|  The
Fate of the East-Side Forest
Can forest preservation co-exist with economic
development? That's the fundamental issue
of a public consultative process that will
determine the future of one of Canada's
most significant frontier forests.
Covering an area of 20 million hectares
(100,000 square kilometres), the East-Side
Forest is a vast boreal wilderness that
stretches east from Lake Winnipeg to the
Manitoba-Ontario border and north to the
Hudson Bay lowlands. The region is undisturbed
and undeveloped. It has no highways, hydro
dams, forestry operations or other significant
industry. It is characterized by:
| High-Priority
Lowlands
Extensive wetlands, boreal forests,
poplar parklands, limestone
cliffs, sand dunes and glacial
moraines are among the natural
features included in the proposed
Manitoba Lowlands National Park.
The prospective park, with a
total area of 3,300 square kilometres,
is an unusual composite of 3
separate geographic areas of
Lake Winnipeg, including Limestone
Bay to the far north, Long Point
spanning the lowlands between
Lake Winnipeg and Lake Winnipegosis,
and the Black and Deer Islands
of Hecla/Grindstone Park in
the Lake's southern basin. Each
area of the park has been selected
on the basis of ecological,
geological and historical distinctiveness.
The park's disparate boundaries
are the result of consultation
and compromise between First
Nations, conservation organizations,
and federal/provincial park
planners.
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• Precambrian geology, including
sedimentary, igneous and volcanic rock
• Closed canopy coniferous trees,
dominated by White and Black Spruce and
Jack Pine
• Mixed woods including Balsam,
Poplar, Tamarack, Trembling Aspen, White
Birch, Ash, Elm and Maple.
• Fens, bogs, and a wide variety
of shrubs, flowering plants, fungi, mosses
and lichens
• Songbirds, Bald Eagles, Osprey,
Woodland Caribou, Wolverine and the Eastern
Cougar
• Cold lakes supporting a wide
variety of aquatic species, including the
less common Chestnut Lamprey and Lake Sturgeon
The East-Side Forest region includes the
traditional lands of at least 15 First Nations,
and has supported aboriginal hunting, trapping
and fishing activities for thousands of
years. The Bloodvein River, Manitoba's first
Canadian Heritage River, is among its many
wilderness waterways.
With proposals for north-end hydroelectric
stations, expanded forestry operations and
a top-to-bottom electrical transmission
corridor in the East-Side Forest, Manitoba's
provincial government has committed to an
ecosystems-based forest management approach
for the region. The fate of the East-Side
Forest will depend on the ability of government,
industry, conservationists, First Nations
and other stakeholders to reach a consensus
on land and resource use.
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