Northern Ontario Plant Database
Algoma University, located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, formerly an affiliate of Laurentian University, is now an independent university. It is home to about 800 students and offers 25 degree programs in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and professional areas. Algoma University recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Great Lakes Forestry Centre to encourage budding scientists to consider both education and a future career in science in northern Ontario. Algoma University was the original lead organization behind the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project, with (now retired) Adjunct Professor Susan J. Meades as the Project Coordinator. The Algoma University herbarium is currently housed at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre. It is composed of about 2000 primarily student collections from the Algoma District and is curated by Dr. Brandon Schamp. The herbarium acronym used in the database to designate Algoma specimens is AUC.
Lakehead University, located in Thunder Bay, Ontario, is a mid-sized university offering a range
of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Claude E. Garton Herbarium houses over
105,000 speciemens and is located in the Biology Dept. of Lakehead University. The official
acronym of the Claude E. Garton Herbarium is LKHD, and its name commemorates Claude Garton,
who was a major contributor and curator of the herbarium from the late 1960s to 1990. The current
curator is Erika North, who also serves as Lakehead's contact person for the Northern Ontario Plant
Database Project.
Lake Superior State University, located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, is a co-educational, public
institution that offers undergraduate programs and services to students and other constituencies from
its region, and from the rest of Michigan, northern Ontario, and the near Midwest. LSSU is the
herbarium acronym used in the database to designate specimens from the Lake Superior State
University herbarium, which is curated by Dr. Michael Doyle. Dr. Gregory Zimmerman, Chairman
of the Biology Dept., is LSSU's contact person for the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project.
Located in Sudbury, Ontario, and founded in 1960, Laurentian University is a bilingual institution offering 53 bachelor's programs in humanities, social sciences, sciences and the profession. Master's programs are also offered in Business Administration, Arts, Applied Science, Engineering, Science and Social Work. The Laurentian University Herbarium, designated by the official acronym SLU, contains over 20,000 specimens. The official contact for the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project is Dr. Peter Ryser.
Située à Sudbury, en Ontario, et fondée en 1960, l'Université Laurentienne est un établissement bilingue offrant 53 programmes de baccalauréat en humanités, sciences sociales et enseignement professionnel ainsi que des maîtrises en administration des affaires, arts, sciences appliquées, génie, sciences et service social. L'Herbier de l'Université Laurentienne, dont l'acronyme officiel est SLU, abrite plus de 20 000 spécimens. En ce qui concerne la Base de données sur les plantes du Nord-Ontario, il faut communiquer avec Dr. Peter Ryser.
Royal Ontario Museum
Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology
Vascular Plant Herbarium
The Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) joined the Northern Ontario Plant Database (NOPD) partnership in December 1993. The Vascular Plant Herbarium (TRT) is home to more than 250,000 accessioned specimens of vascular plants that document not only the flora of Ontario but also research projects in plant systematics, such as ongoing studies of North American Crataegus, and studies of Anemone by the late M. L. Heimburger. It is estimated that up to 50,000 of their specimens are from northern Ontario. The Vascular Plant Herbarium also includes over 30,000 colour photographic images of vascular plants, collections of modern spores, pollen grains, and seeds. Dr. Timothy Dickinson is the Senior Curator for the Centre for Biodiverstiy and Conservation Vascular Plant Herbarium. The Assistant Curator is Deborah Metsger, who is also the ROM's main contact person for the NOPD project. Ms. Jenny Bull, Vascular Plant Herbarium Technician, is responsible, along with volunteers, for selecting herbarium specimens to be entered in the NOP Database. For more information on Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology and the Vascular Plant Herbarium, please click on the logo to the left of this paragraph. For more information on the Royal Ontario Museum and its other programs, please visit the ROM website.
Sault College of Applied Arts and Technologies, located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is one of 24 publicly funded community colleges in Ontario offering full-time and part-time opportunities for students in post-secondary, apprenticeship, adult retraining, continuing education, and contract training program categories. The herbarium at Sault College is designated in the database by the acronym SCAAT and contains about 1500 vascular plant specimens, which are actively used in plant identification courses. The collection is curated by Mark Harvey and Brian Punch serves as the contact person for the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project.
