. FORESTED NATURAL AREAS 
     
    
   
   
    
     BY JULIE SINGLETON . 
     
    
   
   
    
     When you hear the words "Prince Edward Island - The Garden of the 
     
     Gulf", what comes to mind first? Most people see picturesque rural 
     
     communities, surrounded by farm fields, intermingled with hedgerows 
     
     creating patchworks of reds and greens. Although this is true, P.E.I 
     
     is blessed with a variety of "typical" settings which help to fill in 
     
     that picture. These include natural features such as sand dune systems; 
     
     natural fresh water ponds; salt marshes; bogs; river systems; off-shore 
     
     islands; and last but not least, remnant original forest stands. 
     
    

    
     Each community mentioned is important to resident and visitor alike 
     
     as it is a part of our Island and a part of our past. Due to human 
     
     influence and the passage of time, few of these natural areas are in 
     
     the same condition as our ancestors found them, thus it becomes 
     
     increasingly more important to maintain and conserve a few representative 
     
     samples. In light of this, the Department of Energy and Forestry has 
     
     contracted the Island Nature Trust, a charitable non-profit organization 
     
     interested in conserving natural areas on P.E.I., to write brochures on 
     
     representative, forested natural areas. 
     
    

    
     In order to qualify as a forested natural area, a site must meet one 
     
     of two requirements: 1) it may be a mature stand, typical of our 
     
     original forest, which has undergone very little cutting. Species 
     
     composition may include Yellow Birch, Beech, Sugar Maple, Red or White 
     
     Pine, Red Oak or Hemlock; 2) or a representative sample of a relatively 
     
     rare species such as Red Spruce, White Cedar or Jack Pine. 
     
    

    
     Where are these representative woodlots found? They are located 
     
     across the province, in each county and total 11 sites. They include: 
     
    
   
   
    
     ROYALTY OAKS, in East Royalty, is a Aha 
     
    

    
     (10 acres) in size. Species include; 
     
    

    
     large Red Oaks, the largest being 153cm 
     
    

    
     (60 in) in diameter, 20m(60ft) high and 150 
     
     years old; mature Sugar Maple; Beech; Red 
     
     Maple and Yellow Birch. Speculation has 
     
    

    
     it that the trees were left as cover for 
     
     fox pens as this site was a fox farm during 
     
     the early 1900's. This would explain why 
     
     these trees were spared while most of the 
     
     surrounding area was cleared. 
     
    
   
   
    
     ST. CHRYSOSTOME CEDARS, in Prince County, 
     
     approximately llha(25 ac) in size, and 
     
     serves as a good example of a Cedar stand. 
     
     Other tree species include White Ash; 
     
     American Elm; Yellow Birch; White Birch 
     
     and Red Maple. Some cutting has occurred over the past 40 to 50 years. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     TOWNSEND WOODLOT, near Souris, is some 102ha(250 ac) in size. It is one 
     
    

    
     of the few remaining examples of a relatively undisturbed hardwood stand 
     
    

    
     in P.E.I. Old growth hardwoods remain, with large specimens of Red Maple, 
     
     Sugar Maple, Yellow Birch, White Birch, Beech and some smaller softwoods 
     
     Hazelnut, a rare shrub, is also present here. .