HuronPerthBoomers_Spring2022

y Karsten Stryker
When hiking through or driving past any of
Huron County’s forests, it’s easy to believe
they have remained relatively unchanged for time
immemorial.
However, Huron County’s forests have had a long
and, at times, tumultuous history.
Most of southwestern Ontario’s native tree species
were in place about 9,000 years ago and, until fairly
recently, there was minimal disturbance of the local
environment. The Anishinaabe inhabitants of what
is now Huron County lived a primarily huntergatherer
lifestyle, taking from the land only what was
needed. This was supplemented with small garden
plots in the summer. They also made extensive use
of canoes, which of course did not require the forest
clearing that roads do.
HISTORY
Hunting, gathering, and navigating via the waterways
are examples of a way of living that developed over
centuries – working with the land, not against it.
This is in stark contrast to how the land was used
after European arrival in the early-1800s. At that
time the forests displayed a great diversity of species
including oak, pine, cedar, sugar maple, yellow
birch, swamp elm, beech-tree, white ash, black elm,
red elm, viscous elm, walnut, butternut, “hollowtree,”
and cherry tree. In addition to having a great
diversity of species, many of the trees are described
as measuring 50 to 60 feet from the base to the lowest
branches.
The settlers quickly set about clearing the land to
harvest timber and make farms, taking advantage
of the “rights and responsibilities granted them
as private landowners.” By the end of the
19th Century, in an effort to build profitable farms
and better lives for themselves and their families,
European immigrants had cut down the vast
majority of old growth forests throughout southern
Ontario. Approximately 15 per cent of Huron
County is now forested, and much of that is the
result of later conservation efforts.
By the late-19th Century, the removal of forest cover,
particularly around watersheds, was beginning to
have harmful effects on agriculture. In the summer,
droughts would often last two to three weeks; in
the winter, roads would have to be redirected over
fields as they became impassible due to unimpeded
blowing snow and drifting, which could bring about
serious loss for the farmer.
Realizing the necessity of forests, a few groups such
as the Fruit Growers’ Association of Ontario (FGAO)
SPRING 2022 • 21