cktimes.ca Archives for Ecowrappin'
Ecowrappin'
LIMESTONE VERSUS HARD ROCK
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
I just spent a week in the hard rock country. The north woods! Well, not really the north woods, but that expanse of largely forested land between Parry Sound and Burk’s Falls would qualify as the north woods to a host of city-bound folk. Hard rock, or more correctly, igneous rock, is that which makes up the foundation of the Canadian Shield.I was raised in limestone country. Limestone country has also been called rich country, as generally, the mineral soils lying over or adjacent to limestone are more nutrient rich than much of the mineral soils found in hard rock country. I suppose this has something to do with the alkaline that emanates from limestone; lime, calcium and magnesium. Having been raised in limestone country I naturally had a fondness for my surroundings. I erroneously associated hard rock country with vast expanses of coniferous trees and bogs and an absence of agricultural land; as opposed to the mixed forests, swamps, marshes and expansive farmlands I grew up with.
My first visit to hard rock country was during a college field trip. Yes, I was in my very late teens and had never been north of Barrie; not even to Orillia. If I remember correctly, we visited a paper mill just outside of Huntsville. My first foray into this part of Ontario ended my illusion that there were no deciduous trees on hard rock country; the countryside was full of maples, oaks, ash, beech, birch, aspen and other less common hardwoods. And I was awestruck by the white pines. They towered high above the deciduous canopy; twice as high! Many were individuals that really stood out on those far off ridges. And there where actually quite a few farms scattered throughout this region wherever deeper soils predominated.
That initial visit to the hard rock country did not win me over. A trip to the Sudbury area a few years later did nothing to improve my feelings for an area that so many others had been raised in; or had lovingly adopted as their recreational playground. But over the years as I spent more and more time in the Muskoka, Parry Sound, Nipissing and Algoma Districts; initially through work and later following recreational pursuits, I became enamoured with the “near north” and “Rainbow Country”. Part of it was the history of the area. Pioneering settlement; the cutting of the vast timber resources and the infrastructure built to facilitate this industry; the opening up of the Muskokas and Kawarthas as the finest of cottage country; mineral extraction; once thriving hamlets and villages that are now gone ----- all this makes for very interesting investigation and travel.
Now I own, in partnership with several others, recreational acreage in hard rock country. I spend a few weekends and at least two full weeks there each year. Now I love the hard rock country; perhaps as much as the limestone country where I grew up; which is, incidentally, the most beautiful physiographic region in southern Ontario. I am always impressed by trees and the white pines, Eastern hemlock, red spruce, yellow-birch, maple, red oak and black cherry in the hard rock country are most impressive. The rivers, creeks and wetlands that abound throughout this country have their own special characteristics; and along with a multitude of beaver ponds and lakes offer a landscape diversity that is hard to beat. And the wildlife diversity follows suit!
As previously mentioned, there is a lot of farmland scattered throughout the hard rock country. “Was” might be the better term as, sadly, much of the lands farmed in earlier days have been abandoned and are, or have been, retaken by the forest. It is heartening to see landowners that appreciate and know the value of open spaces bush hogging those old fields and keeping them open. This not only maintains some of the former landscape diversity; but provides habitat for open country and meadow loving species.
It is always good to venture into new ground. You never know how it might favourably impact and enhance your life.
I was born on the Bruce Peninsula on July 20, 1951 and raised on a farm just south of the village of Lions Head, which is located about halfway up the peninsula on the Georgian Bay shoreline. I graduated from Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology in Barrie in 1973 as a Resources Engineering Technologist. I was hired by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) in April of 1975 as the first DUC employee in Ontario. Throughout almost 29 years I was involved with the implementation of more than 500 wetland projects and project complexes in southwestern and south central Ontario. Some of these habitat projects included important waterfowl and migratory bird habitat along the eastern shoreline of Lake St. Clair. Just three weeks short of completing 29 years with DUC, I accepted an early retirement opportunity effective March 31, 2004.
