Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario)
Encyclopedia
The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 that responsible for Ontario’s provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87 per cent of the province. Its offices are divided into Northwestern, Northeastern and Southern Ontario regions with the main headquarters in Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...

.

The current Ontario Minister of Natural Resources is Michael Gravelle
Michael Gravelle
Michael Gravelle is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is the Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, and also a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the northern riding of Thunder Bay—Superior North for the Ontario Liberal Party.Gravelle was born in Port...

.

The ministry came into existence in 1972 and prior to that similar responsibilities were handled by the former Ontario Department of Lands and Forests.

Organization

MNR is organized into divisions; within each division are branches/regions, sections, and units.
Divisions:
  • Regional Operations Division
  • Provincial Services Division
  • Policy Division
  • Sciences and Information Resources Division
  • Corporate Management Division

Responsibilities

The Ministry is responsible for:
  • Fish & Wildlife Management – sustainably managing Ontario's fish and wildlife resources.
  • Land & Waters Management – leading the management of Ontario's Crown lands, water, oil, gas, salt and aggregates resources, including making Crown land available for renewable energy projects.
  • Forest Management – ensuring the sustainable management of Ontario's Crown forests.
  • Ontario Parks – guiding the management of Ontario's parks and protected areas.
  • Forest Fire, Flood and Drought Protection - protecting people, property and communities from related emergencies.
  • Geographic Information – developing and applying geographic information to help manage the province's natural resources.


The ministry also has responsiblity for the Office of the Mining & Lands Commissioner and the Niagara Escarpment Commission
Niagara Escarpment Commission
The Niagara Escarpment Commission, founded in June 1973 by the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act, is an agency of the Ontario government. Its mission is to "conserve the UNESCO-designated Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve as a continuous natural environment and scenic,...

 agencies.

Ontario Parks

Ontario Parks
Ontario Parks
Ontario Parks is the branch of the Ministry of Natural Resources that administers the provincial parks in Ontario, Canada. The Ontario Parks system covers over 78,000 square kilometres , about 10 percent of the province's surface area or the equivalent of an area approximately equal to Nova Scotia...

 protects significant natural and cultural resources in a system of parks and protected areas.

Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services

The Ministry’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) program coordinates forest fire detection, monitoring, suppression and public information and education services for Ontario. AFFES also provides aviation services for the Ontario government and leads emergency management planning and response for natural hazards such as forest fires, floods, erosion, dam failures, unstable soils and bedrock, droughts and oil and gas emergencies.

The Ministry's entrance into the field of aviation started with hiring Laurentide Air Services to carry out fire patrols however the government soon realized it could save money by carrying out the operations itself and formed the Ontario Provincial Air Service, (O.P.A.S.) in February of 1924 with 13 second hand Curtiss HS-2L flying boats that had been originally built for the US Navy. The OPAS was an early pioneer in the use of aircraft for the discovery and extinguishing of forest fires. Initially this involved carrying warnings of fires back to existing fire patrols, to be extinguished by teams that travelled by canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

 or overland but soon they began landing firefighters (never more than a few at a time due to the limited carrying capacity of the aircraft available) with a hand operated water pump near a fire. As a part of this program the OPAS completely rebuilt damaged aircraft before build a number of aircraft under license to meet their requirements such as the Buhl Air Sedan, and later provided considerable input on the development of the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...

 and de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and highly successful Beaver, but was overall a larger aircraft.-Design and...

 and finally were central to the invention of the water bomber. The first water bomber was an OPAS DHC Beaver with a tank mounted on the float designed to dump the water out quickly. This had followed unsuccessful experiments with bags of water.

Current AFFES Airfleet

  • 9 Bombardier
    Bombardier Aerospace
    Bombardier Aerospace is a division of Bombardier Inc. and is the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada.- History :...

     Canadair CL-215
    Canadair CL-215
    The Canadair CL-215 was the first model in a series of firefighting flying boat amphibious aircraft built by Canadair and later Bombardier. The CL-215 is a twin-engine, high-wing aircraft designed to operate well at low speed and in gust-loading circumstances, as are found over forest fires...

     - firefighting
  • 9 Bombardier
    Bombardier Aerospace
    Bombardier Aerospace is a division of Bombardier Inc. and is the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada.- History :...

