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Dear All, July 12, 2013
Additions to NS protected species list are featured in today's
chron-hrld.
I see hoary willow has been added (>60 years after being found at the
only known location in NS) and, based on the associated blurb and the saying
that ignorance is bliss, then those who generate this hokum must be
deleriously happy. Extensive unfamiliarity with the facts is not a sound
foundation on which to build solutions.
Seven threats are listed and none are relevant to the site in question.
The three inter-related genuine threats to this site are not mentioned.
1) Road 'improvement': When I last saw this site ~59 years ago the road that
ran along the east side of the bog was low impact. It consisted of a thin
layer of gravel overlying logs so it effectively floated on the underlying
peat (When a loaded truck went past, the roadbed went down under the tires
and then back up. Clearly the bog was in hydraulic continuity with terrain
to the east. The survival of any of the many rare plants in this bog would
be doubtful if this road were to be 'improved' enough to pinch off hydraulic
continuity to the east.
2) Gypsum extraction: As may be seen in a 1956 Geology map of NS there are
gypsum deposits to the north and east. The high mineral content and
relatively low pH of the nearby Black River (unpublished master's thesis,
DHW, 1955) confirms that leachate from Gypsum (presumably mostly CaSO4) is
likely responsible for the unique floral composition of this bog. Gypsum
extraction that decreased this flow of leachate to surface and ground water
could eventually render this bog less rich in Ca and thus unsuitable for the
rare plants that it supports.
3) Water balance: This tiny bog, thanks apparently to just the right amount
of wetness, was wet enough to support only scattered trees, mostly on
hummocks, and dry enough to support a host of plants that need open
conditions, also mostly on hummocks as well as plants that tolerate wet soil
in low areas such as Cypripedium reginae. And most or all of these hummocks
had been generated by windfall of these scattered trees. So any upslope
development that seriously disrupted the water balance of this site (such as
a major highway or residential development to the west) could have adverse
effects.
With respect to protecting Salix candida, a survey of bogs in gypsum or
limestone areas might well reveal a number of sites worthy of protection for
this and other rare species.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
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