As part of the Canadian Forest Service, the mission of the Great Lakes Forestry Centre (GLFC)
is to promote sustainable development of Canada's forests and competitiveness of the Canadian
forest sector for the well being of present and future generations of Canadians. The Great Lakes
Forestry Centre, located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is committed to sustainable forest management
and has provided Canadians and the Canadian forest sector with forest science leadership and
innovative approaches to forest management practices. The official acromym of the Great Lakes
Forestry Centre Herbarium is SSMF. The herbarium contains over 12,000 vascular plant specimens.
GLFC is also the location of our home office, generously provided by GLFC as part of their in-kind
contribution to the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project. Ken Baldwin is the official curator of
the Great Lakes Forestry Centre Herbarium and contact person for the Northern Ontario Plant
Database Project.
The vision of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) is the sustainable development of Ontario's natural resources to ensure they meet today's needs and are available for future generations. As the lead conservation and resource management agency in the province, OMNR pursues a mission of managing Ontario's natural resources in an ecologically sustainable way by safeguarding nature's capacity to renew itself. Three branches of the OMNR are currently partners in the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project, including the Ontario Forest Research Institute and the Sault Ste. Marie District OMNR Office, both located in Sault Ste. Marie, and the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC), located in Peterborough. See also the information and links to the NHIC.
The herbarium at the Ontario Forest Research Institute includes about 1000 specimens, which are designated in the database by the acronym OFRI. Mr. John Winters is the curator of the OFRI herbarium. Contact persons from OMNR for the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project include Mr. Tom Mispel-Bayer (SSM-District OMNR office) and Mr. Wayne Bell (OFRI).
The Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) compiles, maintains, and provides information on rare, threatened, and endangered species and spaces in Ontario. This information is stored in a central repository containing a computerized database, map files, and an information library, which are accessible for conservation applications, land use planning, park management, etc. The new NHIC website makes this information available through the world wide web.
Herbarium specimen data from the Natural Heritage Information Centre has been shared with the project and is designated in the database by the acronym NHIC. The NHIC contact person for the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project is Mr. Michael Oldham.
Quetico Provincial Park is a protected, pristine wilderness retreat of international acclaim west of
Lake Superior on the Canada-U.S. border. The park encompasses 4700 km of wilderness with no
development of any kind. The park's tangled network of lakes, which once formed water routes
traveled by Ojibway and fur traders, are now home to 2200 backcountry campsites mainly accessibly
by canoe. An herbarium of over 1200 specimens is housed at the Quetico Provincial Park Library,
located at the Dawson Trail Campground site. Specimens from this herbarium are designated in the
database by the acronym QPPM, for Quetico Provincial Park Museum. Park Superintendent Robin
Reilly is the Quetico Provincial Park contact person for the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project.
BioForest Technologies Inc., located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is a diversified forest health
company with specialization in pest management and forest certification services. The company
provide data gathering and analysis services, science and consulting services, and conducts research
in forest and ecosystem management. Mr. Joe Meating is BioForest Technologies Inc. contact
person for the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project.
Borealis Forestry and GIS Services Inc., located in Wawa, Ontario, provides professional and
technical advice and solutions for forestry's needs. We specialize in forest management, operations
planning, and GIS/GPS applications. Borealis Forestry & GIS offers a wide range of professional and
technical consulting services to government agencies, natural resource managers, the forest industry,
and other entities requiring forestry-related services and geo-spatial information. Mark Lescheschin,
the president of Borealis Forestry and GIS Services, Inc., is the contact person for the Northern
Ontario Plant Database Project.
Clergue Forest Management Inc., located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is the forest management
company responsible for forest management planning, access, harvest, renewal, and maintenance of
the Algoma and Wawa Forests. It is made up of six companies: St. Marys Paper Ltd. (Sault Ste.
Marie), Domtar Inc. (Espanola), Weyerhaeuser Company Limited. (Wawa), Midway Lumber Mills
Limited (Thessalon), Boniferro Mill Works Inc. (Sault Ste. Marie) and Columbia Forest Products
(Hearst). These companies are all partially dependent on a timber supply from the Algoma and
Wawa Forests.
