Arrowhead Peninsula Interim Management Statement

Signed:
Tim Sullivan
Manager, Northwest Zone - Ontario Parks

Approved: February 16, 1985
Administrative Update: June 18, 2013

Background information

Name: Arrowhead Peninsula
CLUPA ID: P2632
Class: Nature Reserve
M.N.R. District: Thunder Bay
M.N.R. Region: Northwest
Total Area (ha): 815
Land:  
Water:  
Site Region: 4W
Site District: 1
Date in Regulation: February 16, 1985

Life science representation

Site Type / Landscape Unit Targets:
Species / communities
Weakly to moderately broken shallow silty sand till. Stand of Red Pine and White Pine.

Earth science representation

Geological theme Feature
None  

Cultural Resource Representation

Theme Theme segment
Unidentified Prehistoric (flakes) (2 sites)
Northern Hunters and Fishers Black Duck (pottery diagnostic)
Fur Trade (possible) Historic material

Recreational opportunities

Day use Car camping Wilderness/back country
N/A N/A N/A

Inventories

Level/type Reconnaissance/completion date Detailed/completion date Required?
Life Science checksheet   revised checksheet
Earth Science checksheet   brief inventory
Cultural site record form   cultural assessment
Recreational      
Other      

Arrowhead Peninsula Provincial Park Interim Management Statement

I. Land tenure

All land within the park is Crown land. There is no tenure granted for any land with the park.

Guideline:

Granting of tenure will not be considered for any land within the park, until a management plan has been completed.

II. Land acquisition/disposition

There is no patent land within the park.

There is one patent parcel of land adjacent to the park.

Guideline:

No consideration will be given to acquiring additional land or disposing of land within the park until a management plan is completed.

III. Existing/proposed development

Reports have been received concerning an abandoned adit (mine shaft).

There is no proposed development at this time.

Guidelines:

Attempts will be made to locate the mine shaft and measures taken to ensure that it is not a safety hazard to the public.

Development (excluding that related to public health and safety) will not be undertaken prior to completion of a management plan.

The boundaries for Arrowhead Peninsula Provincial Park will be surveyed and cut, and appropriate signage provided, if funding permits.

IV. Recreational activities

Arrowhead Peninsula is regulated as a Nature Reserve Class park under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act.

No water bodies exist within the Nature Reserve.

There is little known recreational activity within the park.

Guidelines:

Where compatible with park values, low-intensity day-use activities and facilities which enhance appreciation of the park will be encouraged.

Certain types of trails may be considered through planning.

Sport fishing is permitted. Sport fishing is subject to provincial and federal fisheries regulations.

Camping and hunting are not permitted within the park.

Wildlife viewing will be permitted.

Snowmobiling and the use of motorized vehicles is not permitted within the park. Long-term management direction will be determined through planning.

V. Commercial activities

The park lies within the area of three traplines (TB136, TB162 and TB135) and two baitfish harvest areas (TB0002 and TB0050).

The park is adjacent to the Lakehead Forest Management Unit.

Guidelines:

Commercial timber harvest, oil, gas, peat and aggregate extraction, the generation of electricity and other commercial uses are prohibited within the park (PPCRA, Section 16). Prospecting, staking mining claims, developing mineral interests or working mines is not permitted in the park (PPCRA).

Existing commercial fur harvest may continue for the lifetime of the current head trapper. If a license is revoked, surrendered or an application for transfer is received prior to that time, all portions of the registered trapline within the park will be rescinded from the trapline’s legal description.

Existing licensed bait harvest operations in park-encompassed waters may be extended annually, for the lifetime of the current licensee or until the license is surrendered – whichever occurs first. Annual extensions are conditional on the outcome of a policy review of bait use and bait harvest in protected areas.

Trapline and baitfish cabins will not be permitted.

Transfers of licenses are permitted between or to Aboriginal peoples.

Other commercial activities will not be permitted.

Ontario Parks will act as a plan advisor and reviewer during the Forest Management Planning Process, according to the northwest zone’s protocol for Ontario Parks'participation in forest management planning. This process ensures that park values and park-related values are recognized and that protection and mitigation measures are worked out through the development of the forest management plan when these values are potentially affected by adjacent forestry operations.

VI. Natural resources

The primary reason for the park’s establishment was to protect significant stands of Red and White Pine in an area of Great Lakes – St. Lawrence forest.

Past glacial movements have resulted in shallow ground till controlling the landscape within the park. Upland knolls are generally covered with a thin veneer of stony silty sandy till with frequent bedrock exposures. These upland sites are generally dry as surface run off is common with red pine and white pine, cedar, white spruce, and balsam fir as the dominant species within the park (Noble 1975).

Areas of mature forest have been impacted by blowdown events as a form of natural disturbance. Portions of Arrowhead Island and southern portions of the peninsula appear to be susceptible to blowdown as these areas are not protected from prevailing winds traveling across large bays of the lake.

Arrowhead Peninsula Provincial Park is within the Upper Rainy watershed, Wildlife Management Unit 13, Cervid Ecological Framework Zone C1 and Fisheries Management Zone 6.

