Sandpoint Island Provincial Park Management Statement

Interim Management Statement

Administrative update to Sandpoint Island Provincial Park Interim Management Statement (1986)

December 2012

1. Purpose/rationale

Legislation has changed since the Interim Management Statement was authored, so have policies and values within the park. New information should be added to keep the IMS current, relevant and effective as management direction (eg. species at risk information, values and pressures). The current IMS is void of many provincially accepted policies which should be added to inform both MNR and external interests of accepted uses and policies.

The following adjustments are proposed, resulting from a review of the IMS and its relevance as management direction in the context of 2012;

• Add current provincial policies which have undergone public consultation since the IMS was written
• Add new / additional research information, as available, including life science, recreation and earth science information
• Omit references to D.L.U.G.s and modernize references by citing reference to PPCRA / CLUPA
• Modernize wording to be inclusive of all Aboriginal peoples (including Metis)
• Update mapping products

An administrative update has been chosen to modify the interim management statement as there are no new policies being developed for the park. Provincial policies which have undergone public consultation in the past along with additional general information are the only changes being implemented. These adjustments should produce a more cohesive document that is easy to use for both staff and the public in terms of direction for the park, permitted activities and convey additional information which may not have been available at the time the current IMS was authored.

2. Description of administrative update

• See attached

3. Decision

I approve this administrative update to the Sandpoint Island Provincial Park lnteri management statement (1986).

Signed by:
Tim Sullivan
Manager , Northwest Zone - Ontario Parks

Date: June 18, 2013

Introduction

The purpose of this Interim Management Statement is to identify:

1. park values which are to be protected
2. resource management prescriptions necessary to protect these values; and
3. restrictions on use of natural resources within the park

This Interim Management Statement is not intended to replace a Park Management Plan. Rather it is intended to guide the use of natural resources and related activities within the park until such a time as a Park Management Plan is prepared.

The guidelines that have been developed are based upon information contained in the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act (2006), Ontario Provincial Parks Planning and Management Policies (1992) and Ontario’s Living Legacy Land Use Strategy (1999).

Background information

Life science representation

Targets

Earth science representation

Cultural resource representation

Recreational opportunities

Inventories

Management guidelines

I Land tenure

There are two properties within the park (P. 613 and P.614) that are presently listed as patented lands. Both of these parcels were acquired from a private citizen during October, 1975 and are presently held by the Crown and regulated as part of the park.

A 66 foot shoreline reserve (surface rights only) was originally retained by the Crown on patent mining locations K-194 and K-195.

Guidelines

An application may be filed to have the above mentioned parcel registries closed out.

Portions of the 66 foot reserve which are retained by the Crown and regulated as part of the park will remain in its present form. Portions of the reserve which are not regulated as part of the park will be administered by the Fort Frances district office of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Requests for any additional forms of land tenure will not be considered.

II Land acquisition/disposition

Two patented properties (K-194 and K-195) including a 66 foot shoreline reserve fronting them exist on Sandpoint Island and are presently excluded from the park.

In 1990, the regulated park boundary was revised, increasing the size of the park by 14 hectares to a total of 914.

Guidelines

The Ministry of Natural Resources will not actively seek to acquire additional patented properties pending the completion of the park management plan. The Ministry will however, enter into negotiations with the above landowners should they express an interest in disposing of these properties.

The disposition of park land will not be permitted in regulated provincial parks. The Fort Frances district office may choose to dispose of Crown lands held adjacent to the park should specific conditions be met (Note to File; Sullivan 2003).

No fuel wood permits will be issued for within the park.

III Existing/proposed development

There are no existing authorized facilities or developments within the park. While there is no formal development, frequent visitation has created concentrated tent sites, privies and hiking trails.

Guideline

Proposals for park development will not be considered pending the completion of the park management plan. The park has outstanding potential to provide day use and camping opportunities on a water access basis.

IV Recreation activities

Sandpoint Island becomes a recreational haven for boaters, campers, picnickers and fishermen during the summer months (Page 2007 [draft], Nudds 2009). While high use areas are primarily confined to areas of sandy soils, erosion does not seem to be a concern at present (Yeo 2008 as per. Nudds 2009).

Hunting activity may also occur within the park.

Guideline

The above recreational activities will be permitted to continue on an interim basis and will be further addressed within the park management plan.

The use of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) will not be permitted. Long-term direction will be addressed during management planning.

Sport fishing is permitted, except in areas where fish sanctuaries are established, and is subject to provincial and federal fishing regulations.

Hunting is permitted within the park (O.Reg 378/00 s.1).

V Commercial activities

A portion of one trapline and one baitfish harvest block is included within the park boundary. The park is contained within Bear Management Area FF-11A-002.

There are no commercial tourism operations within the park.

The park is adjacent to the Crossroute Forest Management Unit.

Guidelines

Existing commercial fur harvesting (trapping) and baitfish harvesting activities are permitted to continue (Ontario Parks 2010) except in wilderness or nature reserve zones, as determined through planning. Proposals for trapline cabins will not be considered.

