One of the 15 Rock Islands as part of the Terrace Bay Nature Reserve. Photo © Mike Bryan

Terrace Bay

Terrace Bay Nature Reserve

In 2014 the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists purchased a large new nature reserve at Terrace Bay. The property is a 1,239 acre parcel of pristine Lake Superior shoreline. It includes a large block on the mainland between Hydro Bay and the mouth of the Aguasabon River, plus 15 small islands just offshore. The total frontage on Lake Superior is 10.5 km. The Lyda Bay segment of the famous Casque Isles Hiking Trail runs though the property, and the islands and coves are popular with kayakers.

Thank you to all the many donors who helped with this acquisition. 

The shoreline varies from bare, exposed bedrock to cobbles, to sand beaches. There are even raised boulder beaches, far inland from the current shoreline. The reserve is home to many Arctic-Alpine disjunct plants, found here hundreds of kilometres south of their normal ranges. Some of the offshore islands are gull rookeries.

TBFN thanks the Ontario Land Trust Assistance Program (OLTAP) for its support of this acquisition. OLTAP assists eligible recipients with costs associated with land securement and magagement planning to help conserve Ontario’s biodiversity. OLTAP is an initiative of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance, supported in partnership with Environment Canada.