Member Association Page - SAMIA

Sandy and Martyr Islands Association :

• Sandy Island, one of the larger `Thirty Thousand Islands' of Georgian Bay, contains about 250 hectares. Ingersoll Island (about 24 hectares) is so closely located to Sandy Island that it appears to be connected, but the wetlands separating the two islands are important environmental areas for preservation. The six Martyr Islands, to the south-east of Sandy Island, are named for Charles Martyr (associated with the Bayfield hydrographic survey of 1822) and not for the Huronia Jesuit martyrs. These islands include Endymion, Keats, Sherrynoll, Lockwood, Helen’s Rest, and Harold. While Sandy Island has seen cottage development only since the late 1970s, the first of the Martyr Islands (Sherrynoll) was first inhabited in 1885.
  
  
  Sandy Island is a unique environmental area of Georgian Bay. There are large expanses of wetlands on the west side and around Ingersoll Island on the east. The unique plant communities have been identified and mapped recently so that these can be protected. Sandy Island also provides winter shelter and food for a small deer population, and is a haven for the Massasauga rattlesnake which finds suitable habitat in the low-lying, damp areas throughout the island.

Local Issues and Projects

The major issue for the SAMI Association (and indeed the reason for its origin) is to support the provision of the Official Plan of the Township of The Archipelago which specifies that “no additional land division will be permitted” and that “No further development excepting the infilling of existing lots of record will be permitted in the Sandy and Martyr Islands Neighbourhood..” The Plan also states that “Sandy and Martyr Islands Neighbourhood is recognized as a valuable environmental habitat for fish and wildlife. Council will take the necessary steps to protect the area from any negative impacts created as a result of any new construction on lots of record.”

Beyond this important objective, the Association shares the concerns of other GBA associations regarding water quality and levels, and appropriate controls on boating, fishing and camping.

The Sandy and Martyr Islands Association

2006/2007 Executive

President:
Vice President: Bill Montgomery
Secretary: Lily Zurbrigg
Treasurer: Linda Heron

Location

Sandy , Ingersoll and the Martyr Islands are 3 kilometres west of Wasauksing Island ( Parry Island ), with the Wabuno Channel separating the two large land masses. Access, by boat only, is usually from the Wasauksing Marina at Oak Point; alternate access is from the Killbear Marina, seven miles to the north-east.

Sandy and Martyr Islands Links

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Map

History

During the French regime, Sandy Island was known as Isle au Sable. The local Ojibwa band was known as the Isle au Sable band until the 1870s when it became known as the Wasauksing band, which now resides on Parry Island. A Hudson's Bay Company trading outpost was established on Isle au Sable in 1821 but operated only until 1829 because of over-trapping.

The Sandy Island fish sanctuary, established in 1948 in response to a dwindling bass population, was to serve two purposes: first, bass were taken from the sanctuary to a fish hatchery near Huntsville where eggs were laid and the fry used to stock lakes in the area; second, it was expected that the protected bass population would expand into adjacent areas. When this did not happen, the sanctuary was rescinded in 1962, but it is still marked on the small craft charts.