Canada to Have Large Marine Area at Lake

By CHARMAINE NORONHA

TORONTO – A large stretch of the rugged, pristine northern shore of Lake Superior will become the world’s largest freshwater marine protected area, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Thursday.

The marine area becomes the first of five across Canada to be named a National Marine Conservation Area, fulfilling a plan former prime minister Jean Chretien announced five years ago.

“This declaration is globally significant because not a lot of structures as pristine as this area are left unencumbered by development,” said Brian Christie, executive director, Lake Superior Conservancy and Watershed Council.

The new conservation area will encompass about 3,861 square miles of water in a triangular shape south to the Canada-U.S. boundary.

The region is home to peregrine falcons, bald eagles, herons and endangered trout species, as well as caribou, which is unusual for that part of Ontario. Beneath the water lies a number of historic shipwrecks.

Naming the stretch of land and water as a conservation area protects it from potentially damaging activity such as mining and oil and gas development projects.

Sabine Jessen, conservation director for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, said Canada lags far behind other countries in protecting its oceans and freshwater lakes.

“We really have to move more quickly to get these done. If this is a sign that they’re supportive and want to get things done, that’s good news to me,” Jessen said.

Other marine conservation areas under negotiation include the southern Strait of Georgia and Gwaii Haanas, both in British Columbia.