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SEPT. 1998  No. 24

UP COMING EVENTS !

The Kennebecasis Naturalist Society usually meets on the 4th Monday of the month at St. Paul's United Church at 7:30 pm.

Mon. Sept. 28: Regular meeting at St. Paul's United Church at 7:30 pm. "It's Rough But Someone Has To Do It...an amateur birder's introduction to a seawatch project". Kathy Popma will describe, using slides and personal anecdotes, the 6 weeks she spent documenting and gathering data on Scoter movement through the Northumberland Strait in the fall of 1998 when she was hired as a volunteer by the Canadian Wildlife Service.

Sat. Oct. 3: A Trail ride has been arranged at Peek-a-Boo Corner near Norton. The cost will be $10 for a one hour ride. The horses are all well trained and gentle so no previous riding experience is necessary. If more then 5 register we will start at 10 am, if 5 or less we will start at 11. Rain date and meeting time will be announced at the Sept. 28 meeting. Speak to Carol MacFarlane if interested.

Sat. Oct. 10, 7:30 pm. Jim Wilson will present a slide show and talk at Adair's Wilderness Lodge. An Owl Prowl may be held later in the evening. The supper special served at 6 p.m. will cost $6.95.

Sat. Oct. 17: Annual Walk & Potluck at Lee and Alice Whitney's cottage, (The Wood Chance) on the Beckwith Road. Plan to arrive between 12:30 and 1:30 and the group will walk some of the trails. Please bring a casserole or dessert for supper which will be about 4:30 pm.

Oct. 22-23: "Strategies for Maintaining Biodiversity in Forest Management" at the H.J. Flemming Forestry Centre in Fredericton. Instructor: Graham Forbes, director of the Sir James Dunn Wildlife Research Centre, UNB

Mon. Oct. 28: Regular meeting at St. Paul's United Church at 7:30 pm. Don McAlpine of the NB Museum will speak on "Green Museums: the Value of Natural History Collections".

Mon. Nov. 23: Regular meeting at St. Paul's United Church at 7:30 pm.
Mon. Dec. 28: Regular meeting cancelled in lieu of the Christmas Bird Count. More details will follow at the fall meetings.

Mon. Jan. 25: Regular meeting at St. Paul's United Church at 7:30 pm. Member's Night. Bring a display, pictures, stories, crafts, memories, specimens - anything remotely "nature" related and share it with the group.

Sentier NB Trail
by David Christie

     The N.B. Trails Council has produced its 1998 Trail Guide for the New Brunswick Multi-use Trail System. We just received copies at the Riverside- Albert visitor information centre, so you should soon be able to pick one up at most information centres throughout the province. This publication is available in either English or French. UNE ÉDITION FRANÇAISE EST DISPONIBLE DE CE GUIDE À SENTIERS.

     The guide tells what sections of the NB Trail have been completed and how to find them. Eventually the trail system will be about 2000 km long, running along most of the province's coastline and some major rivers. At the moment it is discontinuous, consisting mainly of numerous short sections. The longest completed stretches seem to be from St Quentin to Atholville (113 km), Clifton to Tracadie-Sheila (87 km), Port Elgin to Sackville (40 km), and Fredericton to Burtts Corner (c. 25 km).

     I've had several people ask for more details about how to find the section of the NB trail between Riverside-Albert and Shepody/Daniels Marsh. Although the trail guide just mentioned reports that 14.2 km are completed, that's deceiving because there are two bridges missing. Thus, unless you are willing to scramble up and down ravines and wade the creeks, you have the choice of about 9 km from Shepody to Hopewell Hill or of 2 km within the village of Riverside-Albert.

     A small "Sentier NB Trail" sign marks the Shepody end which is on the bay side of Route 114 across from the sign at the eastern end of the community of Shepody (about 7.5 km W of Hopewell Rocks). The Hopewell Hill end is at the marsh road that crosses from Hopewell Hill to the Harvey dam. The trail is conspicuous because of a large culvert pipe that serves as an underpass for cattle. If you don't know the marsh road, turn off Route 114 to the Sawmill Creek covered bridge. The culvert and trail are visible about 300 m east from the bridge. Because these two places are not intended to be major access points there are no large signs.

     The Riverside-Albert part of the trail is marked with a small "Sentier NB Trail" sign across Route 915 from the Old Bank Museum. Eventually there will also be a Trans-Canada Trail marker here. You can walk about 2 km east to the Chapman Creek ravine.

     Happy trails to you!

"Butterflies of Canada" Review
by Rob Walker

     I want to mention how much I am enjoying using the new "Butterflies of Canada" published this past spring by University of Toronto Press. It is much easier than using the Peterson Field Guide series "Eastern Butterflies" because of the fact that all those southern species don't clutter up the text. Also, the illustrations and detailed range maps in the Canadian guide are super. I can finally make some sense of the multiplicity of skippers (only 16 N. B. species to deal with).

     I bought the last copy of "Butterflies of Canada" that the Fundy Guild had in stock. I am told that the first printing is now sold out and that anyone without this guide will have to wait for a second printing (some stores may still have copies).

Old-growth Forest Request
by Mark Roberts

Members of Nature NB:

     I am a forest ecologist in the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at UNB-Fredericton and I am looking for tracts of old-growth forest in New Brunswick, e.g. not disturbed by humans (except for occasional cutting of a few trees for firewood, etc.). I will be using these as reference stands for a study of biodiversity in plantations. We will carry out nondestructive sampling of stand structure (tree heights, diameters, coarse woody debris, etc.) and understory plant diversity (cover of vascular and nonvascular plants). The results will help provide guidelines for improving biodiversity in managed forests.

     I would like to ask your help in locating tracts of old-growth forest in New Brunswick. I am primarily interested in the southeastern portion of the Province (Bay of Fundy-Moncton-Sussex-Saint John area) but would be interested in the remainder of the Province as well. I would appreciate specific location information and a brief description of any tract that you might be aware of.

     Please respond directly to me at the address below. Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Mark Roberts
roberts@unb.ca

Notes from the NBFN

by
Gart Bishop

• The NBFN has published a new, updated bird check-list, available from Jim Brown at the cost of $1 each.
• The NBFN is investigating producing the new New Brunswick Annotated Bird Checklist, which will likely be published within the year.
• There have been unfortunate delays in getting the NB Naturalist put out but the next issue should be in the mail by early October. As well, the editors of the NB Naturalist are always looking for new articles; please pass them on to Gart Bishop.
• Progress is being made in seeking charitable status for the NBFN, and will hopefully be achieved by May 1999.