PATTERSON LAKE NEWSLETTER
May 2008
http://www.pattersonlake.ca
Mississippi Valley Conservation 40th
We start this newsletter with a salute to the Mississippi Valley Conservation as it celebrates it 40th year of service. They are a treasured resource in our community.
In this Newsletter
The history and development of the Patterson Lake area was researched and written by Lorne Bowerman for inclusion in the Lake Management Plan. Parts of it will be used in the newsletters as there is much general interest in the subject. The next newsletter will include early European settlement and why we are called Patterson Lake.
Included in this newsletter as well are the lists of common flora and fauna for the Patterson Lake area. The uncommon, sparse, and rare species of flora as collected by David White will be included in the next newsletter. (http://www.lanarkflora.com/)
History of the Patterson Lake Area
This first section outlines the history of the Patterson Lake area from just after the last ice age to the present. The website references are listed as links because these may change and the Patterson Lake Association of Lanark Highlands has no control over them. They were active websites when this document was written in 2008.
Ice Age and Post Ice Age
Patterson Lake lies in the area of southern Ontario that was once covered by salt water called the Champlain Sea. The Champlain Sea was a temporary inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, created by the retreating glaciers during the close of the last ice age. The Sea covered parts of Ontario, Quebec, Vermont, and New York. It was bounded on the west by the Madawaska highlands and Frontenac arch, and in the south by the Adirondack highlands and Appalachian highlands. The Laurentian highlands formed the northern boundary.
The weight of the mass of ice from the continental ice sheets depressed the rock beneath these areas over millennia. While the areas were depressed, they were below sea level and when the glaciers retreated gradually, they were flooded with sea water.
The sea lasted from about 13,000 years ago to about 10,000 years ago and was continuously shrinking during that time, since the rebounding continent was slowly rising above sea level. The retreating glaciers fed the Sea during that time, making it more brackish than typical seawater. It is estimated that the sea was as much as 150 meters above the level of today's Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. Further information on the Champlain Sea and fossil evidence can be found at
http://hoopermuseum.earthsci.carleton.ca/2001_champlain2_mb/history.htm
As the land rebounded, the flora and fauna from the neighbouring areas gradually moved into the new area to the extent that they could adapt to the soil and climatic conditions.
Pre-European Settlement
Dalhousie Township and thus Patterson Lake lies within the area claimed by the Algonquins. Historical evidence indicates that the Algonquins over time have occupied portions of the lands of the Ottawa River watershed and travelled through surrounding territory as a hunting and gathering society. The Algonquins assert that the Algonquins of Ontario never surrendered its territory by treaty, sale, or conquest and have made such claims since 1772.
Larry McDermott, the former Mayor of
Lanark Highlands is an Algonquin and part of
Algonquin claim of the land. An April 22,
2005 article by Matt Ross in Indian Country
Today stated "Currently McDermott is
involved in land claims for the Algonquin that
encompass 8.9 million acres in eastern
Ontario, or about 14,000 square miles,
overlapping all of the nation's capital. While
he said negotiations would only involve
Crown (public) lands and not private
property, the enormity of such a claim
demonstrates how this area was never
negotiated originally."
The anecdotal evidence of aboriginal occupation of Patterson Lake is that an island in the lake is called Marys Island. Mary is reported to have been an aboriginal living on the island at the same time (circa 1825) that Archie Patterson homesteaded the area just south of the bay on the south side (Concession 6, Lot 13W). Mary is also reported to be buried south of the lake. There is no anecdotal evidence of aboriginal artifacts being found in or around Patterson Lake.
European Land Survey
A township in Southern Ontario is usually rectangular in shape, unless it borders a major river or lake. Townships are divided into concessions. Each concession is a strip of land one and one-quarter miles wide. Concessions can run in any direction and are usually separated by a road. Concessions were numbered with Roman Numerals (V, VI, etc), although the practice has fallen into disuse and the most used system now is Arabic number (5, 6, etc.) When concession roads do not run the length or width of the township usually because of water, they are labeled with letters (A, B, etc). A gore is a part of a township that does not fit into the regular shape, because the earth is round and the surveys are squares.
Concessions are divided into lots that use Arabic numbers (3, 4, etc). Originally lots were 200 acres, which could then be easily divided into parcels of 100 acres. The lots ran parallel to the road. The 100 acre farms were common in southern Ontario as it was the amount of land that could be tilled by one man usually with a team of horses. The early farming settlers harvested the timber to build their homes and barns. When the work was too much for one man to do, such as raising a barn, the community came together for a work bee.
The Township of Dalhousie was surveyed by Captain Rueben Sherwood, UEL, about 1820. He laid out the standard square layout of concessions running roughly east and west, and lots running roughly north and south.
