LAKE SUPERIOR NATIONAL MARINE CONSERVATION AREA

PARKS CANADA



scale 1:900,000
Map created July 7, 2010 by KBM Forestry Consultants
www.kbm.on.ca

Map produced for Parks Canada by KBM under license from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources c. Queen's Printer of Ontario, 2010 Canadian federal data courtesy of GeoBase. All right reserved.

Hurkett Cove would be just East of Dorion in Black Bay.
 The Black Bay peninsula extends South West.
St. Ignace Island is the large Island South East of Red Rock.
The small yellow islands are part of the Lake Superior National Conservation Area,
 so besides water they also control some land areas.

I liked this brochure because it had the terrain relief map
 that shows the "rough" terrain we live and work and play in.

The red line is the highway, and hard to see thin black line is the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that also hugs the Superior shore. It used to make for a spectacular journey by the passenger trains but they now take a route north of Lake Nipigon and this Superior route runs freight trains.

Lake Superior has an international boundary between the United States and Canada
The thin black line going north from Lake Helen is the now non-existent C.N.R..

"The Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area will be the world's largest freshwater protected are covering over 10,000 square km." The new brochure lists the  area as 10,850 square km of lake and over 600 islands.

"National marine conservation areas are part of a nation-wide family of protected areas managed by Parks Canada. By establishing representative examples of unique marine areas across the country, Parks Canada strives to conserve delicate marine ecosystems. Traditional activities and ecological sustainable uses including fishing and boating will continue to be enjoyed."

"Ecological sustainable uses" this is a neat way of saying Don't Pick The Rocks. That was the one point that bothered me with so much local "tradition" of agate picking on those islands.

Back to the Brochure: "So many ways to experience Parks Canada's Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area:

Driving along the north shore - discover the rich history and culture of First Nations, breathtaking vistas and incomparable terrestrial sites as you travel along the top of Lake Superior. (with the topographical map you can definitely SEE that to be true. In a later brochure they just have a pale green featureless map representing land and blue for water. In the KBM map even the water is defined in shades  of blue -pale for shallow - less than 5m and darkest areas as more than 300 m.)



This is from the new brochure showing more of Northern Ontario.
The green is Pukaskwa National Park.
Lower right corner is Sault Ste. Marie

While brochure number one names "Kayaking, canoeing and camping in the marine conservation area, brochure number two locates that activity to the protected Rossport area. Considering the violence that Superior can rise to that may be for the good. But that gives you access right through Nipigon Bay shielded by St. Ignace Island.

Second brochure. Nipigon is the other dot by Lake Helen First Nation, top left corner.

Scuba Diving is becoming a popular recreational activity with over 50 shipwrecks in the "area".

I see Terrace Bay is encouraging fall surfing on the huge Lake Superior waves.

Once Superior freezes it is safe for Snowshoeing, Dog Sledding and Snowmobiling.  I see Silver Islet has Winter Scuba Diving - dry suit is recommended as the water is warmer than the air in the winter.

The tip of the Sibley Peninsula is the western edge of the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area and from there it goes south to the International Border, half way to Isle Royale.

The Eastern edge encompasses the Slate islands Provincial Park with its resident Caribou herd.

The second brochure : "Located in the traditional territory of the Anishinabek people the conservation area boasts near pristine waters, spectacular scenery and unparalleled beauty. It is a place to discover unique geology, rare arctic plants and a rich cultural history."

It is nice to see in print 'near pristine waters'. We are getting close to being de-listed as one of the 44 impaired areas of concern in the Great Lakes Water Quality Remedial Action Plans. Terrace Bay/Jackfish  is an area of concern too. Nipigon has completed their sewage treatment upgrade and Red Rock is moving forward with theirs, it only leaves the fish population to grow back which may take a while. Work is continuing on spawning beds and stream re-alignment on various tributaries to the Nipigon Bay.

While this may sound like an advertisement , I use it to show that one hundred years of industrial use, log drives, power dams and population growth has occurred on this Nipigon River yet our waters are "near pristine" and our geological features, flora and fauna are still here  as "spectacular scenery, and unparalleled beauty."  captured by Parks Canada for eternity.

With the Red Rock mill closed and the Nipigon Plywood mill burned, population in both communities has declined. A new way of life has to evolve for our communities that relied on the forest industry. Even family life will change as sons will no longer follow their fathers into the woods-industry in a local mill, settle down and raise their families in the same town.

When the mills were running they were our industrial "base' for the communities and were powered by hundreds of workers in and out of the mill. Greenpeace brought out a document called "Building a Green Economy in the Boreal Forest in 2010. Part of their policy recommendations was for Research and development" funding of non-timber forest sectors such as wild food harvesting and to provide marketing and start-up funding for entrepreneurs in these sectors."   Let's think about this - if this came to pass would our blueberry-picking sites be off limits to the general public so that the entrepreneur would have sole license to that area's crop? Or could he charge a "picking fee" on Crown Land. In any event it would be seasonal employment of a few weeks. The "berry crops" are on sites of previous recent logging operations, or wildfires. These "sites" are good for a few years. Once the trees grow that's it for fifty or more years. Wild food will require a forest industry to be a companion to it.

This site has lasted longer than the area around it mainly because it is on a rocky  ridge.
It may produce enough for one family, but not a community.

The Blueberry ridge.

We are fortunate that our fibre is still being sold to the few remaining operating mills in Northern Ontario. The distance they now have to transport that fibre is adding costs to production that wasn't there in the past. Distance also adds the dreaded 'carbon footprint" .  So we will have blueberries in the future but we are now driving many more miles for that pleasure, too.

Local weekend festivals, for berries or fishing or sports rely on volunteers.  Volunteers come from communities. With our shrinking population due to loss of local industry our volunteer base is shrinking. So these very activities that try to bring in business to our local economy are feeling the stress.

Construction on a grand scale brings in workers and supplies some local jobs. Nipigon is looking forward to the next three to four years of construction of the "one of a kind" for Ontario of a four-lane highway bridge over the Nipigon River. www.nipigon.net has artist conception photos of this. They plan to market the construction as a tourist site. Usually road construction is something to be avoided but since this is the ONLY bridge that will get you across Canada it can't be avoided if you are driving, riding or walking.

While I am plugging Nipigon, we have a Tim Horton's , KFC and Robins on the highway, but "downtown"  the Nipigon Café "House Special" pizza is the best in Canada. And while you are in Nipigon visit the Nipigon Historical Museum on Front Street it's part of the "culture".