A recent study by the Friends of Temagami has identified over 4700 kilometres of canoe routes in Temagami. This is almost double the officially-recognized government figure of 2400 km. Also identified were 1300 km of winter-only travel routes.

Using the Historical Map of Temagami by Craig MacDonald, the Temagami Canoe Routes map published by the MNR, Canoeing Kayaking and Hiking Temagami by Hap Wilson, and records from camps, outfitters, and guides, the FOT has painted a picture far different from what the MNR would have us believe.

The study’s area includes all of Temagami, from Wanapitei Lake to Lake Temiskaming, and Tilden Lake to Matachewan. The MNR has been unable to say how it calculated its 2400 km of canoe routes, or exactly what area is covered in their definition. Their 2400 km measurement has been in use for quite some time, and has remained constant despite major changes to the boundary of the area they call Temagami over the last 30 years.

The FOT study also identified 200 km of canoe routes which have been lost over the last 110 years to logging, roads, private land development, hydroelectric flooding, and mining.

Temagami’s 4700 km of canoe routes compares to 1500 km in Algonquin Provincial Park, 3900 km in the Quetico/Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and 3000 km in Wabakimi Provincial Park. Of these four major canoeing destinations, Temagami is the only one not entirely protected.

Photo courtesy of Laurence Lue, Creative Commons.