[Paddlewise] Trip report: circumnavigation of the 6th Great Lake - Protect this area!

Hi,

The paddling community has in the past been involved in a number of projects
to improve our aquatic environments and to creating water trails of great
recreational value. This is often done the hard way in a "corrective manner"
(clean-up, getting access, removal of man-made structures to get back the
wilderness value etc.).

I would like to bring to your attention a wonderful opportunity to create a
protected and designated wilderness paddle area of immense value. I am
referring to what has been called the 6th Great Lake, namely Lake Nipigon in
Ontario, Canada. This very large rustic lake north of Lake Superior is truly
a wilderness area of great recreational value for kayaking. To give you an
idea I have included the following URL link:
http://128.255.228.51/LakeNipigon/index.htm which is a recent trip report
for a trip to Lake Nipigon by members of the Twin Cities Sea Kayaking
Association (TCSKA: www.TCSKA.org)

Due to Lake Nipigon's location far from major population areas, the very few
access points and the often very rustic shoreline this lake area has been
quite protected from disturbing developments often found in large lakes. In
fact, you can paddle for days in large sections of Lake Nipigon without
encountering other people, and experience a wonderful sense of remoteness
and tranquility in a very scenic and largely undisturbed wilderness
environment.

This may all soon change. Under the grand scheme of "ONTARIO'S LIVING
LEGACY" ( http://www.ontarioslivinglegacy.com/sites.html ) the Lake Nipigon
Basin has been designated as a signature site
 http://www.ontarioslivinglegacy.com/nipigon.html ). The Lake Nipigon Basin
Project currently under development will largely determine the future of
Lake Nipigon. Many commercial and non-commercial forces are fighting for
their "rights". The overwhelming big question remains: will this be a
development that in an irreversible way degrades this wilderness, perhaps to
a point where it will be injustice to call it a wilderness area. The answer
to this question depends to a large extent on the preliminary public hearing
that is an important step in the planning process.

I sincerely hope that we will get a solid representation from the paddling
community in this initial discussion of what to do (or NOT to do) with this
wonderful wilderness area.  Accordingly, I very strongly encourage you to
express your opinion in the important public hearing that is such a critical
step in the Nipigon Basin planning stage.

Please note that the analysis of public input and the preparation of the
final strategy for the Lake Nipigon Basin Signature Project is scheduled for
May 2002 to July 2002.

For your issues of concern you can contact Bob Pinder
(mailto:robert.pinder_at_mnr.gov.on.ca), Nipigon Basin Signature Site Project
Manager at (807) 887-0318 or by mail at: Ministry of Natural resources, 5
Wadsworth Drive, Nipigon, Ontario P0T 2J0.  Your input is most welcome.

Peace,

Peter

Peter Veng-Pedersen

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