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Message |
paul_t
Member
Post Number: 20
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 6:33 pm: | 
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Save Temagami’s Heritage
This is to reiterate how important our input is to Temagami Integrated Planning (TIP). The previous thread regarding this topic has disappeared in a haze of campfire smoke.
Introduction:
To me, the issues are simple: preserve what is left of Temagami’s wilderness and protect the Nastawgan, the ancient travel routes that cross the entire district. These are Temagami’s greatest heritage assets. I realize logging is important to the area and that ATV use, hunting and house boating are fun and necessary to the tourism economy. However, if we lose the backcountry experience Temagami’s soul will be gone. The youth camps and canoeists will move on; and we will be left with cottage country and extraction industry. The features that make Temagami so very special are irreplaceable and they are rapidly disappearing.
Temagami Integrated Planning is a recreational plan for crown land use in Temagami and management plans for the parks and adjacent conservation reserves to the north and west of Lake Temagami. Public participation is actively encouraged by the MNR. This process is an opportunity to improve protection of traditional land uses, cultural heritage sites and preserve some of the roadless backcountry.
Other groups are actively pushing for ever more access, roads and fragmentation of the Temagami backcountry. We need to present an effective counterargument.
Discussion Points:
1. Protect the entire Temagami Nastawgan trail system as a cultural heritage site. Buffer all ancient Nastawgan travel routes, summer and winter with a minimum of a 300 meter allowance from all other uses, including roads, ATVs and resource extraction. The Temagami Nastawgan is the best example of its kind in the world. Treasure it, preserve it and promote it as the basis for four-season recreation in Temagami.
2. Establish a relatively undisturbed wilderness corridor involving the management areas to the north and west of Lake Temagami extending into the parks and conservation reserves. Prioritize park-related recreational values and prohibit development of new ATV trails in this area. Prohibit motorized recreational travel in the parks and conservation reserves. Adhere to the recommendations of the 1996 Temagami Land Use Plan.
3. Road access to Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Park via the Liskeard Lumber Road should end at Gamble Lake in keeping with Ontario Parks’ goal for a Wilderness Park
4. Recognize that traditional canoe routes are threatened by logging roads that cross portages and rivers.
5. Remove logging road access points when logging is completed. Replant roads for a quick return to nature following logging activities. This will moderate expectation and demands for public motorized access, while preventing the creation of unauthorized ATV trails and destruction of portages.
6. Develop designated ATV trails and areas according to the Temagami Land Use Plan in Integrated Management Areas along the Highway 11 corridor and Special Management Areas outlined in the Temagami Land Use Plan.
7. Develop and enforce a Crown Land Camping Policy with designated campsites, no damage to live trees, latrines installed and garbage controlled. Collect fees from all Crown Land users and apply revenue to support the maintenance and administration related to all recreational activities in the planning area.
8. The Temagami area should have a name for recreation management and tourism promotion to help support the above endeavors, such as Grey Owl Wilderness Area or Temagami-Nastawgan Recreation District.
Mailing Addresses:
A regularly mailed letter is preferable to an emailed one.
John Salo
Park Superintendent
Ontario Parks- Temagami
P.O. Box 38
Temagami, Ontario POH 2HO
Email: john.salo@mnr.gov.on.ca
Rick Calhoun
District Planner – North Bay District
3301 Trout Lake Rd
North Bay, ON P1A 4L7
Email: rick.calhoun@mnr.gov.on.ca
Hon. David Ramsay
Minister of Natural Resources
Whitney Block
6th Flr Rm 6630
99 Wellesley St W
Toronto, ON M7A 1W3
Email: dramsay.mpp.kirklandlake@liberal.ola.org
Conclusion
Feel free to cut and paste and use any of this material in your own letter. If you have any questions or need help feel free to contact me:
paulintemagami@bellsouth.net
Change is inevitable and it is happening now in Temagami, but this is a chance to protect, even improve four-season recreation and Temagami’s heritage. If you are on this forum you probably care about Temagami. I have other things to do too, but Temagami is worth fighting for so I keep writing this stuff. Please take a few minutes to write a letter or we can just let it slip away…
(Message edited by paul_t on January 13, 2006) |
paul_t
Member
Post Number: 21
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 6:41 pm: |
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Sample Letter #1
Dear Sirs:
As a Temagami area canoeist, I am concerned that competing interests are destroying many of the values and historic resources that make this area unique. I would like the TIP management team to address the following issues:
1. Recognize that roads that cross portages and rivers threaten traditional canoe routes. Plan so that roads required for industrial purposes do not interfere with canoe routes and implement and enforce stricter access controls on existing roads.
2. Remove roads, bridges and access points that are no longer required for industrial purposes. Replant roads for a quick return to nature following logging activities and install permanent access controls.
