The initial public comment period for proposed changes to the Quetico Provincial Park management plan will close on Friday. Park managers are considering designated campsites and defined travel routes in the park as well as commercial dog-sledding operations and the development of a long-distance hiking trail.
The Atikokan Progress recently ran a comprehensive story on the new management options HERE.
The “Quetico Park Management Options Comment Sheet,” HERE, outlines the eight proposed management changes to the park in detail, and asks for public comment on them by October 15. Park officials are also considering changes to aircraft policies in the park and recreational development at the French Lake and Dawson Trail campsites.
The management plan review comes in the context of steadily declining visitation to the park, which Wilderness News Online has reported on HERE.
The 40-page “Quetico: Management Option” booklet can be found HERE.
After the current stage of the management review process is completed, park officials plan to present a draft management plan in the fall of 2011 which, if approved after additional public comment, will be implemented starting in the spring of 2012.