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| Temagami’s Most Endangered Wilderness 2009 |
| Monday, 05 October 2009 19:41 |
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Temagami’s Most Endangered Wilderness 2009 This is the fourth annual edition of the Friends of Temagami’s Most Endangered Wilderness. We are seeking your assistance in protecting these special places. With each area you will read about what actions you can take. See www.friendsoftemagami.org and our next newsletter for more information. Don’t forget to join the Friends of Temagami Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter (@friendstemagami)!
As part of the 2010-2020 Sudbury Forest Management Plan, Vermillion Forest Management (VFM) has requested permission from Ontario Parks to allow a temporary bridge over the Sturgeon River. The bridge is proposed for the middle of the last remaining roadless stretch of the Sturgeon River. VFM says it needs this bridge to make the hauling of logs from the Solace Wildlands to Domtar’s Nairn Centre Mill economically feasible. There is other eligible timber in this area as well as land eligible for prospecting and mining; meaning this temporary crossing may well become permanent. Also, there is extensive illegal motorized access downstream of the proposed crossing and the province has been unable or unwilling to stop it. FOT is concerned about the precedent this will set for new roads in Ontario’s provincial parks. Add to that MNR’s inability to enforce current access control restrictions and this proposed bridge looks less appealing all the time. Finally, the two-year old Temagami Area Park Management Plan clearly prohibits new roads in the Sturgeon River Provincial Park! Friends of Temagami expects Ontario Parks to maintain the integrity of the Sturgeon River Provincial Park while working to stop the illegal access which currently occurs. What you can do: Ontario Parks is currently assessing the VFM proposal. Please stay tuned to our webpage, newsletter, Facebook, or Twitter. If there is an opportunity for public comment, FOT will mount an aggressive publicity and letter writing campaign.
Nastawgan Trails Inc. (www.nastawgantrails.org) built the Ottawa-Temiskaming Highlands Trail; a wilderness hiking trail from the town of Latchford to Grand Campment Bay on Lake Temiskaming. Some have called the 100 plus kilometre trail, “more beautiful than B.C.’s Stein Valley.” The OTHT was built with all the proper approvals from the Ministry of Natural Resources, but in the recently approved 2009-2019 Temagami Forest Management Plan, it was only afforded a 30 m reserve plus a 30 m modified reserve. NTI had requested a variable reserve of up to 250 m, depending on the local terrain and vegetation. The Ministry of the Environment has refused to grant an Environmental Assessment, removing the last obstacle to the Plan’s implementation. The area from Nagle Bay south to Owain Creek is now threatened by logging. Viewscapes from many trail lookouts have no protection. NTI has contacted a lawyer and their Board has passed a motion to pursue litigation. What you can do: Nastawgan Trails requests that you contact Gord Miller, Ontario’s Environment Commissioner,
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. Ask him to review the MOE refusal to grant an Environmental Assessment on the 2009-2019 Temagami Forest Management Plan. Please copy the letter to the Minister of the Environment, John Gerretsen,
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, the Minister of Tourism, Monique Smith,
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, and the Minister of Natural Resources, Donna Cansfield,
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. For more information, or to join NTI, contact www.nastawgantrails.org. Update on the 2008 Most Endangered Wilderness
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