3. Recognize and protect all of the traditional travel routes inventoried on Craig MacDonald’s, “Historical Map of Temagami”. Establish 300m buffers around these historic trails and waterways from all roads, motorized trails and industrial activities.
4. Close the Liskeard Lumber road in the Lady Evelyn Smoothwater Wilderness Class Park at Gamble Lake and remove the two bridges crossing the Lady Evelyn River.
5. Ban all motorized travel in the Lady Evelyn Smoothwater Wilderness Class Park, the Sturgeon River, Obabika River and Solace Provincial Waterway Parks.
6. Close access to gated areas during the canoeing season, from May 1 to October 30.
7. Maintain existing access controls and motorized restrictions on Obabika Lake.
8. Formulate a Temagami Recreation Management Area plan to include the maintenance and protection of all historical travel routes on Crown Lands. Collect fees from all Crown Land users and apply revenue to support the maintenance and administration related to all recreational activities in the planning area.
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute.
Yours truly,
(Letter courtesy of Ed MacPherson and Chris Melanson)
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paul_t
Member
Post Number: 22
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 6:52 pm: |
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Sample Letter # 2
This detailed letter was written by Chris (C_Mel) and posted on CCR. It is available if you wish to send in a more comprehensive version.
http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/viewtopic.php?t =14588
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tsm
Member
Post Number: 44
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 8:07 pm: |
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Paul_t
Thanks for fanning away the SMOKE......my letters are in the mail. Thanks to Ed and Chris for the drafts. (letters that is!) |
doug_2
Member
Post Number: 94
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 8:44 pm: |
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Good letter guys....
Any thoughts about mining exploration and the infrastructure, legislation and potential impact involved with that? Temagami has a lot of high potential mining zones.....including some surrounding the wilderness park...
Activities such as staking, trenching, road building..not to mention what happens in the case of an actual mine..are all potential issues ? I'd steer clear of this subject if it wasn't for the FACT that mining potential is so high in certain parts of Temagami AND .....northern Ontario is on a big mining exploration boom RIGHT NOW.
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kim
Moderator
Post Number: 119
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 9:24 pm: |
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Reduce and/or eliminate road access via official provincial legislation and you will stop mining.
Every letter counts.
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kim
Moderator
Post Number: 120
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 9:25 pm: |
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but then again...I dont live up there.....
tough call. |
paul_t
Member
Post Number: 23
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 11:08 pm: |
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Sample Letter #3: My long winded submission
December 30, 2005
John Salo
Park Superintendent
Ontario Parks- Temagami
P.O. Box 38
Temagami, Ontario POH 2HO
Dear Mr. Salo
I am a Canadian/ American dual citizen and Temagami property owner living 1500 miles away. I spend most of the year looking forward to my yearly trip to Temagami. I travel to Temagami every year to canoe and camp and for the wilderness experience and unique beauty the region provides. This is Temagami’s greatest natural resource and needs to be protected and promoted.
Along these lines please consider the following suggestions:
1. Preserve the entire Temagami Nastawgan trail network as a cultural heritage site. Enforce a 300-meter buffer from logging or motorized activity on both sides of these trails. Native groups have used the Nastawgan for thousands of years, fur traders for hundreds of years and finally canoeists and youth camps, including the oldest canoe camp in the world, for the last one hundred years. The Temagami Nastawgan is the best example of its kind in the world. Treasure it, preserve it and promote it.
2. Establish a relatively undisturbed wilderness corridor from the north and west of Lake Temagami extending into the parks and conservation reserves. Prioritize park-related recreational values and prohibit development of new ATV trails in Special Management Areas 27, 34, 43, 45, 48, 49 and 50a (as defined by the Temagami Land Use Plan). Strictly limit future logging plans in these Special Management Areas and restrict public access from existing logging roads as outlined below in Suggestions 4 and 5. Prohibit motorized recreational travel in the adjacent parks and conservation reserves.
The Temagami Land Use Plan has already mandated these recommendations. These measures will protect the integrity of the entire wilderness ecosystem including the parks and adjacent conservation reserves. This will also heighten the experience for wilderness travelers in the area and make management and protection of the backcountry region less fragmented.
3. Road access to Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Park via the Liskeard Lumber Road should end at Gamble Lake. Remove bridges over the North and South Branches of the Lady Evelyn River in keeping with Ontario Parks’ goal for a Wilderness Park
4. Recognize that traditional canoe routes are threatened by logging roads that cross portages and rivers.
5. Remove logging road access points when logging is completed. Replant roads for a quick return to nature following logging activities. This will moderate expectation and demands for public motorized access, while preventing the creation of unauthorized ATV trails and destruction of portages.
