• THE TRAILS 2004
• HIKER’S GUIDE TO LOGGING NEAR GRAND MANAN TRAILS: HARDWOODS
• BIRCHES ON THE WESTERN SHORE
• GEOCACHING
• SOME EARLY ECOTOURSIM ON GRAND MANAN
• WILL THERE BE A WIND FARM IN GRAND MANAN'S FUTURE?
• PAINTING THE SWALLOWTAIL LIGHT
• DONORS
• GRAND MANAN TOURISM ASSOCIATION TRAILS COMMITTEE

Old birches give up

Alison Hawthorne Deming  is a long-time summer resident of Grand Manan and author of several books of poems and essays including Writing the Sacred Into the Real and Temporary Homelands. This poem was inspired by a spectacular old birch tree on the cliff trail between Dark Harbour and Money Cove that had a spruce sapling sprouting out of a cleft in its trunk at about eye-level.

 Grand Manan is covered by a lot of mature forest that needs to be harvested before it succumbs to fire or old age. A number of companies as well as wood lot owners are engaged in cutting. To answer the question what species are being logged, we are providing a quick lesson on hardwoods. (Next year we will look at softwoods.)

RED MAPLE (also known as soft maple)

• Mature height 22m.   Life expectancy 80 - 130 years
• Red Maple can be easily identified throughout the year by its red twigs and buds, and the uneven saw-toothed margins of the leaf. The seeds have wings and fall in early summer, germinating immediately.
• Red Maple attracts a variety of birds and small animals that feed on the seeds, twigs, buds and flowers. Some birds use the leaves and twigs in nest building while White-Tailed Deer and Moose browse on the twigs and foliage. 
• Red Maple is not an important timber species though it is used in the manufacture of furniture, veneer and plywood. On Grand Manan it is mainly used for firewood.

• Mature height 25m.   Life expectancy 150 - 250 years
• Sugar Maple is best identified by the five-lobed leaf with a smooth edge. The buds are brown and pointed.
• Seeds of the Sugar Maple are eaten by small mammals and a variety of birds including Cardinals and Evening Grosbeaks. Large old trees provide nest cavities.
• The Sugar Maple is one of the most valuable commercial hardwoods in Canada, and is especially desirable where strength and resistance to wear are necessary, such as for furniture, flooring, toys and cutting blocks. The “bird’s eye” and “curly grain” figures are in great demand. The sap is the principal source of maple syrup and sugar. Forty litres of sap are required to make one litre of syrup.  A stylized version of its leaf is the central feature of the Canadian flag and the Sugar Maple is Canada’s national tree.

WHITE BIRCH (also known as paper and silver birch)

• Mature height 24m.   Life expectancy 80 - 130 years
• White Birch is best identified by its white papery bark which peels off in curls.
• White Birch provides food, cover and nesting cavities for the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker and Black-Capped Chickadee. At least ten other bird species eat the seed as part of their diet.
• The wood may be sawn into lumber, and large quantities are used for firewood. White Birch is among the best species to reforest areas that have been burned or cut. Isolated trees often die after the rest of a stand has been harvested. The Native people made over two dozen products from the tough, pliable, versatile bark, including their shelter, canoes, containers, toys and art work.

YELLOW BIRCH 

• Mature height 25m.   Life expectancy 150 - 250 years 
• The Yellow Birch is the largest of our native birches and is best identified by its yellowish to grey papery bark and the wintergreen scent in the sap of the buds and twigs.
• Buds and seeds are commonly eaten by many birds and small mammals. The twigs and bark are browsed upon by Moose, White-Tailed Deer and Porcupine.
• Yellow Birch is the most important hardwood tree in Eastern Canada. The wood is used extensively for flooring, doors, furniture, plywood, veneer and railway ties. The wood can be stained and takes a high polish. Yellow Birch is the provincial tree of Quebec.
• The bugs and twigs which smell and taste of wintergreen can be steeped year round to make a delightful tea. In spring this birch can be tapped and the sap boiled down to make a wintergreen syrup.

SOME EARLY ECOTOURSIM ON GRAND MANAN - Don Baldwin

 From 1990 Don Baldwin spearheaded the development of Grand Manan trails. This account of early ecotourism will be updated in 2005.

 In 1969 I was the Hon. Secretary / Treasurer of the Canadian Audubon Society which was soon to metamorphose into the Canadian Nature Federation. The Board had recently decided to follow the example of the Massachusetts Audubon Society in offering its members a programme of “nature tours.” These were the beginning of the huge ecotourism industry of today.

 The first such tour Canadian Audubon offered was an expensive but successful affair to Bathhurst Inlet. It involved much flying time seeking and finding Polar Bears, Snowy Owls, Belugas, and as one participant reported, “wall-to-wall” Caribou.

