georgian bay landscape link
conservation link
aquatic ecosystem link
Georgian Bay Coast Project
Georgian Bay Littoral Biosphere Reserve
"Our Georgian Bay islands are precious to the Grant family and as a First Founder of the Trust and more recently Chair of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Georgian Bay Land Trust is protecting an irreplaceable resource - our land and water. There is no other cause that has so much meaning as this today."

-- Jon Grant

The Need for Conservation
Although the eastern Georgian Bay region boasts one of the most extensive networks of protected areas in eastern Canada, its terrestrial ecosystems have been and continue to be under threat. Prior to the 1800’s, the indigenous population in the eastern Georgian Bay lived in small settlements that were sustained by fishing, hunting, trapping and gathering of edible plants. As Europeans moved into the region in the 1800’s, commercial fishing and the harvesting of large white pine became the main resource activities. In the mid to late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the combined effects of large-scale timber harvesting with human and naturally caused forest fires reduced the overall quality of the forests. This left the landscape severely degraded and characterized by extensive rock barrens.
Since this time, forestry activities along the coast have, for the most part, been localized and selective in nature. Much of the woodland in the eastern Georgian Bay area occurs on very shallow soils over Precambrian bedrock and is thus not suitable for forestry. Where soil conditions produce harvestable forests, timber extraction continues to take place. As a result there are almost no original or old-growth forests remaining in the area. It is worth noting that a disproportionate amount of harvestable forest near Georgian Bay is found outside the existing protected areas system and a reciprocal disproportionate amount of rock barren habitat is found within the protected areas.

At one time, human fragmentation of most of the eastern Georgian Bay coast consisted merely of Nastawgans, ancient aboriginal trails. Today, roads, utility corridors, urban areas and shoreline cottage development are dividing the landscape into smaller and smaller patches, particularly in areas of private land. The popularity of Georgian Bay for recreation and commercial exploitation will only increase as road access is improved. Incremental, cumulative impacts seem inevitable.
Highways and roads are avoided by several mammal species with large home ranges. They reduce the amount of interior habitat for area-sensitive bird species and other fauna. Road traffic is also the cause of high levels of carnage among many mammal, reptile and amphibian species. Road and utility corridors, skidder trails, as well as cleared land for agriculture and residential areas, provide ideal opportunities for invasion by exotic species, which often become established and displace native flora.