WESTERN MANITOULIN – Plans are still in the works to have a preliminary draft management plan for the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother M’Nidoo M’Nissing Provincial Park to members of the public, says a representative of the Ontario Parks Northeast zone office.
“This was just a refresh, we still plan to release a preliminary management plan for the property,” said Will Kershaw, senior management planner of Ontario Parks at the Northeast zone office in Sudbury, last week. He was referring to an Environment Registry of Ontario policy decision ‘Management Planning for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother M’Nidoo M’Nissing,’ loaded to the environmental registry on September 9.
While he couldn’t provide a lot of details at the current time, Mr. Kershaw said, “yes, the preliminary park management plan will be released in the summer of 2021.”
As for the content of the plan, Mr. Kershaw told the Recorder, “the plan will explain the purpose, vision, and objectives for the park for the next 20 years. And it will describe protection pertaining to zoning and use management including clarifying access.”
As has been noted in previous articles in the Recorder, people have been allowed and are still allowed to go across the park to gain access into their own private lands, and there is also a snowmobile trail which the ministry has indicated will continue. As well, hunting has been allowed in the past and will continue in the future on the property. And there has also been indications by provincial representatives in the past that they have considered adding to the trail system in the park.
Similar preliminary park management plans will also be released for Strawberry Island and Misery Bay Provincial Nature Reserve.
