| Overview: |
This 200 acre unique water front ecosystem is very well documented due to a recent naturalist/wood cruiser's report being available. The land is located very near the Inverness or North end of Lake Ainslie's East side with 1350 feet of lake shore and rises gradually to impressive heights and a truly magnificent panoramic view of the lake and surrounding hills. The extensive acreage in between shore and hill top is diverse, interesting and, in part, unique in the area. There are old farm fields, various woodlots, a brook and a unique wetlands area with rare plants. There are old trails and numerous signs of wildlife, including moose, deer and bear. This large tract of land has many possible building sites and many potential uses for a new owner. A very detailed report compiled by a professional wood cruiser and naturalist is available.
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| Cruiser Report: |
This woodlot located between Scotsville and Kenlock, Inverness county, Province of Nova Scotia, at latitude N. 46 deg. 10 min. 57.8 sec. and longitude W. 61 deg. 14 min. 8.6 sec. was visited on a number of days in July of 2009 so that a report describing the property could be prepared.
The lot is about 2050 meters long and 390 meters wide. The land rises gently from the shore. The central portion is fairly flat. East of the road the land is very steep. Cameron's Brook flows through the property - a photo has been provided. The elevation near the shore is about 60 meters above sea level and at the very top on the most eastern end, the elevation is about 195 meters ASL.
The view from the north eastern side of the road at a high elevation is impressive. A cutover on the adjoining property to the north provided an opportunity to see and photograph the view. A similar view would be obtained on this property once some trees were cleared. Four photos have been provided that shows this property and view below the road.
There is a wide variety of forest stands on the property including an older tolerant hardwood forest, mature softwood or conifer stands, cutovers and wetlands. The bedrock and glacial geology combined with climate have created the present ecological environment. The area soils and forest vegetation are the result of the interaction of these forces. Access to the property is provided by roads and trails that exist on the properties to the north and south. A woodlot road exists on the property to the north and goes down below the road to the lake and comes very close to the boundary line near the lake. An old road enters the property going up the hill into stand 6. A third road enters the property going into stand 3. These roads are suitable for 4-wheel drive vehicles at a dry time of the year. They are all growing in from the sides.
A search was made for the boundary lines of the property. The evidence found included survey monuments, old wire fence remains and other old evidence.
Wildlife appeared to be plentiful. Moose tracks were seen very frequently. A black bear was seen crossing the main road. Fresh bear tracks were seen on an ATV trail near the lake. Fresh deer tracks were seen at the same time on the same trail. Eagles and hawks were frequently seen. Birds could be seen and heard quite often. A Mourning Warbler was encountered near a nest site. A White-throated Sparrow nest was encountered. A Spotted Sand Piper was observed being concerned about its nest. A female Common Merganser with her brood was observed.
Two core samples were taken. One was from a large sugar maple at the top of the hill with an age of 140 years. The second core was from a large black spruce on the edge of stand 12 with an age of 125 years. These ages would represent the older age classes present on the property. Thirteen different forest stands have been identified on the most recent aerial photograph taken in 1999. A relatively rare Ironwood tree was spotted and is a large, older specimen.
The summary of trees existing in forest stands includes American beech, sugar maple, yellow birch ranging in age from 50 to 150 years. Others also present in stands of various ages are tall white spruce, spruce, fir, maple, birch, white ash, ironwood, trembling aspen, red maple, eastern hemlock, eastern larch, black spruce, fir birch, black ash (surprising quantity), alders, willows, apple, thorn, serviceberry, white spruce, white poplar, balsam fir, larch choke cherry and pin cherry (shrub and tree height). |
| Tree Stand Reports: |
- STAND #1
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Stand 1 is the last of the cleared farmland. Scattered spruce, larch, apple trees, thorn trees, and serviceberry along with grasses can be found. Small hills are present. One pond or small marsh overgrown with cat-tails is present. The remains of the old house and cellar are hidden by a stand of white poplar. Several Swamp Milkweed plants were found on the edge of the old pond or small marsh. Some authors have rated this species asa rare. A deer blind was found in a white spruce tree on the edge of this stand.
- STAND #6
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Stand 6 is a tolerant stand of mostly beech, sugar maple and yellow birch with ages ranging from 50 to 150 years. There is a small area at the top that was cut over about 15 years ago and now consists of hardwood saplings. Old stumps can still be seen. The topography here is quite steep. Most of the stand is only suitable for fuel wood.
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These two stand report summaries are provided as samples, there are an additional 11 stand reports available. Anyone with an interest in viewing this property with the agent can request a copy of the entire stand report. The full report is not provided here as doing so may encourage illicit wood cutting on the property. Over the last 20 years, In excess of $40,000 of wood value was removed from the property by persons now being pursued by the owners for redress. The owners, who never wanted any trees cut down on the land due to its unique ecosystem qualities, have taken steps to prevent any further such unlawful cutting of woodlots. Because of this history, anyone wanting to see this property must show genuine interest and must view the property to receive information compiled by the wood cruiser, including the current assessment of wood value extant on the acreage.
