Lake Erie North Shore Watershed Plan - Niagara Peninsula ...

LAKE ERIE NORTH SHORE WATERSHED PLAN
Carolinian Canada Signature Site
As part of the Carolinian Canada Coalition‟s early workings, inventories of all the
remaining natural areas in the Carolinian Life Zone were reviewed by a subcommittee of
scientists and stakeholders. As a result, 38 key sites were identified as being critically
important; these sites are the best representatives of a particular community and
ecosystem type in the Carolinian Life Zone that were at the time of survey (1984)
unprotected (Johnson 2005). The Point Abino Peninsula Sandland Forest, located in
Fort Erie, has been identified as one of the 38 key sites in the Carolinian Life Zone. This
unique natural heritage site has portions that remain virtually untouched and is the
“largest expanse of naturally forested sandland hills, wetland basins, and undisturbed
shoreline along the north coast of Lake Erie” (Johnson 2005).
This site is also a Life Science ANSI, a provincially significant wetland and contains old
growth forest.
Life Science and Earth Science Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest
An Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) “is an area of land and water containing
natural landscapes or features that have been identified as having life science or earth
science values related to protection, scientific study or education” (MMAH 2005). The
following natural areas are designated or candidate ANSIs in the Lake Erie North Shore
watershed.
Point Abino Peninsula Sandland Forest Life Science ANSI
The provincially significant Point Abino Peninsula Sandland Forest is remarkably rich in
its diversity and representation of the Lake Erie shoreline. The significance of this ANSI
has been recognized by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Carolinian Canada of
which it is a signature site, and numerous naturalists and nature clubs including the Bert
Miller Nature Club. The 198 hectare privately owned ANSI comprises the most extensive
and spectacular expanse of naturally forested sandland hills, wetland basins and
undisturbed shorelines along the north coast of Lake Erie in this region (Macdonald
1990a). The peninsula extends 3 kilometres off the north shore of Lake Erie and is a
tombolo which has developed as a sand bar between an offshore limestone shelf and
the mainland, eventually maturing to become a well-developed peninsula with high sand
ridges originating as a dune system, sand and limestone pavement beaches, eroding
sandy shorecliffs with ridge crest and backslope features, and an extensive wetland
basin (Macdonald 1990a). According to an inventory done in 1980 by Macdonald
(Beechey & Eagles 1985), the vegetation communities consist of a mixture of sand ridge
forests and backshore wetlands. For example, the southwesterly facing slopes and
backshore fringes tend to support a dry forest of white pine, red oak and red maple. On
the mesic slopes, communities of sugar maple, american beech and red oak tend to
dominate, while the moist intraridge basin communities support conifer groves and
deciduous forests of yellow birch and silver maple. The backshore Provincially
Significant Wetland communities consist of, for example, swamp scrublands; subintermediate
deciduous swamp forest; and successional wetland communities in the
open areas that were once affected by cutting.
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