GEORGIAN BAY STEWARDSHIP REPORT
2008

GLSKA member Melissa Hachkowski and her brother Christopher have been hired by our Georgian Bay Committee to work as Georgian Bay Stewards for 10 weeks this summer.

Following their training and planning, they will spend their time touring the islands of eastern Georgian Bay from the north end of Massasauga Park to the edge of the newly expanded French River Provincial Park. Their duties include cleaning campsites and the maintenance and installation of thunderboxes, as well as liaising with the public, trying to encourage minimum impact camping practices and encouraging everyone to participate in a voluntary fire ban on the 30,000 islands. Again this year our focus will be on the outer islands and bays that are inaccessible by motor boat; the inside of Franklin Island and Huckleberry Island will be looked after by a team of stewards from Carling Township and the MNR.

You can follow the activities of our Georgian Bay Stewards in their weekly reports, posted below:

JUNE 11-18

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been training Chris mostly in terms of rescues, trip planning, logistics and navigation. We have received the new GPS unit, and are looking for a protective case for it.

We contacted Tim Dyer at White Squall and attempted to set up meeting times; but we've had conflicting schedules thus far. As I trained before with White Squall, Tim said he was comfortable with my skill and he was comfortable with us just starting out on the Bay. This is especially the case as it seems that we are little slow to start up this year. But we will catch up!

JUNE 20-22

This past weekend we headed out to the Cathcart, Lally and Stapley Island area. I think the effect of an incredibly early winter last fall, an incredibly cold and wet spring this year, and the increasing price of gas has severely reduced the amount of use seen on the Bay so far. Both Chris and I did manage to fill our kayaks with collected garbage, and I actually balanced an extra 5 iron fire pit grates on top of my kayak for the paddle back to Killbear Provincial Park. Adding to the theory of reduced Bay usage, we had visits from 2 water snakes, 4 loons, 2 minks and 2 beavers that joined us for the entire dinner hour in front of Lally Island.

Together, we disassembled rock sculptures, downsized and mucked out 3 foot-tall fire pits and re-propped thunderboxes on rocks. It clearly is essential to keep these boxes on top of rocks to prevent the wood from rotting in the wet ground. We also eliminated fire pits from islands, where more than one pit had been established. By far, the area most in need of attention thus far is Stapley Island.

We see this one as a “challenge.” I get the distinct impression that this island is being used as a “sportsman’s paradise.” We picked up used gun shells, disposed of shampoo bottles, soup cans and broken wine and beer bottles. The Rubbermaid Box reported in last year’s reports remains there, perched on a rock with a view! Additionally, there are approximately 8-10 full garbage bags with stashed pots, pans and gas cans etc. There are also another 4 Rubbermaid totes full of gear. 

One interesting observation from the weekend is that the “cooking stove” which had been built on Cathcart Island with cobbles and concrete has been partially broken off. It’s now not much more than a seat to sit on. Last fall there must have been some strong winds, as there are numerous blown down trees. We cleared the minimal amount necessary to re-establish a path to a thunder box on Cathcart Island.

Over the weekend, we chatted with a man at the launch site at 6:30 a.m. and two women sea kayaking about our purpose this summer. We also noticed that there was one other person whose tent was pitched on Rumble Island, but they must have been out when we visited.

We feel that our intentions for this summer can be best summarized as: to return the islands to as natural of a state as possible. Whereas the focus so far seems to have been as far north as Big McCoy Island, we will be looking farther. We plan on doing an initial sweep of the area ranging from Big McCoy to Massassauga PP, ensuring that all is well. After this, we will investigate further north, making recommendations of other locations in need of attention. We look forward to the weeks ahead!

JUNE 23-28

This week we met with Tim Dyer at White Squall. We discussed what is to be done over the upcoming weeks and which areas will need the most attention. We also collected some kayaking gear, a shovel and a drill that will be need to assemble the thunderboxes, and relocate the existing ones. After our meeting with Tim we went to the Bobby Orr Community Center in Parry Sound on invitation from Eric McIntyre of the MNR and the East Georgian Bay Stewardship Association.  The day involved a number of workshops and lectures about the state of the fisheries predominately in Lake Huron.  Throughout the workshops there were many guest speakers that talked of the impacts of disease brought on by the introduction of exotic invaders, over fishing and recovery methods that are taking place to bring the fish populations back.  We finished off the week downloading waypoints from the GPS that were collected last week to mark the locations of thunderboxes, learning to manipulate the mapping program and loading up locations of campsite locations to be visited this week. 

