Cook County News Herald

Cross-border partnership leads to Great Lakes conservation success





Because of the cross-border collaboration of several organizations, 13 miles of undeveloped shoreline on Lake Superior will be preserved forevermore. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has purchased one of the last privately owned, undeveloped shorelines between Duluth and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Known as Big Trout Bay, the 2,517-acre property is mostly coastal boreal forest and home to eagles and peregrine falcons.

Because of the cross-border collaboration of several organizations, 13 miles of undeveloped shoreline on Lake Superior will be preserved forevermore. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has purchased one of the last privately owned, undeveloped shorelines between Duluth and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Known as Big Trout Bay, the 2,517-acre property is mostly coastal boreal forest and home to eagles and peregrine falcons.

Just across the border 2,500 acres of pristine shoreland with towering cliffs, stretches of open bedrock, and the rugged cobbled beach will be free from development thanks to the cross-border collaboration of several environmental organizations.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) recently purchased one of the last privately owned, undeveloped shorelines between Duluth, Minnesota and Thunder Bay, Ontario at the cost of $5.25 million.

After more than 15 years of planning and negotiating, the 13-mile stretch of shoreline was purchased from a Wisconsin real estate developer. The shoreline had already been zoned for residential development with the potential for 300 lots to be developed.

Known as Big Trout Bay, the property is located just minutes from the Grand Portage international border crossing, and 45 minutes from Thunder Bay on the shores of Lake Superior.

According to NCC, Big Trout Bay’s densely forested land is crucial to several native species, including bald eagles, and peregrine falcons, which are assessed as of particular concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The 2,517-acre property is composed mostly of the coastal boreal forest. Nearly half of Canada’s bird species rely on boreal habitat like Big Trout Bay to complete their life cycle, and many of these species migrate throughout the Americas.

The shoreline areas are particularly important for biodiversity, as they provide varied habitat for species such as bird’s-eye primrose, lake trout, and moose.

“This is a massive international undertaking, but when faced with the potential loss of habitat and wildlife on the largest freshwater lake in the world, thinking big is essential,” said James Duncan, Nature Conservancy of Canada vice president, Ontario Region. “Most importantly, this project gives us hope that the landscapes we love today will be here for others to enjoy tomorrow. It’s an extraordinary opportunity to make substantive and tangible progress on our overall goal of protecting Lake Superior’s North Shore.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada provided over $3 million dollars to this conservation project through the Natural Areas Conservation Program.

This Nature Conservancy of Canada project was supported by funding from the Government of Canada through the Natural Areas Conservation Program, and with the generous partnership of the JA Woollam Foundation, the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, the Bobolink Foundation, the Rogers Foundation, The Nature Conservancy’s Wisconsin and Minnesota programs, The Conservation Fund, Green Leaf Advisors and many individual donors in both the United States and Canada.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has been working to conserve land along Superior’s North Shore for 15 years, and this most recent acquisition brings the total conserved to 8,790 acres of protected land that is open to the public for low-impact activities such as hiking.

According to NCC, Lake Superior’s Big Trout Bay, McKellar Point and Pine Point represent the last unsecured Great Lakes wilderness on the continent — truly a global gem.

“After more than 15 years of work personally on this project, I understand the importance of preserving the natural view the voyageurs saw and, equally as important, the ecosystems that have sustained First Nations for generations,” said Duncan.

Tom Duffus, Midwest vice president for The Conservation Fund, which provided bridge financing as well as transactional and fundraising assistance to NCC via its Great Lakes Revolving Fund said, “On behalf of the Honorable Catherine McKenna, minister of Environment and Climate Change, I want to congratulate the Nature Conservancy of Canada and thank its many Canadian and American partners and donors for helping to make this bi-national initiative possible. The Government of Canada is pleased to support their habitat conservation efforts through the Natural Areas Conservation Program. Working together, we will protect the majestic natural beauty of the North Shore region for generations to come.”

Don Rusnak, member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Rainy River, spoke at the March 29 press conference in Thunder Bay.

“The Nature Conservancy is proud to support this bi-national effort to protect the Great Lakes. Protection of the land at Big Trout Bay builds on other Great Lakes conservation successes including St. Martin Island in Lake Michigan and Clough Island in Lake Superior’s St. Louis River Estuary. Working together, we can keep the Great Lakes beautiful, healthy and productive today and for generations to come.”


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