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National Marine Conservation Area in Lake Superior - Backgrounder
25 October 2007
Ottawa, Ontario
After extensive consultations with north shore communities, First Nations, resource users and stakeholders, broad support has been demonstrated for the establishment of a national marine conservation area (NMCA) in Lake Superior. The proposed area extends from Thunder Cape at the tip of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park in the west, to Bottle Point just east of Terrace Bay, and out to the Canada-U.S. boundary. It includes the waters of Black Bay and Nipigon Bay, and encompasses over 10,000 square kilometres of lakebed and overlying waters as well as islands, shoals and some mainland.
National marine conservation areas are part of the Parks Canada family of protected areas. They consist of protected zones and cooperatively managed multiple-use areas where activities such as commercial fishing and shipping continue. Dumping, mining, oil and gas exploration and extraction are prohibited throughout these NMCAs.
In addition to protecting representative examples of each of Canada’s marine natural regions, NMCAs provide opportunities to learn about and experience these exceptional places and the cultures of the people who live there. National marine conservation areas are our legacy to future generations.
HISTORY
A Regional Committee of area stakeholders was appointed in 1998 to explore the merits of an NMCA and to report on its feasibility. The committee included representatives of eight north shore communities, boaters, commercial fishers, prospectors and mining developers, a First Nation community member and an environmental organization representative. After three years of extensive consultations with Superior stakeholders, the Regional Committee recommended that the federal and provincial governments move forward to designate the area. The committee also submitted recommendations for the future management of the area to provide guidance to governments during negotiations of the NMCA establishment agreement.
In 2001, an independent committee reviewed the work of the Regional Committee, endorsed their recommendation to proceed with an NMCA, and provided additional recommendations. With this review complete, the way was clear for negotiations to commence. Based on what it had learned during the feasibility study process, Parks Canada developed its vision for the NMCA. In 2002, this vision was presented to the public and received overwhelming support.
LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE NORTH SHORE
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world and holds about 10% of the global supply of freshwater. The shores of the NMCA showcase the region’s geology, prominently displaying its volcanic origins, as well as evidence of a meteorite impact. Fossils depicting the beginnings of life on earth dating back some 2.1 billion years can also be found here. These primitive life forms remnants are globally significant in terms of our understanding of evolutionary processes.
The lake basin was sculpted by glaciers as evidenced by striations scored into the water-worn rocks. Raised beaches are evidence of ancient shorelines now raised above the present lake level after the retreat of a mile-thick glacier that once covered most of North America. Much of the plant life present today reflects the harsh post-glacial climate. Over 25 species more often found in arctic or alpine locations have been recorded.
More than 70 species of fish inhabit the near-pristine waters, including lake herring, walleye, yellow perch, lake whitefish, lake trout and brook trout. Ring-billed and herring gulls, cormorants, great blue herons and white pelicans feed in these waters. All but the latter use island habitats for breeding during the late spring and early summer.
Human presence in this area dates back at least 5,000 years. Events that predate European contact are painted on rock faces adjacent to Superior and numerous rock structures called Pukaskwa pits can be found on raised beaches in the area. Early European explorers believed this great inland sea would provide passage west to the Orient. The fur trade that followed in their wake further developed Canada’s early economy and set the stage for the modern-day shipping industry on the Great Lakes.
There may be as many as 50 shipwrecks within the proposed NMCA. Jacques Cousteau characterized one of them as the most beautiful wreck in the world -- the 50 m luxury steam yacht, Gunilda, now lying in 75 m of water, ran aground and sank in 1911, after its millionaire-owner refused to pay piloting fees into safe harbour at Rossport.
