To see on the trails…

Boom Camp Golf Course

Welcome to the location of the very first golf course in Blind River! Before the golf course was established here, it was a summer pasture for hundreds of horses belonging to the Carpenter and Hixon Lumber Company. Early morning golf games prior to employees going to work at the saw mill were common. Leonard Carpenter was one of the founders of the course and an avid golfer himself. By 1940, the golf course had fallen into disrepair and the new owners of the McFadden Lumber Company decided to plough up the old fairways and plant oats to supply feed for their many horses.

White Cedar

This stop highlights the White Cedar which has foliage rich in vitamin C. Local Indigenous Peoples used White Cedar to prevent scurvy, so it has commonly been referred to by settlers as the “Tree of Life.” This term dates to the 16th century when the French explorer Jacques Cartier, learned from the People of Mississaugi River how to use the wood, bark, and roots for medicinal purposes. Cedar is a keystone species for the People of the Mississaugi River. In addition to medicine, the local Indigenous population would also use White Cedar for household items, canoes, dyes, and clothing.

Mississagi Island Lighthouse

At this site you will notice the remnants of logging days gone by with pins, boom logs, and chains still visible (conditions depending). When the Great Lakes shipping industry was at its peak, there were over 50 lighthouses located on Georgian Bay, Manitoulin Island, and the North Channel. Over half of these have since been torn down. The only remaining fog plant left in this region is located at Cove Island.

Water Levels of the Great Lakes

Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume, with 3,540 cubic kilometers(850 cubic miles) of water. The lakeshore is 6,157km (3,827 miles) and is characterized by shallow, sandy beaches and the rocky shores of Georgian Bay. It takes 22 years for the water in this lake to be replaced. The normal elevation of the lake surface varies irregularly from year to year. Predicted water loss levels are at 3.2 million cubic meters (845 million gallons) per day. Extreme and prolonged shifts, such as climate change and human interventions like dam building, cause dramatic and permanent changes to levels and flow in the entire ecosystem, upsetting the delicate equilibrium in the process.

Erratic Boulder

As you follow the path that the glaciers did over thousands of years ago, you will come across a large rock that seems out of place. This phenomenon is what is known as an ‘erratic boudler’ (also commonly referred to as ‘glacial erratics’ or simply ‘erratics"‘). This boulder sits here as a result of being dropped by a glacier over 10,000 years ago. These boulders are often found far away from their original home, having been transported by ice and/or water.

Beaver

(Castor canadensis)

As a result of habitat changes, disease and the whims of fashion, the beaver population has fluctuated dramatically since throughout the past 4 centuries. The craze for beaver hats in Europe in the 1700s was a driving force behind the exploration and settlement of Canada. During the height of the fur trade, over 200,000 beaver pelts were shipped across the ocean each year. This created a decline in the beaver populations, however, as the fashion industry has moved away from beaver fur and settlements have created new habitats, beaver populations have rebounded.

Along the North Channel of Lake Huron, the People of the Mississauga River commonly hunted and trapped beavers for food, clothing, and utensils long before European traders arrived to barter beads, cloth, blankets, irons, guns, and brandy for the pelts.

Northern Saw Whet Owl

(Aegolius acadius)

Saw-Whet owls are the smallest of the owl species, measuring only 7-8 inches tall and weighing a mere 4 ounces. That is about the same size as a ‘Quarter Pounder’®.

We can play a vital role in conservation and recovery of owl populations by providing safe alternatives to natural cavities. Humans have caused changes to the habitats owls depend upon, such as coniferous and oak woodlands. When owls are unable to find adequate nesting sites, they don’t reproduce.

Constructed nest boxes are made of wood and should be placed in an area of ideal habitat and away from potential predators. Nest boxes are most likely to be used if they are in place well before the nesting season begins, which occurs in early spring.

Eastern Hemlock

(Tsuga canadensis)

Hemlock is a very poisonous plant, but has a long history of medicinal use by First Nations who used the leafy twigs of eastern hemlock to make tea and for steam baths. Tea from the inner bark was prescribed for colds, fevers, diarrhea, stomach troubles and scurvy. The bark was also used in poultices to slow bleeding.

The bark of the eastern hemlock is rich in tannin and was once one of the main commercial sources for the leather industry. Unfortunately, trees were often stripped of their bark and left to rot. The Hemlock today is used primarily for lumber and pulpwood. The lumber is used largely in building construction for framing, sheathing, subflooring, and roof boards, and in the manufacturing of pallets, boxes and crates. (source: OMNR)

Sugar Maple

(Acer saccharum)

The Algoma area is home to a very productive Maple Syrup Industry. To the west of us, St. Joseph Island is home to 10% of Ontario’s Maple Syrup resources. The Ojibwe were the first to produce Maple Syrup by cutting a gash in Sugar Maples every spring and collecting the sap in birch bark buckets. The sap would be placed in hollowed out logs and hot rocks would be thrown in to boil off the sap until the sugar remained.

