Ganaraska Forest
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Conservation History -
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Dr. R. C. Wallace - (Dichotomies
atomic age
and conservation)
Dr. Robert Charles Wallace
"He showed
a keen insight into the problems facing this and other countries in post-war
days and in his address on "Planning for Canada" laid down important
principles for the better development, in the democratic way, not only of
natural resources but also of the education and culture of the
Canadian people."
MEMORIAL
ROBERT CHARLES
WALLACE
(1881-1955)
J. E. Hawley, Queen's University, Kingston
*
* * * *
Dr. R.C. Wallace was a
Scots-Canadian geologist and
one of Canada's foremost educators
and
highly esteemed university professors
- with
about 20 honorary degrees from
universities
in several countries.
Wallace
moved to
Canada
in 1912 to take a position as the first head of the Department of
Geology and Mineralogy at the University of Manitoba. He became
renowned for his vast knowledge of rocks and minerals in a position he held
for nearly sixteen years.
D. Wallace
also became
the
Commissioner of Mines for Northern Manitoba in 1927
supervising an area of some 178,000 square miles. Much of the credit for the
development of the Flin
Flon deposits went to Wallace for his advice which led to the building of
the railway there.
In 1928, his work entitled
Copper-Zinc
and Gold Mineralization in Manitoba was
published.
During his time in Alberta, Wallace continued
with his passion for field geology and resource prospecting
contributing much to the
science of mineralogy and geology.
He helped unearth the vast and profitable
pitchblende
deposits in the far north region of Alberta.
From 1928 to 1936 he remained at the University of Alberta where his
pioneering spirit made him one of the first to realize the value of the
great pitchblende deposits in the northern part of the province.
ARE WE USING CANADA'S
WEALTH ARIGHT? AN ADDRESS BY
ROBERT C. WALLACE, M.A., Ph.D., D.Sc., LL.D., F.R.S.C. Thursday, March 25, 1943
The
Empire Club of Canada (Toronto, Canada)
In
1941, Dr. Wallace became the President of the Royal Society of Canada.
Wallace
was
also
highly regarded nationally (and internationally) as an extremely effective
and efficient academic administrator including:
-
First
Head of the Geology
and Mineralogy
Dept. - University of Manitoba (1912-1928)
-
President of the University of
Alberta (1928-1936)
-
Principal
and Chancellor of Queens
University,
Kingston, Ontario
(1936–1951)
(the first scientist to ever hold the position)
-
First Canadian member
- Board of Trustees of the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
In 1941, Robert Charles Wallace
was appointed
by Canadian Government in to head up
special sub-committee on the Conservation and Development of Natural Resources in
Canada - which
led to the establishment of Ganaraska Forest.
The Ganaraska
project
took a much broader approach to conservation than the prevailing soil
restoration or reforestation model of the time. The Ganaraska Watershed
report published in 1944 was a survey of
all resources
leading to
multiple purpose
rehabilitation in the watershed.
In essence, it was the first model of a modern day greenbelt plan which
eventually lead to the establishment of the world's largest greenbelt - of
which Ganaraska Forest is part.
In 1945,
along with the Right Hon.
Vincent Massey, Dr. Wallace was
one of only three Canadians chosen to represent Canada at the United Nations
Conference in London for the establishment of
an educational and cultural organization - UNESCO.
From 1951 to 1955,
Dr. Wallace was head
of the Arctic
Institute of North America.
* * * * *
Ganaraska -
the first conservation
model (1942)
By the late 1800's, Southern Ontario was one of the few areas in Canada that was so densely settled and its resources so unwisely exploited that
conditions matched those that inspired the rise of the conservation movement
south of the border.
Appointed by the Federal
Government, Dr. R.C. Wallace influenced the Ganaraska Forest project
during WW 2 which would make a significant impact on conservation
in Canada.
In 1942,the
Ganaraska Watershed was
chosen to demonstrate the benefits of
conservation in Ontario and as an example of conservation study for
all of Canada.
The
103-square mile [265-square kilometres] watershed of the Ganaraska River,
which enters Lake Ontario at Port Hope, was selected for the pilot survey.
During World War II, Dr. Wallace
helped spearhead a new and comprehensive approach to conservation
in Canada. Appointed by the Government of
Canada, in 1942 Dr. Wallace headed up a special sub-committee on the Conservation and
Development of Natural Resources. His experience and advisory work with the
Federal Committee on Reconstruction was well used
in the expanding development of
the natural resources of the country and he was directed to consider and recommend the
policy and programme appropriate to the most effective conservation and
maximum future development of the natural resources in the Dominion of
Canada.
In the Ganaraska
region, Dr. Wallace showed a special sensitivity to good conservation
practices which extended from the northern reaches of the watershed to the
southern edge of the Town of Port Hope where Eldorado Uranium Refinery was
located. Wallace could not ignore the local flooding events and the potential
threat to the world's largest uranium refinery located at the lowest
elevation of the catchment basin. At the same time of the Ganaraska study
(1942), Eldorado was acquired by the Canadian Government and made into a
crown corporation.
