erosion and pollution. It is estimated that the Alberta Forest Service spent 6,440 man days in supervision and control of the oil and gas industry, with the cost in salaries alone exceeding $130,000.00. Major projects included the Rainbow-Nipisi 20 inch pipeline, Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited 16 inch pipeline from McMurray to Edmonton, the Rainbow gathering system, waterflood systems in Swan Hills, House Mountain and Willesden Green areas. Grazing Grazing under permit within the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve totalled 88,264 animal unit months, with 26,205 head of cattle, horses and sheep being grazed. In addition to grazing in the Forest Reserve, 304 grazing leases have been issued on lands in the green zone. ROCKY MOUNTAIN FOREST RESERVE FORESTRY 55 CM CM ID if) CM CD ^ CM go i> m © CD GO i> r- CD i— ' — i GO O CD CM CM OO CD * Includes Indian and Outfitters Horses 56 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS TRAINING BRANCH A new dimension was added with development of advanced technician-level training. An extension to the Forest Technology School building at Hinton doubled its capacity and made this advancement possible. Three foresters were added to the instructional staff. The two major educational programs are the Forest Technology Course second year, and the Advanced Forestry Course for in-service trainees. The Forest Technology Course is offered in cooperation with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. A summary of all programs given follows: Course Length Number attending Forest Technology Course 26 weeks (cont’d) 25 Advanced Forestry Course 22 weeks 12 Spring forestry camp 1 week 26 Lookoutmen (2 courses) 1 week each 61 Fire timekeepers 1 week 25 Firefighters (15 courses) 1 week each 311 Management reco. course 1 week 12 RCAF Fire Control Vi week 22 Junior Forest Warden Camps ( 3 camps) 2 weeks each 108 Junior Forest Ranger Camps (3 camps) 8 weeks each 36 Plus 3 short programs / week each 59. Training of outside fire control supervisors continued. The program of fire¬ fighter training was intensified. Instruction at these was done largely by forest field staff with assistance from a Fire Training Liaison Officer. Total numbers of certified trainees are shown in the table following: 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 Fire boss 20 42 43 49 Fire foreman 3 13 23 24 Strawboss - 5 10 15 Firefighter - - 52 361 Timekeeper 1 1 1 29. FORESTRY 57 Three new Junior Forest Warden clubs were formed to bring the total to 31. Membership in clubs and Lone Patrols is 742, an increase of over 70 boys. Four groups of Girl Forest Guards, the counterpart organization for girls, were estab¬ lished with 75 girls taking part. Growth of the Junior Forest Wardens is illustrated in this graph. p 800 742 - 700 - 600 - 500 - 400 - 300 - 200 ' 100 0 CD s £ The volunteer Junior Forest Warden supervisors and council members again caused the continuing success of the program. They have our sincere thanks. A new work program for boys 17 and 18 years was started. Three Junior Forest Ranger Camps of 12 boys each provided 8 weeks work and training in the resources management field. The Cache Percotte Watershed study was accepted as an International Hydro- logic Decade project. The school forest area was increased by 165 acres to include the entire study basins within its boundaries. 58 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS FISH AND WILDLIFE REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF FISH AND WILDLIFE During the past year, the Fish and Wildlife Division suffered a severe loss in the tragic death of Roger Schmitke, Wildlife Biologist, who met his death on June 10, 1965, in the North Saskatchewan River while on a waterfowl survey. Roger was an enthusiastic worker and dedicated to his profession. The Fish and Wildlife Division takes this opportunity to pay tribute to Roger’s memory for his valued contribution to the management of our resources. Mr. C.P. Smith resigned as Director of the Fish and Wildlife Division to take a position with the Northern Institute of Technology. The Fish and Wildlife Divi¬ sion made marked progress during the six years Mr. C.P. Smith was Director and he will be remembered for his contribution to the management of our fish and wildlife in the Province of Alberta. A high light of the year’s operation came on February 1, 1966, with the appointment of Mr. S.B. Smith as Director of the Fish and Wildlife Division. Mr. S.B. Smith, formerly Chief of Fisheries Management for the Province of British Columbia, has sixteen years experience with the British Columbia Department of Recreation and Conservation and received his Master of Science degree in Fisheries Zoology in 1953 and in 1963 completed his residence requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Alberta. Considerable reorganizational planning has taken place during the year. One additional Fish and Wildlife District was established with headquarters at Hinton. ENFORCEMENT The overall number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions are reduced from the previous year. This is indicative of more efficient enforcement, with greater emphasis on prevention coupled with a more enlightened attitude on the part of the public. There