The story continues in the next Newsletter.
An Observers's List of Flora & Fauna of Patterson Lake and Vicinity
These lists are compiled as a starting point for refining and expansion, and as a baseline of what was here when the Lake Management Plan was made in 2008 - 2010.
The lists are by no means extensive and mostly reflect what an ordinary person might know about the surrounding nature. However, we are very fortunate to have a list of rare, uncommon, and sparse plants from David White, the author of Plants of Lanark County.
The most difficult list of all to agree on is the list of fish. The local names of some species overlap the names of other species. It is very hard to obtain a definitive common name so the species name has been included. A list of common local names has been included. The second most difficult, because of local names, is the trees, which is surprising. There is little difficulty in agreement on the mammals and the birds, probably because of good field guides for these animals.
The ten most common trees:
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus), Red Oak (Quercus rubra), Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis), Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), Eastern White Spruce (Picea glauca), Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis), White Birch (Betula papyrifera), Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana), Beech (Fagus grandifolia), Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea).
The twelve most common aquatic plants:
Stonewort (Chara species - an algae), Eurasian Water-milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), Sweet Gale (Myrica gale), White Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata), Yellow Water Lily (Nuphar variegata), Smartweed (Polygonum amphibium), Curly-leaf Pondweed (Potamogeton amplifolius), Narrow-leaf Pondweed (Potamogeton natans), Bulrush (Scirpus cyperinus), Cattail (Typha latifolia), Bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris), Tape Grass (Vallisneria americana)
The ten most common land flowering plants:
Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis), White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba), Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus), Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), Dogtooth violet or Trout Lily or Adder's Tongue (Erythronium americana) Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Wild Lily-of-the-Valley or Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), Bladder Campion (Silene cucubalus), Common Milkweed (Asclepius syriaca)
The ten most common fish:
Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu), Yellow Pickerel (Stizostedion vitreum), Northern Pike (Esox lucius), Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens), Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris), Sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus), White Sucker (Catostomus commonsoni). Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides), Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus)
Local Names of some speciies:
Pike: northern pike, great northern pike, northern grass pike or jackfish
Walleye: walleye pike, yellow walleye, pickerel, yellow pickerel, pike-perch, wall-eyed pickerel, doré (French)
Smallmouth & largemouth bass: black bass and green bass
Bullhead: mudpout, catfish, barbotte, brown bullhead or mud cat
Pumpkinseed: yellow sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, common sunfish, round sunfish, bream, and sun bass.
The ten most common birds:
American Crow, American Robin, Common Loon, Eastern Phoebe, Ring-billed Gull, Black Tern, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Common Raven
The eight most common mammals:
Eastern Chipmunk, Red Squirrel, Groundhog, Muskrat, Mink, White-tailed Deer, Porcupine, Deer Mouse
The three most common snakes:
Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis), Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon), Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis)
The two most common turtles:
Midland Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata), Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
Spring Lake Level
It should come as no surprise that the lake was very high this year. With almost record snow levels during the winter, we all expected it.
What we didn't expect was the ease with which the snow melted and ran, or melted and went into the ground, or evaporated in the warm sun. That saved the day for many areas.
The lake level was nearly 31" above the bottom of the northern culvert, which is our reference point. There is no drainage from the lake if the lake falls below the bottom of the north culvert.
Now if you know that our two culverts are 36" in diameter, you will realize that the lake was really high.
The previously recorded high since 1995 was 24".
If the water had filled the culvert to the top, usually it starts flowing over the road and the road washes out. That happens within hours. With the force of the lake level behind it, it usually washes out a gully of about two feet before it stops.
But it never happened. It was close. And some lake residents reported the township had dumped gravel along the side to reinforce the road. As we get around to visiting again, we will swap some good stories - How high was it? Well it was so high that ...
Emergency Phone Number List
We borrowed a good idea from another lake association and produced a list of emergency and non emergency phone numbers for use at Patterson Lake.
A good place to put the list would be on the fridge. Another place would be near a phone. Make sure that you write the civic number of your property (eg. 151 Lakeside Rd) so it can be available to everyone, including guests, in times of emergency.
If you have any suggestion regarding adding to or deleting from the list, please let us know. We plan to produce another one when changes require it.
Membership Dues
The 2007-2008 membership dues were set at $20 per property owner. If you have not paid the dues for this year, we would really appreciate it.
Please send your cheque to our Treasurer:
Howard Stanley
313 Hinchey Ave
Ottawa, ON K1Y 1M1
Newsletter
This Newsletter was written by Lorne Bowerman. As usual, Connie did the proof reading and polished it up a bit. Comments, suggestions, or articles are welcome.
613-225-7904
lorne@bowerman.ca