Dr. Wallace was one of the few
men knowledgeable in the science of uranium -- a field at the time the field
was still in its infancy.
The unanswered question remains even today - would
the Ganaraska project been selected as the test survey area in middle of a world war abroad - without the Eldorado influence which
was very
much shrouded in secrecy?
For the first conservation
model in Canada, Ontario had to look south of the border in two places, The
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District
in Ohio and the area of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Both areas were
seen as excellent models for the development of watershed
management programs in Canada.
Dr. Wallace spent two
weeks touring the TVA in 1942 and was deeply impressed by how the
federal authority there had taken the responsibility "of bringing
back a large watershed to productive life" and saw in it as a
model for planning and development in Canada.
*
* * * *
"A
Report on the Ganaraska Watershed", 1944
Dr. R.C. Wallace wrote the Introduction of "A
Report on the Ganaraska Watershed", 1944.
Wallace took a much broader approach to conservation
than the prevailing soil restoration or reforestation model of the
time. It was a survey of all resources leading
to multiple purpose rehabilitation -- in essence the first model of a
modern day greenbelt plan.
The Ganaraska Survey
was conducted in the summer of 1942, and the report published in 1943. The
survey resulted in a new comprehensive approach to conservation and covered
extended to soils, climate, vegetation, forestry, plant diseases,
entomology, wildlife, water flow and utilization, and the physical and
economic aspects of agriculture.
The
Ganaraska Watershed (1944)
was grounded in history
because it opened with a chapter on the history of the area compiled by
Historian and local resident, V.B. Blake. The inclusion
of the historical introduction
was considered
controversial at first because history was considered to have little to do
with conservation.
More than any other man,
Dr. Wallace established a very important precedent which ensured the Ganaraska Watershed Report
(and future conservation reports) would be "grounded in
history".
The Ganaraska Report (1943):
Grounded in
History
"The Ganaraska Report opened with a
chapter on the history of the area. It presence was controversial
because history was considered by many technical men to have little
if anything to do with conservation. This report established that
human heritage would be considered a resource from which lessons
would be learned and applied, and that it would be included
in the mandate of conservation authorities...
Although the small Ganaraska watershed was ideally suited for the
survey, it was equally rich in historical interest extending back
150 years. The settlement at the mouth of the Ganaraska River, known
first as Smith's Creek, for a short time as Toronto, and later as
Port Hope, had its beginning in the 1790s, at the same time as
Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe was establishing the Town of York, now
Toronto.
When it was decided to print the Ganaraska report (The
Ganaraska Report (1943),
a meeting was called in Toronto of those responsible for the
promotion of the survey to decide the general format and to discuss
abridgements or additions.
Dr. R.C. Wallace, principal and vice-chancellor of Queen's
University was in the chair.
After some discussion on the
historical section as to its length, contents, and whether or not it
was germane to the survey, Dr. Wallace asked for a show of
hands. A few were in favour of reducing it considerably but the
majority voted that the whole section should be deleted; they
considered history had little relation to the technical aspects of
conservation.
Then, as chairman, Dr. Wallace
took the floor and with diplomacy and tact, said he did not agree;
on the contrary, he said, he considered the section on history
the most interesting in the report. It would, he said, go far to
making the report more acceptable to a wide circle of readers. He
then ruled that the section should be left in and any abridgement be
left to Dr. Marsh and me. With this excellent support from an
eminent educator, it was evident that here was an open sesame to
promote and encourage historical projects in the programmes of the
authorities, if they should be formed..."
Greening Our
Watersheds - Revitalization Strategies 2002 Ch. 5 p.75
Conservation - Chapter 5, 75 (2000)
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
www.trca.on.ca/dotAsset/37526.pdf |
Wallace's view
was that he "considered the section on history the most interesting in the
report. It would he said, go far to making the report more acceptable to a
wide circle of readers".
It
had great educational value and was prepared in
such a way so as to be understood by the general public.
The historical
introduction was especially seen as an important backdrop to the varied technical
recommendations within the report – without which the recommendations could
have been a tough sell to the general public.
"Experience has shown that this fresh
(historical) approach is of great interest to a large section of the
public, and especially to the inhabitants of the region dealt with in
the reports…”
A.H.
Richardson, Conservation Authorities in Southern Ontario Toronto:
Department of Planning and Development, (1953), 17
The
History section of the report was also viewed as:
"the sugar coated pill, which it was
hoped, would stimulate the interest of the reader and entice him to read
the report in full."
A.H.
Richardson, Conservation by the People: The History of the
Conservation Movement in Ontario to 1970, (1974), p. 103
Certainly.
the inclusion of the history section in the Ganaraska report and in subsequent conservation
reports of other watersheds which followed it (authored by V.B. Blake)
was a major contributing factor to the success of the conservation movement
--
first spawned in the Ganaraska watershed.
