NATURE

NORTHWEST

JU L I 1989

Volume 43 (1) February, 1989

SPECIAL SIBLEY ISSUE Sibley - a very special place

Where Goeth Parks?

Sibley Development: • the proposals & the public • environment be damned • money, money, money

A Long History - briefly

Sibley: a tale of two fishes

Reflections on Sibley

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Volume 43, Number 1 February, 1989

WHY SIBLEY? ....................................................................................................... 1

A VERY SPECIAL PLACE ................................................................................ 2

SIBLEY -A LONG HISTORY - BRIER. Y .............................................. 5

WHERE GOEfH PARKS? .............................................................................. 8

MNR'S PROPOSALS - WHAT DID THE PUBLIC THINK? ........ 9

DAMN THE ENVIRONMENT - FULL DEVELOPMENT! ........... 12

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY .......................................................................... 14

SPECIALLY FOR KIDS .................................................................................. 15

WHATS TO BE DONE? ................................................................................ 22

AT ALE OF TWO FISHES .............................................................................. 23

FROM 1HE EYRIE .......................................................................................... 26

R...YWAYS ........................................................................................................... 29

NOR11-IWEST NEWS .................................................................................... 16

Each volume of NATURE NORTHWEST (ISSN 0836-4702) consists of four issues published in February, May, September and November.

We. ~elcome unsolicited material for possible publication. Material accepted is subject to editing and rev1s10n.

NATURE NORTHWEST is intended to be informative and thought provoking. Therefore, views csprcssed in NATURE NORTHWEST are not necessarily those of the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists' Club.

NATURE NORTHWEST PRODUCTION TEAM

Co-editors Artist Children's Editor Assistant Editors

Computerized Membership Records

Bill Addison and Mike Bryan Hope Bryan Jean Hall-Armstrong Wendy; Michelle, and Kirsten Addison; Bruce Petersen, Creg l3rumpton David Bates

WHY SIBLEY?

Why, you ask, are we publishing a special issue of Nature Northwest on Sibley, a.k.a. Sleeping Giant Provincial Park? As Shan Walshe notes, Sibley is perhaps the most varied and interesting park in all Ontario. At the best of times this treasure would be worthy of a special issue, but these are not the best of times for Sibley. And that is what has brought about this, our first special issue.

With the release of the revised Management Plan for Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) outlines how it will "develop" the park. The MNR proposes major developments like roads, a tourism lodge-seminar centre, a marina, hydro and telephone lines,and horse trails; all without any commitment to a formal environmental assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act of the impact of these d evelopments. Given this Ministry's record both inside and outside parks, such hasty, ill-studied proposals should, by themselves, have all alarm bells ringing at full volume. But there are other reasons for concern.

The stimulation of the tourism industry, and thus the economy, is the raison d 'etre for these plans. The only trouble is, your tax dollars will pay for most of this - yes, even the private lodge. MNR studies propose outright grants to private owners for the lodge construction, interest subsidies of about 10 percent on loans, forgiveness of normal business taxes, subsidized hydro lines, and road construction. The capital cost of all this is millions, with more millions in annual subsidies. Sounds suspi­

ciously like another lodge doesn' t it -

Minaki, that ended up costing us tens of millions? Not only is there an environ­mental boondoggle then, but an economic one also.

There might be some justification for all this if a study showed that Sibley was the only possible place for these developments. In fact no such study was ever done. MNR simply said that Sibley was where these developments would occur even though the developments are economically and envi­ronmentally unsound.

It also doesn't matter what the public thinks of all this. MNR conducted two sets of open houses to receive public comment. That input, as you will see, was overwhelmingly against MNR's commercial proposals. Yet, MNR went ahead with the proposals. Why does MNR even bother with open houses?

As editors, we think that the facts of this pathetic tale and d amaging plan need to be known. To that end we had to educate ourselves first. We have plowed through over 500 pages of government documents and talked to and questioned MNR, Ontario Hydro and Ministry of Tra nspo'rta ti on employees. This issue contains the gist of this effort. The picture is no t pretty.

But Sibley is! And the glory that is Sibley needs to be better known. That is the joy in this issue. We hope that you also find much to celebrate in Sibley- and much that you will want to protect from MNR's ill-con­ceived plans.

Thus this issue on Sibley is about the good and the bad and the ugly.

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A VERY SPECIAL PLACE

by Shau Walshe

Of all the wild areas I've visited in Ontario, Sibley Park remains my favourite. Nowhere else have I seen so many outstanding natural attractions packed into such a tiny refuge of unspoiled nature.

The name "Sibley" evokes in me a far-away look and conjures up visions of the spectacular Sleeping Giant, the wild, lonely shoreline of Lake Superior, narrow, winding roads and enticing hiking trails, an abundance of wild animals and birds of every description and a remarkable diversity of vegetation reminiscent only of the Bruce Peninsula. Most of all, though, I cherish Sibley's changelessness, which allows it to remain a haven from the chaos and materialism of our modern world.

The park's outstanding landmark, and the source of many Ojibway legends, the Sleeping Giant looms mysterious over the rest of the Sibley Peninsula. That the Giant is remote and inaccessible by road only enhances its wilderness charm.

A nine-hour (return) hike to the Giant's knees and up the "Chimney" to the 1,000 foot-high summit affords a breathtaking view of Lake Superior, Isle Royale, and Silver Islet. A short walk across the mesa to the Thunder Bay side brings the visitor to the brink of a canyon more awesome than Ouimet.

Another nine-hour hike along a fern-

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bordered mountain brook to the chest of the Giant culminates in a spectacular view of the west side of the Sibley Peninsula from the Nanabijou Lookout.

The harsh, cold microclimate on the wind­swept summit is home to several arctic­alpine and prairie disjunct plants. At the Giant's knees, near the "Chimney", are found locoweed, alpine vetch, alpine arnica, encrusted saxifrage, three-too thed saxifrage, small-flowered pussy toes, and Draba nemorosa, an arctic member of the mustard family. On the top of the head of the Giant grows the prairie shrub, silverberry, and alpine milk vetch.

The sheltered slopes of the Giant, especially those facing south, have a hotter-than­normal microclimate. Here are found several southern plant species not nom1ally found so far north. These include poison ivy, false Solomon's seal, round-leaved dogwood, snowberry, and purple clematis.

In addition to its distinctive plant communities, and, of course its shape, the Sleeping Giant has one other quality which sets it apart from other mesa formations in the Thunder Bay area - its setting. The Giant lies at the tip of the peninsula, surrounded by the great inland sea of Superior. It is the lake, even more than the Giant, which shapes life here. Sibley is blessed with many miles of undeveloped shoreline on Superior. Cobble and sand beaches,

Purple Butterwort

towering cliffs, and shelves of bedrock, often buffeted by angry waves, impart an unforgettable feeling of timelessness, beauty, and wildness.

The cold microclimate created by the proximity of Lake Superior explains the presence of the arctic-alpine plant communities found on horizontal bedrock shelves along the shore. As the majority of the shoreline is composed of cobble and sand beaches and vertical cliffs, good examples of the arctic alpine communities are quite scarce.

The best example occurs on the stretch of shoreline between Middlebrun Island and Middlebrun Point, at the southwest entrance to Finlay Bay. Early in the season the bedrock is covered with masses of pink birds'-eye primrose and purple butterwort. Other arctic species found here are alpine vetch, encrusted saxifrage, alpine bistort, pcarlwort, and alpine woodsia. Great clumps of harebell (bluebells of Scotland) also festoon the bedrock crevices. Behind

the shore is another unusual community of buffaloberry, ninebark, and abundant orange wood lilies.

Cold sphagnum bogs are even colder close to the shore of Lake Superior. The cold microclimate combined with calcareous soil conditions (caused by underlying limestone) has produced an excellent diversity of bog plants, many of them of arctic origin.

Middlebrun Bay Bog, Fork Bay Bog, and Grassy Lake Bog are excellent examples. The two rarest orchids found here are bog adder's mouth (Malaxis paludosa) and the striped variety of the small round-leaved orchid (Orchis rotundifolia var. Linea ta) (Fork Bay). Other interesting bog plants are black arctic raspberry, yellow lady slipper, dwarf birch, pitcher plant, bog candle orchid, grass-of-Parnassus, and hooded ladies' tresses orchid. Even Scottish heather is found in one bog!

Sibley's varied microclimates and calcareous soils are also responsible for the presence of

Wood Lily

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several other locally unusual plants -northern Indian paintbrush, rock-brake ( Cryptogramma stelleri), bulblet-bearing bladder fern, Braun's holly fem, giant rattlesnake plantain orchid, and white mandarin.