Commercial timber harvest, generation of electricity, the prospecting, staking mining claims, developing mineral interests or working mines, the extraction of aggregate, topsoil or peat, or other industrial uses will not be permitted within the park (PPCRA).

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.

VI 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 is within the Treaty 3 area, and the nearest Aboriginal communities include Couchiching, Mitaanjigaming, Nigigoonsiminikaaning, Naicatchewenin, Seine River and Rainy River First Nations.

Sunset Country Métis Council, based in Fort Frances, may also have an interest in this area.

It is unknown to what extent the park is currently used for traditional purposes.

Guideline

For greater certainty, nothing in this interim statement 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.

VII Natural Resources

The objectives of natural environment class parks are to protect outstanding recreational landscapes, representative ecosystems and provincially significant elements of Ontario’s natural and cultural heritage and to provide high quality recreational and educational experiences (PPCRA).

A number of natural resource values have been identified to date through the earth and life science inventories. These values include excellent representation of a cedar swamp, red pine stand on the sand point, tombolo bar, and raised strandlines associated with glacial Lake Agassiz. The cedar swamp is the only one within the park, and is found here at the northern limit of its range. The sandy areas of the tombolo bar and the area between bedrock knolls connecting the northern peninsula and the remainder of the park to the south are often used by campers, especially the sand area that supports the red pine stand.

The bedrock in the area is a result of continental building processes which were active approximately 2.7 billion years ago. Most of the present surficial landform features were created or modified by the last glacial movements (Sims and Baldwin 1991), which is believed to have ended in that area approximately 11,000 years ago.

One Species at Risk has been identified within Sandpoint Island Provincial Park. The Small-flowered Lipocarpha (Lipocarpha micrantha) is both of national and provincial concern. In Ontario, it is considered to be a 'threatened' species. There are several species which are regionally rare which have also been observed within the park (Nudds 2009).

Sandpoint Island Provincial Park is within the Central Rainy watershed, Wildlife Management Unit 11A, Cervid Ecological Framework Zone D1 and Fisheries Management Zone 5.

Guidelines

Maintenance of ecological integrity shall be the first priority and the restoration of ecological integrity shall be considered (PPCRA). Interim management efforts will be directed towards the protection of these natural resource values.

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.

Fire management

Forest fires are recognized as a natural ecological process in the boreal forest ecosystem, necessary for both maintenance and renewal. Sandpoint Island Provincial Park is located in the Boreal Fire Management Zone in which forest fires generally receive a full response including aggressive initial attack and sustained action until declared out. 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 Sandpoint Island Provincial Park will receive a full response according to direction outlined for the Boreal Fire Management Zone. Long term management will be guided through park planning.

Wildlife management

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).

Non-native species will not be deliberately introduced. Where they are already established, a management program for their eradication may be developed.

Vegetation

Management of vegetation will be addressed in the management plan, when developed.

Occurrences of insect and disease outbreaks native to the forest region in which the park is situated, are recognized as an integral component of the park’s ecology. Insects and diseases not native to the park’s forest region will be controlled where feasible. 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).

VIII Cultural resources

A reconnaissance archaeological survey of Sandpoint Island was conducted in 1979. Three archaeological sites were located on the island, one of which should receive further investigation (Ddkg-3).

Guideline

A more detailed archaeological survey of site Ddkg-3 will be carried out prior to the preparation of the park management plan and subsequent park development.

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.

IX Client services

Guideline

Information on the natural and cultural features of this park will be made available to the public in an attempt to foster an understanding and appreciation for the park.

X Research

An updated life science checksheet was authored in 2009. This checksheet is more robust and provides more detailed information then the earlier report from 1977. Recreational information was gathered for the park and a recreational report has been drafted (2007), however the report remains in draft form.

Guidelines

More detailed earth and life science, cultural and recreational inventories will be required prior to the preparation of the park management plan.

Research by qualified individuals which contributes to the knowledge of natural and cultural history and to environmental and recreational management will be encouraged.

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.

XI Marketing

Guideline

A marketing strategy for the park will be addressed during the preparation of the park management plan.

Sources/references

Kor, P., 1977. Earth Science Inventory Checklist for Sandpoint Island Park Reserve, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Noble, T., 1977. Ontario Nature Reserves Program – Life Science InventoryCheck-Sheet for Sandpoint Island-Cedar Swamp, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Nudds, E., 2009. Sandpoint Island Provincial Park Life Science Checksheet. Ontario Parks; Ministry of Natural Resources. Unpublished report.

Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation. 1979. Archaeological Survey of Sandpoint And Pow Wow Grounds Provincial Park Reserves

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

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

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 2006. Crown Land Use Policy Atlas: Policy Report P2589: Sandpoint Island. Available Online [URL:http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LUEPS/2ColumnSubPage/STDU_137973.html] Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

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

Ontario Parks 2009. Permitted Use Policy Amendment. December 20, 2010.

Page, R., 2007. Recreation Inventory Report - Sandpoint Island Provincial Park. Ontario Parks; Ministry of Natural Resources. Unpublished report [in draft].

Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006.