A preliminary investigation and assessment of the existing licensed natural wild rice stands in the Timmins area of Ontario (1980)
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Date
1989
Authors
Cesiunas, Grazina T.
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Abstract
The presence of wild rice (Zizania palustris var. palustris L.) in the Timmins District has been documented by local residents since 1930; efforts to extract this crop for commercial purposes have only been implemented since 1977.
In the past, local residents have valued this crop as a waterfowl attractant rather than an economically viable food crop. Consequently, waterbodies allocated by the Ministry of Natural Resources for the commercial harvest of rice, have been dispensed to outsiders rather than local residents. Annual harvest figures range from 23.0 - 7990.0 kg; thus the Timmins District accounts for 33-100% of wild rice production in the northern administrative region. Harvested rice is shipped to northwestern Ontario and Manitoba for processing after which it is transported to the U.S. for packaging. Today, local residents value this crop as a waterfowl attractant; few, if any, efforts were made to increase the crop yield for commercial purposes even though suitable areas for its development exist.
Since the beginning of harvest operations in the Timmins District, harvest activities have been frequently curtailed because of land-use conflicts between the harvester and local residents: cottagers claim harvesters are noisy and decrease the aesthetic appearance of the cottage sites, waterfowl hunters claim the harvesters are responsible for decreasing the waterfowl population during the hunting season.
This report proposes that wild rice operations in the Timmins district can be expanded as an economically feasible venture. However, increased public awareness of wild rice harvest operations as well as increased local acceptance and participation is mandatory for such an operation to be a success. A sound management plan is imperative to the development and implementation of a wild rice program.
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Wild rice