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| Ecosystem/Lake
of the Woods |
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| Ecosystem
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Woods of the Lake
The region contains a unique convergence of
three vegetation zones: the St. Lawrence-Great
Lakes Forest Region, the Boreal Forest Region
and the Prairie Grasslands. Each zone supports
a range of species, but moose, bear, deer,
beaver, otter, muskrat, waterfowl and migratory
songbirds are common to the Lake of the Woods
region.
The typical tree species in the St. Lawrence-Great
Lake Forest are conifers including white and
black spruce, jack pine, aspen, white birch,
eastern white pine, red pine, eastern hemlock
and white cedar, and deciduous, broad-leaved
trees, including yellow birch, basswood, red
oak, sugar and red maples. Also, this forest
type supports ferns, mosses and shrubs.
The boreal forest zone contains tamarack,
balsam fir, jack pine, poplar, white and black
spruce, poplar and white birch. As with the
St. Lawrence-Great Lake Forest, boreal forests
also have many hundreds of similar plant species.
The western Prairie Grasslands are distinctive
in the region, where the western ecosystem
meets the eastern zones. The Grasslands are
semi-arid, supporting few trees, but many
types of grasses.
Forest Professionals
The Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) is
a national organization of foresters, including
technicians, educators, scientists, technologists
and industry professionals. The CIF works
to educate the public about forestry issues
and initiatives in partnership with industry
and government through research, education
and consulting.
Foresters have an intimate and studied relationship
to their special landscape, and those working
in the Lake of the Woods region have a lot
of forest to know and protect. A chapter of
the organization operates in the Lake of the
Woods region, working to enhance habitat protection.
A recent CIF position paper supports ecological
reserves as a means to preserve Canada’s
forest diversity, and the Lake of the Woods
area is prime country for both small reserves
that protect rare habitats and species, and
larger areas that conserve eco-regionally
representative landscapes and forest types.
Both types of ecological reserves allow restricted
human activity, including scientific research
and reserve management that operates similarly
to naturally occurring disturbances.
Property Owners Unite
Property owners in the Lake of the Woods area
know that they are responsible for stewarding
unique and ecologically important landscapes.
They seek to maintain the special outdoor
and remote living lifestyle that has attracted
cottagers, vacationers and travellers to the
area for the last 100 years. Established in
the 1960s, the Lake of the Woods District
Property Owners Association, a not-for-profit
association, is dedicated to property owners’
interests in aquatic and terrestrial environment,
land and water use planning, fair taxation
and good environmental stewardship.
Members include permanent residents, boaters,
tourist businesses, cottage owners and fishers.
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