6. Develop designated ATV trails and areas according to the Temagami Land Use Plan in Integrated Management Areas along the Highway 11 corridor and Special Management Areas 6, 10, 12, 22, 27 and 29. ATV use in Conservation Reserves adjacent to the parks should be only as stipulated by the Temagami Land Use Plan (in Smith Lake Conservation Reserve).
7. Develop and enforce a Crown Land Camping Policy with designated campsites, no damage to live trees, latrines installed and garbage controlled. Collect fees from all Crown Land users and apply revenue to support the maintenance and administration related to all recreational activities in the planning area.
8. The Temagami area should have a name for recreation management and tourism purposes to help support the above endeavors, such as Grey Owl Wilderness Area or Temagami-Nastawgan Recreation District.
I look forward to upcoming phases of planning and pray that the Ministry and Ontario Parks continue to work toward protecting the unique resource that is Temagami.
Respectfully submitted
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paul_t
Member
Post Number: 24
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 11:42 pm: |
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Doug:
I think your mining question is best answered by expecting MNR adherence to the 1997 Temagami Land Use Plan. They state they will do so in the TIP planning documents. The Temagami Land Use Plan specifies no mining in the conservation reserves. In addition, the Crown land Special Management Areas I mention in my letter (previous post) are designated to be areas where recreation, non-motorized trail development and “park-related activities”; not mining are emphasized.
There is going to be some mining, it is also part of the region’s heritage.
(Message edited by paul_t on January 13, 2006)
(Message edited by paul_t on January 13, 2006) |
doug_2
Member
Post Number: 95
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, January 14, 2006 - 11:04 am: |
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good point Paul |
paul_t
Member
Post Number: 25
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, January 15, 2006 - 10:20 am: |
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Doug:
I have learned so much from your posts. You have excellent insight and knowledge of the issues at hand. I hope you have submitted a letter. Right now MNR/ Ontario Parks is working on the key planning step Issues and Opportunities. It is time to write.
Paul
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betsy
Member
Post Number: 1
Registered: 01-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 1:47 pm: |
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This is a nice site and an EXCELLENT topic. I wrote a letter today. Thanks to all for their work |
kim
Moderator
Post Number: 121
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 10:04 pm: |
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betsy
thanks for writing the letter.
Most appreciated.
Kim |
paul_t
Member
Post Number: 26
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 8:59 am: |
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If you just haven’t got around to that letter yet….
Great Canadian artist, author, and award-winning film maker Bill Mason didn't enjoy writing letters either. His daughter Becky explains why he did it anyway:
"I asked Dad once why he wrote so many letters asking government officials to reconsider their stance on various environmental platforms. I figured it was odd for Dad to devote half a day of every week to letter writing when he was already so busy making his films and books about preserving our environment. He lifted a letter from his done pile and asked me to read it. As I read I was impressed at how polite and simple it was, I understood the message and also felt the passion he had for our disappearing wilderness. Dad told me that just one personal letter written to the government is important because they realize that if one person has written in; at least a hundred probably meant to write but never got around to it. It was a real eye opener for me that all letters short, long, learned, or just heart felt can accomplish the perceived impossible." - Becky Mason, CPAWS-OV member and volunteer (November 1998)
It's important to remember that our politicians are our elected representatives, and it's their job to listen to our concerns.
(from the CPAWS-Ottawa chapter website and posted elsewhere on Ottertooth by Kim)
Your help is needed. Contact me and I will be glad to put together a letter for you.
paulintemagami@bellsouth.net |
tsm
Member
Post Number: 45
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 9:54 pm: |
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Just curious......has anyone received a reply from any of their letters. None here! |
ed
Moderator
Post Number: 262
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 8:49 am: |
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tsn:
I would not expect a reply.
Somewhere in the background document or at one of the open houses they said they would not be able to respond to individual letters.If you send a letter to the Minister, you may get an acknowledgment of receipt, but I wouldn't count on that either. |
doug_2
Member
Post Number: 99
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 9:43 am: |
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Yes, I guess for the purposes of planning input, no actual "reply" will occur. They really should send an acknowledgemnet of receipt though, just so one can be sure the information was received.
BUT if you do happen to get a reply from the Minister, which sometimes does happen if a reply from the Minster is formally requested, that rarely means that he read and replied to the letter. It means that a civil servant has responded on Minister's behalf. Usually such letters of response are "generic", and meant to respond to what could be many letters on a similar theme. Usually these are letters received that question the government's curent position on a subject, (as opposed to something like planning input, where at least in theory decisions are yet to be made).