Excellent examples of old-growth mixed forest are also found here, another tribute to the magic of humid climate and lime-rich soils. White and red pine, white spruce, and white cedar grow to exceptional size, some of the 120 cm (4 feet) diameter cedars being possibly a thousand years old.

Spruce bud worm, windstorms, beaver activity, and animal browsing help maintain the diversity of the forest. The clearings thus created are essential for wildlife. Other factors also contribute to the abundance of animals in the park. Sedimentary bedrock, lime-rich soil, the presence of natural "salt licks", the climate-moderating influence of Lake Superior, and the prohibition of hunting and trapping all play a part. Fox, deer, porcupines, bear,skunk, beaver and otter are readily sighted. Moose, wolves, and pine marten are occasionally seen. Sibley may be the best park in Ontario in which to view wildlife. (In 1988, many visitors made such a remark!)

A sometimes overlooked factor in providing "viewing oppor­

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tunities" is Sibley's

roads.

Many visitors cherish the more than 50 kilometers (30 miles) of narrow, winding byways which are a refreshing change from the straight, boring highways urban folk are accustomed to. (Aren't parks supposed to be different from the world outside?)

Some years ago, when the picturesque Sibley Creek bridge on Highway 587 was replaced by a galvanized culvert and the S­curve was straightened, many Silver Islet residents and Sibley campers were outraged!

The narrow, winding roads, in addition to being scenic, are also a natural deterrent to driving at excessive speeds, thus protecting the foxes, deer, porcupines, bears, and moose whose mortality rates would soar if traffic moved any faster. In a park, faster is rarely better.

I thank God that Sibley has remained relatively unchanged during the thirty years I have known it. What a feeling of security and inner peace I experience whenever I return there. How different from the. constant change of the outside world, where the past is effaced so ruthlessly and so rapidly in the name of development and "progress".

May Sibley always remain a quiet, restful haven, and may its fragile natural beauty be respected and preserved.

Shan Walshe is park naturalist at Quetico, and currently Sibley, provincial parks. He is also an expert botanist, a fine writer, and tireless worker for preservation of our natural heritage.

1 SIBLEY-ALONG HISTORY-BRIEFLY

Acknowledgement. This brief history of Sibley has been condensed from the 1980 Sibley Master Plan. We have also made minor additions to it. We thank MNR for making the 1980 Plan an interesting-reading, park-oriented document, of which this is but a small part.

Sibley and its history. Quick, what comes to mind? Silver Islet, of course. But the history of Sibley is much, much older and much more than that.

The earliest known human occupation of the Sibley Peninsula is the Brohm Site which dates to about 7 500 B.C. Archaeologists say that native peoples camped on what was a sand and gravel bar situated on a huge glacial lake some 60 m above the present level of Lake Superior. At this time, the continental glacier probably lay a mere 80 km to the north, and the forest cover was likely an open spruce parkland.

The Brohm Site was strategically situated on a narrow isthmus which would have allowed a short portage between the Thunder Bay area and points north. (The Black Bay peninsula was mostly submerged at this time.) It was an excellent location from which to intercept caribou migrations along the shoreline into or out of the area. Despite the fine location, the necessary natural resources were not available to support a large population of hunters and gatherers.

Along the southern shore of the peninsula are a series of small native encampments located in sandy bays. These sites span a period from approximately 2,000 B.C. to the time when the European culture made

contact with the native peoples. These seem to be short-term camps connected with hunting, fishing and plant gathering activities, or shelter from storms on the Jake.

Virtually nothing is known of life on the Sibley Peninsula during the initial period of European contact. In the seventeenth century this contact led to a tremendous upheaval in native cultures throughout the Upper Great Lakes area. The disturbance sparked large population movements, epidemics and intensified warfare connected with the fur trade.

One of the first written European references to native people and activities is a description of a winter hunting trail across the Silver Islet mining development on a mid-nineteenth century British Admiralty map. Ojibway camps are reported along the sou them shore of both Fork Bay and Camp Bay.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the peninsula to these native peoples was the geological formations which were the basis of many stories and deep spiritual beliefs. It is of interest that "Nanabozho", the "Sleeping Giant", is discernible only from the Thunder Bay vicinity, and consequently, the lore surrounding it must have arisen in the Kam delta area. The Sea Lion, on the other hand, must have been identified by native peoples skirting the southern shore of the Sibley Peninsula. It represented the great lake spirit "Mishipizhiw", and those travelling past may have left offerings such as tobacco to the spirit in an effort to ensure a safe trip.

With the discovery of silver ore in 1868, the

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emphasis shifted abruptly from a hunting and gathering, subsistence economy to an economy based on mineral extraction. As t!arly as 1845, a Mr. Woods had filed a patent application for a parcel of land including Silver Islet, but it took 23 years, the establishment of the Montreal Mining Company and considerable political change before the Woods location was seriously investigated. Even after the discovery of high grade silver ore, Canadian and British financiers were so disinterested in the area that the mining rights to Silver Islet were sold to U.S. interests for $225,000.

In 1870, Major Alexander Hamilton Sibley became president of the Ontario Mineral Lands Company and serious mining development began in the Silver Islet area. During that year, over $90,000 worth of silver was recovered from the mine under the able direction of the general superintendent, W.B. Frue. Families arrived, and by 1872 the community was well established. Working conditions were difficult and dangerous, and in 1874 the silver ore began to be depleted. Times were hard until a new lode was discovered in 1878, but even this deposit was limited. Further drilling and the sinking of new shafts on Silver Islet, adjacent islands and

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the mainland all proved unproductive. The mine closed in 1885 after a total production of $3,250,000 worth of silver.

Timber extraction has, historically, been the second most important economic activity on the peninsula. The earliest cutting operations, likely concentrated along the lakeshore, provided the lumber and timbers for development of the Silver Islet mine and community. Major commercial cutting began in 1917 and continued until 1930 when most of the accessible lumber and pulpwood had been exhausted. White pine, spruce and some cedar were cut for lumber, while spruce and balsam provided most of the pulpwood. The main timber transportation systems utilized Portage, Joe and Sibley Creeks. Large scale commercial pulpwood cutting returned somewhere between 1936 and 1938, but has since ceased. Because of its rugged topography, the Sibley Peninsula was not easy to log, and even today, the highlands and portions of the interior remain unlogged.

An apparently unique experiment in encouraging settlement in Northern Ontario occurred in 1924, when 27 sq. km were set aside for the establishment of the Danish community of Pass Lake. Ten Danish settlers arrived in 1924, twenty in 1927, and a considerable number in 1928. The economic mainstay, up until the mid-1930s was timber extraction, but after that time, farming became increasingly important. Market gardening appears to have been the major activity, and the community was noted for its strawberry crop. Dairy farming continues to be important today.

Commercial fishing began on Lake Superior during the first half of the nineteenth century, but it was not until 1934 that the first recorded fishing community on the

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Sibley Peninsula was established at Tee Harbour. In 1943 it was moved to Camp Bay because of rising lake levels. Lake trout and whitefish were both plentiful until the early 1950s, when the sea lamprey began to seriously affect the lake trout fishery. Since then the fishery has declined, turned to other species, and is now making small catches of some of the traditional species.

Citizens of Port Arthur and Fort William began purchasing Silver Islet miners' homes to use as summer cottages as early as 1896. A thriving day-use tourist industry soon developed based on steamer service from Thunder Bay, but it then declined.

A WELCOME PRUNING PORKY

by /ack Evans

We rarely drive to our cottage through Sleeping Giant Provincial Park without seeing a porcupine. These slow, plodding creatures always strike us as being dull and uninteresting. One recently gave us a reason to change that opinion.

Outside our cottage is a large crabapple tee and late one evening on Thanksgiving weekend I was passing underneath when 1 heard a rustling in the branches. My flashlight revealed a very large porcupine feasting on the late crabapples. The next morning we saw that it had eaten all the apples it could reach and had left only those on the branch ends.

Two weeks later we again visited the cottage and found the ground around the tree littered with small branches. It was almost as if someone had given the tree a complete

Recreational use increased again when the Order-in- Council of 1944 established Sibley Provincial Park. The park has since expanded to include most of the southern shoreline, except the immediate vicinity of Silver Islet and a federal lighthouse reserve on the peninsula's tip. The major recreational facilities such as the Marie Louise Campground and the Lake Superior Lookout Road were constructed between 1956 and 1962. The trail system, mainly on old logging roads, was put in place in the 1970s, completing most of the park infrastructure which exists today.

pruning. An examination showed that each branch had been bitten off. Our little friend Erethizon dorsatum had dropped all the branch ends to the ground and had ea ten the apples at his leisure.

We hope that our thinking porcupine stays around for many years. That tree may never need pruning again.

