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Winter camping in the wilds of Temagami Woods, Water and WilEfe Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, March 29, 1989-11 by Marion Strebig Survival of the fittest Have you ever camped out in 40 iegree celcius? Last week, on a „ ederation of Ontario Naturalists membership trip to the Temagami area, I did. Once we had parked on a sideroad east of Highway 11, about 10 miles south of the town of Temagami, we skied into a lake just north of the Nipissing Crown Game Preserve. Our leader and guide, Bob Groves, had set up winter camp for us on the lake. What astonished me was the speed with which, after leaving Highway 11, we came to untravelled untravelled land. The only path was the path broken for us by Bob's sled loaded with our heavy gear, pulled by 5 Alaskan malamutes. All weekend we found the same thing; the only tracks we saw were animal tracks or our own. We were entering rugged terrain of cattail and speckled alder marsh and mixed forest of spruce, White pine and birch. Steep escarpments which white pine have managed to climb, rose sharply above the lake. As we travelled, Bob pointed out stands of balsam fir which were black skeletons, victims of the spruce budworm. Balsam is their preferred food tree. Bob believes that the numbér of dead balsam has affected the beaver population. Deat balsam on the forest floor inhibit new growth, at least initially. This includes aspen saplings, a favourite food of the beavers, and usually one of the first trees to appear in a naturally regenerating area. Bob automatically notes all changes in habitat because he is also a licensed trapper, and we were travelling in the area of Crown Land he has been assigned for his traplines. The number of beaver houses here has dropped from a high of 75 in 1982 to , about one- third that number this winter. The beavers will come back, but not. until until there is sufficient new growth of food species to support them. Meanwhile Bob has severely limited his take of beaver. Mainstream Canada Only in you Ontario, say? By Ann M. Smith Like it or not, you've got to admit that the current state of Ontario's economy appears to be oozing with good health. Economists like to point out, for example, that unemployment unemployment levels in the province are still relatively low, the housing boom--which has been thundering thundering along for at least five years now--continues to pick up speed, and consumer confidence confidence is, overall, giving the people of Ontario just one more reason to smile. So naturally a lot of Canadians inside and outside outside the so-called Province of Plenty are under the assumption assumption that everything is just fine. It's not. John Bulloch, president of the. Canadian Federation of Independent Business, calls the situation deceptively calm. ' 'The truth is, " says Bulloch, "small and medium-sized firms in this province--the backbone of this economy--are' being insidiously chipped away at by the Liberal majority government government of Premier David Peterson." * Bulloch adds that the acrimonious acrimonious nature of this relationship relationship is a far cry from the very positive links established with Liberal governments in Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Among the most contentious contentious pieces of legislation introduced introduced by the Ontario Liberals since their sweep to power in 1987 Is Bill 208; an Act to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Underneath the clever and misleading title, this latest government brainchild is in reality that government's most frightening horror story to date. CFIB, in concert with the vast majority of Ontario's business business Community, has warned the government that this Act will create major unnecessary costs and workplace disruptions for almost every business in the. province. Some of the major concerns under Bill 208 would be new powers for certain employees to arbitrarily shut down a workplace workplace if they felt so inclined. The result could be devastating to the firm, other employees and perhaps the community overall. The Bill would help open the door for unions to harass and organize non-union firms and give government inspectors 1 incredible powers to seize, carry away and detain any document or piece of equipment from a 'business, even if no charges have been laid. After months of meetings with the Ontario Liberals, Bulloch says there is still a basic, inability on the part of the government and its bureaucracy, to grasp the importance of the province's vital private sector. With almost 60 per cent of all new jobs in the province coming coming from firms with fewer than 20 employees, Bulloch adds, it just doesn't make sense for the government to continue stabbing stabbing the small business community community in the back. So what does this have to do with the rest of the country? Lots. It is a fact of life in this country that "nasties" born in Ontario are quick to catch fire elsewhere. Canada's businesses, whether they be in Corner- brook, Nfld. or Red Deer, Alta., can now look to Ontario as the breeding ground for much of today's most damaging legislative legislative initiatives. For his part, the Premier is fooling himself if he believes that such treatment of business ÿ in the best interests of Ontario. He may be able to get away with it when times are good, but beyond that any bad feelings that have thus far been nurtured aren't likely to go away. CFIB Feature Service Our sleeping place for the weekend was à larg*' tent with a firepit dug out at the end for the small woodstove which kept us cozy at night. Bob had layered the sleeping sleeping platform with spruce boughs covered wth several tarpaulins. 