State of the river 2004-2005
Mattawa River (Mattawa River and Samuel de Champlain Provincial Parks, Ontario)
“In the Footsteps of the Voyageurs”
Designated 1988
Drought in 2001 has caused some damage and mortality to pines and other species. The drought also reduced the flow and volume of the Mattawa. Low rainfall in the spring of 2005 also reduced flow rates. There is an ongoing study of drinking water situation, City of North Bay (source is Trout Lake, also the source of the Mattawa). In Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park, splake have been stocked in Long Lake in Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park. More than 10,000 ha of land was added to Mattawa River park. The additional lands include marsh communities, silver maple swamp forests, and areas of forested lands. Work is currently underway to complete earth and life science inventories for these significant areas.
Campsites along the river continue to experience heavy use. Garbage left at the sites, soil compaction, erosion, vandalism of portage signs, and grafitti on rock faces continue to be unresolved issues. Illegal ATV use in the park is occurring, and there is pressure from local ATV association for permitted use of ATVs in the park.
The 11-km La Vase Portages, one of Canada's most important portages, was added to the designated section of the Mattawa in 2002, at a ceremony in July at Dugas Bay, on Trout Lake, the Mattawa River end of the portage. A group in North Bay, the "Restore the Link Committee", raised funds to purchase private property along the historic route, put up interpretive signs, and researched the location of this historic route. The next step is to clearly mark the trail, so that it can be used once more as a portage route. For more information on the la Vase Portages and the Restore the Link Committee, contact Paul Chivers (pchivers@neilnet.co)
For more information, contact Will Kershaw at (705) 564-3168 or Sally
Renwick (705-475-5533); sally.renwick@mnr.gov.on.ca, or Brian Taylor,
North
Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority,
15 Janey Avenue
North Bay, ON P1C 1N1
Phone (705)474-5420
Fax (705)474-9793
nbmca@nbmca.on.ca
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