JUNE 29 – JULY 3

June 29:

We launched from Snug Harbour and met a couple who were about to leave in a tandem kayak for Henrietta Point. They knew nothing of any of the Stewardship projects that were underway and were relatively new to sea kayaking. We gave them a toiletry kit, explained the objectives of the program and recommended a couple of alternative campsite options, as the wind was quite strong from the south. After a bouncy paddle across to Snake Island, we tipped over thunderboxes to inspect for work needed and allow some air to circulate to make the next day’s work a little more pleasant. As we were already in the twilight hours, little more could be done than hike around the island dismantling two small fire pits, one on each of the north and south ends. There were also bottle caps that we cleaned up. A larger fire pit on the north shore was downsized.

June 30:

Today we began with relocating the two full thunderboxes we had turned over yesterday. By far, the greatest challenge in this work so far has been to find a location on the islands that has substantial soil to position the thunder boxes on.  Where it looks like there may be soil, boulders and rock are usually only 2-4 inches below. For this reason alone, we encourage everyone tripping on Georgian Bay to become familiar with the practice of a “cat hole.”

Cat Hole Procedure: Dig a small hole with a spade for your business, throw a handful of local organic matter on top of the deposit, give a little stir with a stick and then cover the mixture with the soil originally removed. By stirring some organic matter in, you are oxygenating the deposit, encouraging a faster decomposition.  Also, minimizing the amount of the fluffy white stuff used will help things decay faster.

One of these boxes required some repairs to the hinged lid. It was necessary to re-fasten it a little crooked due to some rotten wood, but at least it will keep out the four-legged furry critters. We came across a well-established campsite towards the south end of Snake Island with rock benches and a small fire pit that was disassembled and broken glass removed from the ashes. We found a moderate sized rodent skull, probably a beaver. There were also some green pine trees that had been cut down which suggested people were using live trees for firewood, a practice which baffles our minds. Green wood doesn’t light, plain and simple. Additionally, those trees that manage to grow in minimal soil on top of rock have been there for quite some time. To try to replace them now is a major challenge. Around the island there were many healthy raspberry and blueberry bushes. We explored and cleaned areas around little Snake Island, as the strong winds continued and made it a risk to try to cross to the mainland or the Mink Islands.

July 1:

Today we went from the Snake Islands to Pancake Island and hiked around the coast of it picking up bits of birthday balloons and ribbons (possibly blown in over the winter), and making a fire pit smaller. Pancake Island has clearly been established as a part of the newly designated “Great Lakes Heritage Coast” system stretching across Lake Superior and Georgian Bay, and was overall in very good condition. We continued behind Jackknife Harbour along the mainland coast. Once we arrived to the south end of Franklin Island it seemed that every possible campsite and landing area had been claimed.

On Franklin Island we explored the inner channel and met another kayaker who said that he had just cleaned the campsite he used before pitching his tent, we offered to take the garbage and suggested he should join GLSKA, as he clearly was an exemplary sea kayaker in helping the local environment. We went into the Adanac Islands area and dismantled two fire pits, clearing out garbage that was left in them. In the King Island area, two more fire pits were disassembled. The island had a campsite that looked like it had been used quite often. There were also a couple of minnow traps in the water with no campers around, yet they held live fish. We went into Corbman Bay and came across a very large campsite that could support 50-60 tents with scattered trees for shelter. There were three small fire pits that we removed and one large one that we downsized. Beer cans and rock figures were also present and removed. In Cunningham Bay there was a group of three kayakers. There were 3 campsites that were all well sheltered in here, and inaccessible to motor boats. Two of the sites were in good condition and only needed their fire pits made smaller. The third one had cut-down pine trees, rusty metal cans and toilet paper on the ground. The fire pit was made smaller and cleaned out. The three kayakers saw us cleaning the mess and helped out. After this was finished, we had lunch with them. They were local cottagers out for a day paddle. They stated that the area had immensely improved since the thunderboxes were put in.

