From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Ministry of Natural Resources fire watch sign at Dryden, Ontario

The Ministry of Natural Resources is a government agency of the Canadian province of Ontario that is responsible for managing and protecting its natural resources.

The current Minister of Natural Resources is the Donna Cansfield.

MNR is responsible for managing the natural resources of Ontario: animals, plants, aquatic species, etc. A few examples of MNR's responsibilities include: running and maintaining provincial parks, issuing hunting and fishing licenses, enforcing hunting and fishing rules, forest fire management/suppression, and monitoring of endangered species. It also maintains databases (eg: Area of Natural and Scientific Interest) and spatial information as management and planning tools.

The MNR has equipment to deal with forest fires in Ontario. From time to time the MNR lends out their aircraft to other jurisdictions dealing with forest fires.

• 9 Bombardier Canadair CL-415 - firefighting
• 4 Bell 206 L-1 Long Ranger II
• 4 Eurocopter 350-B2s
• de Havilland Twin Otters - firefighting
• 2 Beachcraft King Air 350

• 14 HS-2L Flying Boats
• de Havilland Moth
• Vickers Vedette
• 4 Hamilton mono seaplanes
• 4 Fairchild 71 cabin monoplanes
• Fairchild KR-34
• 4 Buhl CA-6 Air Sedans
• Stinson Reliant
• Beechcraft Dove
• CS2F-1 Grumman Tracker - firefighting
• 9 Bombardier Canadair CL-215 - firefighting
• 1 BK-117 twin engine helicopter
• 4 de Havilland Turbo Beavers - firefighting

MNR is organized into divisions; within each division are sections, branches, and units. As of Apr 2006, the organization is::

• Field Services Division
  • Aboriginal Affairs Unit
  • Aviation and Forest Fire Management Unit
  • Enforcement Unit
• Forests Division
  • Forest Management Branch
  • Industry Relations Branch
• Natural Resources Management
  • Fish and Wildlife Branch
  • Lands and Waters Branch
  • Ontario Parks
• Science and Information Resources Division
  • Applied Research and Development Branch
  • Geographic Information Branch
  • Science and Information Branch]
• Corporate Management Division
  • Finance and Business Services Branch
  • Human Resources Branch
  • Policy and Planning Coordination Branch

MNR Canadair CL-215 air tanker and Cessna 337 contract fire detection aircraft in Dryden, Ontario 1995	MNR CL-215 and Cessna 310 birddog aircraft in Kenora, Ontario 1995	A Bell 205A-1 on contract firefighting duty with Ministry of Natural Resources parked on the MNR's lower helipad at Nym Lake, ON, 1996	A contract Bell 205A-1 with its MNR helitack firefighting crew on standby at Sioux Lookout, Ontario, 1995
MNR contracts a variety of aircraft for fire fighting each year, such as this S-58T ready to deploy to a project fire, Dryden, Ontario, 1995	An MNR contract firefighting aircraft at work: a S-58T with bambi water bucket, near Dryden, Ontario, 1995	Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources deHavilland DHC 2 Mk 3 Turbo Beavers on amphib floats in Dryden ON in 1995	Bell 205A-1 and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources firefighters working on Fire 141 in 1995
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources firefighters prepare to deploy on an arriving contract Bell 204B on Fire 141 in 1995

• Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website