Community leaders feel optimistic about Lake Nipissing

Community leaders at the Lake Nipissing Summit wrapped up this year’s meeting on Wednesday afternoon, walking away with what they feel is an optimistic plan for the future of Lake Nipissing.

“We had a lot of discussion, a lot of interaction and we seem to have now come up with a focus that is: yes there is fishing for Lake Nipissing, but there are so many other opportunities that we could be promoting and developing,” said Nipissing First Nation’s Chief Marianna Couchie.

Couchie was joined by North Bay Mayor Al McDonald, Mayor Lavigne of Callander, Mayor Haufe of Nipissing Township, Chief Restoule of Dokis First Nation, Mayor Savage of West Nipissing, Mayor Bouffard of French River and Mayor Schoppmann of St. Charles at the Sturgeon River House Museum in West Nipissing.
                                                    
The goal of the annual open-forum summit is to amalgamate the information from the two-day meeting and produce a short summary for the leaders to use in future development plans for Lake Nipissing, the third-largest lake in Ontario, excluding the Great Lakes.

Previous year’s meetings revolved around the fishing of the lake, with a predominant focus on studies of Nipissing that show the walleye population in steady decline.

But this year, participants were quick to point out the progressive nature of the event and the optimistic plans and suggestions each person brought to the table beyond the fisheries.

“I realize, and other mayors and First Nation chiefs realize, if we’re going to be successful, we have to think of more than just fishing; we have to think of other opportunities,” said McDonald. “So the whole focus of the summit was to try and identify different opportunities, along with fishing, to promote our area.”

Those opportunities include developing ways to attract the group-tourism sector to the area and satisfying the large demand that niche has.

“We recognize that there is a real demand for group activity and we see a lot of the things that came out of the summit as ways to attract those type of groups to our areas,” said McDonald.

Most notably, Couchie identified two major eco-tourism themes of developing trails and hiking opportunities, as well as promoting water sport opportunities like kayaking, canoeing and other waterfront activities.

Couchie likened the new opportunities to the multiple Dokis Trails and their natural charm that attracts visitors.

“It will be a healthier lake. Fishing will be viable again, but people will be coming to Lake Nipissing and the French River area for other opportunities,” Couchie continued. “The history and the culture of all the municipalities will be vibrant, so there will be an enriched experience for recreation. It will be a multi-dimensional approach.”

Moving forward, the summit summary will be discussed with councils to clarify the findings before the towns begin working with their respective economic development staff to partner up with the private sector and develop some of the specific opportunities catalyzed by the summit.

“The first priority is getting the plan together,” said Couchie. “It’s going to be like a jigsaw puzzle; each municipality and each First Nation, they’ll do their part.”

According to the summit, the estimated economic value of the lake is more than $100 million per year, while the communities surrounding the 873 square kilometer water body depend heavily on the lake for their livelihood.

The first day of the summit saw upwards of 60 participants attend the event, including presentations on promoting ecotourism and multi-use trails by Clayton Dokis, from Dokis First Nation.

“I think we’ve formed a much closer bond with all the municipalities and the Dokis, and we really are now on the path,” Couchie concluded. “There’s definitely more reason to be optimistic.”