Wednesday 29 February 2012

Lake Michigan by Ferry, 1996




The coming of the ferry to the Manitowoc Dock




This is the parking area for vehicles.
You park, they drive on for you at Manitowoc
and drive off for you at Ludington.




S.S. Badger shown off Manitowoc, Wi September 9, 1995.
Photo by Douglas S. Goodhue
c.1996
Post card information:
Built in 1953 for the C & O Railway, the Badger now operates as an autoferry between Ludington, MI and Manitowoc, WI. The twin screw, 410 foot Badger is the last coal burning Great Lakes steamerand only passenger ship of this type operating in North America. She can carry 175 autos and 620 passengers at a service speed of 18 MPH mid May through mid October.






Leaving Wisconsin behind.





Land Ho! Coming in to Ludington, Michigan





Ludington, Michigan.







Beautiful homes in the Ludington Harbour.









Camping down the coast of Michigan


on Lake Michigan at sunset.

THE SKY IS FALLING



The sky is falling

on lake and land,

on face and hand,

on what we drink,

and eat,

and touch.


We believe we are out in the fresh air, thousands of kilometers from smelters, incinerators, cotton farms and refineries.

We believe our waters to run clear and clean if we have no industry in the wilderness.

Think again!

"48 % of Ontario's upland forests receive acid depositions in excess of the critical load." page 67 Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management in Canada, National Status, 2005 Can Council of Forest Ministers

The Canada wide standard for ground-level ozone set in the year 2000, was to reach 65 ppb (parts per billion) by the year 2010, but it was not specific "to forest ecosystems but served as a benchmark." ibid p. 66

The majority of Lake Superior ranged from 65 to 75 ppb. Researchers have found that high-level ozone "tongues down" and "licks " the earth spiking the ground - level ozone. Information on eposodic ozone events on forest ecosystems is sparse. Ozone damages living cells i.e. interferes with normal functioning of living organisms, man included. Ground - level ozone creates significant impacts on forest health and productivity. "Reduced tree vigor also increases potential adverse impacts from climate variations - drought or extreme temperatures." ibid page 67

In the past, most studies on plant response to ozone have ignored the forest - except for a few on young, immature trees. Now, Canada and the U.S. are using 32 hectares of Wisconsin forest to study the long-term response of trees to CO2 and ground-level ozone.

The Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management in Canada, (National Status, 2005, Canada Council of Forest Ministers) recognized the problem:
#2.4 Core Indicator: area of forest with Impaired Function Due to Ozone and Acid Rain.

Chlorinated Organic Chemicals

"Exposure for the people of the Great Lakes Basin is 80 to 90% intake is through Chlorinated organic chemicals in food. That's the price of being at the top of the food chain. When larger fish, birds or humans eat the fish the contaminants move up the food chain in higher and higher concentrations... a process called biomagnification." page 29, A Citizen's Guide to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, by Tim Eder and John Jackson, Great Lakes United, 1988

PCBs increase in concentration 25 million times as they pass from water, through the food chain to, say, the eggs of a herring gull. ibid page 29

Again, scientists have only limited knowledge about the effects of toxic substances - of combined effects of more than one toxic compound, even less.

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyis) are used in electrical and hydraulic equipment, lubricants and more fluids that need to be heat resistant. Their use has been restricted and they are no longer manufactured, however, PCBs are persistent and will cycle through the environment. page 43, Toxic Chemicals in the Great Lakes and Associated Effects, Synopsis, 1991, Government of Canada.

A persistent toxic substance: any toxic substance that is difficult to destroy or that degrades slowly, i.e. with a half-life in the water greater than eight weeks.

606 kilograms per year of PCBs enter Lake Superior and 90% of that comes from the atmosphere.

DDT was introduced into North America in 1946 as an insecticide. Shortly after, an amateur naturalist noted many eagles in Florida had failed to nest and that their eggs did not hatch, thus likely being the first bird species known to be affected by the widespread use of DDT and its metabolite DDE.

Canada restricted the use of DDT in 1974 and suspended it in 1985 but never out-right banned it until 1989. It is still used elsewhere in the hemisphere.

92 kilograms per year enters Lake Superior, 97% of which comes from atmospheric deposition.

Noted Improvement

60 Bald Eagle over-wintered in Thunder Bay in 2012.

"The return of normally reproducing eagle pairs to their former habitat and the expansion of their population should also serve as the biological definition of the "Virtual Elimination" of persistent toxic substances from the Great Lakes Ecosystem. " page 29 Toxic Chemicals etc.

Benzo {a} pyrene, B{a}P is one of several polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) that are formed by the incomplete combustion of :


  • fossil fuels

  • wood

  • tobacco

  • garbage incineration

  • steel production

  • coke production

  • coal liquification

  • coal gasification

page 43 Toxic Chemicals ...


It's found in sediments in industrialized areas within the Great Lakes basin. Its presence in river and lake sediments is associated with liver tumours in fish.


The chemical load of B{a}P in Lake Superior is 72 kilograms per year, with 96% coming from atmospheric deposition.


The chemical load of Lead in Lake Superior is 241 kilograms per year of which 97% comes from atmospheric deposition!


How can Lead fly?


"Alkylated Lead - Alkyl lead compounds are produced mainly as lead additives for gasoline. Levels of Alkylated lead in the environment have decreased since 1981 and will continue to decrease as it is phased out of gasoline." page 45 Toxic Chemicals...


The St. Lawrence and the St. Clair Rivers are the most contaminated ...just follow the fish consumption guidelines to be safe. Problem Animals can't read.


THE CHEMICAL SOUP


In Lake Michigan moralities of Lake Trout and Coho Salmon fry were first reported in 1969. Studies found 167 organic chemicals in their flesh, but couldn't identify the killer.


Lake Superior has a surface area of 82,000 square kilometers with a total volume of 12,230 cubic kilometers. The land drainage area (basin) is 127,700 square kilometers. That's a massive area of land and water for the chemicals in the sky to fall on.


The Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem is defined in Article 1, (g) of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement:


The interacting components of air, land, water and living organisms, including humans, within the drainage basin of the St. Lawrence River beginning with all the rivers and streams from the Western extremes of the Lake Superior drainage basin all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.