has been a significant reduction in the number of licence cancellations during this year, due to the aforementioned reduction in prosecutions and also due to the fact that the Game Act has been amended to provide for higher minimum fines for carrying a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle and under Section 28 for improper clothing, but not resulting in a licence can¬ cellation, as was formerly the case. Table I. PROSECUTIONS 1964 - 65 1965 - 66 Investigations 1,177 907 Prosecutions 1,122 843 Convictions 1,099 815. FISH AND WILDLIFE 59 Table II . FREQUENCY OF VIOLATIONS RESULTING IN CONVICTIONS 1964 - 65 1965 * 66 Hunting Loaded firearm in a motor vehicle 342 ■ ■ 41.1% 232 • ■ 40% Failing to wear scarlet clothing 38 ■ • 4.6% 28 ■ • 3.4% Illegal possession of game 114 ■ ■ 13.7% 94 ■ • 16.3% Unlawfully hunting in a closed area - season 83 - ■ 9.9% 66 - 11.4% No license 53 ■ • 6.4% 30- • 5.2% Fisheries No license 110-50.7% 98 - 51% More than one line, angling through ice, unattended line 61 - 28.1% 43 - 22.4% Small mesh net 18 - 36% 14 - 30.4%. REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES: Revenue is obtained chiefly from hunting, angling, commercial fishing and fur dealers licenses; and from fur taxes, trap line registration and commercial fishing royalties. Table III . $ $ i $ 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 Revenue Total 1,011,494.87 1,031,331.61 1,041,087.80 1,350,321.15 Expenditure Total 877,681.26 910,471.63 1,079,049.27 1,092,325.21 WILDLIFE DAMAGE FUND : This was the second year of operation since this insurance feature of this program was dropped and an inspector fee system adopted. Under this plan, an applicant filing a claim for damage, paid a fee of $25.00 for each quarter section or portion thereof, on which compensation is claimed for the crop thereon. Total number of claims was down 211 from the previous year. Table IV 1963 - 64 1964 - 65 1965 - 66 Claims Acreage Damage Settlements and Costs Balance of Fund 22 604 $ 7,071.25 $ 459,151.51 742 33,009 $325,234.19 $207,478.19 531 21,188 $219,407.97 $ 95,110.95. 60 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS HUNTER TRAINING The Hunter Training Program, during the past 12 months, continues to be accepted by the sportsmen and outdoor groups with much interest, enthusiasm and with excellent encouraging results. To date 652 instructors have been qualified with a total of 41 instructors courses pending. These courses have been conducted in 44 cities and towns throughout Alberta. Total number of students qualified: 3,192 - with eight courses presently in progress. An indication of our capability was shown this spring when 232 instructors were conducting 61 student courses, involving 1,633 students. The student courses have been carried out in 62 cities and towns in the province. The largest instructors’ course was carried out in Wainwright with a total of 38 instructors qualified, whereas the largest student course was conducted in Eckville by qualified instructors from the Dickson Fish 8c Game members - for a total of seventy-five. At the end of the first year’s operation and on obtained information from the instructors, comments and recommendations - a second edition of the manual was published. Although no deletions were recommended from the first manual, 22 additional pages were included in the second edition. The program has become self-advertising. The instructors and students, on completion of the course, are commenting to the general public on its interest and on the wide scope which is covered. The presentation of the student certificate which is being presented to the qualifying students in conjunction with their crests is being very well received. Previous qualified students will be receiving their certificates in the very near future, through their organizations and clubs. Conventions attended by the Hunter Training Officer and reports which have been submitted were: A. Association of Provincial Government, Hunter Training Officers - December, 1965, Winnipeg. B. National Rifle Association Convention - April, 1965, Chicago. FISH AND WILDLIFE 61 INSTRUCTOR COURSES 1st April, 1965 - 31st March, 1966 TOTAL # OF INSTRUCTORS UNSUCCESS¬ INSTRUCTORS’ LOCATION COURSES QUALIFIED FUL INSTRUCTORS APPLICATIONS PENDING Edmonton 5 60 3 33 Calgary 2 14 2 33 Lethbridge 1 19 1 9 Cold Lake 2 22 - 15 Olds 1 18 - 9 Tofield 1 13 - 1 Standard 1 32 6 7 Ed son 1 11 3 6 Huxley 1 10 - 4 Peace River 1 9 3 5 High River 1 15 1 4 Ponoka 1 14 3 9 Whitecourt 1 13 4 1 Rimbey 1 11 3 8 Berwyn 1 10 1 - Wainwright 1 33 2 16 Fairview 1 22 3 1 Nan ton - - - 11 Lamont - - - 7 Barons - . - 14 Coleman - - - 3 Drumheller 1 13 2 - Stauffer 1 10 2 - Drayton Valley 1 21 - 10 Grande Prairie - - 1 Manning - - 1 Wetaskiwin - - 2 Didsbury - - 2 Sundre - - 1 Carstairs - . 