Brunette Island

Brunette Island is an island in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the largest island in the Fortune Bay.

Brunette Island
Brunette Island
Location of Brunette Island in Newfoundland
Geography
LocationFortune Bay
Coordinates47°16′47″N 55°54′02″W
Area20 km2 (7.7 sq mi)
Highest elevation160 m (520 ft)
Administration
Canada
ProvinceNewfoundland and Labrador

History

A fishing community was established on the island in the 1800s, and at one time there were about 300 residents. In 1865 a 30-foot high lighthouse was built on the island.[1]

The entire village was resettled off the island in the 1950s.[2][3] A new lighthouse was built by 1924.[4]

In 1964, an experimental attempt to introduce bison to Newfoundland was made, using Brunette Island as a test site; the attempt did not prove successful;[5][6][7] the rocky landscape and sheer cliffs on the island were significantly different from the wide plains to which the bison were adapted.[8]

With more success, wildlife biologists continued to use Brunette as a site for wildlife observation and a breeding ground for Arctic hare, caribou, ptarmigan, and moose.[8] The lack of large predators on the island allowed the populations to expand as far as food resources would allow.[9] At times the island has been opened to hunters.[10][11]

From October 12-23, 2016, Mack McGowen, a native of Tyler, Texas, lived alone on Brunette Island and streamed the experience live on Facebook in a documentary titled "Castaway Live." [12]

Mercer Head on Brunette Island continues to be the site of a navigational light.[13]

References
  1. "Lighthouse Explorer: Brunette Island Light". website of Lighthouse Digest Magazine.
  2. "Scenes from Brunette Island". Navigator, September 1, 2016.
  3. "Surviving Brunette Island". Downhome Magazine, Dec 16, 2016
  4. Newfoundland. Dept. of Marine and Fisheries (1924). Report. p. 77.
  5. "Brunette Island". The Canadian Encyclopedia
  6. "Red tape a nightmare in bringing bison to island". The Western Producer, By Karen Briere, September 12, 2013
  7. "The bison of Brunette Isle" Archived 2017-12-06 at the Wayback Machine. Bedford-Sackville Observer, Zack Metcalfe | June 26, 2017
  8. Gordon Snow (6 November 2015). An Atlantic Trilogy: Tales of Survival and Tragedy. iUniverse. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-4917-8190-6.
  9. William Eugene Mercer (1969). Ecology of an Island Population of Newfoundland Willow Ptarmigan. University of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 134.
  10. Field & Stream. August 1971. p. 88. ISSN 8755-8599.
  11. Wildlife Review. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 1965. p. 51.
  12. "Cold, alone and streaming: Texas man shooting survival documentary on Brunette Island". CBC News, Oct 16, 2016 by Ryan Cooke
  13. United States. Naval Oceanographic Office. Sailing Directions for Newfoundland, Includes Strait of Belle Isle and St. Pierre and Miquelon Islands. p. 429.
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