Sandilands Provincial Forest

Protected forest in Manitoba, Canada

49°23′59″N 96°02′07″W / 49.399722°N 96.035278°W / 49.399722; -96.035278

The Sandilands Provincial Forest is a forest located within the southeastern area of Manitoba, Canada, and consists of thousands of acres of sand hills, forest, wetlands, and mostly unpopulated crown lands. Sandilands Provincial Forest covers close to 3,000 km².^[1]

Under The Forest Act, Provincial Forests were developed primarily as a source of sustainable timber supply for forestry operations. The Sandilands area has been logged for decades, and it is popular amongst most for hiking, hunting, and camping. The large sand eskers and hills were left behind by the last ice age as the glaciers retreated and deposited large rocks, boulders, and vast amounts of sand. These sand ridges sometimes called the Bedford Hills or Cyprus Hills, are the second highest point in Manitoba, behind Baldy Mountain.^[1]

Sandilands Provincial Forest is a mixed deciduous‐coniferous forest comprising dry sandy ridges of trembling aspen, jack pine, and white birch mixed with wetter lowlands of black spruce, tamarack, white cedar, and black ash.^[2]

In descending order of land area, the forest is located within the Rural Municipalities of Reynolds, Piney, and Stuartburn. The nearest incorporated places are Ste. Anne and Steinbach, both lying to the west. The southernmost points in the forest lie on the border with the state of Minnesota.

Within the forest is Marchand Provincial Park.^[3]49°23′59″N 96°02′07″W / 49.39972°N 96.03528°W / 49.39972; -96.03528

References

^ ^a ^b "RM of Piney - Points of Interest". RM of Piney. 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
^ Piercey-Normore, Michele D. (2006). "The lichen-forming ascomycete Evernia mesomorpha associates with multiple genotypes of Trebouxia jamesii". New Phytologist. 169 (2): 331–344. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01576.x. PMID 16411936.
^ "Parks and Protected Spaces | Conservation and Climate | Province of Manitoba". www.gov.mb.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-09.