1 have to confess thal this kind of camping was not really rugged; in fact, we were coddled. For eating and lounging wé had Bob's trapline cabin where he cooked porridge and pancakes to see us through the cold days, and hearty stews for our evening evening meals. Our constant companion at the lent and around the cabin where Bob had put out a feeder, was the Gray Jay, that cheeky and appealing appealing scrounger of the northern woods. On the whole, though, we saw few birds and animals. Our arrival arrival coincided with a weather front. Over the weekend the temperature dropped from 0 degrees celcius - 40 degrees celcius. In the resulting unsettled weather both animals and birds sought shelter. Bob, speaking from experience, experience, told us that they were likely likely to stay put for up to 3 days. Sunday, after the passage of the front; dawned clear and cold, the sky scrubbed blue without the sign of a cloud. We set out for a daylong daylong ski, hoping to see some of the creatures of the northern woods. But we saw little life. However, thanks to Bob's well-trained eye,, we found plenty of signs of animal activity. activity. Along the portage path we found marten tracks and the snow burrow it had dug to snooze away the storm. However, at the creek where last week Bob told us there had been open water and otter slides and tracks, all was covered and silent, except for two amorous ravens. The sight of their spectacular aerial chase antics reminded us that spring was close, in spite of the bite in the air. Their young will be fledged by the time most other birds are just beginning to nest. Following the meander of the creek we came on the purposeful disgressions of a fresh fox track, perfect single step with no foot drag, rear legs stepping into the front tracks. Later on the lake we came on another track, heavier and less elegant, which Bob thought was a fisher. This ferocious little beast is not nearly as common as the marten because it requires a much larger territory. But Sunday night provided the spectacle that for most of us will set the weekend apart. After the long day outside most of us were comatose comatose around the cabin fire when Bob called us out to come and see the northern lights. "You won't see a display like this again in your lifetime," he told us. And he was right. Great candles of light flickered up from the horizon to meet in a glowing vault at the peak ' of the heavens. The fingers of light' dimmed and faded and then crackled crackled into life again like some giant celestial fireworks display. And the colours. In the Arctic I am told that displays can range from green through blue to red, but I believe such colour is comparatively rare this far south. The greens were there, but coming and going like a facial blush was a deep red. Even Bob said that he had only seen red like that one other time. Perhaps it was the fireworks, but that night, the -40 degrees celcius night, I slept better than I have slept for a some time. If you would like to find out more about tripping with Bob & Kathy Groves, write to Ogama Outfitters, Box 37, Temagami, Ontario, P0H 2H0. For more information about other FON trips write to Marion Strebig at the FON. Discussion parents wi Is it realistic to assume that when a baby is bom the new parent, as if by magic, somehow knows all about child ' rearing? Today there is more information information and knowledge available about child growth and development than ever before. Our expectations of the kind of children we want to raise is so different from even one generation back, that parents are eager for skills that will help them in their task of raising raising responsible children - children who feel good about themselves and who can make choices and decisions with confidence. School housing crisis (Continued from page 3) Builders' Association on 30 March 1989 at 2:00 p.m. at the-Board Office. Office. Slocombe said, "Lot levies could provide us with temporary relief but the province has to move to realistic levels of support for new schools group for children The Family mucanon Resource Centre of Durham House is offering an 8 session study group at Vincent Massey P.S. Bowman ville starting April 20 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The focus will be on, understanding why children behave the way they do and learning positive and practical ways for redirecting misbehaviour and encouraging encouraging children. For more information about this or any other parenting programs being offered this Spring please call the Centre Centre at 579-2021 or 686-4353. and for renovations to aging schools." Schemes like lot levies or the proposed proposed pooling of industrial and commercial assessment don't address address the issue of more realistic provincial provincial contributions to capital projects, projects, he said. OPEN is a network of public school teachers, trustees, school board staff and parents working to ensure that the province keeps its promise to protect the viability of the public school system. Northumberland Meat Packers Government Inspected CUSTOM SLAUGHTERING CUT - WRAP - FROZEN * BEEF KILLINGS FOR THE HIDE ONLY PIGS - $10.-00 FOR THE KILLING Pigs & Beef • Cut, Wrapped, Frozen 17c. lb. Beef Patties - Sausage - Smoking 797-2134 GANARASKA REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY Thq Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority is accepting applications for two Outdoor Education Instructors at the Ganaraska Forest Centre. The Forest Centre is a residential | complex offering programs in conservation education to school children and special interest groups. OUTDOOR EDUCATION INSTRUCTORS (Two Contract Positions) Duties: Teaching and supervision of residential and day school l groups, program development and Implementation of public I events. f - 9 Qualifications: ' , Applicants should have excellent communication skills-and l teaching experience ih the field of conservation education, | the natural sciences and/or outdoor education. A teaching certificate is preferred but not required. Salary: $18,000. - $19,000. (Accommodation available on site for one instructor) Duration of .Contract: September 5,1989 - June 29, 1990 (43 weeks) ' Applications mù.st be received in writing by April 21, 1989, clearly marked "Confidential" and addressed to the Chief Administrative Administrative Officer, Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority, Authority, P.O. Box 328, Port Hope, Ontario L1A 3W4.