Friends of the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area
2015
A Wilderness, for Many Generations
In 2015, the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area was officially designated.
2012
Land for Sale
Photo Credit: The Chronicle Herald
In 2012, after a lot of campaigning from citizens, conservation groups, forestry experts, and many other organizations, the province purchased 224600 hectares from insolvent Bowater Mersey (mentioned below as Mersey Paper Company Limited). Immediately, some changes were made. Although it had been illegal to trespass and drive over much of these lands under Bowater Mersey’s ownership ever since the roads had been built, well over 67% of all 2500km of roads were soon accessible to all. Some parcels from the purchased land were set aside for the province’s ambitious and nationally reputable Parks and Protected Areas plan. A few other parcels were set aside for an aspiring community forest (click here to see their website). The huge tracts of land that represent the rest of the purchased area are being used for industrial forestry.
A Lumbering Landscape
Large-scale lumbering in Nova Scotia was sparked by the Napoleonic War in the late 1700s, which forced the British to look to the Americas for their lumber supply. Many early settlers would farm during the growing season, and go lumbering inland during the colder part of the year. From then on and as markets for different forest wood products developed, more and more forest was harvested. Lumbering companies searched further and further inland and up rivers, first cutting and log-driving along larger rivers, and eventually building networks of roads and clearcuts to remove as much wood as possible. By some luck, much of the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area was still fairly pristine by the 1970s. Around that time, Mersey Paper Company Limited began systematically clearcutting most of the upland forest (click here to see it), some of it virgin old growth forest. Luckily, some of the area’s old growth forests remain, and despite all the cutting, still represent one of the best examples of their kinds in western Nova Scotia.
1792-2012
long ago - present
A Stormy Existence
Some evidence exists to support the notion that the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area, especially the hardwood hills, has been hard hit by hurricanes and other wind storms in the recent past. The Saxby Gale of 1869, hurricanes in the mid 1950s, and many other weather systems likely levelled some forests temporarily. Judging by the presence of hardwood forests and old growth softwood forests, fire played only a very minor role in the area, and some evidence can be observed where thinner, granitic soils are present to the southeast and to the north of the wilderness area.
1800s-1960s
Into the Deep Unknown
For many decades, Nova Scotia was known as one of the finest hunting and fishing destinations in the world. Local First Nations and non-native guides knew the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area woods and waters well. They guided sports as they hunted moose and fished for large trout and salmon, while earning a decent income. Unfortunately, those three same species and many more are disappearing or have basically disappeared from this wilderness for now, in large part due to human impacts on the landscape. Mike Parker’s series of books on guiding and lumbering in Nova Scotia offers outstanding, vivid accounts of some of the best outdoorspeople of that era.
1760s-early 1800s
Let’s Settle This
In the late 1700s and into the 1800s, mostly Loyalists, Planters, Acadians, and other Europeans settled the surrounding areas. Some settled as far inland as places like South Milford, West Dalhousie, and Perotte. Although the hardwood drumlins further inland must have been somewhat tempting to colonist farmers and their descendants, the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area was kept mostly pristine.
1686
The First ‘Recorded’ Canoe Trip
The first documented canoe trip in Nova Scotia passed through the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area in 1686. Jacques de Meulles, the Intendant of New France at the time, employed three Mi’kmaw guides and several Acadians from the community, to paddle from Annapolis Royal to Liverpool via the Allains and Mersey rivers. The Mi’kmaw guides were essential to the success of the trip, given their knowledge of the traditional route.
1500s-1760s
Profound Change
Contact from Europeans initiated a profound change across the landscape. A thirst for wealth fueled the fur trade. The French and Acadians developed a friendship with the Mi'kmaw, while the British aimed for dominance throughout North America. Sadly, disease and warfare drastically affected and reduced Mi'kmaw communities. They, along with the odd Acadian, still maintained a close relationship with the land including the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area.
>5000 years ago-1500s
Our Relationship with the Wilderness
The Mi’kmaw people and their ancestors lived off of the vital resources provided by the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area. Evidence along the Mersey River in this area dates back to at least 5,000 years ago, with hundreds of artifacts found within the current-day wilderness area. The interior was especially used for hunting and trapping in the colder seasons, and for getting around via the many traditional river and lake routes, and via land-based routes as well. The wilderness area is part of the Gespogoitnag territory.
>10,000 years ago
At the Very Beginning
At the very beginning, the Medway Lakes Wilderness Area was basically just a big chunk of ice on top of a big chunk of granite. About 10,000 years ago, the ice melted away, leaving a thin layer of granitic soil in some places, and more productive Annapolis Valley soils in other places. Plants and animals quickly established, along with humans.
Photo Credit: Province of Nova Scotia
History
