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Land Designation
Ecological
reserves play a key role in Manitoba's
Protected Areas Initiative by protecting unique,
rare and respresentative examples of plants,
animals, geological features and ecosystems.
They are the most protected of the provincially
designated sites within Manitoba's network of
protected area.
Landscape Description
The Jennifer and Tom Shay Ecological Reserve,
approximately 7 ha in size, is located south of
Winnipeg near the town of St. Adolphe. The reserve
is situated along the eastern bank of the Red
River and supports river-bottom forest.
Outstanding Features
Forests growing along Manitoba’s Red River
provide essential corridors for the movement and
dispersal of wildlife in a region with large
tracks of land used for agriculture. Relatively
undisturbed river-bottom forest, such as the one
located within and around the Jennifer and Tom
Shay Ecological Reserve, is a rare occurrence in
the Red River valley. Subject to annual flooding,
this type of habitat and the organisms that reside
within it are unique in that they must tolerate
periodic flooding.
Biological surveys conducted within the reserve
have recorded a large diversity of animals and
plants. Included in the list of over 150 plant
species distributed throughout the reserve is the
very rare False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) and
several other plant species uncommon to this
region of Manitoba such as Assiniboia Sedge (Carex
assiniboinensis), Smooth-fruited Sedge (Carex
laeviconica), Moonseed (Menispermum canadense),
and Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia). Bird
monitoring in the area has produced sightings of
almost 180 species consisting of an exceptional
variety of both resident and migrant birds
including the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes
erythrocephalus), a species listed as Special
Concern by the Committee on the Status of
Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
Research conducted on the ecological reserve
has also led to better understanding of the
origins, historical climate, flood patterns and
geological history of the Red River valley through
analysis of tree rings and radiocarbon dating of
charcoal obtained from the site. An archaeological
site is known from the area of this ecological
reserve. The site contains artefacts indicating
human occupation up to 2000 years ago, with a
potentially older cultural stratum below.
The exact location, extent and significance of
this site would require further archaeological
investigation.
The Jennifer and Tom Shay Ecological Reserve is
located on property previously owned by Dr.
Jennifer and Dr. Tom Shay. An Officer of the Order
of Canada, Dr. Jennifer Shay is a former professor
of Botany at the University of Manitoba and a
noted Canadian ecologist. She helped found
Manitoba's ecological reserves program in 1973 and
sat on the Ecological Reserves Advisory Committee
for 18 years until 1991. Dr. Tom Shay is a
retired professor of Anthropology from St. Paul's
College at the University of Manitoba. He has been
active in heritage conservation for many years,
serving on the Manitoba Historic Sites Advisory
Board for a decade. He was the recipient of
the Prix Manitoba for Heritage in 1997. As a
result of flood damages to their home following
the 1997 flood, the couple decided against
rebuilding on the property to minimize disturbance
to the forest and agreed to turn over the property
to the Province of Manitoba for some compensation.
As an ecological reserve, the Jennifer and Tom
Shay site will be maintained for preservation and
protection of rare river bottom forest habitat.
Passive visits on foot will be allowed without a
permit. All other activities will require prior
approval.
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