     Canadair CL-415
    Canadair CL-415
    The Bombardier 415 is a Canadian amphibious aircraft purpose-built as a water bomber. It is an aircraft designed and built specifically for aerial firefighting and is based on the company's CL-215 flying boat...

     - firefighting
  • 3 Bell 206 L-1 Long Ranger II
  • 3 Eurocopter 350-B2s
  • 2 Beechcraft King Air 300
    Beechcraft Super King Air
    The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...

  • 3 Eurocopter EC 130 B4
    Eurocopter EC 130
    |-See also:-External links:* * *...

  • 6 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
    De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
    The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...

    s - firefighting
  • 5 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Mk III Turbo Beavers
    De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
    The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...

     - firefighting

Retired

  • 4 Buhl CA-6 Air Sedans
    Buhl Aircraft Company
    The Buhl Aircraft Company was founded in 1925 by the Buhl family of Detroit. The family owned the Buhl Stamping Company and the Buhl Building. Buhl manufactured the first aircraft to receive an Approved Type Certificate. Certificate #1 was awarded to Buhl for the Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster in March...

  • 2 Canadian Vickers Vedette
    Canadian Vickers Vedette
    -References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Milberry, Larry. Aviation in Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-07-082778-8.* Molsen, Kenneth M. "The Canadian Vickers Vedette." Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal, October 1964....

     Flying Boats
  • 14 Curtiss HS-2L
    Curtiss HS
    The Curtiss HS was a single-engined patrol flying boat built for the United States Navy during World War I. Large numbers were built from 1917 to 1919, with the type being used to carry out anti-submarine patrols from bases in France from June 1918...

     Flying Boats
  • de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
    De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
    The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...

  • de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
    De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
    The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and highly successful Beaver, but was overall a larger aircraft.-Design and...

  • de Havilland Dove
    De Havilland Dove
    The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British monoplane short-haul airliner from de Havilland, the successor to the biplane de Havilland Dragon Rapide and was one of Britain's most successful post-war civil designs...

     Twin Engine Monoplane
  • de Havilland Fox Moth
    De Havilland Fox Moth
    |-References:NotesBibliography* Hotson, Fred W. The de Havilland Canada Story. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983. ISBN 0-07-549483-3.* Jackson, A. J. British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume II. London: Putnam , 1988. ISBN 0-85177-813-5....

     Cabin Biplane
  • 2 de Havilland Giant Moth Cabin Biplane
  • 17 de Havilland Moth
    De Havilland Moth
    The de Havilland Moths were a series of light aircraft, sports planes and military trainers designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. In the late 1920s and 1930s they were the most common civil aircraft flying in Britain and during that time every light aircraft flying in the UK was commonly referred to...

     (includes DH.60G Gypsy Moth, DH.60M Moth & DH.60X Moth)
  • 4 Fairchild 71
    Fairchild 71
    -Bibliography:* Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.* Milberry, Larry. Aviation In Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-07-082778-8....

     cabin monoplanes
  • Fairchild KR-34
    Fairchild KR-34
    -References:* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft , 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1674...

     (Open cockpit biplane permanently assigned to the Superintendent)
  • Grumman CS2F-1 Tracker
    S-2 Tracker
    The Grumman S-2 Tracker was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare aircraft to enter service with the US Navy. The Tracker was of conventional design with twin engines, a high wing and tricycle undercarriage. The type was exported to a number of navies around the world...

     - firefighting
  • 4 Hamilton Metalplane cabin monoplanes
  • 2 Loening Air Yacht
    Loening Air Yacht
    A number of different aircraft designs were produced by Loening under the name Air Yacht. These include:* the original Air Yacht – the Model 23 operated by the USAAS as the S-1* the C-2 Air Yacht...

     Flying Boats
  • 1 MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 twin engine helicopter
  • 10+ Stinson Reliant
    Stinson Reliant
    The Stinson Reliant was a popular single-engine four to five seat high-wing monoplane manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation of Wayne, Michigan.-Design and development:...

     Cabin monoplane
  • Waco ZQC-6
    Waco ZQC-6
    -See also:...

     Cabin Biplane

Aircraft on display

  • Former MNR de Havilland Beaver, C-FOBS, serial number 2, the first production Beaver manufactured by de Havilland Canada, is on display at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre
    Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre
    Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre , located on the north bank of the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, is dedicated to preserving the history of bush flying and forest protection in Canada...

    , Sault Ste Marie, Ontario
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK