provide cover. When the deer population is greater than the site can sustain, the deer eat themselves out of house and home.”
At the same time she said hemlock trees regenerate where there is moisture and air circulation, such as under conifers in rolling terrain. The Loring Deer Yard provides these conditions favourable for growing hemlock. Dense conifer areas where hemlock can regenerate are also where deer spend most of their time when the snow is deep.
To help maintain deer habitat, dense hemlock stands are thinned, where required, to open them up enough to provide light to regenerate hemlock, and maintain the density needed to provide shelter. Hardwoods (maple, birch) should be harvested during the winter so that the deer can feed on the tops, and reduce the browsing on shelter species, such as hemlock, white pine and cedar.
“Maple and birch provide most of the winter browse in the Loring Deer Yard. These species sprout new shoots every year, and as long as the deer keep browsing, the hardwoods don’t grow tall. From a deer habitat point of view, browsing hardwoods keeps food coming and does not reduce shelter because large hardwoods do not provide winter shelter. Deer also browse hemlock, white pine and cedar, and these are the ones that need to grow but do not provide cover. Also, small conifers cannot survive many years of browsing, the way hardwoods can. Hardwoods store energy in their roots to produce new leaves in the spring. Conifers rely on existing foliage/needles to produce energy to grow new shoots. If the conifers are stripped bare of their needles, there is nothing to produce energy (photosynthesis).
What about hemlock succession? She explained there are two conditions that allow hemlock, and other species, to regenerate and grow. One is a long winter with a lot of snow. “This reduces the deer population. “
The other is that hemlock will regenerate away from concentrations of large and dense conifer areas. “Deer generally do not go to these areas during the winter. As areas of dense coniferous trees die out, the deer move to new sites, where the hemlock and other conifers, have been able to grow. The areas they leave, because of reduced cover, may then regenerate if the growing conditions are suitable.” For more on the hemlock go to, www.ontariotrees.com.
Where to See the Deer
Combine this ecology lesson with a snowshoe experience or a Sunday drive. Take Highway 11 South and exit the Hemlock Rd., Trout Creek and Port Loring exit. Take 522b to 522; in Trout Creek turn west on to Highway 522; travel 39 km to Little River Rd and turn east (left). Set your odometer. Travelling slowly, you will see deer tracks on and crossing the road; you are almost guaranteed to see a deer.
Travel 3.9 km and you see the remains of the former interpretative trail signs; park, tight to the snow bank, alongside the road. (You can travel another 0.9 km and turnaround at the snowmobile OFSC c105d trail.) The former walking trailhead is at WGS 84 17 T E597257 N5085675 or N45° 55’ 03.9” W79° 44’ 45.0”. Follow the faded blue blazes north eastwards. Within 100 m you will see the viewing platform where you once could see deer feeding, from above. There was a supplementary program where a grain mix was provided as a food source and viewing opportunity. You can see what was, ; the elevated structure is now on the ground.
It is a great snowshoe through a hardwood forest. You can follow the trail in a clockwise orientation, veering south to southwest, then crossing the Little River Road, now on the west side of the road, and travel NW while winding your way back at the former trailhead. You are never too far from the road; it is about a 2 km for the loop. For anyone this is better than turning to page 47 in the text or watching YouTube; a natural lesson relating fauna behaviour to flora attributes. Follow the deer tracks; they take the path of least resistance, as you will too. Contact the author at [email protected] or www.steertonorthernontario.ca for Google Earth maps and more.