The "chemical soup" of Lake Superior will theoretically drain into the Atlantic Ocean. I use the word "theoretically"because Lake Superior , as the largest and deepest of the Great Lakes, has a retention time of almost 200 years. Retention time - the period of time during which water stays in the lake before being flushed out. Once the sediments are contaminated you are looking at a longer period.


"In 1985, the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada found that the residents of the Great Lakes Region are exposed to more toxic substances than any other comparable group of people in North America." page 3, Cleaning up Great Lakes Areas of Concern, How much will it cost? , Northeast-Midwest Report August 1989, Northeast-Midwest Institute. Animals, waterfowl and even turtles are exposed to even higher levels of these contaminants. Snapping Turtles in Ontario are nigh on to becoming a species at risk, mainly through habitat loss and road-kill in Southern Ontario,(2012 newspaper report). Now add to that turtles dying in the Hamilton Harbour area in the mid 1980's with high levels of PCBs and the pesticide HCB, Chlordane and DDE.


HCB, Hexachlorobenzene is a persistent chemical originally manufactured as a fungicide for cereal crops. page 45 Toxic Chemicals...


Snapping Turtle eggs from Hamilton Harbour area (Lake Ontario) were more contaminated with PCBs, dioxins and furans than eggs from elsewhere. Turtle eggs from Lake Ontario wetlands had embryos and hatchlings with deformities similar to Cormorants, gulls, terns and fish. There seems to be a" direct correlation between dioxin equivalents and levels of embryo mortality."


Mink are sensitive to PCBs, HCB and dioxin poisoning. Mink raised on fur farms in the 1960's , fed on a diet of Lake Michigan Salmon suffered complete reproductive failure. Control groups fed West Coast Salmon were not affected. This is consistent with the pattern observed in the River Otter (Michigan and Wisconsin) . The River Otter's diet is mostly fish. Inland rivers of Michigan and Wisconsin had healthy populations but near Lake Michigan they became sparse.


ANNEX 15 to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement as amended by Protocol, November 18, 1987


AIRBORNE TOXIC SUBSTANCES


'The parties, in co-operation with State and Provincial Governments, shall conduct research, surveillance and monitoring and implement pollution control measures for the purpose of reducing atmospheric deposition of toxic substances, particularly persistent toxic substances, to the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.


"The co-operation of all levels of society is needed to reduce further the concentrations of contaminants in the environment." page 42 Toxic Chemicals...


"Canada and the U.S. Governments should become part of international efforts to "sunset" chemicals on a global scale with priority given to toxic chemicals contaminating the Great Lakes from long-range atmospheric deposition." page 23 A prescription for Healthy Great Lakes, Report of the Program for Zero Discharge, Feb 1991 , Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy and National Wildlife Federation.


SUNSETTING :


Banning the production and use of toxic chemicals


Sunday 26 February 2012

PINE MARTIN



Nipigon Historical Museum Wildlife Display American Pine Martin

Saturday 25 February 2012

PILEATED WOODPECKER








The Pileated Woodpecker who came to our door.

LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT, WILDLIFE HABITAT AND BIODIVERSITY

Something new in forest management?

No way!

This is from "Forest Operations and Silviculture Manual" prepared under the authority of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, February 20, 1995. Ministry of Natural Resources for Ontario.

Over a decade before Victoria's Secret turned her models loose with chainsaws - in a most derogatory put-down of our forest workers and managers - this is really what was planned for our forests.

page 30 " Considerable work has been done on this subject (Landscape Management, Wildlife Habitat and Biodiversity), resulting in the recommendation of an ecosystem approach to wildlife habitat management rather than a species - by - species approach."

"The featured-species approach to habitat management is being changed to one which strives more explicitly to conserve biodiversity with methods derived from landscape ecology...to provide the vegetative mosaic required by all species in the forest."

"This approach will seek to ensure that wildlife habitat requirements of a broad range of species will be met over the long term across large areas... It will not eliminate the need for site-specific prescriptions and critical habitat elements for some species."

In 1996 the Timber Management Guidelines for the Provision of Pine Martin Habitat were completed.

"The provision of martin habitat has potential to provide habitat for other species that depend on mature and over-mature coniferous forests."

"At the forest level the pine martin guidelines suggest maintaining a minimum proportion of each conifer-dominated forest unit in older post-rotation age classes and those older forest conditions are to be maintained in patches of a minimum size.( Rotation = the planned number of years between the regeneration of a stand and its final cutting at maturity.) These areas would ideally be located beside areas of intermediate-aged stands to create "core habitat areas." Wherever possible, core habitat areas would be connected to each other by riparian reserves or unmerchantable areas etc."

"At the stand level, the guidelines speak to the retention of course woody debris (large downed trees) and snags (standing dead or dying trees) as well as live green trees which are expected to become snags later."

Resource Manuals also exist for : Bats 1984; and Woodland Caribou 1996; Furbearer Habitat etc.
By 2014 we will be seeing an Eastern Cougar Habitat Guideline...I kid you not.

Starting in about 2001 the Environment groups tried to stop all logging in Ontario because we were destroying birdnests.(Previous posts have gone over that issue) So, lets see what the Forest Managers were doing way before that.

The Timber Management Guidelines for the Provision of Pileated Woodpecker Habitat , completed 1996.

Forest Level:

"The pileated woodpecker feeds and breeds in a range of forest conditions, but shows a preference for the mature and over-mature stages of forests dominated by tolerant hardwoods and pine."

Stand Level:

The pileated woodpecker requires dead and dying trees and downed woody debris for feeding, nesting and roosting."

Problem # 1 The Occupational Health and Safety Act requires operators to fell standing dead trees.
Problem # 2 Dying trees are removed preferentially in partial cutting systems.

Solutions:

"To address these concerns, current MNR guidelines require that living cavity trees be kept to provide habitat for primary and secondary cavity users in the tolerant hardwood and pine forests of Central Ontario. (They describe the number and dispersion and characteristics of trees to retain.)"

"Since living cavity trees may not meet all the habitat needs of the pileated woodpecker, MNR will continue to work with the Ministry of Labour to find methods to keep dead standing trees without compromising the safety of woods workers."

