HUMAN ACTIVITIES
Population living in the reserve
Approximate number of people living within the Biosphere Reserve.
permanently / seasonally
Core Area(s): No one lives permanently in this area, but ~10-15 people at any one time may be there (with permission) seasonally, e.g. for bird studies.
Buffer Zone(s): No one lives permanently in this area; but there are a large number of visitors for seasonal recreation pursuits.
Transition Area(s): The Long Point Beach cottage area has about 500 permanent residents and at least 3,000 seasonal ones, along with many visitors.
Brief description of local communities living within or near the Biosphere Reserve.
Port Rowan is located adjacent to the causeway (Highway # 59) that connects the mainland to Long Point. The Long Point Beach community is largely seasonal, with summer cottages and associated recreation activities. Of the over 940 dwellings there, about 200 have been converted to permanent homes.
Indicate ethnic origin and composition, minorities etc., their main economic activities (e.g. pastoralism) and the location of their main areas of concentration, with reference to a map if appropriate.
Port Rowan and Norfolk Township were settled originally by people mainly of British origin, who came to "Upper Canada" following the US War of Independence and the subsequent division of territories by 1783. More recent arrivals are mainly people of European descent who came directly from Europe, the United States, or from elsewhere in Canada. The economy is largely agricultural, including agricultural service industries. In recent years there has been some development of tourism services and retirement settlements.
Name(s) of nearest major town(s).
Simcoe, about 40 km from Long Point (1996 population: 15,380). The LPBR is within a 2-3 hour driving distance of the three main cities shown on the in-set map for the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve, i.e. Metropolitan Toronto (1996 population: 2,385,000); Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth (1996 population: 467,800) and London-Middlesex (1996 population: 389,600).
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