Wolf
Lake Gathering Trip Report / July 2007
A meeting was held in July 2007 to discuss ways to help save the Wolf Lake Old Growth and include it in the Chiniguchi Waterway Provincial Park. You can read Norm Head's article about the gathering and the ideas that were discussed.
July
2007 Wolf Lake Gathering Trip Report by Norm Head
Wolf
Lake Old Growth Red Pine under threat
The
Wolf Lake area has become a popular paddling destination in recent
years, largely due to the spectacular scenery that it offers.
Often overlooked, however, is the fact that the Wolf Lake area
represents the largest remaining Old Growth Red Pine forest in
Canada - and most likely in the world. The trees that make up
Wolf Lake's forests average 260 yeas in age and cover over 1600ha
of land. The area has survived several major forest fires, mining
and exploration activity, and even some localized logging, however,
this magnificent pocket of Old Growth remains.
Today,
however, this Old Growth forest is faced with a new threat.
Due to the fact that existing mining claims overlap the entire
Wolf Lake region, this area was left out of the Chiniguchi Waterway
Provincial Park. This is particularly worrisome due to the fact
that without the protection that only a Park would offer, the
fate of these trees is uncertain.
The
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources refers to this process
as "disentanglement", and has yet to make a final
decision on the fate of Wolf Lake's Old Growth forest. Will
they include it in the Waterway Park? At the very least, will
it hold it's current status of Forest Reserve? Only time will
tell.
However, the time to speak up is now. Contact Donna Cansfield, Minister of Natural Resources at dcansfield.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org and voice your support for protection of Wolf Lake’s Old Growth forest.
Also
see related stories:
Wolf
Lake Old Growth Red Pine by Brian Back
Ancient
Forest Exploration and Research