 Following this ice-breaking(!), I approached Patrick Hardy our Executive Director and volunteered to lead a second tour if my wife Maureen and our young sons, Mark and Adam could be included.

 “Why don’t you go to Grand Manan and see the Puffins and whales” said Patrick. 

 “Sounds great” said I. “Where is it?” (Maureen and I had had only one previous trip to the East Coast in Maine and down as far as Cape Cod.)

 “We have a long-time member who runs a small resort on Grand Manan and is always encouraging our members to stay with him. He will help you set up an itinerary.” Pat then set up a meeting between Jerry L’Aventure and me. Jerry’s resort was of course the Anchorage where guests were mostly accommodated in cabins up the wooded hillside above the old farmhouse “cum” lodge where the meals were taken.

 Jerry suggested a ten-day itinerary for July 1970. Boating was involved for five days with Gleason and Otis Green aboard Gleason’s Bonny Bride.

 We arrived five days early to scout the terrain and meet the islanders who would be aiding and abetting the group of twenty-three. Jerry put me in touch with Vernon Bagley, part- time Forest Ranger and part-time Fire Chief. It was he who took the time to introduce me to several of the hiking trails, mostly on the north end of the island.
 It all came to pass. The weather was hot and sunny throughout with sunburn a major concern after the first couple of days.

 Highlights were many and included a visit to Dr. Chuck Huntingdon at the Bowdoin College Research Station on Kent Island to see the Petrels. White Head was visited to search the ponds for waders and ducks and we enjoyed a lobster boil lunch on the shore of Wood Island where we searched for nesting Black Crowned Night Herons. (We didn’t find them; they were on Long Island.). Gleason’s  “yarning” over lunch more than made up for our failure.

 On another boating day, hand-lining off the Basin at Kent Island, we caught cod and five nice halibut, enough to feed everyone dinner back at the Anchorage.

 A sunny circumnavigation yielded memorable views of Minkes, Finbacks and an adult Bald Eagle perched on the cliff near the Southern Cross. Using the rented school bus we made several visits to the Whistle, Eel Lake and Castalia. Wayne Guptill, then a young teacher from Grand Harbour, was home from his school in Stanley, NB and accompanied us on most days imparting all sorts of local lore.

 One memorable evening was filled by Vernon Bagley recounting his recollections of the famous rescue at Southern Head and another by Elmer Wilcox showing us his comprehensive collection of island wildflower slides. (Prints made from these can still be viewed at the Grand Manan Museum). 

 And of course, there were visits to Machias Seal Island. Whilst cameras were clicking in the make-shift blinds, Jack Russell collared me, sat me down to a bowl of lobster stew in his kitchen, and delivered a passionate lecture! His concern and that of the other keepers, was the fate of the nesting birds. It had just been announced by Transport Canada that East Coast lighthouses were to be automated. “Who’s going to cut the grass and protect them when we’re gone?” said Jack. His concerns didn’t fall on deaf ears. The issue of caretaking this unique colony of birds had already been discussed at our headquarters in Toronto.

 That fall I asked the Board to allow me to use the profit from the summer tour to study first-hand the problems associated with the unregulated stream of visitors. The Board readily agreed.

 We returned for the summer of 1971 to supervise two students who were hired to cover the breeding season at Machias Seal Island. First came Roger Meservey, one of Bowdoin College’s students. He was followed by Susan Merrill from Stanley, NB, a former student of Wayne Guptill who was just finishing high school. Their task was two-fold: first to compile a list of visitors and to suggest some do’s and don’ts to them as they came ashore. Secondly, they were to take daily counts of the birds to allow better estimates to be made of the size of the populations. 

 Many more visitors were logged than had previously been estimated. Over 600!

 That fall a detailed report was duplicated at the office and widely circulated on both sides of the border. Machias Seal Island Bird Sanctuary: Its Present Status and Future recommended to Ottawa the seasonal appointment of a warden to supervise the visitors. This measure was eventually adopted by The Canadian Wildlife Service and Machias Seal Island is wardened to this day. 

WILL THERE BE A WIND FARM IN GRAND MANAN'S FUTURE? - Brian Dalzell

 By the time you read this, ground may already have been broken for construction of a 12-turbine wind farm at Dark Harbour, on the western side of Grand Manan.  It would be the first such wind energy facility in New Brunswick.  Eastern Wind Power (EWP) of Quispamsis, near Saint John, was chosen by the N.B. government in June as the successful bidder for the project.  However, before construction can begin, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has to be approved.

EWP is actually a subsidiary of Western Wind Energy of Vancouver, but was the only N.B.-based company in the pack of six companies scrambling to become the first to construct a wind farm in the province.  The project, estimated to cost $30 million, would be capable of generating up to 20 megawatts of electricity when the wind was blowing at optimum speeds.