1 Magrath - - 1 Misc. Towns - - 18 26 Instructor courses pending: 41 Additional towns pending Red Deer Pincher Creek Camrose Innisfail Vulcan Hinton Foremost Devon Claresholm Medicine Hat Dickson Elk Point 370 39 TOTAL: 233 4 9 4 7 5 1 10 3 6 15 2 2 301 62 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS STUDENT COURSES 1st April, 1965 - 31 March, 1966 LOCATION TOTAL # COURSES SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS UNSUCCESSFUL STUDENTS Lethbridge 4 71 4 Calgary 20 288 44 Sylvan Lake 6 44 1 Fort Saskatchewan 2 36 2 Red Deer 5 50 1 Medicine Hat 7 105 2 Hinton 3 39 1 Dickson 5 123 3 Pincher Creek 2 25 1 Olds 10 158 2 Innisfail 3 27 1 Namao 4 43 - Cold Lake 7 108 - Elk Point 1 7 . Wain wright 2 33 - Ferintosh 2 46 1 Camrose 4 46 1 Stavely 2 52 - Claresholm 2 40 2 Edmonton 12 219 10 Devon 1 7 . Foremost 1 3 . Waterton Park 2 21 - Ponoka 5 77 7 Redcliff 3 36 2 Didsbury 2 26 - Nan ton 3 25 2 Whitecourt 5 66 - Jasper Park 1 14 1 Greencourt 1 6 . Lundbreck 2 14 . Vulcan 3 40 . Rimbey 2 34 3 High River 3 28 2 Bruderheim 1 24 4 Sundre 1 12 . Bluesky 1 11 2 Fort MacLeod 2 25 2 Whitelaw 1 13 2 Wetaskiwin 1 23 Wimborne 1 15 . Fairview 1 35 . Standard 2 35 3 Carmangay 1 30 3 Redwater 1 17 . Bowden 1 10 . Berwyn 2 14 - Carstairs 1 22 . Hay Lakes 1 12 - FISH AND WILDLIFE Sherwood Park 1 20 Bon Accord 1 25 Magrath 1 1 1 Lancaster Park 1 6 Armena 1 14 Twin Butte 1 21 Edgerton 1 12 Czar 1 8 Drumheller 1 1 1 Hanna 1 21 Taber 1 4 Edson 1 14 2421 167 64 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS FISHERIES SPORT FISHERIES The summer months of 1965 were again marked by many cool, wet weekends as were the late summer and early fall months of the previous year. Angling effort was undoubtedly reduced under such conditions, particularly on streams because of increased levels and accompanying turbidity. Water levels in lakes continued to show a recovery due to the precipitation pattern and reduced eva¬ poration rate. As a result only minor winter kill problems occurred on local trout lakes. Small lakes and reservoirs throughout the province which have been stocked with trout continued to hold the spotlight as far as trout fishing was concerned. Star Lake, Cottage Lake, Jackfish Lake, Schuman Lake, Shuster Lake and Wild- horse Lake in Central Alberta were important producers. In the southern areas, Michele Lake, Cavan Lake, Mami Lake, Police Lake, Beauvais Lake and Lee Lake provided excellent fishing opportunities. Good success was realized from the stocking of yearling rainbow trout in Lower Kananaskis Lake, west of Cal¬ gary. Warm water game fish, i.e., perch, walleye and northern pike, were again in good supply. Angling for walleye in Lac Ste. Anne and Lake Isle near Edmonton was noticeably improved over recent years. Gregoire Lake near Fort McMurray came into focus as an important walleye and pike fishery for the rapidly ex¬ panding population of the tar sands area. Winter fishing for lake whitefish on Wabamun Lake, Pigeon Lake, Battle Lake and Hanmore Lake continued to in¬ crease in popularity. This recreational fishery has now become a major winter attraction in the Edmonton area. The sale of angling licences again showed a slight decline (1.7%) from the previous year. This may have been due in part to the adverse weather conditions which prevailed on most of the summer weekends. Annual licence sales for a ten year period are illustrated in Figure 2. The Biological Station at Gorge Creek, Alberta, was officially named ‘The R.B. Miller Biological Station’ in memory of its founder the late Dr. Miller. The station completed its 16th year of operation. No experiments in fisheries were conducted at the station during the year under review, but a number of wildlife projects were continued. The Creel Census Station at Beauvais Lake was operated for the sixth summer to record trout fishing success. Trout production continued at a high level in this body of water. BIOLOGICAL SURVEYS AND MANAGEMENT PROJECTS: The removal of un¬ desirable fish by the use of rotenone was carried out on Henderson Lake within the City of Lethbridge and on Phyllis Lake near Rocky Mountain House. The purpose of these projects was to prepare the lakes for subsequent stocking with trout. FISH AND WILDLIFE Biological surveys were conducted on other waters as follows: BIOLOGICAL DISTRICT #1 (Southern) Bow River pollution study. NOTE: There was no resident fishery biologist in this district during the summer of 1965. BIOLOGICAL DISTRICT #2 (Central) Dillberry Lake (Twp. 41-1-W4) Goldeye Lake (Twp. 40-16-W5) Gooseberry Lake (Twp. 36-5-W4) Highway Dugout #2 (NE!4 36-44-25-W4) North Saskatchewan River - Edmonton to 4th meridian Phyllis Lake (Tw'p. 36-7-W5) Simpson Reservoir (16-35-6-W4) Swan Lake (Twp. 36-9-W5) - An ecological study of the lake trout. Since this is a major project requiring several years of study, considerable time was devoted to it during the year. Twin Lake (Twp. 40-7-W5) Unnamed Lake (29-52- 2-W5) Five unnamed lakes in the headwater areas of McDonald Creek and Job Creek. BIOLOGICAL DISTRICT #3 (North-west) Athabasca River - pollution monitoring Blue Lake (8-52-26-W5) Cache Lake (17-52-26-W5) Cold Creek, near Evansburg - a study of the survival of brown trout Graveyard Lake (Twp. 52-26-W5) Gregg River and Oldman Creek - habitat destruction studies Kinky Lake (6-50-26-W5) Muskeg River and its tributaries Tri-Creek Watershed Study - This project involved a detailed study of Wampus Creek, Deerlick Creek and Eunice Creek, tributaries to the McLeod River Wildhorse Lake #1 (31-49- 26-W5) Wildhorse Lake #2 (31-49-26-W5) . BIOLOGICAL DISTRICT #4 (North-east) Athabasca River - an assessment of the river prior to the initiation of tar sands refining processes Bocquene Lake (Twp. 120-7-W4) Cold Lake - a study of the lake trout population and its relationship with other fish species Cornwall Lake (Twp. 122-4-W4) Leland Lake (Twp. 124-6-W4) Marie Lake (Twp. 65-2-W4) Richardson Lake (Twp. 108-7-W4) - a study of the lake as a walleye spawning area Tulip Lake (Twp. 125-7-W4) . 