Acknowledgements:  This year’s back-country crews are to be commended for their dedication and hard work.  MNR received many positive comments from the public about these individuals and their efforts.  Crew members include Alison Smith, Steve Lewis, Amanda Jewell, Andrew McLean (Crown Land); and Ontario Parks’ crews: Kirk MacKinnon and Abi Max (Finlayson PP); Dave Ward and Lucas Beaver (Samuel D. Champlain PP)

Start Date:  June 01, 2009

End Date:  September 07, 2009

Primary Objectives:  Maintenance and data collection of portages and designated campsites in the Temagami Crown Land Maintenance Zone 1, including the 5 interior Provincial Parks.

Table A:  2009 Trip Summary:

Table B:  Comparison: 2008 vs 2009 Season

General Comparison of 2008 and 2009 Interior Maintenance Program

            The 2009 program was significantly shorter than the previous 2008 season, yet crews accomplished about the same amount of maintenance.  And, thanks to a concerted effort by backcountry crews, more visitors were contacted than the previous year.

Visitor Interactions: 

             Again this year, contact with users was positive.  Crews made a special effort to interact with all users.  Education about backcountry ethics and responsible travelling in the interior was emphasized and was generally well received.  People were pleased to see MNR in the backcountry, and were grateful for the work we were doing.  Generally, users were most appreciative of the thunder-boxes and the cleared, well-signed portages.  Some users expressed concerns with specific campsites (ie privies full, scattered tissues, garbage, etc) which were then given priority for maintenance by our crews. 

One member of each crew was a designated Ontario Parks Warden, and enforcement and\or compliance was exercised within the park boundaries.  Most travellers were in compliance, however several groups did not have camping permits.  These groups were given the choice of receiving a fine, or purchasing the permits when finished their trips.  In every case canoeists chose to pay for the permits, and in every case they complied with this arrangement.  Some campers had more than the allowed 9 persons on a campsite.  In an attempt to educate, and accepting their lack of awareness of this rule, they were given a warning and told to pass this information along to their camp directors.

Maintenance Concerns:

Portages:  Most portages required cutting and clearing of blow-downs and widening of the trail.  Yellow portage signs were installed at both ends and also at confusing intersections along the portages.  Flagging tape or ‘rock cairns’ were sometimes used to lead users along the correct path, and incorrect sections were blocked-off or decommissioned.  This year crews continued to improve and widen portages that had been maintained last summer.  Portages that had not been maintained in 2008 had complete inventory and digital GPS data collected, and subsequently entered into PIRA and the North Bay District data files.

  Recommendations:  Further brushing is required on many portages to widen the path.  Portage signs seem to disappear from one year to the next, so signage must be annually monitored.  Blow-downs will continue to need clearing.  Continue GPS, and tombstone data collection on portages that have not received maintenance in 2008 or 2009.  Document and report future maintenance in the Trip Reports.

Campsites (Privies):  Most of the properly built and installed privies were functioning well.  These privies were treated with Septo-Clean to reduce the waste and prolong the life of the existing hole.  Some were too full and were relocated with a new hole in a nearby location.  Any unacceptable privy structures with a variety of designs, were removed and destroyed.  Inappropriate location, poor construction, absence of a hole, damage to living trees , and accessibility to vectors were some of the reasons for removal of these installations.  Approximately 40 new installations of MNR-built privies were made throughout the interior on designated campsites that met the standards of appropriate privy site conditions. 

Recommendations:  Continue to install proper privies on campsites with appropriate locations and conditions to meet Ontario Parks standards.  Monitor and take action to eliminate inappropriate privies when they are discovered.  Continue with a regular maintenance program of treatment using Septo-Clean, or another environmentally acceptable product to reduce the mass, to increase the longevity of these privies.  Continue GPS, and tombstone data collection on privies not previously identified.  Document and report privy maintenance as completed.

Campsites (Garbage):  As observed in previous years, the more accessible campsites had the most litter.  As we travelled further into the back-country, the amount of garbage decreased.  Cross Lake has a chronic garbage problem which can likely be attributed to a few thoughtful individuals.  Lake Temagami and Lady Evelyn Lake have manageable garbage problems that can be addressed with annual clean-ups.  Anima Nipissing Lake was remarkably clean this year.  Very nice surprise.  The more interior areas have garbage directly proportional to their ease of access.  This makes cleanup somewhat easier in that our crews were able to drive a truck, or a large motor-boat to most of the messiest campsites.