"Owing to the linkage
between heritage and
conservation, Conservation Authorities
have a significant role
to play in both areas.
Conservation reports are
a goldmine of
information..."
James H. Marsh, Conservation
Chap. 5 p.75
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority,
2000 |
The Ganaraska
report would become the model for future conservation studies:
"While
primarily a study in land use with plans for the rehabilitation of this
particular watershed during the post-war period, the Ganaraska Report
would become the model for future conservation studies throughout the
Province of Ontario."
John
C. Carter, Ontario Conservation Authorities:
Their Heritage Resources
and Museums, Ontario History
/Volume XCIV, No. 1, Spring 2002
* * * * *
Extract
from
ARE WE USING CANADA'S
WEALTH ARIGHT? AN ADDRESS BY
ROBERT C. WALLACE, M.A., Ph.D., D.Sc., LL.D., F.R.S.C. Thursday, March 25, 1943
The
Empire Club of Canada (Toronto, Canada)
Introduction of Guest Speaker:
"Robert
Charles Wallace was born on the "Mainland" Island of the Orkney group and,
after being soundly tutored in the old classical tradition, went on to
Edinburgh University, where he specialized in the sciences and graduated
with distinction in Geology and Mathematics, collecting on the way out an
1857 Exhibition Scholarship which took him to Gottingen, Germany, where he
gathered in the Ph.D. degree.
In
1910 he came to Canada to head up the newly created Department of Geology at
the University of Manitoba, where, for the next eighteen years he served
well his university and found time, at the request of the Province, to act
as Commissioner of Northern Manitoba, in which office he was charged with
the especial duty of examining into and reporting upon the economic
possibilities of the country. By canoe and afoot, with pack and tump-line,
he explored the vast district north of "The 53rd", living on beans and
bacon, mingling with the pioneer settlers and the prospectors, and gaining
such well-informed knowledge of the land and its wealth of natural
resources, that, when he returned to Winnipeg and made his report,
imagination was stirred and capital immediately started flowing into the
territory.
He
became Commissioner of Mines in 1927 but the following year, on a call from
the University of Alberta, he returned to more strictly academic work,
becoming President of that seat of learning.
From 1928 to 1936 he remained at the University of Alberta where his
pioneering spirit made him one of the first to realize the value of the
great pitchblende deposits in the northern part of the province and one of
the first to suggest the development of the now widely known tar deposits
about Fort McMurray.
Dr. Wallace (Guest Speaker) :
"...
Fifty per cent of the land area of our provinces of
Canada is under forest. Some little time ago the Province of Ontario, in
association with the Dominion Government, made a study of a small area of
the Ganaraska River Watershed. The river
flows through Port Hope into Lake Ontario, and the area was a white pine
area and a very valuable one. Now in its upper reaches, in the sandy moraine
high up in the headwaters, it has been devastated by spring freshets. The
sand is moving and covering over territory which had been
transformed into agricultural land after
the forests were logged. The whole picture is a very sad one indeed. The
loss of agricultural soil through the devastation of a country which should
have remained as forest is a picture that can be duplicated in your own
experience in very many parts of all the provinces in Canada.
That survey was made in order to find out what the technique would be, what
the type of men would be that would be needed, how they should be trained,
what construction work should be established in order that territory such as
this, taken as a type, might come back again into the best use to which it
can be put. Part of it will be in reforestation, part of it will be in
stabilizing the land by the right kind of crop, part in contour ploughing.
This will give some kind of criterion which can be used for a great number
of areas in Canada.
We cannot blame our forefathers. I have read into the history of that area.
It was an amazing story of initiative in the building of community life in
those early days. They did not see the picture, naturally, as we see it now.
They had not the knowledge we have now, and there is no blame attached to
them. We are facing now a practical situation where if we do not act, more
and more of our valuable land will be useless and less and less of the land
that can supply good forest material will not be available for the purpose
for which it should be used.
Fortunately, there are farmers who are already busy planting white pine and
Scotch fir in those areas. They are being assisted in part by the Government
in doing so. The programme is a large one and of great importance and will
undoubtedly employ, if correctly and soundly administered a great number of
men very profitably."
* * * * *
Throughout
his life, R.C. Wallace seemed to occupy the middle ground -- between science and his
deep religious faith:
“What
does matter is that the human mind is not confined to the things that today are and tomorrow are gone.
What does matter is that the sense of the eternal informs
our doing and our thinking, that the horizon does not
limit our vision, that our mind’s eye can pierce beyond the things
of sense into the infinity of time and of space, that we rest in
the assurance that underneath are the everlasting arms.”
R.
C. Wallace, 1955 “As I look back-some random thoughts”.
Queen’s Quarterly, Vol. 61, pp. 490-7
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"Wallace's Walk" in the Ganaraska Forest area would be a fitting reminder of
the man and his legacy.
Rev. 2016
M. Martin
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