Northern Bioscience was established in 1996 and has undertaken over 100 projects for government, industry, First Nations, and non-government organizations. Northern Bioscience, located in Thunder Bay, Ontario, is a professional consulting firm, which specializes in supporting ecosystem management, inventories, and research. The focus of Northern Bioscience is on boreal ecosystems in both Canada and the United States. Allan Harris is the Northern Bioscience contact person for the Northern Ontario Plant Database Project.
Superior Land Management Inc.
Superior Land Management Inc., located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is a full-service forest and
land management company offering services such as timber appraisals, tree marking, woodlot
management plans, wildlife habitat improvement, and site clean up, etc. Superior Land Management
also owns forested properties, which are managed for the long term.
The Sault Naturalists of Ontario and Michigan is an international club with around 150 members
and have been in existence since 1955. The propose of the organization is to provide members with
a common meeting ground for exchange of ideas and for broadening their knowledge and
understanding of natural history and science. They seek to promote the appreciation, preservation,
and conservation of our natural heritage and support other organizations with similar goals. The
Sault Naturalists conduct field trips in botany, geology, and birding, and also secure speakers to give
presentations on various subjects at their monthly meetings. The Sault Naturalists are involved in
a variety of volunteer activities and are part the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. New specimens
are collected for the Algoma University College Herbarium by participants of botany field trips, and
some members volunteer by mounting pressed specimens donated to Algoma University by the late
Gary Rahn, one of the authors of A Checklist of Vascular Plants of the Sault Ste. Marie Area (Rahn
et al.1996). Current president, Dr. Carl Linehart, is the Sault Naturalists' contact person for the
Northern Ontario Plant Database Project.
ULERN (Upper Lakes Environmental Research Network) manages collaborative research projects and conferences in science. This collaboration among it many partners from academia, government, industry, First Nation, and non-profits is central to ULERN's success. To date, ULERN has raised over $15.5 million for science research and provided jobs for over 250 students and recent graduates giving them an opportunity to work in science. ULERN offers its members and clients the following services: Sourcing Potential Funding; Coordinating Funding Applications; Project Management; Facilitating Partnerships; Hiring Students and Interns; Coordinating Workshops and Conferences; and, Technology Transfer. Let Us Help YOU Make Science Research & Development Happen!
The purpose of the Forestry Futures Trust Ontario is identified in the Crown Forest Sustainability Act as follows:
- The funding of silvicultural expenses in Crown forests where forest resources have been killed or damaged by fire or natural causes.
- The funding of silvicultural expenses on land that is subject to a forest resource licence, if the licensee becomes insolvent.
- The funding of intensive stand management and pest control in respect of forest resources in Crown forests.
Forestry Futures Trust Ontario receives revenue from Crown charges paid by forest industry stumpage fees and funds insect and disease protection programs as well as forest renewal on areas damaged by fires and/or other natural causes, and certain types of intensive stand management. The Forestry Futures Committee decides which projects to fund at what level. The Committee members are independent of MNR and the forest industries. Licensees may themselves or jointly with MNR plan pest control programs and apply to the Forestry Futures Fund for funding. Sustainable Forest Licence (SFL) holders assist in the planning by providing forest resource inventory information, amending forest management plans, providing maps, and advising on the design of particular programs. Some small local programs on Crown land may be conducted by tenure holders. Examples include ground spraying of plantations, disease sanitation, and root rot stump treatment. Essentially, The Forestry Futures Trust serves as an insurance policy for the province, ensuring that forest renewal activities can be carried out in the event of natural depletions of the forest or when a major licensee becomes insolvent.
The Living Legacy Trust (LLT) is a $30 million fund established by the Province of Ontario to
invest in natural resource management projects in northern Ontario. The assets of the Trust are
managed by an independent Board of Directors, which represents various stakeholder groups.
Projects receiving funding will bring economic, social, and recreational benefits to the people of
Ontario and serve as models of excellence in forestry, fish, and wildlife practices. LLT provided the
major monetary funding, in the amount of $125,000 over 2 years, for the Northern Ontario Plant
Database Project.
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