66 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS FISH CULTURE AND STOCKING: The provincial fish hatchery at Calgary and the Raven Rearing Station together produced 2,753,875 trout and kokanee for stocking. The species composition of hatchery and rearing pond production is shown in Figure 1. The rearing ponds produced 513,415 rainbow trout and 61,200 lake trout as yearling fish. Trout and kokanee were again stocked in three main situations, i.e., small ponds, beaver dams on streams and lakes, and lakes and reservoirs. The number of fish stocked in each of these types of water during the past five years are shown in Table I. In addition to the stockings shown in Table I; 10,170 trout were stocked in streams to introduce new species and 58,835 trout were stocked in streams to maintain populations where no natural spawning facilities exist. A number of transfers of warm water species, i.e., perch, walleye and pike, were made for the purpose of introducing these fish to waters where it is hoped to establish resident populations for angling. Table I **NUMBERS OF HATCHERY TROUT STOCKED IN VARIOUS SITUATIONS IN ALBERTA FOR THE PERIOD 1961 - 65 Year Small Ponds* Beaver dams Lakes & Reservoirs Total 1961 11,280 384,800 1,839,520 2,235,600 1962 3,960 308,000 1,963,725 2,275,685 1963 33,876 256,673 1,741,899 2,032,448 1964 77,550 186,077 1,637,845 1,901,472 1965 18,811 230,737 2,226,052 2,475,600 * OveX-yearling trout stocked for fishing during the year of planting. ** Does not include a number of introductions of new species into streams. GAME FISH FARMS: Personnel of the division continued to inspect potential private game fish farm sites at the request of property owners. The number of game fish farm licences issued is shown in the table of fishery licences. COMMERCIAL FISHERIES: Commercial fish production decreased to the level recorded in the 1963-64 fiscal year. The decrease was due mainly to a substantial drop in tullibee pro¬ duction and a lesser reduction in walleye production, Whitefish, perch and North¬ ern pike yields increased over the previous year. A record of commercial fish production from 1945 to 1965 is presented in Figure 3. Landings of lake whitefish for the same period are presented in Figure 4. Landings of walleye for the period 1935 to 1965 are shown in Figure 5. FISH AND WILDLIFE 67 FISH PLANTING - 1965 BROWN TROUT EASTERN BROOK KOKANEE 32% LAKE TROUT RAINBOW TROUT 8 1.59% FIGURE 1 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FOREST FIGURE 2 ANGLING LICENCE SALES IN ALBERTA ‘56- ‘57 ‘57-‘58‘58-‘59 ‘59-‘60‘60-‘61'61-‘62‘62-‘63 ,63-‘64‘64-,65‘65-‘66 FISH AND WILDLIFE 69 LICENCES 1961*62 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 No. No. No. No. No. Angling Licences Special Licences to take Fish 119,773 122,123 129,244 124,747 122,537 by Spearing — — 53 76 87 Commercial Licences 221 151 148 73 39 Fisherman’s Commercial Licences 5,211 4,412 4,969 4,138 4,468 Domestic Licences 75 78 48 39 63 Fish Dealer’s Licences Commercial Game Fish Farm 104 84 78 55 53 Licences 3 6 9 7 6 Private Game Fish Farm Licences — 2 8 8 20 Total 125,387 126,856 134,557 129,143 127,273 COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF FISH Species 1961-62 1962-63 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Whitefish 3,553,462 2,435,197 2,095,419 1 ,506,144 1,918,912 Trout 52,435 10,288 19,454 9,459 7,623 Pickerel 822,970 513,338 628,597 465,748 372,576 Perch 87,545 48,453 46,899 320,990 646,996 Pike 904,429 1,448,294 1,341,749 958,922 1,248,792 Tullibee 3,358,179 4,052,024 4,274,485 8,714,348 4,402,771 Suckers (Mixed Fish) 476,577 518,489 486,450 319,604 180,597 115,567 Goldeyes 7,899 13,540 6,959 1,385 391 Total 9,263,496 9,039,623 8,900,012 12,296,600 8,894,225 Value to Value as Weight F ishermen Marketed Lbs $ $ Totals for year 1961-62 9,263,496 723,1 11.41 1,416,378.27 Totals for year 1962-63 9,039,623 680,008.48 1,141,727.85 Totals for year 1963-64 8,900,012 703,667.20 1,174,476.66 Totals for year 1964-65 12,296,600 793,043.10 1,243,481.68 Totals for year 1965-66 8,894,225 720,886.32 1,188,319.17 FISH EXPORTED FROM ALBERTA 1965-66 Canadian U.S.A, Species Markets Markets Totals Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Whitefish 72,007 1,092,386 1,164,393 Trout — 460 460 Pickerel 12,337 192,243 204,580 Perch 74,932 144,505 219,437 Pike 400 140,391 140,791 Tullibee 10,433 102,760 113,193 Total 170,109 1,672,745 1,842,854 Prosecutions for year 1965-66 (commercial fishing) . .... 46 Prosecutions for year 1965-66 (angling) . .... 