Wolf Lake is an Ontario…

Wolf Lake is an Ontario treasure. The whole region bordering Temagami to the southwest deserves much more attention for the natural beauty it holds.

It does not deserve the fate of so many other Ontario gems. We have a vastly diminishing wilderness which must be protected at all costs. What makes Canada so special is our wild places and the history which these hidden places hold.

For many of us Wolf Lake is near and dear to our hearts. The views from the ridge above wolf lake are unparalleled in any of my 30+ backcountry canoe trips. As soon as you enter the channel into this lake it feels different. Close enough to civilization yet it feels so far removed. The lake itself is the crown jewel of many canoe routes through this region and a highlight for anybody who paddles it.

If it wasn’t for this lake I would never have ventured up highway 69 to Sudbury. Spend my money on the Comfort Inn, purchased a full tank of gas. Grabbed a breakfast and a dinner and also spend money on some last minute gear while in Sudbury. I would never have stopped at the Big Nickel and never thought to return back this way.

I would have stopped short at the French River, taken highway 11 up to Algonquin or the town of temagami or stayed home entirely.

You can’t easily quantify the value of such a beautiful lake. The cost to sleep there is free. But the money spent in the region to allow us to visit will disappear as soon as we lose our wilderness.

I wrote this as an avid outdoorsman but also as somebody who works for a corporation who’s purpose it to maximize profits. I understand that this opportunity can lead to profit and increase jobs. I understand that some people’s jobs are to make this happen. However we need to work collaboratively and understand that while we may stand to gain in the short term by mining, we are
forever losing our capacity to promote the region and encourage ecotourism.

If money and creating jobs is all that we are worried about you have that potential already without destroying our wild places.
Protect Wolf. Promote it. Increase the trail maintenance and create a provincial park. Expand on Chiniguchi Waterways Park. Create the opportunity and exposure and you stimulate your economy as is.

Let’s use this opportunity to keep Ontario beautiful. Let’s use this opportunity to keep The greater Sudbury region beautiful.

Our wild places are diminishing and once we exploit them we can never get them back. Wolf lake has always been special. Let’s keep it that way and not turn it into another short term endeavour that we look back on and think “remember how beautiful Wolf lake WAS?”

Let’s allows more people to realize how beautiful Wolf Lake IS.