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The Northumberland Forest
by Barry King
Cobourg Daily Star and Port Hope Evening Guide
Dec. 13, 2005
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The earliest descriptions of the landscape of Central Northumberland
reveal that there actually was no forest where it exists today.
Instead, a vast prairie and savannah thrived here, with great
swaths of native wildflowers adapted to survival on the glacially
deposits of dry sandy soils. Highly valued as prime hunting
ground by the indigenous people, these Rice Lake Plains supported
a large variety of wildlife. This was the northeastern extreme
of North America's tallgrass prairie, and only grew here because
of the deep sandy soils that allowed the quick passage of
water to the aquifer. Richer soils would have fostered greater
forest coverage.
One early visitor in 1795, surveyor William Hambly, described
parts as "bushy or burnt plains" and some areas even "having
no timber or even bushes". A 1796 survey of the seventh concession
of Haldimand Township, by Aaron Greeley, found it "principally
covered with oak and pine bushes and now and then a large
oak or pine". In 1835, Catherine Parr Trail described the
plain's flora as "rivalling any garden in beauty during the
spring and summer months". Field botanist, John Macoun, echoed
these thoughts in his explorations. It was likely that Aaron
Greeley's description of the soil: "light black sand" and
"excellent wheat land" that encouraged the cultivation of
the plains by European settlers. This succeeded for less than
a century, as the fertile layer was quickly exhausted, leaving
the farmers unable to grow even enough seed for the next planting
season. Many farms were abandoned, leaving areas of eroding
sand where prairie had once been the dominant cover, behind
them. In 1924, a reforestation program was undertaken to control
the erosion. Red and White Pine were planted in an area straddling
Hwy. 45. Encompassing more than 2000 hectares, the forest
provides a modest logging operation and has a budget of $56,000.
With over 40 km of multi-use trails fending their way throughout
the forest, it is difficult to imagine the original landscape
of windswept tallgrass prairie, with great drifts of wildflowers
extending to the horizon.
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