Porcupine Provincial Forest

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Pasquia Hills
Location of the Porcupine Hills

The Porcupine Provincial Forest is a protected boreal forest in Canada which covers the Porcupine Hills on the border of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Contents

History

Canada's borders in 1905. Canada change 1905-09-01.png
Canada's borders in 1905.

By the end of the 19th century, Eastern Canada had essentially run out of marketable timber due to unsustainable logging techniques, land clearing for settlement and agriculture, and an increase in forest fires caused by settlement. In 1899, the Minister of the Interior Clifford Sifton appointed Elihu Stewart as the chief inspector of timber and forestry for the Dominion of Canada. Stewart's job was to protect undisturbed federal forests from unsustainable logging and settlement practices, and to revitalize lands that had already been deforested. Before 1905, the Porcupine Hills were located entirely within the Northwest Territories in the District of Saskatchewan, which meant that the Porcupine Forest was under full federal control. By 1901, a fire ranging service was established in Western Canada, and plans were made to determine which areas could be used for agriculture, and which areas would be left as forest. [1]

In 1905, the Province of Saskatchewan was created, and its eastern border cut through the Porcupine Forest. Approximately 80% of the forest lay within the new province, and the other 20% remained within the Northwest Territories. Unlike the five eastern provinces and British Columbia, the three Prairie Provinces were not given control over their own natural resources. So even though Saskatchewan owned the land beneath the forest, they could not build infrastructure or settlements, or cut any wood, without permission of the federal government. [2]

In 1906, the Canadian government passed the first Dominion Forest Reserves Act, which officially established the Porcupine Forest Reserve as a national forest. They hired forest rangers and built a headquarters at Ushta, Saskatchewan. Many of the first rangers were either forestry engineers from the University of New Brunswick, First World War veterans, or both. By 1914, the new forest reserve was overseen by 11 rangers, and 1 ranger-in-charge, and these rangers also oversaw the Pasquia Forest Reserve. In addition to the headquarters, 4 ranger cabins, 5 stables, and 4 fire towers were built for the rangers. [3]

In 1930, the Saskatchewan Natural Resources Act was passed, which transferred control of Saskatchewan forests (and other natural resources) from the federal government to the Saskatchewan government. [2] [4] Once Saskatchewan officially received ownership of their natural resources, they created the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to manage them. The rangers that had previously worked for the Dominion Forest Service now worked for the Saskatchewan DNR. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Mountain Cabin Recreation Site is a recreation site, and former settlement, near the north-eastern ridge of the Pasquia Hills in Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

Armit Meadows Ecological Reserve is an ecological reserve located in Porcupine Provincial Forest, Manitoba, Canada. It was established in 2015 under the Manitoba Ecological Reserves Act. It is 2.63 square kilometres (1.02 sq mi) in size.

Porcupine Hills Provincial Park is the newest provincial park in the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan. It was created in 2018 through the amalgamation of five pre-existing provincial recreation sites south-east of the town of Hudson Bay. The park is in the Porcupine Provincial Forest in the Porcupine Hills, which is a geographical feature in eastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba. The hills are part of a range of hills called the Manitoba Escarpment.

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Pasquia Hills are hills in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They are located in the east central part of the province in the RM of Hudson Bay No. 394 near the Manitoba border. The hills are the northern most in a series of hills called the Manitoba Escarpment. The Manitoba Escarpment marks the western edge of the pre-historical glacial Lake Agassiz. The other four hills include Porcupine Hills, Duck Mountain, and Riding Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fir River</span> River in Saskatchewan, Canada

Fir River is a river in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The river's source is in the east central part of the province in the heart of the Pasquia Hills, which is one of four landforms that make up the Manitoba Escarpment. It flows in a southward direction until it meets up with the Red Deer River south of the town of Hudson Bay in Hudson Bay Regional Park. The river is in the boreal forest. Fir River is in the Nelson River drainage basin.

Saginas Lake, is a lake in the east-central part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the boreal forest ecozone of Canada. It is located along the course of the Pepaw River and is situated in the Porcupine Hills. It is within Saskatchewan's Porcupine Provincial Forest and a portion of Porcupine Hills Provincial Park is on the eastern shore of the lake. Upstream along the Pepaw River is Pepaw and McBride Lakes–both of which lakes also have recreation sites that are part of Porcupine Hills Provincial Park. The lake and park are accessed from Highway 982, also known as Little Swan Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piwei River</span> River in Saskatchewan, Canada

Piwei River is a river in the east-central part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the boreal forest ecozone of Canada. It begins at the western end of the Porcupine Hills at Piwei Lakes and heads in an easterly direction through a glacier-formed valley and into the Etomami River, which is a tributary of the Red Deer River.

Woody River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The river's source is in the Porcupine Hills and Porcupine Provincial Forest of eastern Saskatchewan. From there it flows south through boreal forest and then east through Boreal Plains in the Parkland Region of Manitoba en route to Swan Lake. The river parallels the Swan River for much of its route as it travels through Swan River Valley between Duck Mountain and Porcupine Hills of the Manitoba Escarpment. Bowsman is the only notable community along the course of Woody River. Several highways cross it, including Saskatchewan's Highway 980, Manitoba's Roads 588, 587, 366, 268, and Manitoba's Highway 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armit River</span> River in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada

Armit River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the Nelson River drainage basin. The river begins in the Porcupine Hills of the Manitoba Escarpment at Armit Lake and flows in a northerly direction closely following the Manitoba / Saskatchewan border and into Red Deer Lake along the course of the Red Deer River.

References

  1. Honer, T.G.; Johnstone, Kenneth (August 1984). "Elihu Stewart and the Beginnings of Dominion Forestry". The Forestry Chronicle. 60 (4): 225–230. doi:10.5558/tfc60225-4 . Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Andrew R. (February 7, 2006). "Resource Rights". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  3. Hudson Bay & District Cultural Society (1982). Valley Echoes: Life Along the Red Deer River Basin. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Inter-Collegiate Press.
  4. Hall, D.J. (February 7, 2006). "Natural Resources Transfer Acts 1930". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  5. "History of Saskatchewan Conservation Officers". Saskatchewan Association of Conservation Officers. Retrieved January 26, 2019.

Coordinates: 52°24′57″N101°56′26″W / 52.41583°N 101.94056°W / 52.41583; -101.94056