By Kristen Calis Eco Durham Contents An introduction to Durham Region’s natural environment 2 Durham Region’s conservation areas 8 Durham forests abound in wildlife, vegetation 34 Durham’s wetlands play significant roles 46 Nature reserves, parks and other natural areas worth visiting 65 Wildlife among us in Durham 82 Dangers to Durham’s ecological system 114 Acknowledgements 123 About the author 124 Copyright 125 More ebooks from our journalists 126 Eco Durham Introduction 1 Welcome A cyclist makes his way along the waterfront trail on a Sunday afternoon. Ryan Pfeiffer / Metroland An introduction to Durham Region’s natural environment People are often surprised by the sheer size of Durham Region. It spans nearly 2,500 square kilometres, and its beauty doesn’t stop at the waterfront that five of its municipalities enjoy. 22 Eco Durham Introduction Durham is abundant with natural features: creeks that flow from the Oak Ridges Moraine, the shores and sandy beaches of Lake Ontario, the forested areas of Durham Regional Forest that sits just south of Uxbridge, Altona Forest in Pickering, and the wetlands of Second Marsh in Oshawa, to name a few. A short walk or drive in the region offers plenty for nature enthusiasts to see. “There’s one provincial park and several conservation areas and there’s just lots and lots of areas,” said Lois Gillette, president of the Durham Region Field Naturalists. The Region of Durham explains on its website that woods, headwaters, ridges, hollows and rolling farmlands make up a diverse landscape, and in the north, Durham spreads into the lakelands of Simcoe, Scugog and the Kawarthas. Canada geese are corralled onto a trailer at Frenchman’s Bay. In this yearly event the birds are relocated to a conservation area near Lansdowne, Ontario. The project was part of a massive relocation of hundreds of Canada geese by members of the Toronto Region Conservation Authority along the shores of Lake Ontario from Ajax to Brampton. Celia Klemenz / Metroland 33 Eco Durham Introduction Durham is home to a wide array of wildlife, from hawks stopping by Lynde Shores Conservation Area during their fall migration to red fox and white-tailed deer living on the Orono Crown Lands. Durham, which sits in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest Region, boasts a wide variety of trees such as maple, red oak and white pine. To Bob Hester, a former Ontario Power Generation employee and a current volunteer with Durham Sustain Ability, a non-profit organization that develops environmental programs and education, Durham Region has much beauty to of- fer. He finds people sometimes forget, or don’t even realize, the plethora of natural beauty throughout the region. “They’ll spend a whole lot of money sitting in a car going north on a Friday to get to a cottage to get a natural environment when they may have natural environ- ments extremely close to where they live,” says Mr. Hester, the person largely be- hind a research project on Durham’s natural areas. A shady retreat along the Waterfront Trail in Ajax. Ryan Pfeiffer / Metroland 44 Eco Durham Introduction He remembers Canadian naturalist and painter Robert Bateman telling him his feel for nature started just walking down a ravine in Toronto, and says the same can be said for Durham and its natural areas. “You’re not going to get pristine forest of course,” says Mr. Hester. “You’re go- ing to get little patches where you can kind of get away from the traffic and what not. We’ve got a lot of those little patches. But as we urbanize and suburbanize and clear stuff away, people tend to forget what they have that close to home.” Durham Region has many distinctive natural heritage resources including the Oak Ridges Moraine, Lake Simcoe, Lake Scugog, Lake Ontario, numerous wet- lands, both cold- and warm-water streams, farmland and forests. Peter Widmer relaxes along the Waterfront Trail near Pickering Beach Road in Ajax. Photo by Armando Villanova Its natural areas span from extremely large areas such as the 4,600-hectare Ganaraska Forest in Scugog to smaller areas but also significant places, such as Thickson’s Woods in Whitby. 