192 70 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS COCN*-* O 05 oO CO iQ FISCAL YEAR ENDING MARCH 3 1 FISH AND WILDLFE 71 FIGURE 4 MILLIONS OF POUNDS COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF WALLEYE (PICKEREL) IN ALBERTA 1935 - 1966 72 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS FIGURE 5 PRODUCTION IN THOUSANDS OF POUNDS QUANTITIES AND VALUE OF FISH CAUGHT AND MARKETED FISH AND WILDLIFE 73 Value to Fishermen - $46.92 Value as Marketed - 234.60 74 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS UPLAND GAME BIRDS The severe winter of 1964-65 took its toll of exotic upland game birds through¬ out most of the Province. This was reflected in drastically reduced spring breed¬ ing populations for pheasants as illustrated in Table I. Table I COMPARISON OF PHEASANT CROWING COUNT INDICES Biological District 1964 1965 1 „ South 7.0 / stop 3.5 / stop 2. Central 5.9 / stop 1 .7 / stop 3. N.W. .98 / stop .28 / stop 4. N.E. 3.2 / stop 0.7 / stop However, production in most areas except the southern district was above aver¬ age, compensating in part for the winter losses. Hatching peaks were generally a week later this year, possibly as a result of poor condition of breeding birds following the harsh winter. Pheasant hatchery production was nearly doubled in order to assist population recovery. (Table II) Hungarian partridge wintered better than pheasants. However, breeding popu¬ lations were generally lower than the previous year. The Northern huns appeared to be rebounding from a cyclic population low. Although they had a lower breeding population than those in the grasslands, their production was higher. Some renesting occurred in July and August. Opening day hunting success indicated a general rise in the juvenile to adult ratio with the exception of some areas in the southern district where a slight drop in this ratio was recorded. Sharp-tailed grouse dancing ground counts in the prairie-parkland regions were down in all areas due in part to lower production during 1964. Hatching peaks during the spring of 1965 were from one to two weeks later and brood sizes were higher than in 1964. Hunter bag checks also indicated a rise in juvenile ratios in 1965. Unlike the “exotics” there was no evidence of renesting. Ruffed grouse, also cyclic, seemed to be rebounding from a population low. Some increase in breeding populations was evident from drumming counts carried out in the foothills, although total population numbers were still far below habitat carrying capacity. Hatching peaks remained pretty much the same in most areas, but a slight drop in production was indicated by smaller than average broods and a drop in the juvenile to adult ratio in the hunter’s bag. At present, few data are available on Spruce grouse, or Blue grouse popula¬ tions. FISH AND WILDLIFE 75 The Merriam’s turkey flock in the Cypress Hills has attained a population of about 200 birds and has spread throughout all the suitable habitat in that area. Transplants have been made from this flock to the Porcupine Hills with the ob¬ jective of establishing a huntable population there. One report of Chukars was received from the extreme south but an investiga¬ tion revealed nothing. Table II 1965 PHEASANT RELEASES Release Areas No. Hens No. Cocks Total Bow Island 8c Foremost 350 350 700 Burdett 8c Foremost 302 300 602 Seven Persons 150 150 300 Grassy Lake 150 150 300 Barnwell 150 150 300 Fincastle 150 150 300 Picture Butte 150 150 300 Camrose 466 526 992 Barons 150 150 300 Carmangay 140 160 300 Champion 300 300 600 Vulcan 120 172 292 Strathmore 140 160 300 High River 200 200 Medicine Hat 150 150 Lethbridge 200 200 Vauxhall 120 164 284 Rolling Hills 150 150 300 Millicent 126 160 286 Countess 100 185 285 Brooks 60 293 353 Total: 3,274 4,370 7,644 1965 NUMBER OF PHEASANTS RELEASED Hens Cocks Total Spring Release (adult pheasants) 592 64 656 Fall Release (juvenile pheasants) 3,274 4,370 7,644 , WATERFOWL During the dry summer of 1964 the number of potholes continued to dwindle, and by August there existed an average of only five potholes per square mile in the central parkland area. Due to this persistent drought many of the waterfowl which generally nested in the southern half of Alberta moved further north to less suitable nesting habitat; consequently production was low accounting for a 76 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS general decline in waterfowl numbers throughout the province in that year. How¬ ever, deep snows of the 1964-65 winter and the wet spring which followed tre¬ mendously increased the number of potholes and caused a wide dispersion of waterfowl breeding populations in 1965. Although these breeders were low in number, production was good to excellent throughout the prairie-parkland area. Hatching peaks for all species occurred during the period from the second week in June to the first week in July in 1964 but in 1965 were from one to two weeks later, possibly due to adverse weather conditions in the spring. Hunter bags indicated a slight rise in juvenile to adult ratios from 1964 to 1965 in mallards and pintails. Average brood sizes increased and general over¬ all increases in populations were noted. Crop damage reports were numerous in 1965 and a blanket permit was issued one week prior to the regular hunting season. Surveys were made on wintering mallards in the Calgary area. A scare program to move the enlarging flock of Bow River mallards was carried out in co-opera¬ tion with Canadian Wildlife Service from early September to January 15th, 1966. This program involved the use of exploding devices and succeeded to such a degree that only a small portion of the expected 50,000 birds remained. Of this, only about half were in the city and none were allowed to establish feeding patterns near the