White Bear Forest

The White Bear Forest is an old growth forest, located in Temagami, Ontario, Canada. The forest is named after Chief White Bear, who was the last chief of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai before Europeans appeared in the region. In some parts of the White Bear Forest trees commonly reach 200 to 300 years in age, while the oldest tree accurately aged in White Bear Forest was a red pine that was 400 years old in 1999. The White Bear Forest contains one of Canada's oldest portages, dating back some 3,000 years. Today, more than 17 km (11 mi) of trails access the White Bear Forest. A trail guide is available online at http://ancientforest.org/whitebear.html.

The 396 m (1,299 ft) Caribou Mountain contains a renovated 30 m (98 ft) fire lookout tower that visitors can climb for a small fee.

In 1928, the Gillies Bros. logging company logged about 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) of the White Bear Forest surrounding Cassels Lake and Rabbit Lake. A log dam was constructed at the narrows connecting Cassels Lake and Rabbit Lake to float logs from the surrounding area out to the Ottawa River. The water level in numerous lakes in the Temagami area was increased numerous feet. The Gillies' Bros. logging company then cut the trees from the flooded forest area leaving behind the snags and stumps seen in the water. The area which we now call the White Bear Forest escaped the first wave of logging partly because the mill owner enjoyed the view of this forest, which was situated directly across the lake from the mill site. In 1992, the White Bear Forest was once again spared from logging because of local opposition, and is now promoted by the town of Temagami as a tourist attraction. In June 1996, the White Bear Forest was declared a Conservation Area by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

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