Continuing on our day of good weather, we hiked around a small island north of Winkler Island that had a latrine made of a green plastic pail with a snap on lid. We found this to be an interesting approach/solution to the issue of human waste in the back country. A passerby told us of a full thunder box on the north end of Corbman Point, at a sandy beach campsite.  We had already passed this area and promised to pass on this information to the group that is providing stewardship services to Franklin Island. We will try to visit next time. We set up camp near Gaspar Island with an older couple across the river, a family of 5 across the island and 6 canoes, 2 dogs, 12 people and coolers in the bay.

July 2:

Today started with the dismantling and removing the contents of 2 small fire pits at the north end of Gaspar Island. Three more fire pits were disassembled at the south end. An area that looked like it had been used for a washroom facility was cleaned up and the human waste was buried, while we carried the toilet paper over to the thunder box at a second campsite on this island. We ate breakfast after this, with the season’s first fresh blueberries. Since the weather was uncooperative today, we visited with the surrounding campers. A man named Bob from Barrie wandered over.  He and his wife were camping on their power boat behind an island.  He informed us that there was the thunder box next to his campsite. After we talked about what we were doing as stewards, he seemed very surprised that people came out to move them at all. He also thought that since the water was clear, it was safe to drink right out of the lake. We discussed the voluntary fire ban and the many fire pits around. After he shared his opinions, I demonstrated for him how sea kayakers go about treating their drinking water, explaining why we choose not to have campfires, how we go about selecting a site to pitch our tents and how we travel in areas where thunder boxes are not available.

We also had a very brief discussion with a very large group of 12 young canoeists who camped on a near by sand beach about noise pollution at various hours of the day. The second night, things were much quieter.

As the wind was still up in the afternoon, we ventured into Deadhead Bay where there were no campers so the sites were easily accessed and improved. Fire pits were dismantled and downsized. Upon investigating a second campsite in this bay, we found that a thunder box did not appear to have been used yet this season, and had been turned upside down.  After carrying in some flat rocks and righting the box, we moved on to the second campsite in this bay and found it could support between six and eight tents.  By this time, it was about four o’clock and a quick check of the radio called for a severe hail, wind and thunderstorm warning that evening starting at dinner time.  Just enough time left to return to our base and anchor down!

July 3:

Today, after paddling back to the mainland, we met with Eric McIntyre of the MNR in Parry Sound for lunch. During lunch we talked of what we had already seen in our trips, what had been done and some goals for the summer. We discussed the actions of the other stewardship groups also helping to maintain the area. Additionally, we were provided with information regarding various species that are threatened, endangered and of special concern in this area: the Spotted Turtle, Massasauga Rattler, Bald Eagle, Least Bittern, Black Terns, Eastern Wolf, Eastern Fox Snake, Lake Sturgeon, Monarch Caterpillar and Butterfly, Eastern Hog-Nosed Snake, Red Headed Woodpecker, Common Nighthawk, Rusty Blackbird, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Chimney Swift, Golden Winged Warbler, Blanding’s Turtle, Stinkpot Turtle, Northern Map Turtle, Five Lined Skink, Eastern Milk Snake, Northern Ribbon Snake, Broad Beech Fern, Engelmann’s Quillwort, Forked Three Awned Grass, Butternut Tree and the Northern Brook Lamprey.  We’ll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for these and report sightings at the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve web-page.