airport. Some 1,260 of these city birds were trapped and air freighted to Vancouver by the Canadian Wildlife Service. Combined checking station data and wing and tail feather collections from bird pluckers in Central Alberta show that production was poor in snow geese for 1965 as compared to 1964. Lesser Canada’s had reasonably good production but slightly lower than in 1964. Whitefronts showed a 1:1 adult to juvenile ratio. The bag of large Canada’s indicated a large percentage of sub-adults. With the small amount of water remaining during the autumn of 1964, the birds, and consequently the hunters, were concentrated and the goose kill was relatively high. In contrast, during the 1965 season, water was abundant and the birds and hunters were dispersed and goose hunter success was lower. The bulk of the large Canada’s were taken between September 24th and October 11th. Lesser Canada’s were also present during this time but persisted for a longer period in the Hanna area and were taken right up until the first part of November in this region. Snow geese were taken in large numbers from Castor and Coronation and were numerous in the Hanna area. They were taken regularly until the 26th of October during the 1965 season. Whitefronts appeared to be prevalent in the goose management area from September 24th to October 9th. The later opening date on white geese in the goose management area was again effective in reducing the Ross’ goose kill. The Ross’ goose kill accounted for less than 5% of the white geese checked during the fall of 1965. FISH AND WILDLIFE 77 Large Canada’s were again trapped in co-operation with Ducks Unlimited and planted during the summer of 1965. Transplants were made at Bushyhead Lake near Wainwright, Vermilion Reservoir, Big Lake north of Edmonton, Driedmeat Lake near Camrose, Chain Lakes near Claresholm and W'aterton Reservoir. This spring some breeding adults were seen on or near most of the lakes planted indicating successful transplants. Big Game The severe winter of 1964-1965 appeared to have little effect on moose popu¬ lations in most regions of Alberta. Remarkably, moose production was good in most areas. An almost imperceptable drop in densities occurred in the central biological district but no change occurred in the south, and the northwest had its best moose populations since 1957. Elk populations appear to be holding their own and are spreading northward and eastward in the northwest district. Notwithstanding this fact, their production was generally low following the harsh winter of 1964-1965. Deer that utilized river valleys and coulees did not appear to be affected by the hard winter of 1964-1965, and helicopter surveys this past winter showed that both species were still in good numbers. Reports of deer winter mortality in the uplands of the parkland and in the extreme south of the province were received in the spring of 1965 and their reduction was borne out to some extent by sub¬ sequent surveys. Foothills deer have declined generally throughout their range. In the central and northern regions the decline has been due to extreme snow depths in three out of the past five winters. Bighorn populations throughout their range have maintained substantial numbers, but production has been less than good in almost all areas, indicating a state of stability or perhaps the beginning of a decline. At present some appre¬ hension is felt about our sheep as they may be in ar similar state to those in British Columbia just prior to their widespread die-off. Although little data are available on mountain goat production, it is known that the kid crop was poor in the northwest. In general, goat populations are not high in accessible areas and in some areas they have declined considerably. Antelope surveys showed a noticeable decline in kid production following the hard winter. Consequently, the total population was lower and a reduced number of antelope permits were issued. Moose hunting success this past season changed very little in our central and northern districts but dropped somewhat in the south. The elk harvest decreased in 1965 and was due largely to inaccessible herds not becoming available to hunters during the regular season. Age structures of the elk, moose and the deer herds indicate that many elk and moose herds could stand a more effective harvest. Foothills deer are being moderately exploited. Prairie-parkland mule deer bucks are being heavily har¬ vested but the herds still continue to increase and in some areas are generally under-harvested and a good supply of large bucks is available. 