This will be a little different then the past hikes in that we will paddle and hike the shore north of Weslemkoon Marina. This will be to a proposed area for logging in the 2011 to 2021 plan and is a block about ˝ km north of Weslemkoon Marina on the west shore.  The plan for this expedition is to meet at Weslemkoon Marina and paddle up and along the shore north of the marina to the proposed logging area. Here we will beach the canoes/kayaks get out and do a short scout around the land, then paddle back to the marina. 

Logging Hikes Summer 2009

In the summer of 2009 there were two logging hikes, one to view an area that was planned to be logged starting Nov 2009; the other to view an area where logging acitivity took place in the fall of 2008 and winter 2009. 

The first hike was Saturday July 25, 2009 it was to an area west of Weslemkoon Marina and behind the islands. Access to the area was by boat and made difficult because of the very shallow water which required slow movement and some paddling to reach the shore. It is an area that has not had logging activity in a number of years. This was a bush-whacking hike because the area is densely treed with a large amount of undergrowth. In addition the ground was very uneven and made the going difficult. We made our way to a swamp and followed along the edge. The bugs were glad to see us and welcomed us en masse!  

There were no views or vistas but plenty of dense growth. At several locations we noted that trees had blown down. These areas provided some clearing and permitted us to see a little more of the surrounding area. One of the dead falls shown in the picture served as a bench while we had a break. The area has a diverse mix of tree types, however the most common trees we noted were popular and hemlock.  

When we completed the hike, most of us had some souvenir markings from bush-whacking. All and all this was a good hike.  

The second hike Saturday August 8, 2009 started form the Green Lake portage at the bottom of the main part of West Bay. This hike was along paths and temporary logging roads which made the going easy. We had a larger turnout for this hike and the youngest participant was 9 months, carried by her mother. 

This area was logged in the fall of 2008 and winter of 2009. As we hiked along the logging road we observed several areas where cutting operations had occurred. Most logged areas were small patches of random shapes as per the forest management guidelines. The area appeared more like a forest thinning operation than clear cut. A large number of trees of various types were left standing. This included seed trees and some dead and hollow trees that were left standing as wildlife habitats and bird perches. The cut logs form the past winter were stacked up in piles awaiting transport. We hiked out to the control point were it was noted that that very morning a truck had been in and picked up a load of logs and left a bill of lading at the control point.  

A short hike farther along the road brought us near the edge of Green Lake. Here we stopped for a break. We headed back via an alternate route along an old trail leading through some of the logged areas. The cutting plan included leaving on the ground the “downed woody debris” as shelter for small animals and, over time, it will break down to provide natural nutrients for the new forest. The downed woody debris made the site look messy and was hard to navigate. 

This area is located in the Bancroft-Minden forest management area. From our observations it appears that all the logging was carried out in accordance with the plan and good forest management practices were used.