JULY 7-13

July 7:

Today we picked up a kayak for Chris from White Squall and drove down to the Dillion Cove Marina to launch. We met Dan from GLSKA at the boat launch; he had come up from the United States and was looking for someone to kayak with, so he joined us. We went down Shebeshekong Bay, out the Shawanaga Inlet, past the inside to the Twin Sisters Islands and across to Big McCoy Island where we set up camp and had lunch. After lunch we went searching for the thunderboxes. We found the first one and relocated it and repaired the hinge. We then found a second thunderbox that had not been used and marked a waypoint. We noticed that a group of 4 kayakers had landed at the campsite just north of ours; we talked with them as we passed and they said they were on a trip with the Barrie Canoe Club (two of them were GLSKA members). Ed Irwin said that they had just come from Green Island and that there was a lot of garbage at the campsite. We then went to find the third thunderbox at the south campsite. It had the most use out of the three and needed to be moved. After this the south campsite needed to be cleaned, as there were lighter fluid bottles and other garbage in the fire pit. A large grate was also found which was too big to carry out on the kayaks so we left it and marked it as a waypoint for garbage pickup. After this we did a walk around the island and came across another thunderbox. It seemed like it was new last year; it had never been used so it did not need to be moved. We continued our walk and met with the 4 kayakers; we talked for a while about kayak trips, camping and trips that they have done.

July 8

There were thundershowers on and off all night and into the morning so kayaking this morning was not possible. Instead, we did some future trip planning and in the afternoon the weather cleared up enough that we were able to kayak around the south end of Big McCoy. From the water we spotted a pile of scrap metal and a garbage bag with something in it. Upon investigation, we found that someone had left a bag of sausages and beef in the rocks; it had gone bad and Dan and Chris could smell it from far out in the water when Melissa opened the bag. We decided it would be best to leave it there for now and come back to get it when we leave. We then crossed over to Little McCoy where we found a white plastic pail washed up on shore; we strapped it to a kayak and moved on. We went back to camp to drop off the pail and met 3 of the 4 kayakers about to go out for a short trip. We moved on through the smaller islands south of Big McCoy, around Dart Island and down to Bernie Island and turned back into Champion Island through Twin Pine Island and back to camp. After dinner we went for a walk around the island to see if we could clean up a bit. As we walked we found small bits of iron, walking farther we came across a large iron bumper that looked like it had been there for a long time. We carried it back to the garbage drop waypoint.

July 9

Today we got up to a thick fog over the water and headed out to Green Island. We walked around and found the thunderbox which had to be relocated. After this we cleaned out about 12 beer bottles and many tin cans, plastic bottles and foil wrap from the fire pit and campsite area. Once we had filled the front hatch of Chris’s boat we headed back to Big McCoy in a head wind and 2-metre waves. When we arrived back at camp Bert and Betty were there; they had seen Dan’s truck at Dillion Cove Marina and called him on his cell phone to see where he was and they decided to meet us on Big McCoy. We sat down for lunch and two kayakers from Ohio came by looking for a place to camp; we pointed out where the thunderboxes were located and they decided to camp at the north part of Big McCoy. In the afternoon the weather changed and it got very warm; we went to inspect the campsite where the 4 kayakers had been; they had left the campsite in excellent condition. For the rest of the night we sat and talked with Bert and Betty.

A highlight of this day was definitely that we saw a large 1.5-metre-long eastern fox snake in our campsite, and later a smaller 30-cm baby.

July 10

I woke up to a 20-knot west wind and the call of nature at 5 a.m. As I was taking care of business, still on Big McCoy, a white tailed deer made me jump.  After a quick campsite teardown, we circled to the shoal behind Big McCoy to pick up the trash consisting of rotting meat and crossed back to Hertzberger Island. Honestly, I’d like whoever dumped that meat to have been the one paddling downwind of Chris’ kayak for the 2 hours back to Dillon – that would teach them!

Back at the marina, no garbage disposal was available. This of course meant that we had to transport the “well-stewed” meat to the nearest trash can in a car. All windows were down as we drove as fast as possible to my friend Wendy & Tim’s place!

Soon we were on the road again to our next put in – Britt Station via the Georgian Cottages. Two groups of kayakers were just pulling in; a group of three adults from Montreal and a group of 8 girls and their leaders from the American Youth Foundation. We took this opportunity to chat with each group regarding the initiatives of our Stewardship program and to ask them about their recent experiences out on the Bay.   