55 Eco Durham Introduction According to Durham Region Field Naturalists (DREN), the region was formed by glaciers that scraped their way across the land for 70,000 years until 12,000 years ago. Waters that melted from the glaciers altered the landscape by forming rivers and lakes. A significant glacial feature is the Oak Ridges Moraine, which was formed when two ice lobes converged. The Oak Ridges Moraine is a significant feature in Durham Region, which will be discussed in greater detail later in the book. But human activities have also altered the landscape. The damming of Lake Scugog, the draining of marshes and creations of quarries and gravel pits have also altered it, says DRFN. Human activity continues to work in contrast with the natural beauty of the area, and is something that came up with every person interviewed for this book, and on just about every website referenced for information. Urban sprawl is often frowned upon, as more and more development ensues and natural areas, home to many natural species and wildlife, are destroyed to make way for people moving in. This book, however, will show that the voices standing up for nature, and with a will to keep Durham beautiful, are just as strong. There are people, committees and organizations committed to ensuring that Durham’s natural heritage system stays beautiful, healthy and strong. -- Kristen Calis 66 Eco Durham Introduction 48 Natural Areas23 of Durham Region 1. Purple Woods C.A. 19. Ganaraska Forest N 2. Stephen’s Gulch C.A. 20. Samual Wilmot Nature 12 Area and Wilmot Creek 48 3. Enniskillen C.A. Hwy. 48 Marsh 4. Herber Down C.A. 21. Orono Crown Lands 5. Bowmanville Westside Marsh C.A. 22. Kendal Crown Lands Hwy. 12 6. Long Sault C.A. 23. Beaver River Wetlands C.A. 7. Lynde Shores C.A. 23 24. Durham East Cross For- 12 8. Crow’s Pass C.A. est C.A. Hwy. 7 9. Rouge Park 25. Oshawa Creek Ravenshoe Rd. 10. Petticoat Creek C.A. 26. Port Newcastle Marsh 11. Altona Forest 27. Du ns Creek Marsh BROCK 12. Du ns Creek Marsh 28. Glen Major Forest Lajeridge Rd. 13. Carruthers Creek Marsh 29. McLaughlin Bay Wild- 14. Frenchman’s Bay life Preserve 15. Thickson’s Woods 30. Lake Scugog 16. Durham Regional 31. Scugog Island UXBRIDGE Forest 32. Thurne Parks C.A. SCUGOG 17. Nonquon Provincial 33. Second Marsh Wildlife 7 Wildlife Area Area 12 18. Oak Ridges Moraine Hwy. 47 Conservation Hwy. 47 Areas Simcoe St. 31 Reach St. Wetlands 17 Hwy. 7A Hwy. 7A 7A 18 16 30 Forests 8 Nature Reserves, 28 1 24 Parks and Other Regional RoadRegional 57 Natural Areas 7 12 6 PICKERING 3 18 Hwy. 7 19 WHITBY OSHAWA 4 CLARINGTON 35 22 Taunton Rd. Rd. Townline Taunton Rd. 32 21 115 AJAX Brock St. Brock 9 Lajeridge Rd. 12 2 Thickson Rd. Thickson 11 Hwy. 2 Dundas St. St. Simcoe King St. Courtice Rd. Liberty St. 401 RoadRegional 57 7 401 Bloor St. Bayly St. 32 14 Victoria St. 25 12 13 10 15 Hwy. 2 33 29 27 20 401 5 26 7 Eco Durham Conservation Areas 2 Conservation Areas Lynde Shores Conservation Area. Ryan Pfeiffer / Metroland Durham Region’s conservation areas Five conservation authorities play key roles in helping municipal, provincial and federal governments manage the land and water resources in Durham Region. The Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority has eight conservation areas within Durham. "In Durham there are actually five conservation authorities that have bits of Durham. We happen to be the one that’s solely contained in Durham,” says Perry Sisson, CLOCA’s director of engineering and operations. 8 Eco Durham Conservation Areas The other four are Toronto and Region Conservation; Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority; Kawartha Conservation; and the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. "We acquire land because it's environmentally sensitive,” says Mr. Sisson. “They're lands that have to be protected. Water is one of the common threads to the lands that we buy. A lot of the time it's lands that are either sensitive wetland or an area where water gets recharged into the groundwater system, like the Oak Ridges Moraine. And sometimes we get parts of the big valley system that are sensitive not only for water but also for wildlife and vegetation." Each conservation authority has jurisdiction over one or more watersheds, an area of land upon which melting snow and rainwater drain into a common body of water, such as a river, creek, or lake. Mr. Sisson says first and foremost CLOCA acquires land because it’s sensitive and the conservation authority is trying to protect the core environmental values and properties in Durham Region. "Secondly, where it's possible we like to get the public out to see and appreciate nature,” Mr. Sisson says. “So as much as we buy land and we protect it, and the very sensitive elements will just be off limits to people, we do a master plan and we try to figure out where we can bring people in and get an appreciation for the land and get a nice balance of passive recreation as well as environmental protection." In order to achieve these goals, conservation authorities employ a wide array of people to provide services such as watershed management planning, environmental monitoring, environmental education and stewardship, and to mark out trails and create recreational opportunities.