 Paul Woodhouse, president of EWP, said Grand Manan was a natural choice because it had the highest regular winds in the province.  The company built a 60-meter meteorological tower at Little Dark Harbour in May of 2002, and a second at Dark Harbour in the fall of 2003 to determine what kind of wind turbines would be best-suited for the rugged western face of the island.

 During the spring and summer of 2004, EWP conducted extensive investigations into the flora and fauna of the Dark Harbour Plateau, and submitted their EIA to the province in late July.  Despite assurances from the author of this article that negative impacts on birds would be minimal, doubts were expressed by both federal and provincial wildlife biologists.  Without absolute proof, the scientists were uneasy with my assessment, and demanded additional studies.

 However, the parent company of EWP balked at the prospect of up to two more years of study, and will likely withdraw their financial backing if the EIA is not accepted by the end of September.

 Paul Woodhouse knew there would be concerns expressed over interaction between the wind turbines and birds, and came to me early in the process for my assessment.  I told him point blank that the only area of Grand Manan I would feel safe with from a bird-safety point of view was that area of the island between Little Dark Harbour and Money Cove.  Otherwise, EWP would not have bothered to consider Grand Manan as a wind farm site, and would have gone elsewhere.

 At any rate, should the wind farm win final approval, hikers using the trail system down the western side of Grand Manan should get awesome views of the wind towers as soon as they start up out of Money Cove.  It is proposed that each of the 12 towers will stand 78 meters high with three 39-meter blades.  The life of the farm is expected to be 20 years, and the New Brunswick Electric Power Corporation has agreed to buy all the energy the farm’s 1.8 megawatt turbines will produce.  The wind farm will generate enough electricity to power 6,000 homes, more than enough for Grand Manan, with the excess exported to the mainland via existing submarine cable. 
 
 Also included in the project’s outline is an interpretive centre with trails.  So, besides generating clean energy and a return for the investors, it appears a valid tourist attraction could be in the works.

 The wind towers at Dark Harbour will be similar to the one shown above, photographed near Matane, Quebec last fall.  (Paul Woodhouse photo).

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PAINTING THE SWALLOWTAIL LIGHT - Ann Chudleigh, Drawing - John Belyea

  Everyone knows and loves the Swallowtail Light but closer inspection reveals it is sadly in need of attention. A committee of the Grand Manan Rotary Club has undertaken to oversee the scraping and painting. Sounds simple enough but for several hurdles: money, the tricky heights which require scaffolding and catwalks, and getting permission from the owners, the Canadian Coast Guard.

The Bay of Fundy is famous for its high tides and powerful tidal currents which were the main factor in the heavy loss of shipping,  according to historian, Eric Allaby. Other factors also brought on disaster: dense fog, heavy weather, drunken crew and unseaworthy vessels. As settlements grew and ocean commerce developed, more ships came to grief on Grand Manan reefs.

 The Swallowtail Light tower was build in 1859 and lit in 1860. About 1921, the fog bell house, built in 1914-15 was moved beside the tower and later attached to it with a covered breezeway. The Swallowtail Light was designated “recognized” by the Federal Heritage Building Review Office because of its historical association and aesthetic and  environmental values.

 The Lightstation is one of the oldest surviving wooden lighthouses in southern New Brunswick. It measures 45’ from base to deck and the point of land on which it stands is 103’ above high water making the elevation of the light 148’. The lantern is made of iron painted red with 12 panes of plate-glass 4’ x 2’ and 8” wide. The inside diameter of the lantern is 9’10”.  The tower is build of 45’ logs covered in shingles. It is five-sided, 35’ at the bottom narrowing to 6’ at the top. In 1986 when the light was automated, two windows were removed and the most recent coat of paint applied.

 The owners, the Canadian Coast Guard do not have the budget to maintain and paint the lightstation, nor do they need it now as a navigational aid; a galvanized steel pole with a radio repeater could do the job. Although the Province uses the Swallowtail in its tourist literature, it is reluctant to take over ownership and the related maintenance and public liability responsibilities.

 The Rotary Lighthouse committee has completed negotiations for a license from the Coast Guard to scrape and paint the Swallowtail and replace missing shingles. Now the immediate need is for donations to finance the work which should be done professionally given the requirements for cat-walks hanging from above and scaffolding for reaching the lower sections.

 If you love the Swallowtail and would like to make a contribution for which the Rotary Club will issue you a charitable tax receipt, please send a cheque to: Rotary Club of Grand Manan, Att: Mike O’Neill Treasurer, 130 Route 776, Grand Manan, NB E5G 4K9.

With thanks for your anticipated generosity.

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DONORS

The following is a list of donors from the time the newsletter was published last year: