Eagle Lake Coalition continues efforts to protect peninsula

Thunder Bay field naturalists Mike (left) and Susan Bryan were joined by local Farabout Coalition members Joanne Bridgwater (second from right) and Carolle Eady (right) to help catalogue plant and bird species on the peninsula.

Eagle Lake residents opposed to forestry on the Farabout Peninsula haven’t let up on their goal of preserving the 1,000 hectare landmass as a conservation area.

Lakeshore residents from the Townline Rd. area near Eagle River formed the coalition in 2008 after learning of a proposed plan to build a road across the narrow isthmus connecting the peninsula to the mainland and harvest timber.

After succeeding in having the harvesting plans taken out of the current Ministry of Natural Resources Forest Management Plan, the group has been hard at work building a case for a higher level of protection for the land which dominates the center of Eagle Lake.

Most notably, those efforts involved a collaboration with Thunder Bay-based field naturalists Susan and Mike Bryan, who in 2009, made four trips into the isolated peninsula to perform an ecological assessment of the area.

Their efforts to catalog rare plant and bird species were assisted by locals and resulted in a 48 page life science inventory that documents the presence of provincially and regionally rare plant species (ie: yellow ladyslippers,  white adder’s mouth and hooker’s orchids.

“It’s a databank so that people in general and the MNR understand what’s out there,” said the coalition’s Dale Mackenzie

Rare in these parts, a yellow variety of ladyslipper orchid can be found on Farabout Peninsula

The group were surprised plants ranging from prairie species like bur oak and prairie onion to ancient stands of old growth black ash and white cedar that escaped fire and logging that previously occurred on the peninsula in the 1930s.

Darlene Salter says that the Bryan’s investigation into the Farabout Peninsula yielded knowledge of a fascinating diversity of species sharing common ground.

“They (Sue and Mike Bryan) recognized it as a very special place, something they believe is pretty unique, that they don’t see even in the Thunder Bay area,” said Salter. “The inventory makes it clear that this is an area that’s got species from the prairies, alpine, or arctic species and, of course, boreal.”

The area was found to have a strong breeding population of Canada Warblers, a threatened species and considered by the province to be a species of special concern.

Eagles are a common sight and many nests have been documented along many kilometers of shoreline, including the isthmus. Even American pelicans, more common to the Lake of The Woods area, are a common sight for nearby residents.

The Farabout Coalition of Eagle Lake recently received a grant from Bird Studies Canada’s James L. Bailie Fund to help group members recoup costs from their volunteer-driven conservation efforts.

Salter says she believes Farabout Peninsula should have been included in the provincial government’s 1999 designation of The Eagle Lake Islands Conservation Reserve, but wasn’t included because of privately held land on the peninsula.

“Farabout was missed and should have been included,” said Salter. “It’s virtually an island and it’s wilderness — no roads or buildings. It certainly wouldn’t have set a precedent by having patent land within a park, there are many incidences of that.”

- Chris Marchand

A new forest fire engine was delivered to the Thunder Bay Fire Management Headquarters on May 19 as a new tool to fight road accessible forest fires in the region.
The brand-new engine, manufactured by Holland Enterprises in Kakabeka Falls is designed to carry a fire ranger crew, 1,000 gallons of water and all of the specialized firefighting equipment required to fight forest fires.
Fire ranger crews have been using trucks to deliver water to forest firefighters for more than 30 years but the development of a fire engine designed specifically for forest fires in Ontario is something new.
Holland has been retrofitting older truck chassis into engines for the MNR fire program for more than 15 years. This was their first opportunity to build a brand new engine body on a new truck chassis for the MNR.
There were 15 new forest fires in the West Fire Region between May 18 and 19. Dryden District has two active fires, Dryden 13 and Dryden 17. Dryden 13, located at the Ignace landfill site is listed as under control at 0.2 hectares in size.
Dryden 17, located 30 km west of Ignace is classed as being held at 1.7 hectares in size and no problems are anticipated.
Red Lake District has three active fires, Red Lakes fires 25, 26 and 27. Red Lake fire 25 located about 30 km southeast of Red Lake is a lightning-caused fire classed as not under control at 50 hectares in size.
Fire rangers made good progress on the fire on May 19 and although there are values in the vicinity of the fire, none are immediately threatened.
Red Lake fire 26, located about 110 km east of Red Lake, is classed as not under control at 340 hectares in size. Some cut wood values were lost and a value in the area is being protected by sprinkler systems. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Red Lake fire 27, located about 30 km north of Red Lake is classed as being held at one hectare in size and was a lightning caused fire.
Sioux Lookout District also has three fires, Sioux Lookout fires 36, 37 and 38. Sioux Lookout fire 36, located 65 km east of Ear Falls is classed as not under control at 10 hectares in size. The fire is burning in heavy storm damaged forest and progress is slow.
Sioux Lookout fire 37, located at the community of Weagamow Lake was responded to by the community fire officer, locals and an MNR fire ranger crew. It is classed as being held at 0.6 hectares in size.
Sioux Lookout fire 38, located at the community of Mishkeegogamang required air attack on May 19 and a commitment of three fire ranger crews. The fire is classed as not under control at four hectares.
Storm activity in the region is bringing rain but also lightning activity which is expected to result in lightning-caused fires in the coming days.
Four fires were declared out on May 24.