The adult group was supportive of our initiatives, especially so as they commented, “It’s the worst we’ve ever seen it, and we’ve been coming here for years now.  There was toilet paper everywhere not buried, under rocks, under moss. When are people going to learn?”  We couldn’t resist asking these people for the locations had seen this, as it would help to focus our attention and work. We were given a handful of sites to check out, all in the area of Black Bay, behind the Cunningham Islands. We thanked them for their time.

By far, the most impressive group of paddlers that we have met so far this summer has been the girls group from the American Youth Foundation!

This group was out for a twenty-day kayak trip from Killarney to Snug Harbour, with a food drop in Byng half way through. Somehow, having lost track of the time, the group was left with only crumbs for a day until the drop.  (One of their leaders accepted the offer of a car ride to a local cottager’s grocery store for groceries.) En route, we discussed concerns of outdoor ethics. Chris stated that the campsite they stayed at last night had taken a little work to clean up upon their arrival. He then went into detailing the mandate of their organization and the fact that they not only teach Leave No Trace ethics, they also practise it. In other words, they don’t bring toilet paper on their trips! We wished them luck with the rest of their journey, pointed out some upcoming sites of interest and camping options and then made our way out to the Cunningham Islands just in time to set up camp, make dinner and jump into our tents before the rain hit.

July 11.

Until this point of our summer work, we thought we had it made – just a few minor cleanups, packed with lots of paddling in between. That was until we started to explore Black Bay, located behind the Cunningham Islands. Originally, we thought we’d spend just a couple of hours in this bay and then move onto the Churchills by noon. We spent the entire day launching, landing and cleaning, and still this location will be on our list of places to return to for further cleanup. Simply stated there were campsites in every corner we turned, with fire pits and accompanying garbage everywhere. We found plastic pails, tin cans, plastic bags, fridges, gas cans, metal containers etc. We also found two separate campsites that looked as if someone had used 3-ply, printed paper towels as toilet paper.  (Actually, we believe that we located another two sites that this individual also used, as there was the same printed paper towels everywhere.) After just a little sweat, we condensed the large metal objects into one central location for pickup later in the season. We also decided to burn the paper towels after burying the human fecal matter, as I wouldn’t want to guess how long it might take these to decompose.   

As we worked in this area, we were careful, as the group from Montreal had told us that a bear was living on Cunningham Island in between the cottage at the north end and the campsite of the south end that is frequently visited. They reported that they always hung their food, kept a clean campsite and the animal always ran away when talked to.

We chatted briefly with a group of 5 kayakers who were camped on a central island.  There were also 3 very large power boats and sail boats who had anchored in the bay to enjoy the stunning scenery. Finally on our way, we spotted a blue heron, painted turtle and numerous piles of bear scat. We decided that it would be beneficial to install about three thunder boxes in this area, and are currently investigating this.

Departing from the Cunninghams at about 5 p.m., the water was calm and we took advantage of this as we cut straight across to the south end of Champlain Island for our next night of camping.

July 12

With the sky looking a funky mauve-brown colour in the morning and thunderstorms forecast all day, we carefully re-examined our perfect campsite perch, high on the rock tops and decided to relocate a few things while we could. The weather held out for us, so we hiked all around and through Champlain Island. Moose and rabbit scat was evident. We picked up a broom, PVC pipes, nails and broken glass. (Again, we found evidence of the paper towel user.) 

An interesting find on our explorations was what appeared to be the remains of either a shipping port or a fishing village: cribs, decaying buildings and metal boat remains at the south end. Interesting to explore, and we left these as we were unsure of any historical significance. On the hike back to base, we saw another eastern fox snake.

After dinner, we paddled behind Champlain to the southern Churchills to explore, as there were still very strong winds (the weather radio stated gusts to 35 knots). Although there was definite evidence of campsites (tent rings and fire pits), these sites were clean.

July 13

Our day began at 6 a.m., trying to beat the increasing wind. We started with 20-knot tailwinds which changed into headwinds part way back to the car. However, with thunder storms forecast again for the afternoon, we knew it was time to move. On our way, we took a short break at Golden Sword Island to explore the remains of a chimney and fireplace. After dropping the kayak off to White Squall around noon, we were on our way back to plan the next leg and start our write-ups.

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