Resource Manuals also exist for: Osprey 1983; Forest nesting Accipiters, Buteos and Eagles 1984; Cavity nesting birds 1984; Protection of Heronries 1984; Warblers 1984; Birds of Wetlands 1985; Bald Eagle 1987; Golden Eagle 1987; Peregrine Falcon 1987; Waterfowl; Hawk Guide 1991.

Since that time these may have been upgraded and some amalgamated but I wanted to list them here , in their individual state to show that our loggers and pulp cutters weren't just going out and attacking and slaying and destroying the boreal forest and all the creatures that live there. Even the plants -

"Consideration is being given to providing direction on plant management such as protecting the habitat for uncommon species. For forest operations where ginseng is known to exist prescriptions include maintaining dense crown closure around intermittent streams and seeps, limiting the seasons of operation and minimizing the number of points at which streams and seeps are crossed."

DEER TRAIL IN THE SNOW



Trail made by White-tail Deer.

Once the snow gets belly-deep they tend to use trails.

Thursday 23 February 2012

SUNSHINE AND COLD AIR





When the sunshine meets the dark spruce the snow melts




the drips freeze






























Somebody sold Blogger The Emperor's New Clothes...this is horrendous to work with.
































Wednesday 22 February 2012

BEFORE THE SUN CAME UP

Wednesday, February 22, 2012




Blogger has changed its format

so it may be a while before I get the hang of this setup.



Thursday 16 February 2012

Before " SILENT SPRING" on the Nipigon

Controlling Black Flies 1948 - mid 1960's

A major pest for the people living at Cameron Falls was the Black Fly. A Black Fly control program consisted of dripping D.D.T. directly into any creek within 8 km (5 miles) of the community. This was done twice a week during the Black Fly season. Small creeks had one station, larger ones had more: eg. Frazer Creek had three stations in order to get a specific concentration of D.D.T. in the water.

In the late 50's and early 60's aerial spraying (probably D.D.T.) was conducted near the Cameron Falls Colony.

H.E.P.C. (Hydro Electric Power Commission) was reported (1967) to be evaluating the use of organo-phosphorous compounds as an alternative larvicide - but no evidence has been found that they ever used it on the Nipigon.

Personal reminiscence of Mr N.: (2006 N.H.M.)

"I played Broomball and Baseball for the Cameron Falls Rebels, and I played for them for quite a few years, which was made up of a combination of Nipigon people and people who worked for Hydro. I played in Cameron Falls a lot and I remember the flies were really bad and in those days the thing was to spray the mosquitoes. They had these "fogggers" which they used in the Colony so we used to get one of our guys to go and get the fogger from Hydro. In between, when the flies got really bad, they would go out into the field and there would be a fog hanging over us all. It was made up of D.D.T....and all our kids used to run in behind the fogging machine as little toddlers."

What Men Did For a Living

Mr. N. continued:

"So for the Hydro Forestry crew, our job was to basically run around and cut down any dangerous trees along the way from Terrace Bay to Dorion, all the rural and high-tension lines. I've walked all along those lines."

"In the summertime we sprayed 2-4-D on the lines - that was our job - and then 2-4-5-T which is all banned. Those are sprays that they are suing for now in the camps in Nova Scotia through the military where they sprayed."

"In the summer when we sprayed it was hot. We had a swamp buggy with a trailor which had booms on each side. K. would be on one end and I would be on the other end and we sprayed in the air and would be soaked from sweat because it was so hot outside. They had defoliants in them like the ones they used in the Vietnamese war and that was the same thing."

"At lunchtime the flies were bad. We always carried a can of D.D.T. and would spray it all around so the flies didn't bug us."

"Now there are a lot of suits going around and I got  a letter last fall from Hydro inquiring whether or not I had any side effects from the spray."

"I can actually say I'm fine!"

Black Fly Control from page 23  Nipigon Bay RAP Technical Report Series, The Nipigon River: A Retrospective Summary of Information about the Fish Community, North Shore of Lake Superior Remedial Action Plans  A Report to:OMNR, Nipigon District Division of Fish and Wildlife  prepared by Mary Ellen MacCallum March 1989

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Not ALL for the Good

"Through a 1940 agreement with the United States, approval was given to Canada " to utilize immediately for the increase in power output at Niagara for war purposes, an additional flow of water equivalent to that which will be added to the Great Lakes as a result of diverting water from portions of the Albany Watershed..."  (HEPC, 1941). This led to the construction of the Ogoki River Diversion which sent water south into Lake Nipigon. In 1942, the Hydro Electric Power Commission promised the diversion "will increase the power resources of Southern Ontario and Quebec and improve levels of the Great Lakes for the benefit of Canada and the United States."

"The diversion increased flows into the Little Jackfish River by 113 cubic metres per second and this minor stream turned into an excavated soft, wide channel. It is estimated that 30 million cubic yards of sediment were released from the Little Jackfish River between 1943 and 1972. This resulted in 9 metres of sediment being deposited near the river mouth in Ombabika Bay, (Holmes, 1976)."

"The completion of the Pine Portage Dam in 1950 raised the water level on the Nipigon River by 31 metres, (100 feet) and flooded out almost 16 km of white water, rapids and waterfalls, including: the White Chutes, Victoria, Canal, Devil, Rabbit and Miner's Rapids. Lake Emma and Hannah were both flooded out and the whole area renamed Forgan Lake. The Pine Portage Dam raised Lake Nipigon water level by 12 cm, flooding over the Virgin Falls Dam."

"Until 1990, the dams on the river were operated by Ontario Hydro for the sole purpose of generating electricity, restricted by only their legal flooding rights. In 1990, when it was demonstrated that fluctuating water levels on the Nipigon River and excessive drawdown was killing developing Brook Trout in the spawning beds, an interim flow agreement was reached."

"In May 1991, in response to an April 1990 landslide on the Nipigon River, Ontario Hydro put further restrictions on their rate of flow reductions ensuring that flows were reduced in stages to reduce scouring of the river banks, (Atria, 1993)"

"By 1994, a long-term Nipigon River Water Management Strategy was developed. From this strategy, an Operating Plan to guide the day to day dam operations was released to the public in 2001."


Taken from: Water Resources, Limnology and Power Generation on the Lake Nipigon Basin, The Nipigon River and the Black Sturgeon River System, R. Swainson, 2001 (in preparation) OMNR

Used by The Lake Nipigon Signature Site  background document June 2001.

