When looked at from afar, one might question if Number Nine Island is actually an island at all. The dense cattail marsh spanning between mainland and the Island’s western high grounds make it appear as though the entire area is a wide peninsula protruding into Goose Bay, as if to mirror Kring Point. Many who enjoy boating the River have traveled the narrow waters between Number Nine and Kring Point. Known as the Goose Bay gap, this channel is the gateway between the popular flatwater bay and the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Also referred to as Island Number Nine or Number Nine Island, this amoeba-shaped tract of land does in-fact qualify as an island. Many recount stories of small boats circumventing Number Nine during highwater years, carefully making their way through an expansive marsh that separates the Island from mainland. In fact, the 1948 US Geological Survey topographic maps show Number Nine as being fully independent of mainland (see photo below). Through this marsh, historians tell of the dramatic escape of American seamen who were blockaded by British vessels during the bloody Battle of Cranberry Creek in 1813. With British ships anchored at the Goose Bay gap, the American soldiers were able to escape their stronghold on Cranberry Creek by sneakily poling their skiff through the marsh. Once in open water, the American vessel was able to open its sails enroute for Sackets Harbor without tipping off the British ships waiting in the gap. Without question, passing through these marshes by boat would be impossible today as it is now fully choked with a hardy stand of hybrid invasive cattail.
Depending on where you delineate the obscure boundary between upland and marshland, the Island itself encompasses about 160± acres of hard ground. Every square foot of Number Nine has something extraordinary to offer, from its exceptional fish and wildlife habitat, to its unparalleled scenic quality and one-of-a-kind past. A quiet walk through the Island’s mature oak-pine forest will confirm its unique ecological diversity and history. Rusted remnants of century-old farm implements are camouflaged on the vibrant forest floor. These tools and a few stray strands of barbed wire are now the only remaining clue that the Island was once a working farm. Over a handful of decades, nature has prevailed once again. Colorful fungi slowly decompose the windthrown logs that the ruffed grouse use for drumming. The overhanging canopy rains acorns into the protected open-water marsh pockets. A step too close and the feasting dabblers flush. Earlier in the summer, a deafening songbird chorus amplifies from this canopy. Later in winter, bald eagles perch atop the tallest pines. Regardless of time of year, Number Nine is a sanctuary for the region’s flora and fauna.
Maybe of most importance, though, is the island’s innate function as a protector of clean water. The interplay of its natural riparian vegetation and coastal marshland acts as a filter, cleaning runoff of excess nutrients and pollutants. Maintaining clean water in Goose Bay and the St. Lawrence helps safeguard the region’s natural resource and tourism-based economy.
It’s because of these ecosystem services that TILT was able to secure a New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation Water Quality Improvement Project grant for land acquisition on Number Nine. Since the award in 2019, TILT has successfully acquired five neighboring parcels of land totaling 107 acre. TILT is also under contract to protect an additional 55± acres around the Island, including about 45± acres of the marsh that separates Number Nine from the mainland. TILT will have acquired these lands from five different landowners who all agreed that perpetual conservation was the rightful future for the Island; a truly noble decision.
"I moved to Number Nine Island seventeen years ago because of its secluded location and spectacular beauty," says David Garlock. This summer, David worked with TILT to conserve 34 acres of his land on Number Nine. "It's a comfort to know that TILT will keep the Island natural and undeveloped for many years to come."
As TILT'S acquisition efforts on Number Nine draw to a close, its stewardship responsibilities are just beginning. TILT has the forever duty of ensuring the ecosystem integrity and health of its lands, and it is fully committed to doing so. Public access to the newly-established preserve will be organized though TILT's Treks and environmental education programming.
The next time you travel these frequented waters, take a pause. Pause to appreciate the patriotic history, the one-of-a-kind ecology, and the intrinsic value that this wild Island has to offer. There's only one Number Nine.
