News that three northern provincial parks will remain open for another year has pleased the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM)
The Province will operate Ivanhoe Lake, Fushimi Lake and René Brunelle for the 2015 camping season after a grassroots effort saved them from being closed.
“A great deal of hard work and dedication from community leaders and local residents were the driving forces behind the success that has lead to this decision,” says Al Spacek, FONOM President and Mayor of Kapuskasing.
"Aside from the local spinoff of jobs and recreational value locally and regionally, there would have been no provincial park overnight camping between Englehart and Thunder Bay," Spacek told BayToday.
"It would have had a very large impact because a lot of tourists today plan well in advance in the off-season and they use the internet to do that. So not having operating parks and not being part of the online reservation system and part of the provincial marketing campaign would have had quite a negative impact."
The announcement was made by Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Bill Mauro.
Following the Province’s decision to close ten provincial parks to overnight camping in 2012, surrounding municipalities began working towards a reversal of that decision for three of the parks.
Ivanhoe Lake, Fushimi Lake and René Brunelle were kept open as a result of a partnership between the Province and the City of Timmins, the Town of Hearst and the Township of Moonbeam, respectively.
The partnership, which had municipalities agree to shoulder any financial shortfall within a pilot project, in fact, experienced increased revenue and visitation levels due to park operational changes.
“This is a perfect example of what we can achieve when we all work together,” continued Spacek. “It is evident the Province recognizes the value of provincial parks to northern Ontario from both a social and economic perspective and we thank Minister Mauro and the Premier for all their efforts.”
