Download nature reserves - Ontario Nature

NATURE RESERVES
H.N. Crossley Nature Reserve
Bruce Pond is a typical "eyed" bog, characterized by a moat-like zone of water
around the outer edge; tree and shrub zones; an open sphagnum mat with
pitcher plants, sundews and orchids; and open water in the middle. The setting
for this is classic Canadian Shield with granite outcroppings and ridges shaping
the elongated bog. The ground rises sharply away from the bog, except at the
upper end where it drains into an area of mostly drowned larch and beaver
meadows. An abandoned beaver lodge is becoming heavily overgrown and the
beaver meadows themselves are probably now most suitable for moose.
In 1981, Sandy Burgess donated 17hectares of wetland, called Bruce Pond, to
Ontario Nature to protect its bog, prized
flowers and animals that captivated her
during her youth. The reserve was named in
honour of Burgess's father, H.N. Crossley,
who had purchased the family’s 400-hectare
Sandy Bar farm on Lake Rosseau in 1890.
Burgess, who passed away in 1987 in her
95th year, wrote of seeing the provincially rare
white fringed orchid and round-leaved orchid on Beaver Pond. Another
uncommon species found on the property is virginia meadow beauty, a plant
generally found along the coastal plain of the Atlantic ocean south from Nova
214 King Street West, Suite 612, Toronto, ON M5H 3S6
T/ 416-444-8419 1-800-440-2366 F/ 416-444-9866
[email protected] www.ontarionature.org
Charitable Registration #10737 8952 RR0001
Scotia. Plants of this affinity make their limited and peculiar appearances in
Ontario in the Muskoka and Parry Sound regions.
The Muskoka Field Naturalists are the official stewards of the H.N. Crossley
Nature Reserve. Oastler Lake Provincial Park, Blackstone Harbour Provincial
Park, and O'Donnell Point Provincial Nature Reserve are all nearby.
How to get there
Take Highway 632 south from the town of Rosseau. Approximately eight
kilometres south of Rosseau, take a left onto Burgess Road. The reserve is
located approximately three kilometres down this road, on the south (right) side
just past Walkers Road on the left. A sign marking the reserve can be seen on
the right (south) side of Burgess Road. A trail into the reserve begins just east of
the open wetland area (which can be seen from the road) and leads to an
observation platform that gives you a fantastic view of the reserve.
214 King Street West, Suite 612, Toronto, ON M5H 3S6
T/ 416-444-8419 1-800-440-2366 F/ 416-444-9866
[email protected] www.ontarionature.org
Charitable Registration #10737 8952 RR0001