on February 11, 2018
Ninety-five percent of PEI was once covered by Acadian forest. This was home to the Mi’kmaq people, caribou, wolves, bears and lynx. The arrival of the European settlers in the early 1700’s began a new era of deforestation, eradication of the above mentioned wildlife, and the persecution of the Island’s original inhabitants who lived off this land. By 1900, only about 30 percent of the Island remained forested because of mass land clearing for homes and agriculture.
As can be seen in this overhead photo from 1935, the 31 acres (red outline) that Cymbria Campground now occupies, as well as the bulk of the surrounding area, has been largely de-forested. Click photos for larger view.
The 1960’s saw the creation of Cymbria Campground by the MacDonald family. As can be seen in the 1974 picture below, no major woodlands have been established in the area since the 1930’s, although the forested areas to the East and South of the campground appear to be maturing nicely. Hedgerows are also more prominent in the area.
The following 16 years actually saw a slight improvement in new and maturing forested areas. The “experimental mutant” poplar trees can be seen scattered through the campground area.
As you can tell, there is now ~75 acres of trees missing from the East side of the campground which has been converted to farmland (we are certainly not judging the farmers). Just one more incentive to hold on to the green that we have! Of note, a red pine plantation (I believe were planted by the Statham’s) can be seen mid-way through the campground.
It became evident that the stand of old-field white spruce (at the south of the campground property) had run its course and was maturing all at once. We contracted to have approx. 6.5 acres of this spruce stand harvested in 2004, leaving as many hardwoods and other trees standing as possible. Through the assistance of the PEI Forest Enhancement Program, re-planting with native species (in more or less random patterns) was completed in 2007. Despite being strongly advised to chemically treat the area before replanting, we declined (I don’t think we ruined anything). This area is progressing nicely and work is continually ongoing. With any luck, some of these trees will be standing hundreds of years from now!
