Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to voice opposition to the proposal to amend area specific Crown land use policies for Lac Seul General Use Area ( G2518) and Red Lake General Use Area (G2514) to allow potential sale of Crown land for the purpose of cottage lot development within the boundaries of the Township of Ear Falls. This is amendment to the Area-specific Crown Land Use policy #2019-001 (2019).
The remote recreational character of Lac Seul coupled with the healthy fishery are the reasons guests come to the fishing camps located on Lac Seul. Customers tell us that there are road accessible lakes closer to their homes, or not as far north in Ontario, where they can find adequate fishing, but nowhere else to experience the immense sense of isolation, on a lake where development is not allowed to spoil the pristine, lonely calm of the majesty that is Lac Seul. This "Jewel of the North" has provided this remote recreational experience to successive generations of fishermen since the late 40's, and the outfitter industry on Lac Seul has helped support the local economy through the downturns subsequent to the closing of the Griffith MIne, the contraction of the forest products industry, and the idling of the Ear Falls Sawmill. As the everyday citizens which comprise Municipal Councils flail around looking for opportunities to augment their coffers, cottage lots on Lac Seul have been proposed since the 1960's. These Councils are not comprised of Land Use Planners, Fisheries or Wildlife Biologists, Tourism Marketers, nor have the majority held degrees in any field.
The importance of Lac Seul to the regional economy has been evidenced by the creation of enhanced fisheries management, previous land use planning , and the creation of the Lac Seul Advisory Board. Millions of dollars and thousands of man hours with careful consideration have gone into establishing the status-quo.The Lac Seul Advisory Board , comprised of representatives from forestry, municipalities, First Nations, and tourism interests on the lake have supported and maintained the position of no new cottages lot development. The regional importance of the Lac Seul fishery is evidenced by the high usage of the two public boat launches within twelve miles of town. The launch at Scout Bay is used by tourists, cottagers and local anglers from Perrault, Cedar,and Wabaskange Lakes, and by similar anglers from areas as far away as Vermilion Bay and Dryden. The launch at Gold Pines is used by tourists and cottagers from Lake Wenesaga, locals, and areas to the north, west, and east of Ear Falls. It is undeniable that cottagers add to the fishing pressure, particularly when one sees the pressure coming from existing cottages on Rat Bay on Lac Seul, Wenesage Lake and Perrault Lake. The clientele using a "bootleg" camp are already breaking the law, and are unsupervised, whereas at an established resort there is peer pressure and owner supervision. Much consultation has occurred regarding the Province's inability to address these situations.

The greatest gift to the health of the Lac Seul fishery , after the implementation of the 18''-21' slot size, was the 2008 recession. Within three years most of us lost about 50% of our business but are steadily regaining that ground. Many businesses have young, enthusiastic new owners that are good marketers in this electronic society. Pressure on the fishery is increasing from tourism and locals alike. Case in point is the two year old "Catch and Kill" Walleye tournament on Lac Seul. While representatives from the Ear Falls Council came to both the Lac Seul Advisory Board and the Ear Falls-Perrault Falls Outfitters Association to look for support for the tournament, representatives from neither group were invited to be on the planning committee or since. Our historical stewardship of protecting the big spawning females would have encouraged the kill only one big fish over a two day tournament and dispense entirely with the one extra big fish for an additional fifty dollars. These two measures alone would reduce the kill of invaluable and irreplaceable spawning females by two thirds. Clearly this Municipal initiative is not concerned with the health of the fishery.

There is a residential housing development on the shores of the English River where it meets Lac Seul . For the last several decades there are usually one or two of these houses for sale; predominant reason for selling are the exorbitant taxes. With the taxes for cottages likely being much less, it will take many years for the town to recoup the high cost of road building to access a new development. Detector Lake which is within the municipal boundary has a road and power running right to it. There are other options.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry application of this amendment detail their efforts to inform outfitters of their proposal. Four our of the five businesses I contacted were in the dark. Nebulous mitigation measures to ameliorate the "percieved" negative impacts to tourism at the time of land disposition are alluded to, but if the measures are ineffective as experience has taught us to believe, it will be too late. It would behoove the Ministry to consult more with their old experienced game wardens, rather than their Provincial political masters. Further, this should not be considered a minor amendment because it clearly is a major departure.

Lac Seul has been a Hydro Reservoir since 1926. From our representation on the Lake of the Woods Water Control Board we know that Manitoba Hydro once wrote a letter to the Red Lake MNR discouraging cottage lot development on Lac Seul. Cottage lot development should only be used as an economic development tool when it does not have a negative impact on the existing usages already in place.