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| Cruiser Report: |
The cruiser's report also provided information as to the geology, soils, glacial geology, ecological classification and a very extensive list of flora found on the property in these categories: Flowering Plants (Non-woody), Rushes, Sedges, Grasses, Lilies, Orchids, Asters, Goldenrod, Club-moss, Mosses & Liverworts, Lichens, Ferns, Shrubs and Trees. A collection of useful maps and aerials showing characteristics ranging from topography to ecosystem classification is also available. A fair number of these lists and maps are available at the top of the page under "Other Resources". Some text reports can be read below and the balance is only available upon viewing of the property with the agent so as to keep it out of the hands of those who would use it for unauthorized purposes.
GEOLOGY REPORT: All of the rock formations are within the Paleozoic Era and all are within the Carboniferous period. Several faults occur within the general area. The Creignish and Strathlorne-Ainslie formations of the Horton Group are present. These formations contain coarse grained rocks including coble conglomerates and gray quartz-rich sandstones. Shale is also present. The Macumber and Hood Island Formation of the Windsor Group are present. These include sandstone, siltstone, marine limestone and laminated limestone. A limestone outcrop is quite visible along the shore at the most southern point of the property. An outcropping of laminated limestone of the Macumber formation was found on the property to the north and on the east side of the road.
SOILS: The most easterly part of the property has soils classed as rough mountain land. The land has steep slopes, excessive stoniness, and shallow soil. The central and most westerly part of the property have soils of the Queens series. This series consists of reddish-brown, clay loam glacial till and is only slowly permeable to water owing to the slow permeability of the underlying B horizon. The slopes are undulating to gently rolling and the stoniness is rated as moderate. Kingsville series soils are also found on the lower portion of the property. This series is similar to the Queens series. The parent material is a dark reddish-brown clay loam till with poor drainage. The nature of the parent material tends to keep the water table near the surface most of the year. Drainage is a major problem on these soils. The topography is undulating or gently rolling.
GLACIAL GEOLOGY: The glacial surficial geology is probably the result of the most recent glacial episode, the Wisconsin Glaciation which spanned the period 80,000 to 10,000 years ago in the Quaternary Period during the Pleistocene epoch. The area into which this land holding falls has all of the following characteristics:
- rolling to rugged rock areas with thin patches of till which has developed in place by weathering and degradation of the parent rock
- thin blocky rubble on steep valley slides, overlying till
- continuous sandy till, 2-4 meters thick
- silty clayey reddish-brown till more than 5 meters thick occurring as fields of drumlins and is fine grained over the underlying sedimentary rocks
- a fluvial deposit composed of waterlaid sediment varying from muddy angular debris to clean rounded gravel
- a fluvial deposit composed of sandy pebble alluvium less than 3 meters thick
- an organic deposit consisting of peat, muck and organic silt
The above depiction of glacial deposits provides some insight as to the cause of the variation of the forest community across this property.
ECOLOGICAL LAND CLASSIFICATION: The property is spread over two ecodistricts. The eastern part of the property falls into the Cape Breton Hills Ecodistrict 310. The western two thirds of the property falls into the Inverness Lowlands Ecodistrict 320. Both of these ecodistricts fall within the Nova Scotia Uplands Ecoregion 300. Two ecosections comprise the property. The eastern one third is classed as WNDS, well drained, medium textured soil with canyons and steep slopes. The western two thirds is classed IFHO, imperfectly drained soil, fine textured soils with hummocky terrain.
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| Comments: |
Perhaps the perfect prospective owner of this property would be someone who would want to build high up on the property near the road within the one third of the property that falls into the well drained category. Any home built in that location just above the road would take advantage of a truly spectacular view looking out over the lake and the highlands. Behind and around the house would be a woodland reserve that provides privacy and a source of firewood if desired. Below the road, the better part of 150 acres would be appreciated by a nature lover or photographer for its unique ecosystem qualities including its extensive variety of flora, some of which is rare and exceptional. The wealth of wildlife, including big game animals would appeal to both the observer and the hunter. Finally, the prospective owner would want to take full advantage of the opportunity to enjoy boating, fishing and other water sports on the property's ample Lake Ainslie shoreline. For the right person or family, this land could be a personal preserve offering years of rewarding experiences and unmatched natural surroundings.
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| Directions: |
Call Tom @ 866-325-1001 (756-3073 locally) for directions.
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| AREA PHOTOS: |
Lake Ainslie and Nearby Area Photos (from "Tours with Tom" photo slide shows of Cape Breton):
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| Area Links: |
 Margaree-Lake Ainslie River System-
Secret Pools and Tranquil Glades: Facts, Stories, Photos, Maps
- Lake Ainslie - The Settlers Story
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Traces the settlement of East Lake Ainslie from its beginning in 1820.
- Wikipedia - Lake Ainslie
- Public input about Lake Ainslie
- Community Groups & Organizations
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Cap site with links and info about groups and various organizations based in the Lake Ainslie community.
- Whycocomagh Provincial Park
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A "Parks Canada" site - this page covers the attractions of the park and offers a few photos. Open from mid-June until mid October the park has picnic areas, lake access, a boat launch, and a 2.4 km (1.5 mi.) hiking trail.
- The Inverness County Web Site
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Lake Ainslie is in Inverness County and the site gives good coverage of the wider area in which this property is located.
- The Oran
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For area news - this is the web site of the local weekly newspaper, The Oran.
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