Accession G-2020-005 - Canada. Northwest Lands and Forest Service.

In 1946, the Forest and Wildlife Division of the Northwest Territories was created by the Department of Mines and Resources with the responsibility of providing some protection for renewable resources and creating comprehensive management plans. Fire protection was one of the pillars of accomplishing these aims. The Division was headquartered in Fort Smith and fire protection efforts centred on that region, with services expanded to other areas gradually. A forest protection ordinance was enacted in 1951 and in 1959, the fire protection section was named the Mackenzie Forest Service (MFS).

Responsibility for the Forest and Wildlife division and later MFS changed hands from the Department of Mines and Resources to the Department of Resources and Development in 1950, the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources in 1953, and finally the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (in the Northern Affairs Program) in 1966.

In 1972, following a disastrous 1971 fire season, the Mackenzie Forest Service was reorganized and renamed the Northwest Lands and Forest Service (NLFS). It was placed under the direction of a regional superintendent and focused on resource management activities, including land use enforcement, land administration, timber management, water quality control, and fire management. A new fire protection policy was created and implemented in 1973.

After another disastrous fire season in 1979, a Ministerial Fire Review panel was appointed, holding meetings in the western NWT and coordinating research projects. They presented their report in the spring of 1980, which featured 96 recommendations. A new fire management policy was announced in 1980-81 and implemented in 1983 to improve fire-fighting procedures and increase community involvement, including the creation of a Fire Management Program Committee. Also in the 1980s, the regional office in Fort Smith became known as the Territorial Forest Fire Centre.

Devolution of the forestry and fire programs from the federal Government to the Territorial government, specifically the Department of Renewable Resources, began in 1985 and was put into effect on April 1, 1987.