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WHERE GOETH PARKS?

by Mike Bryan

I first visited Ouimet Canyon about twelve years ago. I remember arriving at the end of the rough gravel road, that first time, not quite sure if I had the right place, then wandering through a stand of jackpine to find myself at the very edge of the chasm. The canyon stunned me with its size and its silence. It was a great, raw, gash in the wilderness.

I got better acquainted with Ouimet on subsequent visits. At various times I picnicked at Gulch Lake, or wandered along the rim taking photographs. Once, in July, I clambered down to the floor of the gorge to look for snow under the room-sized chunks 'of rock. The canyon always surprised, always delighted me.

Those visits took place some years ago. Ouimet today is a different place. Now, access is by way of a paved, well-signed road which leads to a parking lot set far back from the chasm. The trails to the canyon are graveled with steps and even a suspension bridge. Lookouts are provided at just two sites, but observation platforms at these locations provide exceptional views. Interpretive signs discuss the geology and biology of the area, and explain why access to the bottom of the canyon must be

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restricted.

For the most part, these developments have been necessary - necessary to cope with the increasing flow of visitors which the government has done its best to encourage. Tourism is the name of the game, and with the increasing popularity of Ouimet has come a greater need to protect the park from the tourists, and the tourists from themselves.

The developments at Ouimet are echoed at Kakabeka Falls. Here again, board walks and viewing platforms direct the visitor. Here again, the aim is to control the relationship between the visitor and the surrounding landscape for their mutual protection.

But at Kakabeka, things are about to be taken one step further. Sometime within the

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next couple of years the top of the falls will be rebuilt and reinforced with concrete to stop erosion from doing its work. Nature is to be manipulated for the viewing pleasure of the visitor. Kakabeka will have completed the transition from natural wonder to tourist attraction.

In Sibley Provincial Park, the planners have had a large canvas with which to work. They have responded by proposing tourist development on a grand scale, far exceeding what we have seen at Ouimet or Kakabeka. An upgraded scenic drive, a straightened highway, a visitor centre, equestrian trails, a store, a seminar centre, equipment rental concessions, a marina and a tourist resort head a long list of "improvements" designed to draw tourists to the park. Before it was withdrawn because of public pressure, there was even a proposal to log the park so there would be more moose for

the tourists to see.

There are powerful arguments -environmental, managerial, and economic against the plans now in place for Sibley. It is these logical, hard-headed arguments which will be considered in any environmental assessment of the Management Plan. Still, what angers and saddens me is less the specifics of the Plan than the thinking which lies behind it.

When we seek to dominate and manipulate nature, even in that tiny percentage of the land that has been set aside as parks, then we are guilty of the most incredible shortsightedness. We need our parks to be refuges, not just for the plants and animals, but also for ourselves. We need to have landscapes which we do not dominate, if for no other reason than to teach us humili ty.

WHAT DID THE PUBLIC THINK OF MNR'S PROPOSALS?

The MNR's 1988 Management Plan propos­als to "develop" Sibley have had a long ges­tation. Most of the ideas originated with the Tourism Development Study, done for MNR by an outside consultant in 1983-84. In 1986 MNR presented a number of the consultant's proposals for public review. Then, in 1987, a Preliminary Management Plan was released and comment invited.

While the TBFN submitted a brief and invited members to send their comments to the Ministry, responses were received from a range of sources including the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, North of Superior Tourism Association, Thunder Bay Northern Development Council, Thunder

BayYacht Club, Silver Islet Campers, and many members of the general public.

What did all these people and groups have to say about the proposals for Sibley? Look at the table on the next page to find out. All information in this table (with the exception of "Editors' Comments") comes from MNR. The "Rationale" section was finally and hurriedly produced at the beginning of , February, 1989, months after it was due. It both bears and bares thinking typical of the Plan.

Are the MNR decisions and rationale appropriate? You be the judge.

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MNR'S PROPOSALS PUBLIC MNR'S DECISION OPINION

MNR'S RATIONALE FOR THEIR EDITORIAL COMMENT DECISION

Park Name Change 52 % Against Change name to Sleeping Giant Provincial 48 % For Park

Improved marketing potential - "Sibley" None name will remain on other features

Finlay Bay Resort/Seminar 84 % Against Proceed with the proposed development Facility /Marina Complex 16 %For as outlined

Will increase year-round use, attract a See following sections on environment and broader range of clientele, broaden market money potential and maximize economic benefits of Park. Will contribute to Provincial Park tourism ojective.

Vegetation and Wildlife 89 % Against Drop proposal for commercial logging, Management (Selective 11 % For but MNR may remove trees "for Park Commercial Logging) purposes"

Public is concerned about cutting in parks This is the only major issue on which MNR and prefers natural processes in parks heeded public input, and then only partially.

MNR will suppress all fires and refuses to conduct controlled burns to mimic nature's own processes.

Aggregate Extraction 92 % Against Proceed - MNR may extract gravel from (Gravel pits for Park use 8%For existing pits. MOT to extract gravel for

& Hwy 587 Improvements) Hwy 587 upgrading from one large pit inside the Park

Aggregate needed for Park and Hwy 587. MNR platitudes about appropriate gravel pit No commercial intent. Appropriate site operations might seem sincere if they weren't controls. actually going to expand existing pits plus

make one huge pit for Hwy 587 upgrading.

Straightening & Widening 93 % Against Proceed, since Hwy 587 is technically of Highway 587 7%For outside the Park and is under MOT

jurisdiction. Thus, MNR will bring its

MNR accepts the need for Hwy 587 Far from accepting MOT upgrade proposals upgrade, wants it done in an appropriate and advising MOT of their concerns, MNR has manner. been actively promoting a wider, straighter

highway, and is supporting it by providing concerns to MOT's attention. gravel from inside the Park.

Provision of Electricity via 64 % Against Proceed with hydro line construction -hydro lines through the Park 36 % For underground if feasible

To provide power for new developments, MNR says it needs hydro in the Marie Louise eliminate noise from existing generators. Campground. MNR's own study shows that

a new diesel system would provide power for a fraction of the cost of hydro lines.

Upgrading Thunder Bay 100% Against Proceed, but with upgraded one-way, Lookout Scenic Road to 0% For gravel road instead of two-way paved Two-way, Paved Road

Will maintain scenic quality while allow- At what cost? Nice if we could afford it, but ing arriving visitors to view Lake there isn't enough money to enforce existing Superior. Park rules, maintain existing facilities or for

nature programs.

Equestrian Trails 57 % Against Proceed with proposal 43 % For

"will maintain traditional activities of the Riding is traditional in Sibley? Horses protect the Park while protecting the natural the natural environment? A fascinating, environment" fantastic, need we say ludicrous, rationale.

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DAMN THE ENVIRONMENT-FULL DEVELOPMENT AHEAD!

According to the terms of reference of the Tourism Development Study, the consultants were "to propose ways of maximizing economic benefits from tourism while maintaining the integrity of Sibley Provincial Park". That study spends several hundred pages examining tourism, and not one page looking at the integrity of the park. Half the mandate was never fulfilled.

MNR has done nothing to correct this failure. MNR assures us that we have seen all the reports and studies on Sibley, yet we cannot find one single sentence which indicates that environmental problems were ever considered. No environmental assessment has been done, despite the fact that parts of some proposals h~ve already been constructed or are about to be constructed. In short, the MNR has abdicated its responsibility to protect the park.

We have prepared the following list of the potential environmental impacts of the development proposals. Whether these impacts are inevitable or avoidable is secondary- the fact remains, MNR is obliged to consider them publicly. It has not done so, nor has it given any firm undertakings to do so in the future. Put simply, this is tourism at any cost, the Sibley environment be damned.

Finlay Bay Lodge/Seminar Centre/Marina • short-term disruptions from construction

of facilities and infrastructure • some loss of habitat due to new

developments • sewage treatment • garbage disposal • greatly increased pressure on sensitive

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sites, notably Finlay Point with its arctic­alpine disjunct plants

• increased vehicular traffic throughout park from both clients and employees on shift work. The result will be more noise, fumes, and road kills.

• possible dredging and/ or breakwater for marina

• increased motor boat traffic and landings along entire east side of peninsula

Highway 587 Improvements • short-term disruption from construction • increased gravel extraction inside park • more road kills due to higher speeds • some loss of habitat due to widening of

roads and enlarged gravel pits • loss of aesthetic values

Hydro Lines • short-term disruption during construction • loss of habitat for hydro corridor • Ontario Hydro herbicide spraying along

corridor • loss of aesthetic values

(Ontario Hydro advises us that they would have to put any lines, overhead or underground, beside the road so that they can be serviced. The road allowance would be cleared back another 5-30 feet for hydro lines, beyond whatever additional clearing is done for the improved highway. Hydro has also informed MNR that its policy is to spray such right-of­ways with herbicides to control vegetation.)