In 1920 Cameron Falls Dam raised 23 metres of water to eliminate the Narrows,Lake Jesse was backed up over  Lake Maria and Split Rapids and created a pond 19 km long up to White Chutes.

Alexander Dam in 1930 raised the river 18.5 metres and eliminated 2.5 km of waterfalls and rapids up to Cameron Falls.

So, when the HEPC made a statement in 1927 to"... enable the total flow of the Nipigon River to be utilized for power development as the land requires it." ...they were quite prophetic.

Total fall of river = 77 m

Total fall developed = 72.5 m

Total fall not developed = 4.5 m

Thursday 9 February 2012

A DIVERTING EXPERIENCE

Anthropogenic Changes to a Great Lake Superior

MAN, We Did It!

Changes to the hydraulic features of the Great Lakes have been going on since the early 1800's.

The Lake Michigan Diversion at Chicago ( 1848, 1900, 1928) , is now in the news as they race to keep the Asian Carp from accessing the whole Great Lakes water system.

The Long Lac diversion (1941), and the Ogoki diversion (1943), divert water from the Hudson Bay watershed to Lake Superior.

Long Lac began as an aide to logging operations and then turned into hydro-electric generation. The Ogoki was purely extra water for the Nipigon River power dams at Cameron Falls and Alexander Falls and later Pine Portage. The down-stream power houses on the Great Lakes also benefited.

Between the two diversions flow rate in 1999 averaged 5,600 cubic feet per second and that raised Lake Superior level by + 0.21 of a foot. By the time it p[asses through all the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario raises level by + 0.21 of a foot. The effects change with regulation plans - I am using 1999 rules from Volume No. 136 July 2, 1999 Great Lakes Update, US Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District : Anthropogenic Changes to Great Lakes Water Levels by Frank H. Quinn, Ph D.

In 2007 I was on a site called " Great Lakes Water Wars " that described the Ogoki Diversion. The author was in a DeHavilland Beaver float plane, 150 miles north of Thunder Bay. He watches as the logging roads and cut-overs fade away - then they are flying over "pure unadulterated Canadian wilderness."

THEN:

"In the middle of nowhere rests a dam."

WHAT'S UNUSUAL?

"It's located in a roadless area!"

The Summit Dam: named because it sits on the divide between Hudson Bay and Lake Superior watersheds.

CONTINUING NORTH:

The Waboose Dam: spans 1700 feet - that's 450 feet longer than the Hoover Dam.

The Summit and Waboose Dams are part of the largest inter-Basin water transfer project built in the Great Lakes.

The Waboose Dam cuts off the Ogoki River, backing it into a reservoir feeding toward the Summit Dam which pours the water at a rate of 4000 cfs toward Lake Nipigon and the Nipigon River power dams and then Lake Superior and the Great Lakes system.

The Ogoki diversion started in 1940 and had its grand opening in 1943. The cost $5,000,000.

From HYDRO NEWS, Volume 30, No. 9, September 1943  Published by The Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Editor: William Rattray


The Waboose Dam
"Might and Majesty both find expression in the spectacle of a massive dam,
and water which rushes over sweeping sluice-ways
to roar into a turbulent torrent on the rocks below." photo by W. Rattray 1943


" It was the winter of 1940 when actual construction work commenced. The keen-edged axe of the lumberjack quickly made a clearing in the bush at Ferland where base headquarters were established. In all, approximately 80 miles of roads were built within the Ogoki area to facilitate the movement of equipment and more than 20,000 tons of different kinds of materials which had to be brought from outside. Of that total more than 800 tons were foodstuffs alone."

"Where sand and gravel for the mixing plants had to be trucked, or excavated rock or earth moved from the shovels, short stretches of good gravel road were built. The main winter roads, however, were simply clearings through the forest surfaced with hard-packed snow and ice. Thus cold weather provided smooth-surfaced highways over which heavy sleigh trains could be hauled. When spring came, however, these roads reverted to the forest primeval and became impassible swamp or rocky, stump-studded bush. By using this winter type road many thousands of dollars in construction costs were saved as well as a great deal of valuable time."


"Caterpillar tractors played an important role in Ogoki construction operations.
They were used extensively in moving freight over winter roads
and in hauling loads of rock-fill as shown above. " photo W. Rattray


"With the use of tractors, pulling long strings of freight carrying sleighs, most of the material and equipment was brought in during the winter months ready to commence operations in the spring when the frost released the ground from its icy grip."

" In summer planes were the principal transportation link between the Ferland headquarters and the various camps. One of these planes based at Ombabika Bay, two miles from Ferland, equipped with skiis in the winter time and floats during the summer, carried more than 1,800,000 pounds of freight and nearly 2,000 passengers within the Ogoki area during the construction period."




"Some conception of the magnitude of the task can be formed from the fact that during the construction period nearly 800,000 cubic yards of earth and muskeg and 140,000 cubic yards of rock were taken out by the tireless jaws of the mighty excavation machines."

"Where it was necessary to construct auxiliary earth dams a great deal of fill was also required. When the job was completed there were 65,000 cubic yards of rock fill, 284,000 cubic yards of earth, and 51,000 cubic yards of rip rap used, in the dams which close low spots in the contour."

"These works, combined with other auxiliary dams at Chappais Lake and Snake Creek, which flows into Mojikit Creek from the west, will create a reservoir extending upstream to the west a distance of 30 miles and to the south in Mojikit Lake. The total area of this reservoir or new lake will be 120 square miles of which 78 square miles only will be newly flooded land."


The new lake level is at the top and this shows the fall to Montreal.
page seven Hydro News

"Daily communication between construction camps and
the H.E.P.C. office in Toronto was maintained by shortwave radio.
 Key points at which shortwave radio was installed included
Waboose, Summit and Jackfish.



"This is the new railway bridge which was erected at Jackfish crossing
where the channel had been enlarged to take care of the increased flow of water."



"Houses for the operators have been constructed at both Summit and Waboose dams."


"Otto Holden, chief hydraulic engineer, W. B. Crombie, superintendent of Ogoki diversion constructions and David Forgan, the commission's construction engineer.  Declaring the Ogoki diversion open, Otto Holden smashed a bottle containing Niagara River water against a stop log at Summit control dam. With an  almost inaudible splash, the contents of the bottle mingled with the water below the dam."


