Lake of the Woods Provincial Park

Lake of the Woods Provincial Park
Map showing the location of Lake of the Woods Provincial Park
Map showing the location of Lake of the Woods Provincial Park
LocationKenora District/Rainy River District, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates49°01′41″N 94°37′49″W / 49.02806°N 94.63028°W / 49.02806; -94.63028[2]
Area20,675.00 ha (79.8266 sq mi)[3]
DesignationNatural environment
Established1967
Named forLake of the Woods
Governing bodyOntario Parks
www.ontarioparks.com/park/lakeofthewoods

Lake of the Woods Provincial Park is a provincial park in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It protects several islands in Lake of the Woods, in both Kenora and Rainy River Districts.[2] It was established in 1967 and expanded with 11,800 hectares (29,000 acres) in 1985.[4] It provides backcountry camping opportunities.[3]

Description

The park includes Bigsby, Coste (partially), Dawson, De Noyon, Falcon, Kennedy, Lily, Painted Rock, Skeet (partially), Splitrock, and The Three Sisters Islands, as well as the western tip of the Aulneau Peninsula. The islands added to the park in 1985 (Bigsby, Dawson, Painted Rock, Splitrock, and The Three Sisters) are classified as a nature reserve zone, and therefore, future development of them will be limited.[4] A mainland portion of the park was deregulated as a provincial park in 1998.[5][6]

The islands have similar terrain which includes rolling bedrock uplands mixed with many lakes and other wetlands.[5] Notable features of the park include two pictograph sites, a graveyard, and white pelican and double-crested cormorant nesting sites (that feed in the waters off Bigsby and The Three Sister Islands).[4]

Lake of the Woods Provincial Park is a non-operating park. There are no services provided, and the only facilities are 25 backcountry campsites. Permitted activities include camping and hunting.[3]

Former mainland portion

The Lake of the Woods Provincial Park originally had a mainland portion along the lake's southeastern shore. This land was initially intended to become Reserve No. 35E for the Assabaska First Nation under the terms of Treaty 3 (signed in 1873). Because the land was never surveyed and through negligence and lack of consultation, the reserve was never created and the land was transferred from the federal to the provincial government in 1958. After it became a provincial park, the campground was a loss leader, losing thousands of dollars per year.[7]

In 1977, the First Nations of Mishkosiiniiziibing (Big Grassy River) and the Ojibways of Onigaming (successors to the Assabaska First Nation) filed a land claim, which was settled in the late 1990s. As part of the settlement, the mainland portion of the park was deregulated, and converted into the Assabaska Reserve for the Big Grassy and Ojibways of Onigaming First Nations. It remains a campground, now known as Assabaska Ojibway Heritage Park.[6][7][8]

References

  1. ^ Protected Planet Website Archived 2023-04-13 at the Wayback Machine- Retrieved April 12, 2023
  2. ^ a b "Lake of the Woods Provincial Park". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Lake of the Woods Provincial Park". www.ontarioparks.com. Ontario Parks. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Lake of the Woods Provincial Park Addition Interim Management Statement" (PDF). ontario.ca. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. May 1985. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Policy Report P2379e: LAKE OF THE WOODS PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)". Crown Land Use Policy Atlas. Ministry of Natural Resources Ontario. 31 January 2006. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Lake of the Woods Park to remain regulated by province for this summer". fftimes.com. Fort Frances Times Ltd. 1 April 1998. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b McNab, David (1999). Circles of time : aboriginal land rights and resistance in Ontario. Waterloo, Ont., Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 75–88. ISBN 9780889206939. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  8. ^ Coyle, Michael (March 2005). "Addressing Aboriginal Land and Treaty Rights in Ontario: An Analysis of Past Policies and Options for the Future" (PDF). www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2023.