Aafn_land_use

Jeff Green | Jan 31, 2008

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Mitch Close and Robert Walroth from the Bancroft Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Office attended a special meeting of North Frontenac Council last Friday, to talk about the environmental assessment concerning the planned building by the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN) at the Pine Lake boat launch and about the Crown Land Stewardship Program that the township runs.

The MNR has completed an environmental assessment for a band office building that is to be located on land that members of AAFN cleared two summers ago, and concluded that the project can go ahead. They are prepared to provide a land use permit to AAFN even though AAFN have not applied for, nor do they intend to apply for a land use permit.

The township will be considering the requirement for a building permit, which could be problematic, but Mayor Maguire pointed out that “AAFN has said they hired an architectural firm to deal with this, and the firm has expressed that they will meet or exceed all standards.”

The boat launch at Pine Lake has been a part of a land use permit that the township has with the MNR, but at the meeting council decided to ask the MNR to exclude the Pine Lake and also the Shabomeka Lake boat launches from the 2008 land use permit.

This permit will still include about 18 other boat launches and a network of 58 kms of rough roads and 184 campsites on 10 lakes within the Mississippi River watershed. Seventy-seven of the campsites are located on Crotch Lake.

The campsites and roads are now being marketed by the township as a wilderness park, North Frontenac Parklands (www.northfrontenacparklands.ca).

In the second year of the marketing program, which includes an online reservation system, use of the campsites increased dramatically over the previous year, and in 2007 the program generated a modest surplus of $1,400 over costs.

The Ministry of Natural Resources provided a $10,000 grant in ‘07, which was to be used exclusively for improving the Crotch Lake campsites, and Cheryl Robson reported that only $5,500 of the $10,000 had been used.

Walroth said that the township could include any costs associated with the Crotch Lake area in the $10,000, not just upgrades to the sites, so the township will probably end up keeping the entire sum.