Equestrian Trails • short-term disruption during construction •erosion • affect on native flora and fauna from

noise, odours, browsing and droppings

• introduction of weed species foreign to the park

Perhaps some of these environmental problems will never arise or will be easily dealt with; by the same token, there may be impacts which we have not foreseen. The point is, an assessment of the impacts should be done before developments occur.

This is doubly important in parks because they are supposed to be d ifferent from the rest of our world, and they are supposed to represent an ideal towards which we can strive. Thus, the adequacy of the environmental assessment of the Sibley developments is really a measure of us.

If we can't treat parks with respect, wilt we treat anything with respect?

r~f\ Y pRovrNC•Al-l\ Sl~k~KlN& 1-0-r l\ ~ co r--l c.£ ~ ~' ON ~ ~ * PA'IED l-ln<.1N~ TR~d' Jr * LI\/ E

"-==ft

Dave Manning is a part-time cartoonist living in Thunder Bay. We thank him for permission to use this totally biased cartoon.

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MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Money is what the new Sleeping Giant Management Plan is all about.

In MNR's own words the developments are intended to "maximize the economic benefits from tourism". To us, economic benefit means that there is a reasonable chance of a project generating revenue that will cover costs and allow a fair profit. We have looked hard for MNR's economic benefits, and we find ourselves as shocked as that little boy looking in vain for the emperor's new clothes. Where are they?

For those easily bored with figures let us put the total up front. The estimated cost to the taxpayers of the road improvements, campground improvements, hydro line construction, equestrian trails, lookouts, lodge/ seminar complex and marina proposed by the Ministries of Tourism and Natural Resources ranges from a low of $6,790,000 to a high of $9,516,000. The range in values arises because, at this stage, concepts are still being defined. The history of such cost estimates is that they rise as they are refined and finally implemented. Thus these costs may well turn out to be low.

The figures came from the Tourism Development Study, the Electrical Supply Study, Ontario Hydro, the Ministry of Transportation, and, in the case of two items, our own estimates. The Tourism Development Study is replete with dubious assumptions and contradictory conclusions. Its cost estimates are very questionable, but they are all we have to go on.

However poor the figures are, they are at least in the ballpark, and they raise a very

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disturbing question: are our tax dollars being well-spent, or should they go elsewhere? Should we be spending millions in Sibley on frills and dubious business ventures when hunting and trapping go on regularly in the park and motorbikes and ATVs scream up and down Middlebrun Bay Beach, tearing up vegetation and dunes unimpeded, because there is no money to enforce existing regulations? Or when simple trails can't be brushed for lack of funds? Ought we to spend this money in Sibley when Vince Kerrio says that MNR doesn't have the money needed to regener­ate forest cutovers? Should we be putting millions into Sibley roads, when 93 percent of the public doesn't want them upgraded, and when people are justifiably complaining about the pot-holes in the Trans-Canada Highway? In short, don't we have better things to spend our tax dollars on?

MTR's and MNR's proposals are, for the most part, unsupported by economic analysis, and, in the case of the lodge/ seminar/marina complex, are economically irresponsible. Read on if you wish more detail.

The Electric Shell Game MNR says that electrical services must be installed in the Marie Louise campground. An improved diesel generating system, adequate for this purpose, could be installed for $250,000 according to MNR. There is no way that sales of electric services in the campground could begin to cover this cost, hence there is no economic justification for proceeding even with this least expensive electricity option. continued on page 19

SP£CIALLV \<IDS

OWL MOON

Have you read a nature book you'd like to tell other naturalists about?

Here is one I think you'd like. It is called Owl Moon. The author is Jane Yolen and the illustrator John Schoenherr. It is published by Scholastic Inc. ISBN 0-590-42044-5. Cassette tape ISBN 0-590-60022-2 (1988).

Owl Moon is a fascinating story of a father and child who go out one moonlit night to find owls. The child tells of the magic feelings walking through snowy fields and woods. At a place in the pines "Pa held up his hand. I stopped right where I was and waited. He looked up as if searching the stars, as if reading a map up there. The moon made his face into a silver mask. Then he called:

'Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo,' the sound of a Great Horned Owl." I

- won't tell you whether or not they heard an answer.

Owl Moon is a wonderful story. It makes you feel, hear and smell things as though you were there. The paintings in the book are beautiful, with animals hidden everywhere. A cassette came with our book

and it is also very good. Owl Moon won a 1988 Caldecott

Medal I'm sure you will enjoy it as we do.

15

r:"--------------------------llr

WORDSEARCH

Cross out the name of each animal when you find it in the puzzle. Put together the leftover letters to get the answer. (Clue: What do all of the animals in our puzzle have in common?)

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SAL C H H I

E R I N

] I

i

Bear Chipmunks Snakes Bats Marmots Turtle Groundhog Salamander Frog Toad Newt Skunk

Answer: - - - - - - - - - - -

Animals in cold countries like Canada have different ways of surviving through the winter. Some stay active: deer, moose, wolves, otter and others. Some migrate to warmer places. Some hibernate. We know from the last newsletter that snakes, frogs and toads dig deep pits where the ground won't freeze.

Skunks will sometimes spend the winter in an old fox den. Often a group will crowd together.

Bears stay in caves or hollow logs, or in dens made from dead branches, or thick boughs of an evergreen. They are light sleepers so shouldn't be disturbed. Females give birth in the den in January or February, and wake up very hungry in the spring.

Bats hibernate in large colonies. They hang by their back feet from the ceiling of humid caves. They will waken if the temperature of the cave warms. Even a person carrying a candle or lantern can warm a cave enough to arouse the bats. Many Will then die because there is no food for them and they will not have enough energy stored to last the rest of the winter.

If you know where any animals are hibernating, or if you accidentally discover some, stay away so you won't disturb them.

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JUNIOR PHOTO CONTEST

The Junior Naturalists, in co-operation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, are celebrating National Wildlife Week,1989, with a second photography contest. The categories are:

1.) Landscape and Scenery 2.) People in Nature 3.) Plants and Animals (Plants include trees, flowers, mosses, etc.

Animals include fish, insects, birds, etc.) 4.) Wildlif~ Week Theme (This year the theme is Habitat

Rehabilitation and Conservation)

Entries will be judged in groups according to age of participants in each category. Attach a paper with your name, your age when you took the photo, your phone number, and the title or description of the subject. Tell us all about it if you like! Photos must be received by April 1, 1989. Winners will be announced at the Juniors' meeting on April 8. All entries will be displayed at the M.N.R. District Office during Wildlife Week.

Send the entries to: Jean Hall-Armstrong 615 Rosewood Cr. Thunder Bay, Ont. P7E 2R5

Here are some tips to help you take a winning photo from one of our excellent local nature photographers, Mr. Harold Kish:

1.) Hold your camera steady. Lean on a post or against a tree to keep your hand still so you don't get a blurry picture.

2.) Try to get in close to your subject. Avoid background clutter. 3.) be sure your subject is in focus before you shoot.

Thank you, Mr. Kish! Now, get busy taking pictures. There is lots of beautiful nature and great weather this winter. Send as many pictures as you want.

Good luck!

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However, the cheapest option is not what MNR has in mind. MNR personnel have advised that they want hydro lines heavy enough to serve the proposed Finlay Bay lodge. Ontario Hydro says that the lodge would require a 3-phase line. Estimated cost of an above-ground 3-phase line to Marie Louise is $862,000. The shell game seems to be to put in expensive hydro lines and charge them up to the campground, when the campground would use only a very small portion of the power. (The same ploy will also likely be used for telephone lines, whose installation and cost are never mentioned anywhere.) Then, if the lodge goes ahead, only the additional 4 km of line from Hwy 587 into Finlay Bay will appear on the books as a subsidy to the resort. Soapy Smith couldn't have manoeuvered the shells better.

There may be another game going on here as well. MNR holds out the "hope" of buried cables in order to persuade the public to accept hydro lines. It is very unlikely that funds will be found for underground lines, but by raising this possibility MNR may soften the opposition. Later, after the furor has died down, the announcement can be made that the scenic Sibley drive will be enhanced by beautiful overhead wires­with MNR's apologies, of course.

But what if money is found for buried cables? Well, in that case we still lose- as taxpayers. The cost of a 3-phase underground line to Marie Louise is $1,566,000, six times the price of a new diesel system for something that 64 percent of the public does not want.

Highway 587 Improvements The Ministry of Transportation estimates the cost of "improving" the first 14 km of Hwy

587 at $2.0 - 2.5 million. Based on that, we estimate the cost of "improving" the remaining 10.5 km of Hwy 587 in the Park at about another $2 million several years hence. The total is $4 - 4.5 million for road improvements that 93 percent of the public does not want. We can find no evidence of possible economic return from this investment.

Marie Louise Campground Complete upgrade - $750,000. There seems to be no evidence for economic benefit from this investment.

