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January |
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JANUARY 29
George Mathias of Bear Island led a crew that salvaged a three-quarter-ton truck that went through the ice of Lake Temagami on January 11.
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Canoe route maintenance in 2007 Canoe-route maintenance has always been a concern, but now that Ontario Parks is charging hefty camping fees, in part to cover maintenance costs, it is a hot topic. Parks is not alone doing upkeep – portage and stream clearing, campsite cleanup, and thunderbox installation and replacement – in the backcountry. A lot, if not more, is done by the sweat of Good Samaritans. Ontario Parks
Ontario Parks launched in 2004 and MNR (and
here we mean the rest of the ministry) re-started this year, a canoe-route maintenance program
abandoned by the Ontario government in the late 1980s. In the interval Ontario Parks had two wardens between May and September in the backcountry parks (excluding Temagami River and Chiniguchi River, which are not currently managed). This is the most active -– and expensive – crew in operation, but its time is also divided by training, enforcement (laying fines), bureaucratic imperatives, and performing maintenance outside of the parks in September (under contract to MNR's Crown Land Field Services Division). Parks says that the wardens cover every park portage in a season
Questions remain about its effectiveness. Numerous thunderboxes in the parks are bursting and can't be used. Consequently, those campsites revert to a pre-thunderbox, hopscotch field.
Parks' standard for portage maintenance is to
clear portages to two metres width, remove impediments to walking and all safety
hazards, even trip hazards.
The crew clears deadfalls, the primary obstacle on trails, with a
chainsaw. A number of
canoeists have told me that they have seen the wardens, deep in the
backcountry, without a chainsaw, and skipping over deadfalls. Another interesting observation by canoeists is that the width of many trails, after wardens have gone through, is noticeably less than two metres. Municipality The Municipality of Temagami pulled together a last-minute, three-person crew that operated June to August. The town is politically driven by the notion that it should be funded to run the regional canoe-maintenance program proposed in the newly approved Temagami Integrated Plan (TIP). In an attempt to create a track record, it pulled together a demo program after it learned of some available money at MNR. The result was an inexperienced crew that did a disappointing job. Some of the work it scheduled didn't get done, and little of the work it did report as done could be verified by its supervisors, who couldn't agree amongst themselves what was accomplished. The municipality has never been involved in backcountry recreation and it showed. Good Samaritans
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| MAINTENANCE 2007 | AREA | |
| Parks |
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| Municipality of Temagami |
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| Temagami youth camps: Temagami, Project C.A.N.O.E., Keewaydin, Wabun, Wanapitei |
1. Leave campsite cleaner than found 2. Clear every portage to walk-with-a-canoe standard
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| Bill Buchan |
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| Friends of Temagami
(Bob Olajos) |
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| Nastawgan Network
(Brian Starr) |
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| Friends of Chiniguchi |
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| Kukagami Lake cottagers |
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| Northland Paradise Lodge (Doug Adams) |
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Sportsman's Lodge (George Robbins) |
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| Tim Bankerd |
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| Anonymous 1
(by choice) |
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| Anonymous 2
(by choice) |
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Ice hardens Freezing temperatures, dropping as low as minus 27 yesterday, since January 11 have hardened lake ice.
JANUARY 11 January thaw Above freezing temperatures melted most of the snow on the ice (and in the bush) and thinned ice.
JANUARY 4 Park fees drop, sort of MNR is lowering backcountry overnight-camping fees for Ontario's parks by 5 to 10 cents per night. That's not a typo.
Ontario Parks says the reduction reflects the
one percent drop in the GST,
* Residents of Canada There remains no fee for non-summer campers, motorboaters, ATVers, snowmobilers, day campers and other day use, so the burden of fees will continue to be borne by canoeists. Chiniguchi Park and Temagami River parks will not have fees this summer. Camping fees in Temagami backcountry parks began in 2004. This is the first decrease.
Backcountry parks with fees: Lady-Evelyn Smoothwater Wilderness Obabika River Sturgeon River Sturgeon River Addition Solace Makobe-Grays
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JANUARY
Lake Temagami by Adam Keevil Top photo: January 1 – Looking north up the North Arm with Devil's Mountain in the centre background and Rabbitnose Island in the right midground. Bottom photo: December 31 – Looking southwest with High Rock Island in the left background and the Southwest Arm in the right background. |
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Maps and information herein are not intended for navigational use, and are not represented to be correct in every respect. All pages intended for reference use only, and all pages are subject to change with new information and without notice. The author/publisher accepts no responsibility or liability for use of the information on these pages. Wilderness travel and canoeing possess inherent risk. It is the sole responsibility of the paddler and outdoor traveler to determine whether he/she is qualified for these activities. Copyright © 2000-2013 Brian Back. All rights reserved. We do not endorse and are not responsible for the content of any linked document on an external site.
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