78 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS Table III SHEEP AND GOAT HARVEST 1964-1965 Big Horn Sheep Goats 1964 1965 1964 1965 Resident 111 129 122 98 Non-Resident 112 99 88 96 TOTAL 223 228 210 194. Table IV COMPARISON OF ANTELOPE HARVEST DATA BETWEEN 1964 SEASON AND 1965 SEASON 1,964 1,965 Total permits issued 5,750 4,700 No. of animals taken 4,308 3,170 No. of actual hunters 5,068 3,866 Hunting success for those actually hunting 85% 82% Percentage of actual hunters compared to total permits issued 88.1% 82.2% Percentage of animals taken compared to number of permits issued 75% 67.4% Pronghorn antelope harvest during 1965 was down considerably from 1964. Due to poor production, coupled with a heavy loss of adult animals, the number of antelope permits issued was lowered accordingly. Table IV shows some of the changes which occurred in the antelope harvest as a result of the harsh winter in 1964-1965. Predator Control Some measures were taken regarding wolf populations in the northern districts. A total of 70 wolves was taken on a limited poison campaign and nowhere was there an attempt to eradicate the animals. Coyotes were prevalent in the east central and southern districts and were heavily harvested by skiddoo- equipped hunters during the winter of 1965-66. Some wolf activity was reported in the west central districts, but no control measures were felt necessary in this area. Table V indicates the districts from which most of the canines were taken. FISH AND WILDLIFE 79 Table V RESULTS OF WOLF CONTROLS IN NORTHERN ALBERTA NW Biol. District NE Biol. District No. of Wolves No. of Wolves taken taken 1 . Barrhead 31 1. Athabasca 9 2. Brazeau Flats 4 2. Lac La Biche 9 3. Cynthia 1 3. Fort MacMurray 5 4. Smoky Tower 1 4. Cold Lake 4 5. Big Smoky River 4 27 6. N. of Peace River 2 TOTAL 70 43 In addition to reducing the pack size, the animals removed were used for parasite and taxonomic studies. A.R.D.A. Canada Land Inventory Ungulate Wildlife Capability Classification Project in Conjunction With Alberta Fish 8c Wildlife Division The proposed objective of the Canada Land Inventory is to provide data which will be used for use planning of marginal and sub-marginal agricultural lands. This inventory will cover all settled and potentially settled areas of Canada which affect, and will affect, the income and level of employment of rural residents. To provide information to administrators for this proposed land planning, technical data in the form of capability maps for agriculture, forest, wildlife and recreation are being produced by all the provinces of Canada. Alberta is responsible for mapping 151,000 square miles for its capability for ungulate wildlife. The total number of map sheets to be completed for this pro¬ ject is 24 of the 1/250,000 scale and 768 of the 1/50,000 scale. In order to assign ungulate wildlife capability classification rates to a land unit, information on the physical characteristics of the lands which are signifi¬ cant to wild ungulates are considered. Delineation of land units is based on relevant information on soils, vegetation, topography and climate, plus wild un¬ gulate population data obtained from aerial surveys. To date, data have been gathered on the above criteria for 6 1/250,000 map sheets and 192 1 50,000 map sheets. These data are presently been assessed and the final draft maps will be ready for publication in the fall of 1966. 80 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS GAME COMPARISON OF THE NUMBER OF GAME LICENCES ISSUED 1962 1963 1964 1965 Resident Bird Game Licences Non-Resident (Non-Canadian) Bird Game 85*932 89,534 86,671 76,880 Licences 739 987 959 796 Resident Big Game Licences Non-Resident (Canadian) Big Game 67,566 64,809 58,581 41,748 Licences Non-Resident (Non-Canadian) Big Game 23 59 75 71 Licences 326 434 455 554 GAME LICENCES APRIL 1st, 1965 to MARCH 31st, 1966 Licences Fee Total Amount Wildlife Certificates 109,593 $ 1.00 $109,593.00 Resident Bird Game Stamps 76,880 2.50 192,200.00 Non-Resident (Alien) Bird Game Stamps 796 25.00 19,900.00 Resident Big Game Stamps 41,748 5.00 208,740.00 Non-Resident (Canadian) Big Game Stamps 71 50.00 3,550.00 Non-Resident (Alien) Big Game Stamps 554 100.00 55,400.00 Permits to Collect 39 Free Taxidermist’s Licences 49 5.00 245.00 Guide’s Licences (Class “A” 8c “B”) 489 2.50 1,222.50 Game Farms (Game Birds) 39 Various 420.00 Game Farms (Big Game Animals) 1 100.00 100.00 Resident Trapper’s Licences 3,929 3.00 11,787.00 Dog Trainers 15 Various 195.00 Resident Spring Bear Licences Non-Resident (N.R. 8c N.R. Alien) Spring 618 5.00 3,090.00 Bear Licences 16 25.00 400.00 Resident Sheep Stamps 1,206 7.50 9,045.00 Resident Goat Stamps 394 7.50 2,955.00 Resident White Tail Deer Stamps Non-Resident (N.R. 8c N.R. Alien) White 23,736 3.00 71,208.00 Tail Deer Stamps 92 15.00 1,380.00 Resident Mule Deer Stamps 31,638 3.00 94,914.00 Resident Antelope Licences 4,191 5.00 20,955.00 FISH AND WILDLIFE 81 CONVICTIONS UNDER THE GAME ACT - 1965-66 Number of Convictions CONFISCATED FURS Amount realized from the sale of confiscated fur during the period April 1st, 1965 to March 31st, 1966 TRAPLINE REGISTRATIONS Number of Registered Trap-Lines and Revenue April 1st, 1965 to March 31st, 1966 2,663 @ $10.00 FUR DEALERS’ LICENCES, ETC. April 1st, 1965 to March 31st, 1966 KIND NUMBER Resident Fur Dealers’ Licences to carry on business 152 in a city, and elsewhere than in a city 6 Non-Resident Fur Dealers’ Licences to carry on business in the Province 3 Resident Travelling Fur Purchasing Agents' Licences 13 Furriers’ Licences 16 Tanners’ Licences 5 Amount Collected FUR TAX REVENUE MUSKRAT AND BEAVER Muskrat Permits issued free (Damage to Farmers’ Lands, Roads 8c Irrigation) Muskrats reported taken Beaver Permits issued free (Damage to Farmers’ Lands, Roads & Irrigation) 577 $ 1,917.32 $26,630.00 REVENUE $ 1,520.00 30.00 300.00 1,300.00 160.00 50.00 $73,932.32 28 1,109 257 Beaver reported taken 100 82 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS Badger Bear Beaver Ermine Fisher Silver Fox Cross Fox Red Fox White Fox Blue Fox Lynx Marten Mink Muskrat Otter Jack Rabbits Skunk Squirrel Coyote Timber Wolves ALBERTA FUR PRODUCTION - SEASON 1965-66 (WILD FUR) Total Number of Pelts Average Value of Pelts Total Value of Pelts 249 $ 6.80 $ 1,693.20 565 19.71 11,136.15 51,217 14.41 738,036.97 48,532 .83 40,281.56 304 13.38 4,067.52 53 2.75 145.75 48 4.92 236.16 141 8.05 1,135.05 10 22.02 220.20 9 6.50 13.00 1,638 33.85 55,446.30 372 14.03 5,219.16 3,753 14.09 52,879.77 215,755 1.47 317,159.85 150 25.54 3,831.00 14,901 .23 3,427.23 15 .36 5.40 495,722 .61 302,390.42 12,885 9.73 125,371.05 125 30.73 3,841.25 33 21.80 719.40 846,470 $1,667,256.39 Wolverine DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS 83 PROVINCIAL PARKS REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF PROVINCIAL PARKS The recreational and leisure time needs of the general public has again been reflected in the increased use of the facilities provided in the Alberta Pro¬ vincial Parks. Even though the general weather conditions during the summer of 1965 were far from ideal, a substantial increase in park patronage was indicated over the previous year. Attendance Graph TOTAL ATTENDANCE FOR ALL PROVINCIAL PARKS 84 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS During the past fiscal year, several provincial parks were increased in size by the acquisition of additional land and preliminary negotiations were under¬ taken for future expansion in other parks. Two new parks, Jarvis Bay on Sylvan Lake and Tillebrook Trans-Canada Campsite near Brooks, Alberta, were estab¬ lished to bring to forty-four the number of provincial parks in the province. The number of provincial park historical sites in the province was increased from twenty-one to twenty-three with the establishment of Bugnet Plantation near Gunn, Alberta, and Rocky Mountain House Fort near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. This fiscal year was the second year of charging fees for overnight camping. The charging system with improved methods of collection and with an adequate staff has proven quite satisfactory. No increase in the schedule of fees and charges was implemented during the year and it remains the same as instituted in 1964. During the year the following accessories were supplied to the various pro¬ vincial parks: 800 Picnic Tables 120 Benches 50 Single Sanitary Units . In addition, the following major projects were completed in various parks: NEW CONSTRUCTION Workshops Long Lake Miquelon Lake Aspen Beach Entrance Thunder Lake One Bedroom Residence (Caretakers) Cypress Hills (Ressor Lake) PROVINCIAL PARKS Two Bedroom Residences Crimson Lake Miquelon Lake The Vermilion Three Bedroom Residence Cypress Hills Washroom (complete with retaining wall, walks and steps) Aspen Beach Display Building Dinosaur Double Garage Gooseberry Lake Change House Kinbrook Island Sewage Disposal Dinosaur (residence) Retaining Wall Cypress Hills (beach) Machine Shed Bow Valley MAJOR ALTERATIONS Ventilating System in Concessions Crimson Lake Park Lake Little Bow Remodelling of Warden’s Residence and Installation of Sewage and Water Systems Park Lake Installation of Mosaic Tile Floors Bow Valley (washroom) 86 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS Many other improvements in the existing parks were completed during the year including drilling of water wells for the new warden residences and for washrooms, extension of electrical services and expansion of picnic and camping facilities. Negotiations were undertaken with ten lessees in Block 1 of the subdivision within Crimson Lake Provincial Park for the purchase of their improvements. This sale was satisfactorily negotiated and all ten cabins were removed from the subdivision providing additional expansion of beach and picnic ground facilities for the general public. As of March 31, 1965, the following assistance was provided by the Provin¬ cial Parks Division from administration through Municipal Aid Grants to eligible Improvement Districts, Municipal Districts, Counties, etc.: Total amount paid - $196,068.12 Grants approved but not paid to date - $162,079.18 Balance of grants not applied for - $65,211.70 . The total grants paid and total grants approved represents 84% of those eligible leaving a balance of 16% to eligible Improvement Districts, Municipal Districts, Counties, etc., who have not made application as of March 31, 1965. PROVINCIAL PARKS 87 PARKS LEGEND X - FACILITIES PROVIDED P - PERMITTED SUT f4oT PROVIDED C - CARETAKER W - WARDEN O - FACILITIES PROVIDED AND FEE CHARGE 88 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS PROVINCIAL PARKS 89 V i- hi © ID o ,0 q: I 0 2 z Q a: ft 2 S 2 o Uj UJ uj hi 2 0 <1 0 Uj > Uj * * i- *0 ¥ > D (/) h W Ul U © <[ 2 6 a. £ <1 2 0 j u - 1 j >- * -j >- ¥ 2 0 a. uj ¥ j ID I U O hi ft ® Q a: - ¥ III I * a: a: V * a: 0 0 ¥ >- O 2 j $ j 0 <1 2 o QJ k j 0 i- >- j Uj <*. 5 5 j it ID ¥ Uj 0 h z UJ 0 a. 5 Uj a. 5 c/) co UJ I 1- ~J cj > o w © O a. © a: if) til 0 CM 0) in o 0 0 CO 0 0 ® M- 0) © O © O © 0 O © 0 O © « 0 K CM 0 CM 0 CO 0 © M- © © K O * O (\j 0 O © - O N J lli 2 O © 0 I NAME 2 K 2 2 -J a. © 2 2 2 C 5 V 5 0 J 1- h- K K 1- I- CD © © * 2 a 0 ■J 2 * I O a: a: a: a: a: a: Q: 0 >- Q © > © hi ”5 © © u k 0