Studies at Cornell University have shown that sugar maple populations are declining due to acid rain. The rain causes the soil to become more acidic which makes an unfavorable environment for the tree to grow. This research addresses how the long-term, human-caused change in the environment is affecting maples, which are valuable both ecologically and economically as one of the dominant species in this region.

Geology of the Boom Camp

Completely under nature’s control, a random phenomenon, approximately 2.5 billion years ago, formed our destiny here on the North Shore. At that time the area was covered with volcanic rock and granites. The softer volcanic rock was gradually eroded by large river systems to form valleys. The uranium ore in the Elliot Lake-Blind River area was created by the weathering and erosion or uranium bearing rocks in the headwaters of the water system (Trade History of the North Shore, 1996).

Bat Roosting Box

Bat boxes like the one seen here help people understand that bats are an important part of our ecosystem. Bats are primary predators of night-flying insects and are the most abundant species of mammal in Canada. In fact, bats are the only mammal that flies. However bats are losing their habitat in Canada mainly due to man-made factors such as nesting site disturbance and their numbers are in decline due to poisoning from pesticide use in their main food source (mosquitos). Some are under the false impression that bats are disease-carrying animals, when in fact bats are required to be very clean animals in order to fly and as a result groom themselves daily. However, due to their nocturnal nature and secretive habits, bats have long been portrayed as an animal to be feared. Bat Roosting Box Programs such as this are key to replacing lost or degraded habitat that has contributed to the decline of bat populations across North America.

Northern Flicker Nesting Box

Some birds and animals as we have seen in other areas of the park prefer to nest in cavities of decaying trees or stumps and to depend on other animals or Mother Nature to create these cavities for them. However, human activity such as logging, agriculture, and development has left many species out in the cold. Nesting boxes such as these are a real bonus for birds such as the Northern Flicker who like to raise their young in cavities.

Populations of Northern Flicker appear to be declining. Contributing reasons may be use of pesticides on lawns and lack of suitable nesting sites (including competition for these sites from Starlings). By creating and placing bird nesting boxes such as these, we can make a difference in the local population of bird species such as the Northern Flicker.

Glacial Till

Watch where you step! The material underfoot has not been manually deposited here but is known as till, unsorted glacial sediment. Glacial till is that part of a glacial drift which was deposited directly by the glacier. It can vary from clay, sand, gravel, and boulders and is the oldest surficial deposit that currently exists. These deposits shaped the landscape following the glacier age and the types of arrangements of plants that may have once grown in this spot were replaced in favour of others.

Wetlands

The Top Five Reasons We Need Wetlands:

Wetlands act like giant sponges, soaking up rain and snowmelt and slowly releasing the water in drier seasons when it is needed. As a result, they help to reduce flooding and prevent drought;

Due to the dense amount of plants that grow in Wetlands, they slow down the flow of water and help to prevent soil erosion;

Much like our kidneys, Wetlands filter the waters of our lakes, rivers, and streams, reducing pollution. The vegetation removes phosphates and other plant nutrients thereby slowing the growth of algae and aquatic weeds;

Wetlands are homes for at least some part of the year for many fish, birds, and other animals, meeting essential breeding, nursing, nesting, and feeding needs;

And finally Wetlands contribute to the growth and economy of the country. They contribute to the fur trade, hunting and fishing, and supporting a growing recreation and tourism industry.

White Pine

(Pinus Strobus)

White Pine was employed medicinally by First Nation communities who valued it especially for its antiseptic and healing qualities, using it extensively in the treatment of skin wounds, burns, and boils, etc. It was also beneficial to the respiratory system and was used in treating coughs, colds, and influenza. The turpentine retained from the resin of the tree is used internally to treat bladder and kidney infections. Tea made from the young needles was used to treat sore throats.

By the late 1800’s, great stands of White Pine had been cut and shipped overseas for rebuilding Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. There was concern that this extreme harvesting and disease that followed would wipe out the majestic tree, but fortunately it has survived. The White Pine is Ontario’s official arboreal emblem and this district was once home to the largest white pine in Ontario which measured 50 meters in height.

Red Pine

(Pinus Resinosa)

Red Pine is one of the most planted species in North America, not only for wood production but for snow breaks, wind breaks, and Christmas Tree production. Despite being Native to North America, this tree is also commonly known as the Norway Pine. Red Pines grow very rapidly for the first 60-70 years of their life and can live up to 350 years, reaching heights of 120 feet and diameters up to three feet. This tree has a very deep root system which allows it to be very wind tolerant and is why it’s often the tree of choice to stabilize sandy soils.

Red Pine trees grown in the area are known to make good ‘pole quality’ trees. They are cut, treated, and shipped to places such as Saudi Arabia to be used for telephone poles. Trees are also easily treated due to the ability of preservatives to easily penetrate the wood. Most of the wooden poles in Ontario are also made of Red Pine. Mature trees are able to survive fires due to their thick bark, branch-free trunks and deep root system. Red Pine stands require a disturbance such as fire to prepare seed beds, open up the canopy and reduce the understory for regeneration.