Superintendent Robin Reilly says that Quetico, like other large parks worldwide, is being challenged to go beyond providing its visitors with an evocative or contemplative experience in a pristine setting. In the last decade parks have been increasingly tasked to maintain biological diversity and to provide opportunities to study the ecological interactions that inform the management of the whole landscape.

“In short, parks need to continue as places for personal renewal but extend to being natural sanctuaries and outdoor observatories,” he says. “As part of that exercise we want a better understanding of wildlife populations and forest conditions. We need to take our many years of field records and transfer this onto more modern tools such as computerized geographic information systems. This will enable us to produce regular ‘State of the Park’ reports.”

Since no park exists in isolation of its surrounding landscape, the Park Biologist has to have an understanding of forest management as well as fishing and hunting activities on surrounding lands, including those in the U.S.

A review of the Quetico Park Management Plan is expected to begin this spring. The review is an infrequent occurrence, the current 1995 Park Policy representing a revision to the Master Plan of 1977, and presents an opportunity to shape the Park for future generations. The public process starts with the posting of an Invitation to Participate (Terms of Reference) on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry (http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/ebr/english/). Public and interest groups are invited to submit written comments.

The Quetico Foundation’s comments about park management will reflect our focus on preservation of the park’s wilderness values and ecological integrity. We ask others who are interested in the Quetico wilderness to make known their concerns and interests to Quetico Provincial Park Staff.

I get this question regularly… and it lies at the root of many park issues. The safest answer comes from the Park’s Management Plan which states that the Park is to “preserve in perpetuity……..for the people of Ontario”. In other words: for all Ontario residents, forever. So is that the right answer ? Are there other answers ?

Quetico Park is undergoing a management plan review in 2006. How we manage the Park flows logically from an understanding of the Park’s purpose. We need input from all the ‘owners’, including those who don’t use words. As ideas are offered and evaluated it is helpful to interpret them within the context of larger beliefs, attitudes and assumptions. ‘Whose Park is this anyway?’ is a good place to start.

A particularly interesting activity in 2005 was the processing of large tree “cookies” cut in 2004 by a MNR, Foundation and FON crew at the site of the Pines blowdown. With the help of Quetico Park’s workshop staff, these large red pine samples were sawn into manageable slices that revealed significant information about the frequency of windstorms and fires. The Pines site has been popular for camping and picnicking since very early times, with consequent frequent small fires. In contrast, wind storms flatten whole stands or thin them radically, which promotes more intense but less frequent regeneration events.

The cookies were sent on to the tree ring laboratory in Tucson, Arizona where they are being used to construct a flood history for the Red River Valley.

The 2005 summer crew assisted the research of University of Waterloo’s Dr. Roger Suffling (a Trustee of the Foundation), Dr. Nancy Luckai of Lakehead University, and Scott St. George of Environment Canada as well as that of Waterloo graduate students.

The Foundation is grateful to the numerous individuals and the following organizations whose generous financial support made the Program possible.
The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation
The Saint Paul Foundation
The Dalglish Family Foundation
RBC Foundation
J.P. Bickell Foundation
Helen McCrea Peacock Foundation
F.K. Morrow Foundation
The George Lunan Foundation
HRDC Canada

In addition the Foundation extends their heartfelt thanks to the local Atikokan support of our Program including: Souris River Canoes, Atikokan High School, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Lakehead University, Canoe Canada, Mink Lake Junior Ranger Camp and the Atikokan Intergenerational Centre for the Arts.

This year’s program is gearing up and is expected to be equally as exciting!

Looking to the future, The Quetico Foundation is planning to launch a new program that will educate youth from families of new Canadians about the critical importance of maintaining Quetico as a pristine wilderness. The Foundation hopes to achieve this by sending youth on what it believes will be life changing canoe trips in the Park.

“Youth are our future business and political leaders,” Foundation Chair Chris Dobson says. “They often come from cultures that have no knowledge of our wilderness values. We hope to encourage them to value our spectacular natural environment.” This new initiative has been made possible by a substantial bequest last year from the estate of Norma R. Ridley, widow of John B. Ridley, whose own bequest 20 years earlier supports many Quetico projects such as the Library and Summer Student Research Program. Details of how the Norma R. Ridley and John B. Ridley Wilderness Youth Program will operate are being developed. The Foundation is consulting with educational agencies on how best to implement what promises to be a very ambitious program for the future of Quetico.

The Quetico Foundation is pleased to announce that it has received an extremely generous $300,000 bequest from the Margery J. Warren estate to support scientific and ecological research in Quetico Provincial Park. Margery Warren, a long time supporter of a number of research and education focused charities, wished to recognize her husband Edwin Warren for his lifetime career in the mining industry and his interest in the issues associated with environmental protection and conservation. The Foundation is currently evaluating several options to determine the direction of its future research. Suggestions for research projects should be directed to Arthur Saunders, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee.

When I first learned of the summer student research program I thought that the job sounded interesting but that it wasn't for me. I was dead wrong. I learned more this summer than I have any other summer working in the wilderness, and I had fun while doing it. The Foundation did a great job of bringing the group together and supporting us through the summer. I was the first American to have the privilege to work for the student research program. Needless to say I was nervous because the research we do is very important, but Glenda and everyone at the Foundation really made me feel at home. The program is a great way to get students interested in the conservation and management of wild lands. It allows the student a chance to get out in the real world and make a difference. That difference, however, is not limited to research. A part of that difference comes from the lifelong friends we've made and the memories that we'll share for the rest of our lives. I would like to take this opportunity to thank The Quetico Foundation and its Board of Trustees, The Ministry of Natural Resources, the Town of Atikokan and my fellow group members for a summer I'll never forget.

Bradley Peterson

More than 100 outdoor enthusiasts attended the Foundation’s annual gala dinner at the Ontario Club in Toronto last Fall. Highlights of the Foundation’s main fundraising event were a Souris River Canoe raffle as well as a Silent Auction featuring wildlife paintings, sculptures and carvings, paddles, bike trips, and provincial parks canoe trips.

Guest speaker John Jennings, Director of the Canadian Canoe Museum and Professor of History at Trent University, gave a fascinating talk and slide show presentation on the History of the Canoe in Canada.

Mark your calendars now for this year’s dinner: October 18, 2006.

April 28-30th – Mid-West Mountaineering Adventure Expo in St.Paul, Minnesota. Come and see us at our Booth next to Ontario Parks and attend our soon to be announced Foundation event!

May 6th – The Quetico Foundation Annual Canoe Day on the Grand River sponsored by Grand Experiences of Paris Ontario. Call the Foundation Office to sign up for an exciting summer paddling warm up!

October 18th – Annual Canadian Fundraising Dinner in Toronto.