International Lake Superior Board of Control Board Meeting  March 9, 2005  Conference Room E  Jacob Javits Federal Building, 25 Federal Plaza, New York City

...Item 3.  Update on Lang Lac and Ogoki Diversions

"Mr. Caldwell reported that Ontario Power Generation provided the Board with an update on the discharges of the Long Lac and Ogoki Diversions. The Ogoki Diversion into Lake Nipigon averaged 129.1 cms (4,560 cfs) during September 2004 - February 2005. The Long Lac Diversion averaged 60.6 cms (2,140 cfs) for the same period. The total diversion was reported to be 135% of average for the reporting period. Water was spilled northward to the Ogoki River from September through February and from Long Lac from September through November."

DOCUMENT ON CANADIAN EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Secretary of State for External Affairs to Ambassador of United States
note No. X-259  Ottawa, September 29th , 1953

...concerning the Long Lac and Ogoki diversions in Northern Ontario:

"As stated in the Department of External Affairs Notes No. X-125 of May 1, 1952 and No. X-133 of May 7, 1952, the diversions of these Canadian rivers are harnessed to important hydro-electric power developments serving communities and industries in the area which are consequently dependent on them. In spite of co-operation, however, the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario has on occasion made arrangements to reduce or stop the diversions temporarily when such action would serve a useful purpose without serious damage to the interests involved. The Long Lac diversion is directly harnessed to the Aguasabon power plant and continuous use of this water is necessary; but in order to ease the anxiety of interests directly affected by the out-flow from Lake Superior, the diversions have been reduced to a minimum by stopping, temporarily, the entire flow of the larger or Ogoki diversion to the Great Lakes basin."

"With regard to the proposal that the International Joint Commission be requested to give priority to this aspect of the Reference of June 25, 1952, the Reference itself asks the Commission to make recommendations with a view to reducing the fluctuations and to bringing about a more beneficial range of stage of water levels of Lake Ontario."...etc..".Accordingly, no useful purpose would seem to be served in requesting the Commission to digress from the orderly conduct of its work ..."

In 2010 consideration is back on the front burner for a power dam on the Little Jackfish. It has been an on again/off again project for many years.  With so many mill-closures the need for more power is not there, unless they are looking toward The Far North Ring Of Fire business?

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Non-Timber Forest Products

Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management in Canada
National Status 2005
c. Canadian Council of Forest Ministers and co-published by Canadian Forest Service in 2006

Established in 1985 the council  "provides leadership on national and international issues and sets direction for the stewardship and sustainable management of Canada's forests."

Core Indicator 5.1.4 ...Contribution of nontimber forest products and forest-based services to the gross domestic product.

Examples of NTFP

  • Wild edible food products...mushrooms, berries, herbs, vegetables and spices, honey, tree saps, tree nuts, wild rice, essential oils, seeds, teas and flavouring agents.
  • Materials and manufacturing products...platform chemicals (polylactic and levulinic acid), bioplastics, silvichemicals (lignosulphates), essential oils.
  • Health and personal care products...Pharmaceuticals, neutraceuticals. cosmeceuticals, aromatherapy oils, herbal health products, fragrances.
  • Decorative and aesthetic products... Florals and greenery, craft products, Christmas trees, native crafts, speciality wood products and carvings, cones.
  • Environmental products...Biofuels, biopesticides.
  • Landscape and garden products...Transplants - trees and shrubs- , wildflowers, grasses -, mulches, soil amendments.
  • Nonconsumptive bioproducts ...Carbon credits, tourism and education, biodiversity conservation, recreation, water quality.

Even the guys that make up this report admit they can only guess at what economic dollars are pulled in by these industries because as they say .."it would be difficult to extract as the NTFP span many sectors of activity."  Honey, maple syrup, and Christmas trees are the easy ones. Nature based activities reached over 11 billion dollars in 1996...hunting, guiding-outfitting, and tourism.

It seems like a lot of money, but where are the community stats in all this. When you had an area mill that employed more than 400 people close...if you look at the list I don't see where these NTFP could step in and operate 24/7, UNLESS its in the biofuel and chemical plants such as what White River is trying for .

Tuesday 7 February 2012

LAND USE PLANNING

Land Use Planning figures hugely in the ENGO's (now Civil Society) demand for our Boreal Forest. They haven't done their homework, we've been there and done that in most of Ontario.

Let's look at one part of the Land Use Planning; Archaeology.

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WEST PATRICIA

VOICES FROM THE EARTH: A 7,000 YEAR OUTLINE

By the Historical Planning and Research Branch of the (now) Ontario Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport
1981



Archaeology in West Patricia...the reason why

In 1978, the Ontario government initiated the West Patricia Land Use Plan, a multi-year study of the environmental impact of proposed industrial development in the extreme northwestern part of the province - about 90, 000 square miles. Part of the study involves the archaeological investigation to locate pre-historic and historic fur trade sites, the first major archaeological inventory under-taken in the north. The results have brought to light some startling, new perceptions of the lifeways of our forerunners.

An area erroneously thought to contain only sparse remains of a tiny peripheral group of prehistoric hunters and fishers actually has been a vibrant community for at least 7,000 years. We have discovered hundreds of sites dotting every major river system in the area - the Attawapiskat, the Albany, the English, the Berens, the Severn and others - and these tell a story of people who knew and successfully travelled the northwestern routes for thousands of years. Early European fur traders did not "discover" a new land but were guided on their way by the native mapmakers of old, and they exploited Indian trade networks already in place along which went copper westwards from Lake Superior, furs, hides and meat southward to Minnesota, lithic materials eastward from the Plains and possibly cultivated foodstuffs northward from the Upper Mississippi.




The prehistoric network of West Patricia is amply shown in the archaeological record - finely decorated pots similar to those found in Northern Manitoba and Northern Minnesota, beautifully flaked stone spearpoints  and arrow heads made from the "cherts" brought in from North Dakota and the Lakehead, and elegant tools of native copper imported from Lake Superior. Similarly the areas adjacent to West Patricia contain its products in abundance, especially the distinctive Hudson Bay  Lowland "chert", a handsome tan stone material that was prized by prehistoric tool makers from Manitoba to the Lakehead.



This illustration is from The Archaeology of North Central Ontario
Prehistoric Cultures North of Superior
OMCTS 1979


The past is parent of the present, and by reconstructing the Past of West Patricia through its archaeological record, we can grasp how its culture came to be what it is today, and plan for its future.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN WEST PATRICIA...VOICES FROM THE EARTH

1. The Palaeo- Indians about 7,000 to 4,000 years ago penetrated the North as far as Lac Seul in the west and 100 miles north of Lake Superior in the eastern part of West Patricia. Their existence in the area was previously unknown.

2.West Patricia participated in the mainstream of pre-historic life, and was not a "peripheral" area as previously thought. This fact is demonstrated by the presence in the archaic period of stone spear points typical of Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba and copper tools like those from Wisconsin and the Lakehead.

3. Artifacts of the Laurel (200 BC - AD 1000) and Blackduck (AD 1000 - AD 1700) cultures, previously found only as far north as the Red Lake area, have been discovered in the far north near the Hudson Bay Lowlands.

4. Pottery vessels of the "Clearwater Lake" type 9ancestral Cree) discovered before in Northern Manitoba were recovered in large quantities also in Northwestern Ontario, indicating Cree people were here at least as early as AD 1400.

5. An emphasis on rock art recording in West Patricia means we have a basis on which to begin intensive studies of styles, interpretations and cultural affiliations of Indian pictographs. Methods of dating the sites have yet to be devised but stylistic analyses may give clues. our guess, on the basis of collected data, is a range from AD 1000 to AD 1800.

6. Researchers have remarked that the archaeological sites in the North would truly be tiny - probably the remains of small, single - family hunting groups. However, sites such as Wenasaga Rapids at Ear Falls is large, covering several hundred square metres with well preserved remains - as many as seven Laurel pottery vessels may be completely reconstructable. It may have been a village housing many families of one band ( about 150 people ) and may alter our ideas of the social structure of prehistoric groups in the North.

7.It is becoming clear that fish played a larger role in prehistoric subsistence than previously thought. The large villages such as Wenasaga are situated to take advantage of the spawning areas of West Patricia.

8. A completely reconstructed pottery vessel from the Berens River , one of the rarest finds in West Patricia, gives us a chance to appreciate the intricate craftsmanship of the prehistoric people. Prehistoric ceramics in Northwestern Ontario are delicate, thin-walled pots more finely made and decorated than Plains and Iroquoian types to the west, south and east.

LANDFORMS AND GLACIATION...IN THE BEGINNING

The present landscape of West Patricia is a direct result of continental glaciation. At least 20,000 years ago a massive major ice front moved south and south-west from an area in Hudson Bay between the Labrador coast and northwestern Manitoba across Northwestern Ontario. This large ice mass deeply scoured the landscape as it moved as far south as the northern United States.

Most of the present day landscape is a result not of the southerly movement of ice, but of the deposition left by its retreat that consisted of a series of halts and advances leaving landscape features such as moraines ( glacial drift deposited at the leading edge of a glacier), eskers (long narrow ridges of sand and gravel whcih were once beds of streams flowing beneath, or in, the ice of a glacier and which were left behind when the ice melted), till deposits, and a realignment of stream patterns. There is good evidence that this continental glacier was still active in the northern part of the area as recently as 7,800 years ago.

As a direct result of the ice retreat various large glacial lakes, formed by the meltwaters of the ice, were present along the margins of the ice front. What has now become known as glacial Lake Agassiz covered a large portion of the southern and western part of the study area.  It is only with the retreating glacier and the subsequent regeneration of plant and animal communities that the possibility of incursion into the area by man became possible.



From: The Archaeology of North Central Ontario :
 Prehistoric Cultures North of Superior


The earliest evidence of man's occupation 9Palaeo - Indian) of the West Patricia area is very sparse, occurring only in the southern fringes of the study area. This early occupation seems to be associated with the margins of glacial Lake Agassiz and can be directly tied tot he time of the retreat of the glacial ice and the subsequent availability of the landscape for human occupation.


DOING THEIR WORK


GETTING THERE

Most of West Patricia is without roads. Archaeological crews flew in by bush plane from Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Geraldton.

When describing how archaeologists do their work for the West Patricia project, it is best to describe first what we are looking for. Along the lakes and rivers of Northern Ontario are many ideal camping spots. Many used today have been home to people for thousands of years. Pieces of pottery, stone scrapers, projectile points and more commonly waste flakes of stone, discarded during the process of making stone tools, are found on the surface or in test holes placed across a camp site.

However, it must be remembered that the earlier inhabitants may not have always used the land in the way a modern camper does. Specific types of sites such as those associated with the gathering of wild rice, winter campsites, or specified hunting camps may be found in areas which the modern camper would not use. Also, the changes in the climate and dam construction have caused changes in water levels so that some sites may now be either above or below the present shoreline. Changes in the course of a river or stream can also place sites in an area where modern man might not expect them.

Archaeologists must take into account all these factors. The time budgeted for a survey and the immense size of the study area must also be considered. The vast majority of the work so far undertaken in the West Patricia study has been done along the present water systems.

A lake is systematically surveyed - all points, bays, rock outcrops and other "possible" site areas are first surface collected and then "tested" by means of a series of small excavation test pits placed across likely areas of past habitation. From this it is hoped that as many sites as possible will be found and their size and function will be determined.

Artifacts recovered in different portions of a  site are placed in separate bags marked with the location so that back in the laboratory, clues to the site's use, not visible in the field, can be found. For example, on many sites specific activities such as stone tool making, pottery making, the location of the dwellings and cooking activities may have taken place in different areas; by keeping the artifacts separate it may be possible to determine these activity areas by the number of specific types of artifacts found in each area - burnt and cracked bones, ash and cracked rocks would indicate a cooking hearth, while a hearth with broken pottery and fired clay may indicate an area used to fire clay pots. An area with high concentrations of stone waste flakes likely indicates a tool-maker's work shop. Other areas with scrapers and cutting tools may be evidence of food preparation or an area where hides were prepared for future use as clothes.

These interpretations can be full of errors and only further investigations can answer many of the preliminary interpretations. For example, a site that has seen a series of occupations through time ( a "multi-component" site) may appear at first analysis to show relationship between activity areas while in fact these areas are a different product of different peoples at different periods.

