Federal Woodlands Preservation League
Encyclopedia
| Type | Volunteer |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Headquarters | Ottawa Ottawa Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario... , 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.... , Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
| Membership | Individuals |
| Field | Environmental advocacy Environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements... |
| Number of Members | |
| Key Personnel | First President: Harry Baldwin First patrons: R.B. Bennett, William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948... |
| Website | none |
Created by group of citizens worried about the massive logging near Meech Lake
Meech Lake
Meech Lake is located within Gatineau Park in the Municipality of Chelsea, Quebec, Canada . The lake was named after Reverend Asa Meech, an early settler in this area....
and Kingsmere, the Federal Woodlands Preservation League began urging the Canadian Federal Government
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
in 1934 to take action on preserving the Gatineau Hills' woodlands. It is credited with creating Gatineau Park
Gatineau Park
Gatineau Park is a park located in the National Capital Region, in Quebec's Outaouais region, just north of Ottawa, Ontario. Administered by the National Capital Commission, the park is a 361 km² wedge of land to the west of the Gatineau River...
.
History
The Mackenzie King diaries provide insight into how the League was created. On September 20, 1933, King met with his private secretary Harry Baldwin to discuss the issue. "We talked of starting a 'Society to preserve the Natural Beauty of the environs of Ottawa' -- that is the title I gave it," wrote King in his diary.At the League's first meeting on May 8, 1935 at Ottawa's Chateau Laurier
Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a landmark hotel in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive designed in the Châteauesque style.-History:...
, prime minister R.B. Bennett and opposition leader Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
were appointed as its patrons. Its first president was Harry Baldwin.
The list of its patrons and members includes many notable citizens of the day. While it operated between 1934 and 1947, members of the league included, Governors General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Bessborough
Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough
Captain Vere Brabazon Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough was a British businessman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 14th since Canadian Confederation....
, Tweedsmuir
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation....
and Athlone
Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone
Major-General Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone , was a close relative of the shared British and Canadian royal family, as well as a British military commander and major-general who served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, the...
, Sir Robert Borden, Arthur Meighen
Arthur Meighen
Arthur Meighen, PC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served two terms as the ninth Prime Minister of Canada: from July 10, 1920 to December 29, 1921; and from June 29 to September 25, 1926. He was the first Prime Minister born after Confederation, and the only one to represent a riding...
, R.B. Bennett, Mackenzie King, Harry Baldwin, Percy Sparks
Percy Sparks
Roderick Percy Sparks was a Canadian manufacturer and environmentalist. He is widely credited with being the Father of Gatineau Park.Born on March 7, 1880 in Ottawa, Canada, Sparks was the great grandnephew of Ottawa pioneer Nicholas Sparks...
, Duncan MacTavish, Ernest Lapointe
Ernest Lapointe
Ernest Lapointe, PC was a Canadian lawyer and politician.-Education, early career:Lapointe earned his law degree from Laval University...
and Ambrose O’Brien. As well, its membership included Colonel J.T.C. Thompson, W.D. Herridge
William Duncan Herridge
William Duncan Herridge, PC, KC, MC, DSO was a Canadian politician and diplomat.He was the son of Reverend William T...
, Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron Macpherson Edwards and Charles Bowman.
The Lower Gatineau Woodlands Survey
On April 3, 1935, the chairman of the League's research committee, Percy Sparks, urged Interior Minister T.G. Murphy to commission a study of the Gatineau HillsGatineau Hills
The Gatineau Hills are a geological formation in Canada that makes up part of the southern tip of the Canadian Shield, and acts as the northern shoulder of the Ottawa Valley...
' woodlands.
The resulting report, the Lower Gatineau Woodlands Survey, described the “effects of wood cutting operations and of fires on the aesthetic value of the forests” in the lower Gatineau valley
Gatineau River
The Gatineau River is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec...
and recommended remedial measures. The Survey drew up a history of forest fires and logging activities throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, examined the excessive logging caused by the depression, and dealt with other questions such as land ownership, timber growth rates, yield per acre, etc. It concluded that nearly 40 percent of the area surveyed had been “completely or partially cut” in the previous 20 years.
The Survey outlined eight options to control excessive cutting in the area, including public education, land purchase and the creation of a national park. Of the alternatives discussed, the report recommended gradual land purchase. This would allow the government to acquire the most important areas and purchase additional land as funds and time allowed. The national park method was downplayed, because the size of the area studied – about 16000 acres (64.7 km²) – was too small and it was felt the scheme would be too expensive and complicated in the short term.
Although the Survey was published in late 1935, the government didn’t start purchasing land until 1938. Two factors explain this delay: first, a new government was elected in late 1935, with Mackenzie King’s Liberals defeating the Bennett Conservatives; second, King seemed very hesitant and cautious in this regard, since he’d been wrongly accused in 1927 of wanting to build a national parkway to ease access to his summer residence at Kingsmere. Moreover, King’s journal entry of December 20, 1937 indicates that he continued to fear criticism in this regard and needed prodding to take action. The entry relates a conversation King had with Finance Minister Charles Dunning concerning the creation of a national park in the Gatineau Hills:
On October 9, 1937, Sparks was elected president of the Federal Woodlands Preservation League to replace Harry Baldwin. And, on December 13, 1937, Sparks sent a memorandum to King’s office concerning the League's recent activities. The memorandum proposed an action plan for creating Gatineau Park, including the number of acres to be acquired and their cost, as well as public information and funding plans. It also informed Prime Minister King that Sparks would be giving a speech on this issue at the Chateau Laurier on January 18, 1938.
Land purchases begin
As a result of League efforts, land purchases for Gatineau Park began in 1938. By 1941, 14553 acres (58.9 km²) had been acquired. However, the war put a stop to land acquisitions and to League activities. Following the war, in 1945, the League resumed its activities by pressing the government to continue expanding and developing the park. Though it had been created in 1938, the park remained without shape or direction. To solve the problem, Sparks wrote what is in essence the first Gatineau Park master plan: the Memorandum on the Enlargement and Development of the Gatineau Park, submitted to the Federal District Commission on October 9, 1945. The document recommended that the park’s size be increased to at least 50000 acres (202.3 km²), provided a funding scheme for the purchase of land, and recommended the building of a parkway and recreational facilities.Advisory Committee on Gatineau Park
The League dissolved in 1947, when its more prominent members were appointed to the Federal District Commission's Advisory Committee on Gatineau Park.Former League President Percy Sparks was unanimously elected chairman of the Advisory Committee at its first meeting in 1947. He continued to make significant contributions to park planning by writing the 1949 Report of the Advisory Committee on the Gatineau Park, and the 1952 Report on the Master Plan for the Development of Gatineau Park. The latter document highlighted significant divisions among committee members over the issue of private property in the park.