Lake Superior Lookout Scenic Road The cost of the upgraded road is not given, but the estimated cost of just upgrading the lookouts along this road is $175,000. No evidence is presented for economic benefits. It will, however, provide more park visitors with higher speed access to man-made, man-managed lookouts.

Equestrian Trails The cost of trails is estimated at $75,000 using a combination of public and private funds. No evidence is given for economic benefits; however, several years ago a private entrepreneur tried running rental rides from near the Alpine Inn. He quickly went bankrupt. There is no reason to expect a different outcome in Sibley.

Finlay Bay Developments Some background on tourism lodges in provincial parks is necessary in order to understand the Finlay Bay proposal. Such lodges are expected to pay an annual leasing fee of seven percent of the fair market value of the development for the site. They are

19

also expected to pay municipal taxes, if there are any, to cover the cost of services. In addition the lodge pays 2-3 percent of the gross on sales of liquor and items from its shops.

MNR anticipates that the proposed lodge would be an up-scale, four star resort accommodating 60-100 people. It would have amenities like a heated indoor pool, tennis courts, first rate dining room and so on. In 1984, the cost estimates of variations on this development ranged from $1.61 million to $1.867 million, which seemed unusually low. Today, MNR personnel have advised us that a realistic cost is $3-6 million depending on amenities and architecture. This does not include the cost of access roads and hydro lines which will be paid for by we taxpayers. In 1984, the per diem cost of staying at the lodge was estimated to be $102 for adults and $91 for children (room, meals, drinks and miscellaneous expenditures). Naturally it would be higher today. The Tourism Development Study anticipated a year­round operation which, after five years in operation, would achieve 70 percent occupancy in summer and 20 percent in the off-season. Seminars were seen as a major portion of the off-season marke t.

Using "the minimum viable development that would attract the market", which is to say the cheapest ($1.61 million) version of the lodge, the consultants concluded that "the project is not financially viable". They further concluded that "the project would not attract private sector investment" unless money was "financed through innovative financing schemes".

They suggested a number of options, including interest rate subsidies and the sale of condominium units to the public. Let's

20

take a look at the most likely (and easiest to comprehend) of these "innovative financing schemes", namely capital grants. Under that option, here is what the taxpayers can expect to shell out to make the resort "viable":

• an outright grant of 23 percent of the development cost, which means that the taxpayer would pay from $368,000 to $1,380,000 depending on the actual cost of the project.

• building 4 km of paved road from Highway 587 to Finlay Bay at a cost of $400,000 (consultant's estimate) to $800,000 (an estimate we obtained from a road builder).

• building a hydro line from Highway 587 to Finlay Bay at a cost of $160, 000 for a poleline and $320,000 for an underground . line.

• a defacto subsidy on hydro lines through the park because MNR chooses to charge the high cost of the line to the campground, although diesel generators costing only $250,000 could serve the campground perfectly well. The difference ranges from $612,000 to $1,316,000 depending on what type of hydro line is installed.

The total of these up-front capital grant and subsidies ranges from a low of $1,540,000 to a high of $3,816,000, without counting any possible interest rate supports. This degree of subsidization gives a whole new meaning to the term "viable." Apparently any project can be made "viable" if you throw enough public money at it.

But the subsidies do not stop there. To the up-front money must be added significant ongoing subsidies. The consultant did not

include in his calculations the 7 percent annual lease fee or the 2 -3 percent of gross liquor sales which are supposed to be paid by the operator to the Crown. These amounts would have to be "forgiven" to make the lodge viable, or else the up-front grant money would have to be increased. "Forgiveness" of just these fees would constitute an annual subsidy of $115,000 to $423,00 for every single year that the lodge operates. We also have no estimate of the significant annual advertising budget which the Ministry of Tourism will likely pay for in order to try and make the lodge "viable".

Not included in these calculations are such "incidental" capital expenses as hiking trails, new signs, and planning costs for all the public developments which are intended to attract customers to the park, and to the lodge. These could add another $200,000. Nor did we consider increased operating costs for road and trail maintenance, snow removal, enforcement, etc., which could be attributed directly to the lodge.

Another factor which certainly merits attention is the effect of the subsidized Sibley tourism developments upon existing businesses outside the park. For example, the seminar centre portion of the Finlay Bay complex will have a significant effect upon Quetico Centre, a non-profit facility largely built with government grants. MNR's Tourism Study acknowledges this by saying "that Northwest Ontario is definitely no t large enough to generate sufficient demand for another remote seminar facility." The s tudy concludes that "it is very doubtful that a remote meeting centre at Sibley could compete effectively with Quetico Centre" (because Quetico is non-profit). But the Study suggests proceeding with the Sibley seminar facility anyway. No matter which facili ty fails- Quetico Centre or Sibley-

we taxpayers will pay the full cost of that failure, just as we did at Minaki. Only in the bizarre logic of the Sleeping Giant Plan could this "maximize the economic benefits from tourism".

Lastly, we come to the matter of alternatives. If the resort/seminar centre/ marina complex is viable (and this is an immense 'if' ) there other sites in this area which might offer both reduced infra­structure costs, and settings which are far more spectacular and appropriate than the proposed Finlay Bay site. Pine Bay, the Prince and Jarvis Locations, and the Fort William Reserve are three locations which come to mind. Unfortunately, sites ou tside the immediate vicinity of the park were not even considered by the MNR.

How might this monument to tourism come to be? In March or April MTR and MNR plan to advertise for proposals to develop the complex. They will then enter into negotiations with each developer to strike a deal on the actual extent of capital grants, interest subsidies, forgiveness of lease and o ther business charges, and the public provision of services such as hydro, roads, docks, break-walls, telephone, etc. The negotiations will be secret and a deal will be struck before the public ever has a chance to know what it has been stuck with. And just as there is no undertaking to properly study environmental impacts, there is absolutely no provision for any economic review -proper or public - of the deal. What the bureaucrats agree to, we pay for, no matter what the cost. There is a slim chance that no deal will emerge because the cost will be too high even for MTR, but that seems unlikely given the thinking exhibited to date.

This is poor planning, and poor economics. We deserve a whole lot better.

21

WHAT'S TO BE DONE?

In this issue we have presented some basic facts about the Management Plan for Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. At this point we ask you to consider the following questions.

1. Are you concerned by an expensive decision-making process which simply ignored the expressed wishes of the public?

2. A:Je you concerned with having environmental effects publicly ignored in the planning process?

3. Do you want your tax dollars spent on:

a) park roads that 93 percent of the public doesn' t want, at a time when major highways are falling apart?

b) an unnecessary, expensive, environmentally damaging hydro line through the park which 64 percent of the public opposes?

c) a financially irresponsible scheme for commercially exploiting the park at a time when the park lacks funds to enforce existing rules and maintain existing facilities? Eighty-four percent of MNR respondents opposed this publicly subsidized playground for the well-to-do.

If you share these concerns about the Management Plan and the future of the Park, we hope that you will do something about it. Take a few minutes and write your local M.P.P. Don't worry about being an expert, write how you feel.

22

Sibley is the first of many parks slated for this treatment. If parks are natural museums whose treasures ought to be as carefully cared for as our cultural heritage, and if parks are special and deserve to be treated differently than the other 95 percent of Ontario, then we need to act now. The die is being cast in Sibley.

The addresses of our local MPPs follow. You can make your letter work twice as hard by sending a photocopy of it to Vince Kerrio, Minister of Natural Resources. If you ask a question in your letter, you will ensure a response.

Hon. Lyn McLeod, Minister Ministry of Colleges and Universities 709 Victoria Ave. E. THUNDER BAY, Ontario P7C3V4

Mr. Taras Kozyra, M.P.P. 230 Park Ave. THUNDER BAY, Ontario P7BSL4

Hon. Vince Kerrio, Minister Ministry of Natural Resources Queen's Park TORONTO, Ontario M7A 1W3

A TALE OF TWO FISHES

by Dr. Walter Momot

The darters, genus Etheostoma, are small members of the perch family. They spend much of their time lying still on the bottom of streams and shallow lakes. However, should food come into range, they dart forward to snap it up almost faster than the eye can follow. Hence their name.

The distribution of two members of the darter genus in the Thunder Bay area is puzzling. The Johnny darter (Etheostoma nigrum) occurs in the Kaministiquia River and its tributaries but is not present in the Mcintyre, Neebing and Current Rivers which either abut the Kam or can be reached by a swim of a few kilometres along the Lake Superior shore. On the other hand, the Iowa darter (Etheostoma exile) is not found in the Kaministiquia drainage. It occurs in the lakes and streams of the Hudson Bay drainage immediately north and west of Thunder Bay (e.g., Quetico Park), and then suddenly reappears on the east coast of the Sibley Peninsula and in areas further east, such as Black Sturgeon Lake and the Black Bay Peninsula. And therein lies part of the puzzle: what are the reasons for these gaps in darter distribution?