Many of the sites found in West Patricia contain only a few flakes and a single piece of pottery. In such cases, it is possible only to state that people have used the area and possibly, it an identifiable stone or ceramic artifact is found, what culture produced the artifact. On a daily basis, the surveyor located a majority of this type of site. However, the rewards of locating a large and rich site, coupled with the beauty of the Northern lakes and rivers far outweighs the daily scourge of bugs, and the occasional days spent wind-bound or forced into a tent because of rain storms.

Many of the areas studied have never been visited by archaeologists before. West Patricia is a vast area that still has mysteries to reveal.

The West Patricia Archaeological Project, a sub- component of the West Patricia Land Use Plan, was funded by the Ministry of Northern Affairs.
William Ross Regional Archaeologist, North Central Region
Paddy Reid Regional Archaeologist , Northwest Region

Thursday 2 February 2012

HORSES VS MACHINES

Camp 51 documented the takeover of the machines in the logging industry . The Nipigon Museum Photo Archives was used to show a few examples.



Truck hauling sleighs of wood





Who you gonna call?





Horses Rule

Trying to cross Lake Helen




When the lakes and rivers were frozen, no problem.




The caption on this photo had read "Out to Lunch"



At one time Tansley had 14 bull-dozer  operators.

K.C. ..." My earliest memories of Nipigon are very brief, I think it was 1948 but it might have been 1949 when I came here and I just had a brief visit to Nipigon then because my grandfather was a large scale farmer in Southern Ontario. He used to have about more than twelve teams of horses on his farm so in the winter time he didn't need all of the horses and it wasn't good for them just to stand in the barn not working. So, anyway, he used to bring them north to work in the bush camps so he always liked his horses and he looked after them good. He wouldn't just ship them up to anyone so he'd accompany them by train. I accompanied him one time up here and he delivered them to the contractor and his name was Sam Hughes. He knew him enough to know that he would look after his horses well. I can remember it was across from the present day Petro Canada, there was a place that was kind of like a large farm there and I think it used to be like a horse exchange. Those places used to be all over the place back then when logging was done by horses. Horses didn't last very long in the bush other than the best contractor's who looked after them. Many of them died in the harvest which was why my grandfather came up with his horses."


Wednesday 1 February 2012

1,000,000 th CORD

CAMP 51

Domtar Woodlands Limited, Nipigon, Ontario October 31, 1968 - one millionth Cord was cut by Camp 51

About Camp 51

While the early history of Camp 51 is sketchy, it is known that the original buildings were erected on this site in 1944 by Northern Forest Products Limited. This was a one year pole cutting operation, but no record of the quantity that was cut is available.

In 1945, local contractors, Rask and Sundstrum, moved their wives and 14 children onto the site and spent the entire winter producing 320 cords which were hauled to, and shipped from Jellicoe.

On April 9, 1946, Roy L. Tansley & Sons Limited, represented by Son T.E. "Tom" Tansley and W. E. "Bill" Sinclair, moved onto Brompton Pulp and Paper Company Limited limits to salvage 7,000 cords of blow-down at Camp 51 and produce lumber and pulpwood. This was a great boost for the nearby community of Jellicoe which had almost become a ghost town since the wartime closing of near-by mines. 1946 production of 10,670 cords was a very respectable operation at the time.

Although the "Bull of the Woods" era was past, camp buildings were constructed of rough lumber in those days and insulation and indoor plumbing was still in the distant future. Kerosene and pressurized gas lanterns provided the illumination, but even then, the horse barn enjoyed electricity produced with a gasoline powered generator. Horses were in one part of the barn and pigs in the other. It was rather common practice for a camp to raise its own pork.

The first night the generator was installed, it seems that one teamster who was slightly under the weather, went to the barn to check on his horse. The story goes that he thought all the unexpected brilliance was caused by demons. As he tried to escape, he fell over a low partition into the pig pen, passed out, and spent the night with the pigs.

The 1947 season produced 17,777 cords of forest products, the greater part of which was pulpwood. Horses, of course, played a major part in moving the logs to the river banks and skidways. Mechanical equipment was in very short supply during the early post-war years. Power saws were not here yet, and the tubular steel bow saw frame and narrow raker tooth blade was used exclusively to fell and buck. Although the turnover of workers was high, as men searched for greener pastures, some did stay, and left camp in the spring with well-stuffed wallets.

Fellers like Ken and Rocky Anderson hand loaded 40 cords of eight foot pulpwood a day, and one day set a record of loading 65 cords. When it is considered that a cord of pulpwood weighs about 3,500 pounds, it isn't too hard to determine the effort put into a feat of this kind.

It was about this time that a Miss Barbara Bradbury, a comely Montreal Miss, riding a pony to Vancouver, stopped over at Camp for a short rest. She stayed on as a cookee and worked a year. Later, Miss Bradbury published a book of her experience - much of her story was about Camp 51.

1948 introduced a new era in logging when the first power saw arrived at camp. A cumbersome man killer, weighing all of 45 pounds, it heralded the move of the forest industry towards more mechanization and the end of the old 'Bucksaw".

Men were scarce, and the first displaced persons were now arriving from Europe. These people had lost all their worldly possessions during the war, and had chosen Canada in which to make their new home. Camp 51 received its share of the 400 which Brompton undertook to employ.

Living conditions in camp again showed a marked improvement. Eight brand new 8 - man sectional bunkhouses were constructed on the hill overlooking the river. Centrally located washrooms were built, to make living away from home just a little easier.

It was also in 1948 that a new cookery to accommodate 100 men, was constructed. Here again, this seemed to be a matter of dire necessity. A family of skunks had established residence under the old cookhouse. It appeared to be easier to build a new one than to move the skunks.

And, this was the year the first portable Nesco Slasher arrived on the limits - the cost, $7,260.72. Probably on the market before its time, this piece of equipment did not prove to be economical and was seldom used again. However, it did prove that an evolution was taking place and the horse era would soon be a thing of the past.

Art Steinke, Neil Arthur, Connie Ropret, Paul Lewicki, were already well up on the seniority ladder. Connie eventually established the longest run for any cook - 19 years.

1949 was a slack year. Limit production  ground to a halt, and had it not been for the sawmill operation, Camp 51 would have closed its doors. However, mine timber and lumber was in demand, and 2,730 cords of forest products were produced for conversion to building materials.

