Almost two thirds of Algonquin Park is unprotected from logging – included in that are tracts of pristine old-growth forest with trees 300 to 400 years old, and large roadless areas. The Algonquin old-growth forest project was launched in 2022 to identify remaining old-growth forests in the zone of Algonquin Park where logging is permitted, it is a partnership between Michael Henry (oldgrowth.ca) and the Wilderness Committee (wildernesscommittee.org).
Existing map data (forest inventory, known harvest, etc) is used to identify candidate old growth areas. Locations that are far from access roads and rail lines and/or are isolated by steep terrain or water bodies are less likely to have had historical logging of hemlock and hardwood trees, since these species could not be floated to mills. In some cases hemlock forests remain relatively intact even in managed landscapes due to the relatively low commercial value of the species.
The rapid survey methods developed for this project use elements from old-growth surveys in other parts of eastern North America. They can be deployed by volunteers to quickly survey old-growth forests and collect standardized data, allowing for evaluation and comparison of old-growth stands. A dedicated group of volunteers can usually collect enough data to evaluate an old growth forest in a weekend. The only specialized equipment required are an increment borer, a basal area prism, and diameter tapes.
Research in 2022 made clear that Algonquin Park has very old and intact, unprotected forest that has international significance. We used rapid survey methods (Henry, 2023a) and volunteer data collection to confirm two unprotected old-growth forests in the park. A third was identified in 2018 and will be included in our 2023-24 field seasons for additional surveys. More than 30 other potential old-growth sites are found in the park.
Cayuga Lake West old-growth forest is among the oldest forest stands in Eastern North America, with a maximum age of 427 years and a conservative stand age of 263 years. The forest is almost entirely pristine and has all the features of high quality old-growth forest including high ages, tree basal area, and coarse woody debris (logs and snags). At 176 hectares (1.7 square km), Cayuga Lake West is roughly equivalent in size to Toronto’s Sunnybrook, Wilket Creek, Glendon, and Serena Gundy Parks combined. One quarter of the trees cored at Cayuga Lake West in 2022 were over 400 years old, while another tree cored in 2018 was also over 400, for a total of six trees more than 400-years-old found in Cayuga Lake West to date (Henry & Torenvliet, 2023).
Hemlock forest north of Longboot Lake was identified as potential old-growth forest in 2021 by recreational users of the park. We inventoried several hemlock stands as part of the Algonquin Park Old- growth Forest Project, and the results show that the forest north of Longboot Lake has ages, tree basal area, and coarse woody debris volume that are all indicative of high quality old-growth forest. Stumps show that there was limited selective logging roughly 80-100 years ago. The mean age of the forest is 211 years, and the maximum age is 338 years. These ages are higher than most old-growth forests in eastern North America, but comparable to old-growth hemlock forests in Adirondack State Park and Algonquin Park (Henry, 2023).
In 2018 a reconnaissance survey found that 377 ha of contiguous old-growth forest adjacent to Hurdman Creek appears to relatively pristine, with an average age from tree cores of 232 years, a maximum age of 295 years, and few signs of historical logging in most of the surveyed areas (Henry & Quinby, 2018). The oldest documented black ash in Ontario was found in this unprotected forest, at 218 years old. A more rigorous survey will be undertaken in 2023-24. The Hurdman Creek forest is particularly significant because it is part of a very large roadless area mapped by Ted Elliott and Peter Quinby. This is the largest unprotected roadless area remaining in Algonquin Park; at over 6600 hectares (66 square km) it is about 2/3 the size of old Toronto, or the same size as Peterborough Ontario.
Reports
Henry, M. 2023. Old-growth forest survey methods. Algonquin Old-Growth Forest Project, 1.
Henry, M. 2023. Old-Growth Forest Survey of Longboot Lake, Algonquin Park. Algonquin Old-Growth Forest Project, 2.
Henry, M, & N. Torenvliet. 2023. Old-growth forest survey of Cayuga Lake west, Algonquin Park. Algonquin Park Old-Growth Forest Project, 3.
Henry, M. 2023. What we found: Algonquin Park Old-Growth Forest Project 2022 summary. Algonquin Park Old-Growth Forest Project, 4.
Media coverage
408-year-old tree discovered in Algonquin Park’s unprotected logging zone. The Toronto Star January 12, 2019