Birds Hill Provincial Park

Birds Hill Provincial Park
Map showing the location of Birds Hill Provincial Park
Location Manitoba, Canada
Nearest city Winnipeg, Manitoba
Coordinates 50°01′28″N 96°53′01″W / 50.02444°N 96.88361°W / 50.02444; -96.88361Coordinates: 50°01′28″N 96°53′01″W / 50.02444°N 96.88361°W / 50.02444; -96.88361
Area 35.1 km2 (13.6 sq mi)
Established 1964
Governing body Government of Manitoba

Birds Hill Provincial Park is a provincial park in Manitoba, Canada. It is located 24 kilometres north of Winnipeg on Highway 59, and covers approximately 8300 acres (35.1 square kilometres).[1]

Birds Hill Provincial Park was designated a provincial park by the Government of Manitoba in 1964.[1] The park is considered to be a Class III protected area under the IUCN protected area management categories.[2]

The area (and park) is named after Dr. Curtis Bird, first speaker of the Manitoba provincial legislature in 1873, whose father had been a factor in the Hudson's Bay Company and received a large land grant at this location. Since the area is higher than the surrounding terrain, what is now Birds Hill Park served early settlers as a refuge from flooding in the years 1826 and 1852. It is part of the Rural Municipality of Springfield, with a relatively small portion lying within the Rural Municipality of St. Clements.

Birds Hill Park overlooking lake

The provincial park features a mixture of aspen and oak forest with open prairie/savannah, spruce, bog areas and mixed boreal forest communities, not commonly found so close together.

Overview

Picnic area beside lake at Birds Hill Provincial Park .

The park has a large campground, a horse stable, and many trails designed for hiking, biking and horseback riding. An artificial lake of approximately 80 acres (30 ha) with four miles of shoreline supports swimming and water recreation.

Cedar bog self-guiding trail winds through an aspen forest in the park to descend into a bog of eastern white cedar. Cedar Bogs are uncommon in Manitoba.

The park was formed from land expropriated from 150 local landowners in 1964. The official opening date was marked by a ribbon cutting ceremony by Manitoba premier Duff Roblin on July 15, 1967.[3]

Every July since 1974, the park has been the site of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. In September 1984, the park hosted Pope John Paul II during his visit to Manitoba.

The north section of the park is designated as a wilderness area, with no development of any kind. Most of the park once formed an island and shorelines at the end of the last ice age. The soil is very sandy, and the area has many stunted oak trees. There are many gravel pits that surround the park. Birds Hill Park provides one of the largest concentrations of white tailed deer in North America. The Birds Hill upland (including the Park) supports Canada's largest population of Western Silvery Aster, a species protected under federal and provincial Endangered Species laws.[4]

The park contains a small cemetery where many of the early settlers of the area are buried.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 A System Plan for Manitoba's Provincial Parks (PDF). Government of Manitoba. 1998. p. 27. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Birds Hill Provincial Park". Protected Planet. United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  3. ↑ https://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/parks/pdf/public/birds_hill_news_letter_web.pdf
  4. ↑ http://sararegistry.gc.ca/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=269

Further reading

  • Aileen Kraushar et al., "Springfield 1st Rural Municipality in Manitoba 1873-1973", Dugald Women's Institute, Dugald Manitoba Canada 1974, ISBN 0-919212-40-9
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