Although production picked up in 1950, it was slightly below the 1948 figure. These were the years of the "Jammer" loading operations, and winter horse hauls where men could still pride themselves with having the best team in the camp.


Nipigon Historical Museum photo

A great deal of affection existed between horse and man then. Today, of course, you don't give your Wheeled Skidder a friendly pat, or cover it over with a blanket to protect it from rain and snow. Jammers were the noon day meeting places, and lunches - often hot - were served around a roaring fire. However, the Jammer's day was also numbered. In 1951, a mechanical giant made its first appearance. Referred to as a "Bundle Yarder" or "Cable Yarder", this self-propelled leviathan, literally dragged one cord bundles of pulpwood off the strips, for distances of up to 700 feet and loaded the wood on the decks of waiting trucks.

The use of these machines resulted in radical changes in logging methods and introduced parallel all-weather roads and increased summer pulpwood delivery. Gradually the need for horses was diminishing. Fortunately so, because the western farmers were rapidly moving toward total mechanization and horses were in short supply. However, it would be some time yet until Dobbin disappeared.

1952 introduced more improvements in the bundle yarding techniques, and more sophisticated 'Drott" front end loaders started to make their appearance. The move towards total mechanization was becoming more rapid. St. Lawrence Corporation Limited had purchased Brompton assets the year previous, and the influence of the larger Company was becoming evident.

1953 saw production increasing and facilities expanding. New wash and dry rooms were constructed that year, and flush toilets appeared for the first time. Goodbye at last to the outdoor biffies. Another era had passed. This was the year when the sawmill went up in flames, but Tansley and Company gamely started new construction on the same site.

During 1954, production remained constant, but the lumber market was giving very little return for the investment. In 1955, the sawmill closed its doors, never to re-open. However, demand for pulpwood was stronger than ever, and Camp 51 produced 61,810 cords - an amount far in excess of any previous year.

1956 and 1957 were normal operating years, with production slightly lower. This was the last year for the truck owner-driver. In 1958, a new fleet of tandem trucks was purchased to provide for bigger pay load and more efficient operation. During 1959, 73,235 cords of forest products were produced, surpassing by far any previous cut. This equalled the production of ten or more camps in the early days and was certainly a new record for our limits.

1960 may best be described for the great fire hazard. The largest fire in standing timber ever to occur on Company limits, broke out at Camp 51 this year, and raged uncontrolled through 60,000 cords of potentially merchantable pulpwood. At one time, over 500 fire fighters were on the 51 blaze. Perhaps one of the greatest salvage operations ever, followed all the devastation and 30 to 40,000 cords of fire-killed timber was picked up.

1961 was truly the end of the horse and buggy days. The last horse was retired at Camp 51. While horses were still used elsewhere on the limits, Camp 51 was now completely mechanized. The "Tree Farmer" had finally taken over.

The years just past, will probably be remembered with more nostalgia than any other period. It seems so hard to have any affection for the wheeled monsters we see now.

A modern two-story centrally located bunkhouse now appeared on the hill above the cookery. Two men to a room offered more privacy that the former eight-bed plan. Some liked the change - others preferred the old life. But, we can't stand in the way of progress.

Late in 1962, it became evident that St. Lawrence Corporation was to be purchased by Dominion Tar and Chemical Company Limited. Officially, the change took place on October 1, 1962.

July 12, 1963,  was celebrated as "Domtar Day", and Camp 51 was honoured by a visit from Mr. W. N. Hall, President of Dominion Tar and Chemical.

The next few years were quite uneventful as the Camp continued to produce its share of limit wood. The old garage had burned down, and had been replaced by a new one. The last of the Yarders was scrapped and new trucks and Skidders were replacing the older types. Production was becoming more efficient, power saws and machines were improving continually.

In 1965, a new modern cafeteria style Cookery was erected across the road from the old one - same"good grub" but better surroundings. Staff quarters were constructed on the hill to make the Foreman's lot a little easier, also.

It was 1966 when the first portable lunch shacks appeared on skidding sites. Workmen could use these shelters in case of rain.

1967 saw the completion of another two-storey bunkhouse, to accommodate 88 men. The old eight-man bunkhouses are scrapped, abandoned, but certainly not forgotten by many of the workmen. But what was considered modern 20 years ago, certainly looks obsolete now. So times change.

This year, a new "Nesco" Slashmobile made its appearance. Remember the old ones that cost $7 -8,000? The new machine is worth ten times that amount, but what a difference in performance!

Tom Tansley, who has worked much too hard, has decided that this is his last year as a Contractor. There is nobody quite like Tom. We say "Goodbye" to a fine gentleman.

1968.  The old eight-man bunkhouses are burned. Camp 51 has produced its 1,000,000th cord. (October 31, 1968) And, so ends another era.



We are not sure that the production of 1,000,000 cords from one camp, is a record.  But, for us it represents many things. Over the years, workmen have come and gone, but many lasting friendships have developed.

For a camp that was opened to salvage blowdown, it has been operating for a long, long time. Best of all, these are still several hundred thousand cords to produce from this location, so it is likely this Camp will go on for a few years more.

To the newcomers, you may never see the 2,000,000th cord produced , but we hope your stay with us is a happy one. But, what will the next decade bring?

The Nipigon Historical Museum wishes to thank the author of this piece.

DID YOU KNOW?


1,000,000 Cords piled 4' high and 4' wide, would stretch for a distance of 1,515 miles, or from Camp 51 west to Banff, Alberta. Or, following Highway 11 to the East through Montreal, it would stretch from Camp 51 to Moncton, New Brunswick.

The individual sticks to make up 1,000,000 Cords, if laid end to end, would reach 90,910 miles, or FOUR times around the earth at its circumference.

1,000,000 Cords of Pulpwood would produce 1,818,182,000 pound of Newsprint.

This is equal to 4,675,325,142 issues of a 28 page Newspaper, which is the average size of a weekday issue of the News Chronicle or Times Journal (these are Port Arthur and Fort William - now Thunder Bay- newspapers).

And it would keep the newsprint machine at Red Rock in production for 13 years.

The Newsprint produced from 1,000,000 Cords, if laid flat, would cover 3,912,960 acres, or 6,114 square miles.