Recommendations:  Extraction of garbage will continue to be part of the annual tasks, however MNR presence and ongoing education of the public will hopefully reduce the magnitude of this problem. 

MNR needs to pursue partnership opportunities for clean-up of larger Front Country “thunder lakes” (ie large motor boat lakes).  Partners may include youth camps, lakes associations, municipalities, outfitters, and any other interested groups or individuals.  All clean-up work needs to be documented and put on file.

Campsites (Environmental Impact):  Damage to trees with axes and nails was observed at every site.  Compaction of the soil was prevalent on the more popular sites.  Many sites had numerous stumps from live trees that were cut for fuel-wood.  The heavily used sites have little readily accessible fuel-wood and required importing fuel from off the site.

Recommendations:  Continued monitoring of heavily used and damaged sites is required.  MNR needs to support campsite rotation to reduce the on-site impact.  This would require creation of some new campsites in high use areas, which would then allow temporary or permanent closure of over-used sites.

Boat Caches:  This year crews inventoried all boat caches encountered on trip.  Inventory included collecting GPS coordinates, completion of data collection sheets, and photographs.  Effort was made to identify the owners of the boats for future management actions.  MNR tags or notices to the boat owners were not given out in the field at this time.  In some cases, too many boats are cached (ex. 32 boats at Whitewater Lake).  Other lakes have garbage concerns (ex. Spawning Lake).  And at others, boats are abandoned or sunken, sometimes with motors still attached (ex. Eileen Lake, Florence Lake, Trethewey Lake).

Recommendations:  Within Provincial Parks, notice needs to be given to the owners of these unauthorized boats, to have them removed within a reasonable time.  On Crown Land, a strategy needs to be developed to limit or eliminate boat caches, and\or at least make users responsible for care and clean-up of these areas.

Designated Lookouts:  All designated lookouts were inventoried, and information was captured digitally, and entered in Parks or Crown data bases.

Land Use Permits (LUPs):  There are 133 LUPs on Crown Land in Zone 1, both inside and outside Provincial Parks.  LUPs in the remote backcountry were inspected as encountered along the canoe routes.  This inspection data was entered into Parks and North Bay District data bases. 

Recommendations:  LUPs in areas not covered this year will be inspected in the future.

UNAUTHORIZED Activities: 

All unauthorized activities such as Occupations (U.O.s), trails and roads, structures, fuelwood cutting, motorized vehicle activity, hunting, excessive camping (>21 days), dumping, etc. were noted and reported.

Enforcement Concerns:     

            Camping in excess of 21 days, Unauthorized Occupations, damage to the environment, leaving garbage (littering), camping in a Provincial Park without a permit, and having more than the allowed 9 persons per campsite, are all concerns our crews encountered in 2009. 

Recommendations:  Enforcement presence (Park Wardens and C.O.s) and continued effort by our Interior Rangers to educate the public, will help to address these concerns.  Document and report all occurrences.

Fish & Wildlife:

            Crews made note of interesting or unusual wildlife encounters during their trips.  Bald Eagles seemed to be of great abundance this year, although no active nests were found.  Few moose were observed, and bears did not seem to be bothering anyone this summer.  Spruce Grouse seemed as abundant as Ruffed Grouse.  Some interesting snakes and turtles were seen briefly, but positive identification could not be made.  One Lynx was observed by Amanda Jewell in Shiningwood Bay, and a Bobcat was caught and released from a duck-banding trap by Mike Regis (the cat ate some ducks).  Few trout were angled in the ‘Trout Streams”, but many Yellow Perch were found in these waters.

MNR Working with our Partners

As this is the second year of MNR’s Interior Crown Land Maintenance Program, it is becoming evident that working more efficiently with our Partners will be necessary for the success of this work.

Our crews are not able to effectively maintain this vast network of canoe routes alone.  A strategy is needed to engage the participation of interested users of this resource.

Specifically, MNR needs to pursue partnership opportunities for clean-up of larger Front Country “thunder lakes” (ie large motor boat lakes).  Partners may include youth camps, lakes associations, municipalities, outfitters, and any other interested groups or individuals.  All clean-up work needs to be documented and put on file.

 Efforts will be made to work closer with other interested user-groups and individuals.