Please be advised that the…

Please be advised that the Lac Seul Advisory Committee is in strict opposition to this request for a Minor Amendment to allow the MNR to consider the sale of Crown land.

To give you a bit of history and set the stage for our opposition about Lac Seul and the need for an Advisory Committee to the MNR.

“The Lac Seul Management Plan was approved in June, 1984 and over the years the MNR has received various types of proposals for development of Crown land on Lac Seul. Some of the activities that were not permitted in the original plan. Others related to uses which had not been clearly addressed in the management plan. It became necessary for the MNR to review and clarify its position on these matters.

To accomplish this it was necessary to update the fisheries data base used to prepare the original Lac Seul Management Plan. The result of the fisheries studies conduction in 1985 indicated that, on a lake wide basis, walleye are being harvested above their allowable harvest levels. A subsequent angler creel census in 1986 indicated that the harvest of walleye was greater than that of 1985.
MNR reaffirmed that it was inappropriate to allow additional development on Lac Seul which could increase the harvest of walleye. MNR staff also believed it necessary to implement additional management techniques to maintain the existing high quality sport fishery on the lake.”
The Lac Seul Advisory Committee – a 15 member advisory group was formed to make recommendations to the MNR Sioux Lookout District Manager. This group is comprised of a broad cross-section of Lac Seul resource user interests.

The original objectives for the Lac Seul Advisory Committee and MNR to work towards and achieve were:
1. Recognize and protect the remote recreational character of the lake.
2. Maintain the existing high quality sport fishery on the lake.
3. Balance the annual fish harvest with annual fish productivity within each of the lake’s 7 management zones.
4. Work within the framework of the Dryden District Land Use Guidelines and the draft West Patricia Land Use Guidelines.
Fast forward and over the last 36 years - fisheries management projects have included creels; both aerial and boat, FWIN’s and Broad Scale Monitoring.

Through these field studies and analysis, semi-annual meetings, sub-committee meetings and more recently over the last 10 years, the recognition by the province that Lac Seul is moving toward special designated water status with a more enhanced management approach. It is obvious that Lac Seul is critically important to the province and needs to be taken care of in order to sustain a viable world class fishing industry of huge economic importance to the province and region.

In the mix of all of this work, was the inventory on the land base of camps, lodges, community use and access that lent to the original concerns about the sustainability of the fisheries. Recommendations coming from the Advisory Committee included the change in provincial fisheries laws that included the introduction of slot sizes and no culling of fish (one of the first if not first), ground breaking law changes – shifting the attitudes of sustaining fisheries while supporting a viable sport fishing industry.
As there was a shift in management direction within MNR over the more recent 6 to 8 years, the direction focused on developing a Lake Management Plan – removing land-based decisions out of fisheries management planning and putting it where it belongs and into the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas. This policy identifies the Land Use Intent and the Management Direction relating to Commercial Activities, Land and Resource Management Activities, Recreation Activities and Facilities. As noted in the policy under Additional Information – “MNR will consider the Land Use Intent and Management direction outlined in this policy report when reviewing applications for permitted activities that require licences, sales, leases permits or other forms of approval….”

Attached please find Draft Policy Rewrites for 650m Lac Seul, ID: G 2518 Lac Seul which provides a defining Management Direction and Land Use Intent.

The responsibility of LSAC then focused on developing a Background Information Package about the Lac Seul that includes:
LSAC Terms of Reference
LSAC Meeting Minutes
Lac Seul Background Information Report
Lac Seul Management Plans
Scientific Literature
Regulatory Guidelines for all Species of Fish, Bait and Gear Restrictions, Non-Angling Methods, etc.

The above is to coincide with the history of fishery studies and the development of current objectives to support quality sport fishing industry.

The above is a very quick overview of incredibly important work that over the past 36 years has built a World Class Sport Fishing Industry. The objectives to accomplish the end goal has ALWAYS included the recognition of Land Use Intent as it relates to recognizing, protecting and maintaining the remote character of the lake and thus a high quality sport fishery. In the mix of managing Lac Seul, LSAC worked in conjunction with various forest management companies and their harvest plans relating to the 650 metre reserve, defining Unauthorized Access serving to protect the shoreline and protect the remote character and integrity of the lake.

We trust we have made our case with the priorities established to protect and maintain the remote character of the lake in which to sustain a world class sport fishery.

It has been a long, arduous road with much blood, sweat and tears with extreme dedication and significant passion to do the right thing for the long term protection of a world class fishery. In our opinion the request for the disposition of Crown Land for “Cottage Lot development” as a means of promoting economic development is “smoke and mirrors” and is an underlying means to develop illegal tourist operations which will conflict with existing commercial operations that already put identified pressure and some of which have been denied expansion for the very reason of concern of over-harvest (particularly since there has not been recent fisheries data to confirm or deny the state of the fishery).

Based on the above history and the attached adendums, IF you were to even consider allowing it in the future, we would need assurances from the Municipality that there would be specific conditions and zoning controls in place that align with the Lake Management Plan direction, complying with the definitions of unauthorized access and remote character. Consideration of this amendment is an erosion on the foundation of the Lake Management Plan and sets a precedent which will undermine the integrity of this world class fishery.