Those "form" reply letters are usually reviewed by many, before being finalized to ensure they deliver and "acceptable" government reponse. In some cases, where a letter breaks new ground, raises "red flags", or is deemed to be a potential issue with the media, the Minister would actually formally read the letter and formally and even personally "approve" the response. In other cases he passes on that repsonsibility to his staff. Either way, the Minister is "responsible" for the reply assuming it is a "minister's letter".
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paul_t
Member
Post Number: 31
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 10:00 am: |
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Doug:
Did I read in a post somewhere that you work or previously worked for Ontario Parks/ MNR. You have a lot of knowledge about the process.
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doug_2
Member
Post Number: 100
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 10:53 am: |
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Yes I did Paul; at one time.
(not any more) |
kim
Moderator
Post Number: 122
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 7:08 pm: |
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I received an e mail from John Salo.
He said that he got my email
I resent my original,because I did not think that they got it. |
c_mel
Member
Post Number: 84
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 12:57 pm: |
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Temagami Integrated Planning
Crown Lands
Canoe Routes and Heritage Trails
The Temagami Land Use Plan (TLUP) http://crownlanduseatlas.mnr.gov.on.ca/supportingd ocs/temagami/temanew.html recognizes the existence of historic canoe and travel routes and speaks directly to retaining the potential for new routes within the formal document and specifically within the List of Management Areas. The TLUP in fact makes reference to most of the issues that many of us have identified.
Much of the cynicism regarding the MNR’s intent to uphold these “values” has to do with ongoing activities that are detrimental to these historic travel routes, current and potential, without a comprehensive management scheme. The use, development and management of these routes would seemingly fall under the TIP, however it is the implementation of Temagami Land Use Plan that controls the actual land use activities affecting these areas.
The challenge is to make sure the identified values are upheld by the MNR. The TIP process must feedback into all activities governed by the TLUP – this includes forestry, roads, access and allowable uses.
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tsm
Member
Post Number: 47
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 27, 2006 - 7:23 pm: |
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Hey
Got a reply today from Rick Calhoun regarding my letter. Nice to see our thoughts and concerns are being looked at. |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 539
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - 9:40 am: |
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What did he say? |
tsm
Member
Post Number: 48
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - 4:03 pm: |
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Brian
Sorry for the delay in posting.
Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources Ministere des Richesses naturelles
3301 Trout Lake Road 3301 chemin Trout Lake
North Bay, ON P1A4L7 North Bay, ON P1A4L7
Tel: (705) 475-5550 Tel: (705) 475-5550
Fax: (705) 475-5500 Fax: (705) 475-5500
Marc Huot
February 21,2006
Dear Marc,
Thank you for providing us with comments in response to the release of the Background document for the Temagami Integrated Planning (TIP) project.
The planning process we have embarked upon includes a number of steps, each of which includes opportunity for stakeholder and public review and comment. All comments provided to the Ministry of Natural Resources, no matter how submitted (e.g. written submissions, verbal comments, or e-mail submissions), are considered by the planning team as it moves through the planning process and into subsequent stages.
As noted in documentation and information presented to the public regarding the TIP project, this planning process will not be a vehicle for making changes to the Temagami Land Use Plan. No new protected areas will be created through this planning process, nor will existing protected areas, such as provincial parks and conservation reserves, be reduced in size. No changes will be made to the permitted uses tables included in the Temagami Land Use Plan, although management areas, such as Conservation Reserves, may include 'zoning' to limit locations where some of the existing permitted uses actually occur. Management direction for uses or activities in parks must be consistent with provincial park policy.
I encourage you to remain involved in the TIP process and to continue to share your ideas on the management of the Temagami area with the planning team. The planning team can be contacted by mail at Ministry of Natural Resources, North Bay District, 3301 Trout Lake Rd., North Bay, ON P1A 4L7. The email address for TIP is TIP@mnr.gov.on.ca. For issues specifically related to Ontario Parks, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. John Salo, Park Superintendent Temagami Area. Mr. Salo can be reached at P.O. Box 38, Temagami, ON POH 2HO. His telephone number is 705-569-3205 and his e-mail address is iohn.salo@mnr.gov.on.ca. Questions or issues related to conservation reserves or unregulated Crown land should be directed to Mr. Rick Calhoun, North Bay District Planner at (705) 475-5546 or rick.calhoun@mnr.qov.on.ca.
Thank you again for advising me of your concerns and interests.
Rick Calhoun
North Bay District Planner
Sincerely,
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rt_kahuna
Member
Post Number: 16
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - 7:48 am: |
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FYI - I got the same response letter |
chris
Member
Post Number: 1
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - 12:00 pm: |
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Can anyone confirm Rick Calhoun's e-mail?
It doesn't seem to work for me... |
tsm
Member
Post Number: 49
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - 3:57 pm: |
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This is the one that worked for me.
rick.calhoun@mnr.gov.on.ca |
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Temagami general