Other distribution patterns also raise questions. The general pattern of fish distribution in Lake Superior basin shows that south shore tributaries support more species than north shore tributaries. Despite this, Isle Royale has a grea ter number of fis_h species than lakes at similar elevations in the Huron and Porcupine Mountains on Superior's south shore. Why should this be?

The key to solving these fish distribution

puzzles lies in the de-glaciation history both of the Lake Superior basin and of our local area. At the same time, one key to understanding the sequence of de-glaciation events lies in knowing the distribution of fish species thoroughly. Neither is yet well enough known to completely explain the other. The Sibley Peninsula is uniquely located to unravel some of these mysteries.

Colonization of the Lake Superior basin by fish is thought to have been from south to north as the glaciers withdrew. Many of these species are weak swimmers, headwater species or pond fish, yet they have somehow managed to rcinvade this region since the departure of the last glaciers 9000 B.P. (before the present). The vast majority have followed smaller water courses, perhaps on a land bridge between inundated areas, or on the Lake Superior bottom variously exposed and reinundated during the evolution of the Lake. Some of the inhabitants of southern tributaries were probably late migrants that for various reasons did not expand their ranges.

Lake Duluth was the first lake in the Superior basin, occupying what is today the western end of Superior, and draining southward via Wisconsin's St. Croix valley into the Mississippi. Just a few hundred years later Lake Duluth was able to empty through a new and lower outlet exposed by the ice melting from the Huron Mountains of Michigan. These distinctive outlets, related to different lake levels, arc believed to have resulted in separate episodes of fish colonization. Barrier falls arc common on many of the streams draining the north

shore and species above the falls are presumed to have arrived during th~ higher, earlier Lake Duluth stage. The species of Isle Royale are found either in Lake Nipigon or the Saint Louis River in Minnesota or in both. It is thought that the species found in these three localities arrived by way of the St. Croix outlet rather than later outlets. Many of the present-day islands and peninsulas were probably colonized by early migrants arriving shortly after Lake Duluth began to fall .

Recent work on glacial events suggest that a glacial readvance took place in the western Lake Superior Basin about 9000 years ago. The area north and east of the present Kaministiquia River Valley was covered by an ice sheet from the "Marquete" readvance, while the Kam Valley and the area to the south was part of Lake Beaver Bay. As the postulated ice sheet withdrew (to the northeast?) fishes reinvaded the area. The last portion of the landscape in the Thunder Bay district to be reinvaded would have been the Sibley and Black Bay Peninsulas. Unfortunately the fish in this area have hardly been studied: our knowledge is fragmentary. Through a collaborative effort between the Departments of Geology, Geography and Biology at Lakehead University, we hope to determine the direction of the recession of the ice front and the timing of the events leading to fish reinvasion.

24

The puzzle of darter distribution suggests what may have happened. The Johnny darter was able to occupy the present day Kaministiquia watershed because it was flooded by the Kaministiquia embayment of Lake Beaver Bay. It could not enter the Mcintyre, Neebing and Current River drainages because they were under the ice. For reasons unknown, the Johnny darter has not been able to establish itself in these river systems since.

The Iowa darter 's distribution is more

'. . :· /; .. - .

puzzling. It is not found in the rivers draining the Kaministiquia embayment nor, as far as we know, in the area occupied by the ice sheet. It does, however,

suddenly appear on the east coast of the Sibley Peninsula and areas to the east not occupied by Lake Beaver Bay. It is common in the lakes and streams of the Hudson Bay Drainage west and north of Thunder Bay.

Ors. Phillips and Fralick of Lakehead University maintain that the Lake Superior basin was inundated by a massive catastrophic drainage of Lake Agassiz through the Nipigon Channel during the withdrawal of the "Marquete" ice sheets. We hypothesize that the Iowa darter gained access to the eastern edge of the district from Lake Agassiz during this event, and that other species may perhaps have done likewise. Thus, earlier interpretations of how fish invaded the Lake Superior basin may pave to be modified. Lake Agassiz may, indeed, have been a source for at least

some of the fauna entering the basin.

There is other tantalizing evidence which might support this hypothesis. Earlier work has shown that high lakes of Isle Royale contain more fish species than lakes at similar heights in the Huron and Porcupine Mountain lakes in Michigan. Normally islands have a more depauperate fauna than the mainland. The Iowa darter is found on Isle Royale, and it seems unlikely that such a small shallow-water fish could find its way there, but not along the Superior shore to the Kaministiquia River. Were it and other species washed out to Isle Royale in the great flood?

Other hypotheses can also be tested in Sibley: for example, does the rate at which a landscape becomes deglaciated affect fish distribution? As the weight of the ice was removed during melting, the land rose in a process called isostatic rebound. This mechanism has raised lakes to their present heights and has effectively isolated many fish species in those lakes. Fish in the Isle Royale lakes are thought to have been less abruptly and less completely isolated than those in the Huron Mountain lakes to the south. Presumably, the Sibley Peninsula and the north coast of Lake Superior were de-glaciated at a later date and became isolated at even a slower rate. Thus, we have a natural test of the effects of isostatic rebound since Sibley and Black Bay lie almost directly north of Isle Royale and the Huron - Porcupine Mountains whose fish fauna has been intensively surveyed. The distribution of fishes in Sibley represents a continuum of the climatic and glacial conditions affecting the inland fish fauna of Lake Superior Basin. The planned survey of its streams and lakes would lend itself to testing hypotheses about fish distribution in the Lake Superior Basin.

From a practical standpoint, the project will allow us to rectify a long standing gap in the nature preservation policy of provincial parks, namely, a neglect of its aquatic life. Identification of any unique members of the aquatic fauna is needed in order to implement and maintain an enlightened preservational policy. A list of the species of fish in the park, coupled with the fascinating "story" of how they came to be there, would heighten awareness of the value of preserving the aquatic resources of Sibley .... er-r-r, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.

Dr. Walter Momot is a Professor of Biology at Lakehead University and a TBFN member. His research has dealt with fish distribution problems and that of other aquatic life, as well as the effects of pollutants on local aquatic ecosystems. He has coauthored, with C. Hartviksen, a Guide to the Fishes of the Thunder Bay Area of Ontario which will appear in April. It will be on sale at Lakehead University Bookstore and probably other local booksellers.

25

FROM THE EYRIE

-..:~:::::· - ~·~,. ... ~=?""2:::::/ __ ._ .. _ ... _ .. _··~_.,_; .. _··'-.___-=::::::::====:::~:___::::::,,,.,· _/"", .... ;~·~ill Addison

It would be about fifteen years ago that I first read that parks only exist in our minds. At that time I thought what rubbish! You mean to tell me that Sibley's white pine, the Sleeping Giant or Lake Superior are only constructs of my mind? After a couple of years (I am a slow learner) I began to understand just what that statment meant.

While most of us appreciate the Sleeping Giant, the rugged Superior shore, the stately white pine and the arctic-alpine disjuncts, the abundant animals, and the road which is so intimate with the surroundings, Sibley really exists in our minds as a land compos­ed of unique personal memories.

My first memories are of car sickness on the single lane, red gravel road that was even more winding in the late 1940's than today. A trip to Sibley meant frequent stops for me and my brothers to walk for a while to regain equilibrium or to perform the inevitable up-chuck. We began to know bits of Sibley on those walks.

A must stopping spot was Pickerel Lake. Mom and Dad could sometimes deter sickness by keeping us guessing where the island in Pickerel Lake would be. The wind was the clue to where the island was. The island was a piece of floating bog with small trees on it which wandered up and down the lake under the influence of strong winds. I think it is the island that is permanently anchored at the north end of the lake today.

Moving islands were things of fantasy for this young kid . That feeling was not dispelled when Mom first took us onto a

26

floating bog and I discovered that they were natural trampolines - to her great consternation. She was afraid that my wild bouncing would have me breaking through and disappearing forever beneath the morass. From carefree trampolining I progressed to the wonders of the meat eating pitcher plants and sundew, the sweet smell of myrica gale and the graceful elegance of grass pink orchids. Bogs were whole new worlds and Sibley's were special because of that island.

One summer we rented the Dennis' camp at Silver Islet, the last one on the sand beach before President's Point. On the point itself was "Skipping-Stone Beach". A group of we boys spent days seemingly trying to empty that beach into Lake Superior. In reality, we were trying to best each other for the stone skipping record. I think 25 or 27 skips was tops. Oh how we scoured that beach for the perfect stone with which to set the record - perfect in roundness, thickness and weight. By mid-summer there wasn' t a decent stone to be found, but in the process of sorting over the beach I began to understand what shale was and how it could be pounded, ground and buffed into the perfect skipping-stone by Superior's waves. It was probably that summer on that beach that my life-long fascination with geological processes took root. And this 50 year-old kid still skips stones until his arm is sore whenever he lands on one of Superior's skipping-stone beaches.

