History
More than 90 years ago the land was logged and then a fire destroyed most of the remaining forest. Ages of mature trees ranged from 56 to 78 years, according to ring counts done by a professional forester on July 9, 1996. Many jack pine and spruce were in the age range 56 to 60 years, which suggests they grew after a fire passed through the property after the logging; there are many signs of an old fire. Thus, in 2013 the oldest trees were about 95 years old.
After regeneration of the forest was underway, a family cleared about 7 hectares for crops along the creeks but eventually abandoned the farm. After they moved out, a grass fire came down the creek and burned their house to the ground, leaving only a charred power pole standing (by 1993) at the old house site near the creek. Rusting remnants of farm and household implements are scattered here and there. There are other telltale signs of previous habitation. Blue flag iris and Maltese cross flowers form small patches near the old house site and must be descendants of a former flower garden.
After regeneration of the forest was underway, a family cleared about 7 hectares for crops along the creeks but eventually abandoned the farm. After they moved out, a grass fire came down the creek and burned their house to the ground, leaving only a charred power pole standing (by 1993) at the old house site near the creek. Rusting remnants of farm and household implements are scattered here and there. There are other telltale signs of previous habitation. Blue flag iris and Maltese cross flowers form small patches near the old house site and must be descendants of a former flower garden.
An investment broker then bought the land and sold it to the present owner in 1993. That owner had a neighbour harvest hay from the fields, so that the land near the creeks remained treeless. After the change of ownership in 1993, farming activity ceased and trees began to repopulate the meadows. Birch and spruce sprouted from seeds blown onto the meadow, and aspen encroached along the forest edge from roots of their nearby parent trees. The view across the meadows was opened up by an expanding population of beavers that cut down almost all the aspen along the creeks.
Deforestation
During and soon after 1993, many nearby forested areas were harvested (click to view map). A neighbour three kilometers to the northwest sold two quarter sections to a logging company, and the forest was clear cut, leaving an ugly field of stumps. Other neighbours hired a bulldozer to shove all the trees into large piles to be burned, then put up fences for grazing cattle. The process of deforestation continues to this day because of a recent boom in oil and gas drilling. Two large wells are adjacent to the Northwest corner of Wood Frog Farm and several have been drilled nearby in the last five years.
A Survey of Trees
A survey of trees in the forest was done in 1996, anticipating a small woodlot business. It turned out that just one quarter section contained a large amount of commercially valuable timber. Douglas Wahlsten joined the Woodlot Association of Alberta and experimented with ways to make firewood and hiking staffs. After carefully considering several options, it was decided to leave the property largely untouched in order to preserve the natural values for future generations.
Four Seismic Surveys
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Four seismic surveys have been done on the property. In 1988 under the previous owner, a large swath was cut from north to south by a bulldozer through Fairyland and the Black Spruce. Don Mann, a land man working for Cypress resources in 1999 asked permission to make four more large cuts of 3 m width for a 3D seismic survey, but they eventually did hand cut lines of sight, which did relatively little damage. Again in 2000, Pan Canadian Petroleum (land man Ron Macdonald) did one hand cut line of sight for a seismic survey. Yet another company, Sentra (land man Jason Wilson), requested to do four more transects for another survey in 2004. The survey was postponed for a year because of a sudden change in the weather. The approach to these incursions has been to negotiate procedures that will cause the minimum possible damage to the land.
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Spring 2003
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The Spring of 2003 saw a heavy runoff from melting snow across nearby farms that sent a large volume of water into Tide Creek. Several beaver dams were washed out, and spawning suckers, walleye and northern pike arrived in May from Pigeon Lake, followed by osprey, herons, ravens and eagles that feasted on these fish. A beautiful eagle saw the glint of a sucker caught in a beaver dam and dropped down from a high altitude to nab it and carry it away for dinner. Eagles have been known to nest at Battle Lake to the South West. After 2003 there were several years of drought and the beaver population declined greatly.
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2004 Conservation Easement
In 2004, a Conservation Easement was negotiated with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, working closely with Laurel Murphy of the NCC and assisted by Dr. Bruce Ziff of the University of Alberta Faculty of Law. Jim Smith of Perry Appraisal Associates Ltd. completed a formal appraisal of the property, and on May 11, 2004, all signatures were in place on the conservation easement. The CE limits what can be done with the land in future years, even it it is sold to a new owner. It is registered on the title to WFF, and the NCC has the legal authority to enforce the conditions. As part of this process, WFF was officially recognized as Ecologically Sensitive land by the federal department Environment Canada because it protects the headwaters of the main creek feeding water to a major recreational lake.
After 2004
After 2004, Douglas Wahlsten was absent from Alberta for an extended period. Upon returning in 2007, it was discovered that the large aspen that dwarfed the old cabin had crashed to the ground and crushed the cabin. Gradually, the artifacts created by humans are wasting away.
From 2009–2012
From 2009 to 2012, people riding quad ATVs cut a large path about 2m wide across the entire property just north of Tide Creek using some kind of brush cutting machine so they could engage in joy riding across Wood Frog Farm. They ignored the No Trespassing signs and in 2012 tore down a fence with signs and threw everything into the creek. For more information, see ATV Damage.
2013 Trail System
In 2013, a trail system was completed. Many fallen trees and branches were removed to clear the path so that a person can walk through the forests with relatively little difficulty. Then the entire trail was marked with blazes of yellow paint. Finally, the length of each segment was measured using GPS.
Reforestation
Reforestation has continued since 1993. The extent of new spruce trees is evident in the aerial photo taken by the NCC in April of 2014.
