Wolf Islands
Native name: Malsumook[1] | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Bay of Fundy |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Province | New Brunswick |
| County | Charlotte |
| Parish | Pennfield Parish |
The Wolf Islands (or The Wolves) are undeveloped islands in the Pennfield Parish of Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada in the Bay of Fundy.[2][3][4] They are 60-100' in height, "steep and bold", with deep passages between them ranging from 12 to 20 fathoms.[5] They are sometimes named as the fourth of the major archipelagos that make up the Fundy Islands, alongside Campobello Island, Deer Island and Grand Manan.[6] The islands have been identified as written about in the 1604 writings of Samuel Champlain and Sieur de Monts.[7]
It is considered a "Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area".[8] A pond at Southwest Cove on East Wolf Island is the only source of freshwater.[9]
Spotted in 1603 by Samuel Champlain, they were named Les Isles des Perdreaux".[10] They became known for the frequency of shipwrecks.[11]
In 1798, the islands were granted to Caleb Paul.[12] As of 1851, the family of James Paul were the only settlers living in the cluster of islands.[13]
After the government built a lighthouse in 1871, without ascertaining ownership of the islands, Paul's ancestors who still claimed the islands demanded to be reimbursed by rent or purchase of the land being used.[12]
Together with nearby White Horse Island, it is one of the southernmost breeding kittiwake colony in the world.[14]
The Wolves have been "the scene of many shipwrecks",[15] including the ship New England was wrecked on the Wolf Islands in 1872.[16]
There are six main islands, with their name suggested to have arisen from Passamaquoddy lore about the islands being likened to predators chasing nearby Deer Island.
East Wolf Island
[edit]The largest of the islands at 240ha[17] and occasionally frequented by visitors from the mainland,[18] East Wolf has been used for grazing cattle, pigs and chickens by its private owners including the Hazel family in the 1960s.[10] Wild rabbits had been introduced multiple times, but with limited success.[10] Three species of orchid grow on the island, Habenaria obtusata, Platanthera clavellata, and Neottia cordata.[10]
East Wolf Island also had a light and fog whistle buoy, with black and white stripes reading "WOLVES" with a radar reflector.[19]
It has been prospected for gold.[20]
Flat Wolf Island (Fatpot Island)
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Green Rock (Gull Rock)
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Horseshoe Rock
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Spruce Island (Flat Wolf Island)
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Southern Wolf Island
[edit]Southern Wolf Island has a lighthouse built in 1871,[21] at which time it was tended by William Cline, and within two years was replaced with Edward Snell.[12][22] By 1873, Snell hired labourers to construct a breakwater and wharf of his own volition, and was reimbursed half the cost by the government.[12]
The lighthouse remained staffed until 1962–63,[10] at which time it was replaced by a simple skeletal tower, prior to the 1982 construction 1982 of the current fibreglass automated light tower.[12]
Following the donation of the island by Connors Brothers Limited in 2011, Southern Wolf Island functions as a 38-hectare Nature Preserve, administered by the Nature Trust of New Brunswick.[23]
In 2011,
Keepers: William Cline (1871 – 1873), Edward Dukes Snell (1873 – 1882), Ezra Munro (1882 – 1897), Warren P. Davidson (1897 – 1903), Lindwood Lord (1903 – 1906), Ethelbert Wright (1906 – 1916), R.J. Barry (1916), G.E. Wright (1917), H. Wright (1918), F.W. Stanley (1919), J.F. Babcock (1920 – 1924), C.H. Holmes (1925 – at least 1937), Harry Grey (at least 1953)[12]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Song of the Old Sow".
- ^ "No. 166". Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "489" (PDF). Transportation and Infrastructure. Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 4 July 2021. Remainder of parish on mapbooks 490, 497, 500, and 501 at same site.
- ^ "Search the Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGNDB)". Government of Canada. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "The British American navigator : - Canadiana".
- ^ "New Brunswick, with a brief outline of Nova Sco... - Canadiana".
- ^ Parks Canada, "West Isles Feasibility Study....a National Marine Park in the West Isles", December 1985
- ^ "South Grand Manan EBSA". 21 September 2021.
- ^ Bay of Fundy Resource Inventory: The WOlves Islands
- ^ a b c d e Pike, Radcliffe B.; Hodgdon, Albion R. (1963). "The Flora of the Wolf Islands New Brunswick Part I". Rhodora. 65 (761): 82–96. JSTOR 23306734.
- ^ Ingersoll, Ernest, "Down East Latch Strings", pg95-100
- ^ a b c d e f "Southwest Wolf Island Lighthouse".
- ^ Journals of the House of Assembly of the Province of New Brunswick, 1851, Appendix
- ^ "NB Naturalist Feature: A new kittiwake colony in the Wolves - Nature NB". 26 March 2021.
- ^ A Guide to New Brunswick, British North America, &c By Christopher William Atkinson
- ^ https://ia801704.us.archive.org/27/items/b29349862/b29349862.pdf
- ^ "Archipel the Wolfes (NB004)".
- ^ "NB Naturalist Feature: A new kittiwake colony in the Wolves - Nature NB". 26 March 2021.
- ^ Sailing Directions for Nova Scotia, 1952, US Navy Hydrographic Office
- ^ Wolczanski, Heather E.; Barr, Sandra M. (2006). "Abstract: The Wolves–a missing link in southern New Brunswick geology". pp. 123a.
- ^ "Lighthouses of Canada: Southern New Brunswick".
- ^ s:History of Islands & Islets in the Bay of Fundy, Charlotte County, New Brunswick
- ^ "Fundy Isles".
