Fellow Lake Lovers,
We’ve reached the halfway point in Stage 4 of the process to develop the 2022-2032 Kenora Forest Management Plan (FMP). The next 30 days will be the final consultation period before the FMP is finalized and it proceeds to the last stage and harvesting begins. The deadline is September 3, 2021. The following is an update on the Foundation activities and the status of matters with the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry (MNR) in relation to the FMP.
Foundation Website
I’m pleased to advise that our website is up and running and open for business. The website will be our portal for timely communication, relevant information, membership, sponsorship, and fundraising. It is being updated on a continuing basis. I encourage you to visit it at https://cwbstewardship.com and pass the link on to your lake neighbors and friends. The MNR is very restricted in its communication of the FMP and there are still many cottagers in CWB that are unaware of the FMP and its implications to them. Please make an effort to pass on the above link. We need every Clearwater Bay cottager to sign up and by so doing demonstrate our objection to the proposed environmental harm.
Foundation Membership
With the launch of our website, we can now formally process memberships. Memberships are all individual. A membership costs only $50.00 annually per person. They serve two purposes. They allow us to identify and represent the strength of our Foundation. We are a community that has gone unrepresented and for the most part ignored. Despite the effects of the pandemic on travel in the area, until we forced the issue there has been no attempt by the MNR to reach out to the Clearwater Bay cottagers. Collectively we can be a powerful voice that can carry the message to other stakeholders and the MNR. I encourage you to take the time now to apply for membership. Please have as many of your household sign up as you can, as each one of them should be represented, especially when a cottage represents multiple generations. Membership fees will go to defer the cost of the administration of the Foundation.
Fundraising
Our fundraising committee has started its work of reaching out directly to concerned cottagers. The response has been generous. A number of families have already made the commitment to donate $10,000 per cottage, even before our formal fundraising efforts are fully underway. While not everyone is able to make that level of donation, the committee members will be continuing to contact members to enlist their financial support. We have a long way to go to reach our goal. We also encourage you to reach out to Dave MacAngus and his team (contact information below) if you feel you want to donate. The funds we raise are needed to support the costs already incurred in setting up the Foundation, developing communications and a public relations strategy, including our website, enlisting legal representation, and engaging environmental expertise and related scientific reports. As you will see later in this report, we are slowly making ourselves heard and putting together a solid case for protecting Clearwater Bay. All of this takes funding, and we envision the costs to mount a successful campaign being in the several hundreds of thousands of dollars, if we cannot convince the MNR of the necessary changes to the FMP as part of the Stage 4 consultation.
Foundation Sponsorship
With the launch of our website, we can now also welcome corporate sponsorship. Sponsorship will be recognized on the website in a special area. Our sponsors will have visibility by all our members and those visiting the website. The support of the business community for the work of the Foundation recognizes the significant economic group represented by the hundreds of Clearwater Bay cottagers. The more people that join for a membership, the greater the likelihood of our attracting corporate sponsors.
UPDATE
Consultants’ Reports
We have engaged both terrestrial and water ecology experts to assess the impact of the FMP. Our interim water ecological report has concluded that the FMP will exert a significant negative influence on the water quality and mercury contamination of Clearwater Bay. We expect an interim report from our terrestrial expert very soon.
MNR
Our Position:
The Foundation’s position in regard to the FMP, can be summarized as follows:
The current proposed FMP does not consider the values and priorities required by the MNR’s own regulations, policies, and procedures.
The values that must be considered include: the numerous areas of concern unique to Clearwater Bay; the impact of clearcutting in heavy populated areas of existing environmental sensitivity; the significant and highly regarded tourist destination; the local endangered species; the stated priorities and initiatives of other stakeholders in the Clearwater Bay and Lake of the Woods areas and the need for an appropriate and meaningful consultation with all stakeholders including cottagers.
Specifically, the proposed FMP is inconsistent with the MNR’s own restrictions on Clearwater Bay that have been designed to protect the water quality and its fragile lake trout habitat.
The proposed FMP fails to consider:
- Forests are an integral part of the health of the ecosystem by acting as filters to absorb and reduce harmful nutrients from entering the lake
- An excess of nutrients creates algae blooms that take over the shoreline and reduce oxygen levels in the water
- The disruption to the ecosystem threatens the lake trout and more than a dozen other endangered wildlife species
Written and teleconference submissions have been made to the MNR and are ongoing.
Meeting with the Minister:
Representatives of the Foundation had a video conference with Greg Rickford (the MPP from the Kenora – Rainy River district and newly appointed Minister of the MNR), on July 13, 2021. The Minister indicated an understanding of the Foundation position, expressed a desire for there to be a resolution, but noted he would not intervene in the planning process. He advised that his communications and Kenora staff would be in touch with us, which has yet to occur.
Meeting with Miisun – FMP Architect:
I did meet with the senior forester for Miisun (the sub-contractor of the license holder for the Kenora Forest) on July 26, 2021, and we had a good exchange of information. Foundation executive and our consultants are planning to have further meetings with Miisun, as FMP architect, aimed at achieving a mutually acceptable FMP. While the MNR has delegated the development of the FMP to Miisun, Miisun is required to prepare the FMP pursuant to the MNR regulations, policies, and procedures.
Timing:
If we can convince the MNR as mutually acceptable changes to the FMP before the September 3, 2021, deadline, the FMP will proceed to Stage 5 without further challenge by the Foundation. If the needed changes to the FMP will not be made, the Foundation will participate in the formal issue resolution process and take such other steps as are necessary to challenge the MNR’s approval of the FMP, which may involve a legal challenge and extensive public communications.
Foundation Activity
Our dozens of volunteers have been working hard at advancing the work of the Foundation in the areas of website, membership, communications, finance, administration, fundraising and legal.
Thanks to everyone who has volunteered their time and/or their corporate resources and to all of you for your generous financial support. These contributions are so needed and so appreciated. Of course, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact any one of our Board members.
Regards,
Jim
James Ferguson Q.C.
cc. David MacAngus
Fundraising Chair