With the forestry industry going through some potential changes right now, there is some confusion as to the future of wood rights for existing operations.  The changes include the tenure and pricing of wood supplies, which will affect how forest product companies gain access to and pay for Ontario’s crown timber.

The current model has remained the same for many years, and the government feels it’s time to make some adjustments.  Currently, the large wood product companies hold licences over the large forest areas and pay prices set by the province.  This makes it very difficult for new companies to buy in to the forestry market.

There are companies out there who are just starting up, and there is no shortage of wood available.  The unfortunate part, is that the existing licences are still in place with bigger companies, even if they are no longer logging in the area.

Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Minister Michael Gravelle has released a document to help the public understand the proposed outline of the changes.  The document focuses on three key areas of focus.

1. Maintaining a healthy and productive forest-the basis of a vibrant and competitive industry.

2. Modernizing licensing and allocation, thus encouraging more open access to fibre and greater sector investment.

3. Improving the pricing system so that forest resources are valued with a greater reliance on market forces and provide a fair return for all Ontarians.

The main change in the framework would be to establish Local Forest Management Corporations (LFMC).  The LFMC’s would each be run by a board of directors, who would be issued a Sustainable Forest Licence (SFL) over a defined management area.

The obligations of these of the LFMC would be the development of forest management plans and their implementation, the marketing and selling of available Crown timber to the forest sector under open, competitive market conditions.  Appropriate mechanisms could include tendered sales or short/long term negotiated sales on the stump or as logs at the roadside or mill gate.

To help answer some questions and concerns, and to discuss the proposed forest tenure and pricing framework, the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry is hosting a public meeting in Dryden on Thursday, May 20th from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at the Dryden Regional Training and Cultural Centre.

The discussions will be facilitated roundtable sessions with local MNDMF and MNR staff on hand to help answer questions.

If you need more information, or to read a copy of the Proposed Framework document, you can go online to www.ontarioforesttenure.ca or call 705-856-4748.

- Ally Dunham

Area Biologist Evan Armstrong checks a temperature monitoring instrument.

When you’re out on the lake this summer, be on the lookout for red rectangular boxes floating on the water’s surface.  The Ministry of Natural Resources are doing some testing to record lake temperatures in 22 lakes in the region including Dryden, Fort Frances, Red Lake and Thunder Bay districts.

The lakes being tested in the Dryden district include Indian Lake and Little Sandbar Lake, north of Ignace.

The devices are being placed in the water in now, as the ice is alread out, and will be collected again in the fall, before freeze up.  There are small electronic sensors connected to the red floating pieces, while anchored in the deepest parts of the lake.

The purpose of these devices is to measure the lake temperatures every hour, and study how the water temperature fluctuations can affect fish feeding behavior, habitat, productivity and even the survival of the given species.  Some species being tested are walleye, lake trout and brook trout.

Brian Jackson, the area biologist from the Atikokan MNR office, explains that the temperature monitoring program is part of a provincial broadscale program.

“This is a fisheries monitoring program that assesses populations in the lakes on a five year cycle,” states Jackson.

MNR personnel are looking to find out how thick the layers are beneath the surface of the water.  The walleye tend to live in the upper warmer layer, while the trout inhabit the lower, colder areas.

There is a section beneath the two layers called a thermocline.  The goal of the MNR is to find out how the changes in the thermocline’s depth, location, and speed affect the fish populations and the size of the habitats available to them.

“We can see if there’s changes in growth rate or population sizes that might be related to the changes we’re seeing in the temperature”, says Jackson.

Lake sizes being test vary from 65 hectares up to 13,000 hectares and clarity of lakes is ranging from stained (brown murky) lakes to very clear lakes.  This way, the MNR can determine how the physical factors of the lake can affect how temperatures might change the thermocline.

The MNR is advising boaters not to touch or damage the rectangular devices, as they could alter the results in the monitoring.

- Ally Dunham

At noon today, Friday, April 30th, the Restricted Fire Zone across NWO was lifted.  Campfires for cooking and warmth are now allowed in this area.

On Friday, April 23, the Restricted Fire Zone was ordered due to the extreme fire hazard and unusually dry spring conditions which resulted in increased forest fire activity.  The restrictions are no longer required as the fire hazard has eased due to the precipitation across the region.

To report a forest fire, call the new, toll-free emergency forest fire phone number across northern Ontario.

310-FIRE (3473)