Birch Island Provincial Park

Birch Island Provincial Park is a remote provincial park located on Lake Winnipegosis in Manitoba, Canada.[2] The park is bordered on its western boundary by the Swan-Pelican Provincial Forest[3] and on its eastern side by Chitek Lake Anishinaabe Provincial Park.[4]

Birch Island Provincial Park
IUCN category II (national park)
LocationManitoba, Canada
Nearest townDauphin, Manitoba
Coordinates52°23′23″N 99°57′17″W[1]
Area80,600 ha (311 sq mi)
Established2010
Governing bodyGovernment of Manitoba

Surface bedrock on Birch Island is Devonian limestone and dolomite.[5] The Keewatin Glacier contributed a 4 foot layer of ground moraine.[5] Post-glacial Lake Agassiz gradually drained away leaving the modern group of lakes, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Manitoba.[5] Soils on the island are classified as eutric brunisol.[6][5]

Birch Island supports coniferous forest of jack pine and black spruce.[6] Black spruce muskeg is found in the poorly drained areas.[6] Moose, black bear, wolf, lynx, snowshoe hares and white-tailed deer are residential mammals of this park.[2] Herons, terns and double-crested cormorants use Birch Island and the nearby small islands and shallows as nesting habitat.[7][3]

The area was first set aside as a park reserve in May 2000 to prepare for the park designation.[6] The area was designated a provincial park by the Government of Manitoba on November 1, 2010.[8][7] The park is 80,600 hectares (311 sq mi) in size.[7][2] It is considered to be a Class II protected area under the IUCN protected area management categories.[9] The park is located within the Pelican Lake Ecodistrict in the Mid-Boreal Lowland Ecoregion within the Boreal Plains Ecozone.[10]

Hunting, fishing and other gathering activities are permitted but the park designation as backcountry prevents other types of development including logging, mining and hydroelectric development. There are no services within the park.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Birch Island Provincial Park". Geographical Place Names. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  2. "NEW BIRCH ISLAND PROVINCIAL PARK WILL PROTECT NATURAL LANDSCAPE AND WILDLIFE: BLAIKIE". News Releases. Government of Manitoba. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  3. A System Plan for Manitoba's Provincial Parks (PDF). Government of Manitoba. 1998. pp. 183–4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  4. A System Plan for Manitoba's Provincial Parks (PDF). Government of Manitoba. 1998. p. 186. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  5. "General description of the Waterhen Lake Map Sheet Area, 63B" (PDF). Canadian Soil Information Service. Government of Canada. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  6. "Birch Island Park Reserve" (PDF). Government of Manitoba. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  7. "Manitoba Protected Areas Initiative Update 2010" (PDF). Government of Manitoba. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  8. "A System Plan for Manitoba's Provincial Parks" (PDF). Government of Manitoba. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  9. "Birch Island Provincial Park". Protected Planet. United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  10. Smith, R.E.; Veldhuis, H.; Mills, G.F.; Eilers, R.G.; Fraser, W.R.; Lelyk, G.W. (1998). "Terrestrial Ecozones, Ecoregions, and Ecodistricts of Manitoba An Ecological Stratification of Manitoba's Natural Landscapes" (Technical Bulletin 98-9E.). Winnipeg, Manitoba: Land Resource Unit, Brandon Research Centre, Research Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada: 170. Retrieved 12 August 2017. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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