To:  All Members
From:  Peter Kennedy

The next General Meeting will be held at the smoke-free Moose Family Restaurant on Oakland Blvd., on February 14, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.  Mr Luke Lance has agreed to attend and will speak on Radon Gas, of particular interest to us as residents of Elliot Lake.

The Board of Directors and members of the Penokean Hills Field Naturalists, Elliot Lake, would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Mr. Brent La Haise for his continued support.  By providing us with our domain name and server space, we know he saves us a considerable amount of money each year, and as we are a non-profit club, run entirely by volunteers, it means a great deal to have this generous help.

The Board has also made Mr. Bill Mayne and honorary life member since, as our webmaster, he has spent countless hours, and has done an excellent job, keeping our site interesting and up to date. He is diligent and knowledgeable, and has become a good friend to PHFN over the years.

Webmaster's note: Since the publication of this issue it has been learned that Mr. La Haise is no longer associated with OttawaWeb.com (our host) but his successor, Ms. Susan Duncan, has kindly and generously agreed to our continued PHFN/OttawaWeb relationship.

Chico Racing Co., the promoters who brought mountain bike racing to Elliot Lake in July, 2005, will return in 2006 with about 400 competitors again expected to participate in the races.  We objected in 2005 to this inappropriate activity on the Sanctuary's pedestrian trails, and as a result, part of the course was re-routed to less sensitive areas of the PHFN-maintained trail system.

In the late fall of 2005 a PHFN committee met with Ms. Debbie Berthelot, Reclamation Manager for Rio Algom, the mining company owner of the Sanctuary lands, and along with Elliot Lake City Councilor Scott Reinhart, who was apparently instrumental in bringing these bike races to Elliot Lake, some sensitive areas of the trail were walked once more.

Your PHFN committee (Terry Carr, Dave Young and Peter Kennedy) was assured that the 2006 races would be restricted to the Sanctuary's western-most trail system closest to Highway 108 around the tamarack bog and the eastern edge of Horne Lake.  Scott Reinhart agreed that care and improvement to any sensitive areas along this "blue" trail would be given first class attention by Chico Racing, and with that assurance our objections to the mountain bike races scheduled for 2006 in the Sanctuary were reluctantly withdrawn.

Lloyd McCabe advises that plans are afoot for the following outings, and that trip leaders should be contacted for specific dates and particulars.  There will be sign-up sheets available at the appropriate General Meetings.  Should there be any changes necessary, they will be posted on the PHFN website.

January 2006
Cross Country Skiing and Nature Snooping
Naomi Maggs 848-5656, Terry Carr 461-9123

Sky Watch (clear conditions)
Naomi Maggs 848-5656, Hans Uhl

February 2006
Snow Shoeing & Nature Tracking
Naomi Maggs 848-5656, Terry Carr 461-9123, Jim Johnston 848-7377

Winter Photography
Dan Humeniuk 848-0940

March 2006
Bird "Sanctuaries" of the North
Terry Carr 461-9123

Survival & Tracking
Jim Johnston 848-7377

Attached to the December Wolf Howl was a full-colour publication on two invasive insects of particular concern to us.  The Emerald Ash Borers have been found in northern Michigan, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency would like to be notified if we find evidence of their proliferation to our area.  We remember what happened to all our elm trees about 50 years ago and the more recent problems with the Spruce Bud Worm.  Your assistance is requested in locating these destructive pests and reporting to CFIA.

At the PHFN General Meeting on January 17, 2006, there will be available field guide sized cards in full colour on the Emerald Ash Borer and the Asian Long-horned Beetle, together with refrigerator magnets on each of these specimens.  Members are out and about at all times of the year, and now that foliage is not obscuring the trunks of trees, this might be the opportune time to identify any problem areas.  It is not too early to become familiarized with these ugly invaders.

Every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. one or more of PHFN's knowledgeable volunteers leads a walk-about at Sherriff's Creek Sanctuary yes, even at this time of year!  All are welcome, and hopefully now that most gardens have been put to rest for the season, more Elliot Lakers will take advantage of the opportunity to walk "in nature's footsteps".

Last month my focus was on one of my residents which changes both its name and its colour in winter.  I have another resident which changes colour, and although it has a name that stays the same, my 2 legged visitors don't always know the correct one.   I am talking about the snowshoe hare.

The snowshoe hare might look like a rabbit, but it isn't, and has several different characteristics.  One is that it changes its brown summer coat for a thick white fluffy one in winter.  This is a perfect time of year to walk my trails and see its tracks.  Its large furry hind feet, larger than those of a rabbit, are shaped like snowshoes, and help the hare to stay on top of the snow.  Remember that the hind foot print is in front of the front foot print!

These animals hide or rest during the day and feed at night.  The snowshoe hare's large hind feet and longer legs for jumping make it possible for it to stand up to reach branches to feed on.  The evidence of that can be seen as well, and is often noted on Saturday morning strolls.  It is exciting for Sancutary visitors to see many hare tracks in the fresh snow, attesting to lots of activity the night before.

Stop the spread of destructive pests by not moving firewood or other types of wood from regulated areas.

These include: Trees, Nursery Stock, Pruned Branches, Logs and Forest Products with bark attached.

A particular threat is the presence of The Asian Long-horned Beetle in the Toronto/Vaughn area in Ontario, and The Emerald Ash Borer in Southwestern Ontario.

For further information visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website at www.inspection.gc.ca (after entering site choose "Invasive Alien Species" from the "Hot Topics" menu)