Inside Ontario Parks - A fiery friend

Ontario Parks Insider

The ideas behind forest fire suppression in Ontario Parks have altered greatly throughout the last century. They have gone from absolute prevention to allowing sections of a park to burn within safe parameters.

Early in the 20th century, catastrophic fires, many of them caused by human activities, escalated the public’s concern about the threat of wildfire. Efforts to detect and suppress wildfires increased greatly in 1917, after the Forest Fire Prevention Act was created. Fire lookout towers were established, followed by aerial patrols. It was even considered by some local politicians that more roads were necessary in some parks to prevent forest fires.

Times have changed. It’s now known that fire has many beneficial effects. Many forest communities are initiated by fire or depend on fire to maintain them. Snuffing out fires in parks can cause these forest types to disappear and be replaced by other species. Quetico’s old growth pine forests are a good example. Patches of red and white pine, some trees aging 400 years old, can be found throughout this wilderness park. With thick bark and branches positioned higher up on the trunk, an old-growth pine still stands after a surface fire. The wake of the fire opens up the forest floor and enriches the soil and releases seeds to allow for the species to regenerate.

In an effort to turn back the clock, fire managers in some Ontario Parks are currently igniting controlled fires (prescribed burns) to restore and maintain threatened ecosystems, such as the tallgrass prairie and oak savannah in southern Ontario. These areas, which include Ojibway Prairie, Pinery, Turkey Point, and Rondeau, provide important habitat for over 30 species at risk. The use of these prescribed burns is critical in removing non-native plant species that are threatening or choking off the natural order of the ecosystems.

Initially there was much public apprehension about allowing forest fires to burn in a beloved park. However this apprehension has largely been replaced by widespread support following the success of these programs in restoring the natural ecosystems.

Featured Parks - Waterfalls of Northeast Ontario

Ontario Parks Insider

Don’t forget your extra memory cards for your camera on this scenic waterfall tour of Northeastern Ontario.

French River
Recollet Falls on the French River is short in stature but tall in historical significance - First Peoples, explorers, missionaries and fur traders all passed this way. The 1.5km hike to see the falls begins right at the French River Visitor Centre, which is located on Highway 69 less than 50 km south of Sudbury. The hike is quite scenic, with many views of the river and a close view of the falls; for those not interested in hiking, the pedestrian bridge provides breath-taking views of the river gorge right at the visitor centre.

Windy Lake
Onaping Falls, between Sudbury and Windy Lake on Highway 144, is really a series of falls and cascades, where the Onaping River drops more than 45m over the edge of the Sudbury Basin, a two billion year-old meteorite crater. Easily accessible from the Highway, the falls can be viewed from a distance at the A.Y. Jackson Lookout. A.Y. Jackson, famous Canadian landscape painter and founding member of the Group of Seven, once painted the falls. A trail leads from the lookout through the river valley, providing up-close views of the numerous falls. Also visible in the bedrock are signs of the impact of the meteor - shatter cones, which can be seen as vague triangles in the rock

Chutes
The falls on the Aux Sables River, inside Chutes, were once a barrier for the log drives that took place many years ago. Loggers built a "chute" or water-filled trough that bypassed the falls and carried logs down to the river below. The chute is gone, but an easily accessible viewing platform directly in front of the falls allows park visitors to feel the spray and hear the thunder of the river. A short hike from here follows the river upstream, providing views of the Seven Sisters, a set of waterfalls and rapids, which the river flows across. Chutes is located less than 100 km east of Sudbury on Highway 17, just north of the town of Massey.

Looking for a scenic southern waterfall? Why not check out Ragged Falls on the Oxtongue River and stay nearby at Arrowhead or Algonquin.

Nearby and Natural
Visit Sudbury

Rainbow Country

How to - the Zen of fly-fishing

Ontario Parks Insider

You might want to choose to be alone the first time you attempt fly-fishing. It’s not that you don’t want anyone to see how incompetent you are (even though the art of fly fishing takes awhile to master). It’s just that the act of thrusting the floating line back and forth through the air, with it whirling around your head out-of-control, can be darned dangerous to any on-lookers. Of course, after a few days of practice, feel free to invite friends and family to watch. They’ll probably want to give it a go as well. The zen of fly-fishing is quite addictive – after all, it’s the purist form of fishing you can find, and the best way to hook onto a trophy fish.

It’s best to keep in mind that fly fishing is a lot like golf. The more you try, the worse you get. But the moment you give up and don’t really care if you strike the darned ball or not, you get a hole-in-one. By then you’ve figured out the groove. Timing and feel are the two crucial elements to fly-fishing. The line is flung behind you and if you abruptly stop the rod at the appropriate moment, it just feels right. The line straightens out and you sense a slight tug of the tension, which travels back down to your grip. It’s at this particular moment you initiate the forward cast – making the fly land on the water like nature intended it to be.

Fly-fishing in moving water is a slightly bigger challenge than on calm waters of a small pond. Attention must be given to what the experts call “mending the line.” This is the practice of making sure the line always floats upstream of the fly. Where there’s a current the heavy line will always have a tendency to let itself be tugged all over the place, letting the fly swim sideways – something a bug never does. To make the presentation of the fly as natural as possible don’t rush to reel it in. Let the fly drift with the current; keep the drag free and you’ll soon grab the attention of the fish below.

Ontario Parks make the perfect destination to hone in your fly fishing skills. Why not try your luck at catching Brook Trout at Mississagi or Rainbow Trout at Lake Superior.

Fishing Ontario

Switch to Bullfrog Power today!

Ontario Parks Insider

Choosing Bullfrog Power is an easy, practical and powerful way to take a stand for low-impact renewable electricity, reduce your environmental footprint and create a cleaner world for today and tomorrow.

Bullfrog Power is Canada's leading 100 per cent green electricity provider. Bullfrog Power is the only company providing everyone in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia with a 100 per cent low-impact renewable electricity choice. When you choose Bullfrog Power, Bullfrog ensures that as much low-impact renewable electricity is injected into the electricity grid as you use. Bullfrog Power’s green electricity comes exclusively from wind and hydro facilities that have been certified as low impact by Environment Canada under its EcoLogoM program, instead of from carbon-intensive sources like coal and natural gas or higher impact hydro facilities. Bullfrog Power customers are providing the demand to enable new generation facilities to be built in Canada. Thousands of Canadian homeowners and organizations have made the decision to become bullfrogpoweredTM.

Bullfrogpowering your home (including condos and apartments) or business (including leased premises) is simple. It only takes a few minutes to sign up on-line, there is no start-up cost, and no special wiring or new equipment is required. Plus, you can receive $25 off your first residential bill if you quote the following promotional code: ONTARIOPARKS. Simply type this code into the promotion code field in Bullfrog’s online signup form.

Choosing to support 100% green electricity from Bullfrog Power is a big step toward a more sustainable future for our families, our communities, and our planet.
Taking action is easy. You can make a difference.

For more information, visit Bullfrog Power.

This is a paid advertisement from Bullfrog Power.