That summer was filled with such discoveries, too numerous to mention them all here. There were the osprey which

fished the mouth of Sibley Creek almost in front of the camp. Time and again I rushed out to watch the wild plunge. Then there was, to a young boy, the interminable wait while the bird struggled from the water. Had it caught another Sibley sucker or not? I began to appreciate that while they might be on the top of the food chain, the predators' lot was a struggle to survive.

That was also the summer of the canoe. Canoes were as natural to Mom as her sons. She also knew that we had much to learn and that Superior was the wrong place for boys lacking judgement to be learning how to canoe. Very early one morning we set out to paddle the canoe around to the nearly land-locked shelter of Fork Bay. Despite the early start, the waves still caught us along the cliffs between Camp and Fork Bays and gave us a rough ride. I learned that morning that Superior demanded respect -a lesson that I forgot once with tragic consequences.

Dawn and dusk were the favourite times in Fork Bay, for then deer, beaver and all sorts of life were active. I learned to paddle a canoe silently, approaching animals in wonder and awe. How could I resist the allure of the ideal boat?

One evening we were sneaking up on a beaver, when it went ashore and disappeared. Brother Pete and I crept ashore to watch. We clambered over, but mostly crawled under a tangle of beaver­felled trees on the beaver's path until we found the beaver gnawing with the most ferocious grating noise, chip by chip, through an immense birch. Suddenly the beaver saw us between it and safety. It charged down the path on which we stood. All I can remember are four immense, orange, gnashing teeth followed by a pair of

wide, terrified eyes. I knew that I was going to lose a leg if I didn't do something very quickly. I found myself draped over a log as the beaver hurled by beneath me. I don't remember where Pete was. That was another valuable wilderness lesson. Even the meekest animal can be very dangerous when cornered. That lesson was re-enforced for years afterward by nightmares of four monstrous orange teeth pursuing me.

The sum of that summer was that, in a young boy way, I was in love with Sibley, yet not fully aware of it. Not until we moved to southern Ontario in 1959. Then how I missed it.

And how I rejoiced when, in 1966, I intro­duced Wendy to Sibley on our honeymoon. We saw a red-headed woodpecker at President's Point, skipped a few stones and chased a bear away from our lunch at Lake Marie Louise. Then in 1967 we moved to Thunder Bay. Oh, it was good to be back!

On a 1969 summer weekend we drove to Silver Islet and happened to run into Ginny and Don Ritchie. Ginny had babysat us - a wonderful, warm, long-time family friend. On the spur of the moment we decided to picnic at Middlebrun Bay. Don and I would sail over in his Folbot - a folding kayak -while Wendy and Ginny drove over. It was a warm sunny day with a gentle breeze. Don and I blithely set out on my first ever trip in a kayak and only my second time sailing in anything. We skimmed along so lightly that it was hard to tell if we were flying or boating. It was magic. Past Fork Bay the waves began to build from behind and the kayak surfed wondrously on them. The waves continued to build until the surfing began to feel a bit dangerous. And they built more until finally we capsized. We clung to the kayak, too far from shore to

27

do anything else.

Slowly but surely Lake Superior robbed us of our body heat, until we were incapaci­tated. I vaguely remember a sailboat approaching and a life ring landing near me which I somehow grabbed. A man and a woman struggled to hoist me into their boat. I was helpless, more or less unconscious. They bundled me up and, in the fetal position, my internal heating system slowly returned me to life. The Lawrances (Connie is still a TBFN member) took me to a waiting ambulance at Silver Islet.

Don's body was recovered later. He had succumbed to hypothermia. I can't tell you how often since then I have wished that I had remembered what Superior had taught me as a boy on that short canoe trip to Fork Bay.

Surprisingly, this tragedy did not teach me to fear the big lake, only to have an immense respect for it. I have canoed and kayaked hundreds of miles on it since, and have only come to appreciate it more. It is the most magnificent lake I know. It has shown me incredible beauty and power. It has taught me humility and respect. But most of all, it has taught me that death is part of living. And having met death once has left me free to live life more fully.

Just last weekend, February 4-5, the coldest weekend of the winter, three of us camped at Middlebrun and Finlay Bays. It was living at its best - clouds of mist streaming off the open water, delicately lit ice cakes, stars beyond comprehension, the bitter­sweet smell of wood smoke and the crackle and heat from the fire, the gentle swish of water and ice, and a clarity and peace to everything that rejuvenated us.

28

So, Sibley has taught me much, given me much, and taken much away. It is important to me, but these things are nothing com­pared to a larger importance.

However Sibley has been touched by human history - and parts have been heavily touched indeed -it remains the closest thing to the natural world that exists near Thunder Bay. As we get more paper mills, more government offices, more people, and an ever higher standard of living, Sibley will become ever more precious. We snidely deride Torontonians who have to drive for a day to find something as natural as Sibley. We ought not to be so supercilious, for we are well down the same road.

If we want a measure of how important Sibley ought to be for us, try another con­struct of the mind; try imagining how Torontonians would value Sibley could they but transport it onto the Leslie Street Spit. There, MNR's proposals to develop Sibley wouldn't last half as long as a snowball in hell. Yet here we seem to be accepting them.

A corollary to the idea that parks are important because of the meanings we attach to them is that if we treat parks no differently than the rest of the land, then they are no longer parks. Sibley is, under MNR's direction, on the road to becoming just another land development. MNR already has further development sugges­tions on the books - cottage lots, condo­miniums and a historical theme park -which it can implement once the current proposals are in place. One more natural museum will have been sold off. One more park will have ceased to be because it will have become like the rest of our landscape.

Is that what our children's children deserve?

FLYWAYS

by Nicholas G. Escott

In the last Flyways I mentioned the unprece­dented number of northern cardinal sight­ings in our area - six at that time. Since then I have received more reports, now totalling an unbelievable sixteen! The birds have been seen from Marathon to Whitefish Lake from Cloud Bay to Lake Nipigon Provincial' Park. Most were males, and most disap­peared by early December. None could be found on the Christmas Bird Count, al­though one reappeared on Catherine Street shortly after the CBC.

During 1988 TBFN members and friends reported a total of 244 species of birds. Of the 222 regular species, 216 were seen. Those not reported were: golden eagle and sharp-tailed grouse (not seen since 1985), Thayer's gull, Virginia rail, ruddy turnstone, and ring-necked pheasant. (Sightings of this species are usually of escaped birds.)

Two new species were seen in the "escaped from captivity" category: mandarin duck and golden pheasant (see Bird Records). The former was usually with mallards at the Provincial Mill settling ponds. It had a leg band. It was extremely nervous, however. acting very much like a wild bird. It may have travelled a considerable distance before arriving here. The last sighting, of this duck was Dec. 7, just before our first major cold spell. The golden pheasant was almost certainly a local escape.

In addition to the regulars and new II II th escapes , ere were reports of 26 rare

,.-~·-· ....... ............. .... ......

species during the year. 22 have been listed or described in the current and two preced­ing issues of Nature Northwest. Other species reported, but without documenta­tion, were cinnamon teal, warbling vireo, and yellow-throated vireo. The final rare bird was an immature grey phase gyrfalcon found at the intercity grain elevators on the Christmas Bird Count, and seen there several times since, terrorizing the pigeons.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS

This year's count surpassed our wildest expectations. Despite cold temperatures and over 12" of snow cover, we found an astounding 49 species of birds, totally annihilating the previous high count of 38 species set in 1969!

The total count of individual birds was 8584 which is a bit short of the record 9331 birds ' counted in 1987, but ahead of the previous second highest count of 8009 in 1974.

No fewer than five new species were added to the CBC list: gyrfalcon, barred owl, short­eared owl, boreal owl, and Lapland long­spur. All of these species may be expected here in the winter, but have eluded previous counters.

In addition, many record-high species counts were made this year:· ruffed grouse

29

28 (previous high 14 in 1977), downy woodpecker 44 (37 in 1972), hairy wood­pecker 35 (33 in 1972), homed lark 5 (only previous CBC sighting, 3 in 1969 ), common raven 688 (678 in 1982), black-capped chickadee 957 (393 in 1985), red-breasted nuthatch 72 (23 in 1950), European starling 3476 (2367 in 1970), American tree sparrow 11 (5 in 1984), great gray owl 2 (seen only twice before, last in 1955), and northern goshawk 2.

Other birds found in high numbers were merlin 3, bohemian waxwing 402 (second highest ever, record 457 in 1958), and evening grosbeak 306.

Average numbers were reported for these species: herring gull 54, pileated wood­pecker 6, gray jay 24, blue jay 124, boreal chickadee 8 (found by 2 parties only), white­breasted nuthatch 14, northern shrike 2, dark-eyed junco 5, American robin 3, common grackle 1, pine grosbeak 166, white-winged crossbill 76, common redpoll 199, and pine siskin 61.

Lower than usual numbers were tallied for a few species: common goldeneye 1 (almost all water was frozen), American crow 167, rock dove 1069, and house sparrow 526 (it was so cold many of them were hiding in elevators).

What about the ones that got away? snowy owl, northern (red-shafted) flicker, and Townsend's solitaire were in the area just before or after the count, but couldn't be found on Dec. 26. And not a single northern cardinal could be found from the several that invaded the city in late October and early November.

Many thanks to all those who helped to make this 49th Count a memorable one tha t

30

will be hard to beat in the future ..... but we'll try!

OTHER AREA CBC'S

Atikokan set a new record for species count at 26. Highlights were their firs t-ever hooded merganser, an American robin, and a red-winged blackbird.

The Marathon count also set a record at 28 species. Four new birds were seen: a first­year Iceland gull, 2 red-tailed hawks, 2 brown creepers and a Townsend's solitaire.

Dryden held their count on Dec. 17. 26 species were observed, including a varied thrush, 2 black-billed magpies, and 3 g reat gray owls.

The Vermilion Bay count on Dec. 21 yielded 20 species, a record high, including one new to the count - boreal owl. Records were set for blue Jays (59), common ravens (337), European starlings (6), and pine grosbeaks (160).

Kenora's count, its ninth, was held Dec. 17 with 33 observers. Twenty-six species were found, including three new to the count: spruce grouse (4), barred owl (2), and grea t gray owl (1). Also seen was a bald eagle. Records counts w ere set for ruffed grouse (3), downy woodpecker (13), pileated woodpecker (11), blue jay (90), common raven (719), white- breasted nuthatch (19), and house sparrow (293).

s· "f . THUNDERBAYDISTRICTBIRDRECORDS . igm leant bird records for late 1988 are listed below. These include fi rst (F) and last {L) m· f d u;~su.~ numb~rs ~nd notes on plumage (ad=adult; imm=immature; m=male; f=female· ~~~:~~~en~:::, ~a~pf:;'t~~~7:t~~:~~~ale ~n t~rrito!"!'; migr=~igrant). Species listed in capital letters a;j con~idered ' C . un er ay. ror rare bird records to be accepted by the Ontario Bird Records D o~m1ttee~ adequate ~ocumentation, in the way of photographs or detailed field notes, is required

aedes are gh1ven nfumencally e.g. September 26 is shown as 09 26. The order followed and the name.s us , are t ose o the 1983 A 0 U h kli Pl ' Dr. NG Escott 133 H"ll St s' Th. . cdec st. ease send your bird records at the end of each month to:

· • , 1 • ., un er Bay, P7B 3T9. (345-7122)

OBSERVERS· Do g A "th B · N. G. Escott, J~hn; Fos~~~1Alla~d ~tk1?s~, Ev~fin BMrooks, Reg Brooks, Lionel Bruins, Olga Cearnes, Stanley Phippen To R , M . .S a_rns, ary en acCallum, Irene Macdonald, Steve O' Donnell

, , m oss, anon mith, George Williams, Wally Zarowski, Mike Zettek '

COMMON NAME

Great Blue Heron L Tundra Swan MANDARIN DUCK Green-winged Teal Greater Scaup

Old squaw Bald Eagle Northern Harrier L Rough-legged Hawk GOLDEN PHEASANT

Killdeer White-rumped Sandpiper Pectoral Sand piper Dunlin ICELAND GULL

Northern Hawk-Owl Long-eared Owl Three-toed Woodpecker Northern Flicker TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE

Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher NORTHERN CARDINAL Chipping Sparrow Vesper Sparrow

LARK SP ARROW Fox Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Snow Bunting American Goldfinch

M DATE NO. PLUM.

1125 1 L 1126 1

1127-28 1 L 1204 1 L 1126 12

11 06-09 1 1114 16 11 11 1 1229 1 1211 1

L 1122 1 L 11 02-05 1 L 1105 2 L 1104 2 F 1103 1

1119-20 1 1103 1 1203 1 1118 on 1 1228on 1

1204 1 11 20-271 11 07-23 1

L 1102 1 L 11 05 1

12 04 1 L 1104-05 1 L 11 20 1

ad m f

imm 4 imm

light m

1st yr

red-sh. ad

f

12 07 100+ flock 1225 1

LOCATION

Pool6 Mission Island Provincial mill P&H elevator Mission Island

mouth of McKellar R. Nipigon River Mission Island Marathon West Arthur Street

Old Fort William Mission Island Squaw Bay Mission Island south of Mc Vicar Ck

OBSERVERS

DA BA NGE, WZ NGE, JFF, SP BA

NGE, IM MEM BA SVP L. Bruins

SOD IM AGH IM NGE

Hwy 590 O'Connor Twp CW, TR Middle Falls IM Hume Road SOD Hill St. area Lakehead University

Correctional Centre Red Rock feeder Marks St. backyard Hillcrest H.S. S. end of Marina Park

Correctional Centre Slate River F.W. backyard O'Connor Twp. Empire Ave.

NGE, m.obs. AGH, m.obs.

NGE, JFF, SP 0.Cearnes BA SOD NGE, SVP

NGE, JFF, SP EB, RB MS MZ IM

..,,

NORTHWEST NEWS

Remedial Action Plans

Remedial Action Plans (R.A.P.'s) are in­tended to set the direction for improving the water quality of four "areas of concern" on Lake Superior, including Thunder Bay harbour.

Two public meetings were held in Thunder Bay in January, to inform and educate the public about problems here. During Febru­ary there will be public consultation on goals for the R.A.P. In May the options for remedial action will be drafted, and in August there will be public consultations on these options. Finally, during September, 1989, the draft plan will be released for public review.

The January, 1989, status report on the R.A.P. is available from Ljubica Pelletier at the district office of the Ministry of Environ­ment on James St. South.

Meanwhile, at Northern Wood Preservers, the "blob" of creosote in the surface sedi­ment of the harbour has been filmed and sampled. The worst of the deposit is to be vacuumed up before spring. Estimated costs of the operation are $100,000 to $300,000. The government hopes eventually to recover these costs, once responsibility for the problem is settled in court. This likely won't occur for years.

Jean Hall-Armstrong

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Shoreline Management Plans

Shoreline Management Plans are being developed for all of the Great Lakes, including Superior. Primary objective of the plans is the protection of life and property from flooding and erosion hazards. The plans will provide a framework for decision making on the use of shoreline lands. They will consider such variables as prevention, protection, emergency response, public information, monitoring, and the environment.

Locally, the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority is charged with preparing a plan to cover the Lake Superior shoreline from the Minnesota border to the Township of Dorion. All affected property owners have been notified, and an open house wi11 be held this spring to discuss the plan. A Public Advisory Committee has also been formed, on which the T.B.F.N. will have a representative.

For further information, please contact Steve Suke at the L.R.C.A.

Jean Hall-Armstrong

THUNDER BAY FIELD NATURALISTS' -- INFORMATION, 1989

The Thunder Bay Field Naturalist Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to: the study of natural history; the wise use of natural resources; the preservation of natural areas and; teaching the public to understand and protect nature.

Meeting Dates: The fourth Monday of September, October, November and January, February, March and April, at 20:00 h. The annual dinner meeting is usually held in May.

Annual Membership Fees: Family - $17.00 Single - $15.00 Students and Seniors - $13.00 Corresponding - $13.00

Mailing Address: Thunder Bay Field Naturalists Box 1073 THUNDER BAY, Ontario P7C 4X8, Canada

Honorary President Past President President First Vice-President Treasurer Recording Secretary Corresponding Secretary Social and Publicity Secretary

Juniors

Field Trips Programs Briefs Bird Records Memberships Sales Conservation Authority Rep. FON Representative At Large

Phoning Meeting RefteshmehlS

Officers Isabel Browne Sue Bryan Walter Crowe Robert Bishop Darcine Kish Jack Evans Louise Maclennan

Directors Jean Lister Mary Ellen MacCallum Allan Baxter Myra McCormick Allan Harris Nick Escott Jack Elliott Karen O'Gorman Jack Evans Harold Kish Claude Garton

Coordinators Mary Ann Maybroda Tom byke

623-8757 345-6446 767-7258 767-5689 475-7687 475-0222 623-1730

344-3815 345-0328 577-1390 345-6485 622-9356 345-7122 475-8058 344-1365 475-0222 475-7687 622-4873

622-2500 622-9980