As an ardent hiker and nature photographer, I have visited Williams Bog on many occasions.  We are fortunate to have such a vibrant jewel in the center of our city.  Only a fraction of Williams Bog remains and am concerned it may be in peril.

Williams Bog is located in the City of Thunder Bay at 48º 39’ latitude and 89º 32’ longitude and can be found on National Topographic Map - 52A/6 (Thunder Bay).  

Williams Bog is a Provincially Significant Wetland complex, made up of two individual wetlands, composed of three wetland types (14% fen, 85% swamp and 1% marsh), totaling 730.55 hectares in size.  

The rich biodiversity of Williams Bog includes  73 species of birds, 53 species of butterfly, 14 species of orchids and 5 insectivorous plants.

Williams Bog provides habitat for Cypripedium arietinum (Rams’s Head Lady’s Slipper) which  is rated S3 or provincially rare, the regionally rare Liparis loeselii (Bog Twayblade) along with many other uncommon species.

Changes in hydrology can have a negative impact on native orchids, and other wetland vegetation which provides habitat for birds, insects and amphibians.

The Provincial Policy Statement (2005) states in section:   2.2.1:

Planning authorities shall protect, improve or restore the quality and quantity of water by:

a) using the watershed as the ecologically meaningful scale for planning;

b) minimizing potential negative impacts….. 

The City of Thunder Bay is the planning authority of a new subdivision called Parkdale which is approaching  the southern limit of the designated Provincially Significant Wetland of Williams Bog.

Ongoing, large scale drainage activity using at least two large ditches and several culverts is occurring in Williams Bog.  The outflow from these ditches and culverts is currently being diverted from the Provincially Significant Wetland to the area adjacent and parallel to the west side of Highway 11-17.

The Thunder Bay Field Naturalists will Contact the City of Thunder Bay Planning Division and the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority and recommend the development of a stakeholder forum to discuss, investigate and develop strategies where necessary to prevent any negative impacts to the Provincially Significant Wetland in Williams Bog. This stakeholder committee should include representation from the City of Thunder Bay Planning Division and Engineering Department, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, the contractor(s) involved, Thunder Bay Field Naturalists, Lakehead University, citizens of the new Parkdale Subdivision and any other stakeholders deemed necessary to provide useful input. The ultimate goal is to determine the necessary best practices to effectively monitor and protect the rich biodiversity of Williams Bog.

  

Every effort should be made to ensure any proposed remedial action would not cause further deleterious effects to the Provincially Significant Wetland of Williams Bog.