Guidelines:

Restrictions on recreational (Section IV) and commercial activities (Section V), as noted above, are expected to provide adequate protection to the life science features. If any unforeseen threats to the preservation of these features arise, appropriate measures and/or restrictions will be implemented through planning.

Consistent with the protection objective for provincial parks, species declared 'special concern'and 'threatened' by the OMNR will be afforded the same protection as species declared endangered. The statutes and regulations of the Endangered Species Act apply to any species at risk noted or observed within the park.

Forest fires are recognized as a natural ecological process, necessary for both forest maintenance and renewal. As per the Forest Fire Management Strategy for Ontario, in the absence of a fire management plan for the park, the fire management objectives for the surrounding fire management zone will apply. All fires that occur within the park will receive a full response as per direction outlined in the Boreal Fire Management Zone.

To promote and maintain the ecological integrity within the park, prescribed burning, consistent with Ontario’s Prescribed Burn Policy and associated guidelines may be used to reintroduce the natural role of forest fires within the park’s boundaries. Further long term direction will be addressed during the development of management direction for the park.

Nuisance, rabid or invasive species may be controlled when essential to protect human health and safety, the health of the species outside the park, or the values for which the park was established. No wildlife habitat or populations will be enhanced, rehabilitated, restored or managed in the absence of a management plan (OMNR 2005).

Management of vegetation will be directed towards ongoing natural succession, unless other alternative strategies are desirable. Non-native plant species will not be deliberately introduced. Where species are already established, and threaten park values, a program for their eradication will be conducted through planning.

Occurrences of insect and disease outbreaks native to the forest region in which the park is situated, is recognized as an integral component of the park’s ecology. Non-native species will not deliberately be introduced. Where they are already established, a management program for their eradication may be developed, if it is practical and feasible for the perpetuation of the values for which the park was established. When control is undertaken, it will be directed as narrowly as possible to the specific insect or disease, so as to have minimal effects on the balance of the park environment. Biological controls will be used whenever possible. The control of native species will be addressed in the management plan.

The harvesting of vegetation for commercial or personal use will not be permitted (O. Reg 347/07 s.2).

VII. Cultural heritage resources

There are three known archaeological sites within the park. These sites include examples from the Prehistoric, Blackduck and Historic time periods.

Guidelines:

Any disturbance of archaeological sites within the park will be discouraged. Archaeological and historical artefacts and landscapes will only be removed or altered through approved research projects for the purpose of defining past cultural activities.

The locations of any archaeological sites will not be public information. Necessary measures (access/development restrictions) to protect the integrity of any archaeological sites will be addressed through park management planning.

VIII. Client services

No literature is presently available.

Guidelines:

Signage will be maintained or erected, as funding permits.

Client services will not be provided until a management plan has been completed. Marketing or information products will be consistent with the Ontario Parks Marketing Plan.

IX. Research and inventories

Life and earth science reconnaissance data has been collected for the park. A site record form exists for the cultural heritage sites identified. A recreation report also exists for the park.

Guidelines:

A revised life science checksheet and cultural assessment should be undertaken prior to any park management planning. Additional earth science information may also be beneficial to future planning.

Research activities and facilities, under the auspices of an approved research application, approved by the park superintendent, will be compatible with protection values and recreational uses in the park (O. Reg 347/07 s. 2 (3)). Collecting may be permitted under the auspices of an approved research permit and valid collector’s permit (O. Reg 347/07 s.2 (2)).

Should inventories identify significant features, an update or amendment to this statement or a re-write may be requested.

X. Aboriginal interests

Aboriginal persons and their ancestors have long had a connection with utilizing and caring for the land that should be recognized, respected and celebrated.The park lies within the area covered by the Robinson-Superior Treaty of 1850. Grand Portage and Fort William First Nation are the nearest communities to the park and are adherent to this treaty.

Thunder Bay Métis Council and Red Sky Métis Independent Nation, based in Thunder Bay, may also have an interest in this area.

Guideline:

For greater certainty, nothing in this plan shall be construed so as to abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for the existing Aboriginal or Treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada as recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

References/sources

Kor, P., 1978. Earth Science Inventory Checklist. Ministry of Natural Resources. Unpublished report.

Ministry of Natural Resources, 2005. A Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves. Ministry of Natural Resources. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

Ministry of Natural Resources. 2006. Crown Land Use Policy Atlas: Policy Report P2632 Arrowhead Peninsula. Queen’s Printer for Ontario. Available online.[http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LUEPS/2ColumnSubPage/STDU_137973.html (link no longer active)]

Ministry of Natural Resources 2009. Cervid Ecological Framework. June 2009. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

Ministry of Natural Resources. 1992. Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Management Policies. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

Noble, T., 1975. Life Sciences Inventory Checksheet: Arrowhead Peninsula – Red and White Pine Forest. Ministry of Natural Resources. Unpublished Report.

Ontario Parks, 2010 – Permitted Use Policy Amendment. Ministry of Natural Resources. December 20, 2010. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

Onyshkewych, K., 2011. Recreation Inventory Report – Arrowhead Peninsula Provincial Nature Reserve (P2632) Ministry of Natural Resources (Unpublished Report).

Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006