THUNDER BAY – The North Shore of Lake Superior Remedial Action Plan held one of its habitat restoration project days on Monday.
Tim Hollinger, coordinator of North Shore of Lake Superior RAP, said along the north shore of Lake Superior there are four areas of concern.
“Thunder Bay is one of them. We have Nipigon Bay, Jack Fish Bay - an area in recovery which is where the Terrace Bay Mill effluent used to flow into and now that it's in a state of warm idle continues to. We also have Peninsula Harbour which is in Marathon, often caused by the pulp and paper industry before it was regulated.
“But also, industrialization, major harbours, wastewater treatment plants before secondary treatment were incorporated were what triggered these areas of concern to be identified through the Great Lakes water quality agreement between Canada and the US in the 1980s. At that point, they were all designated areas of concern,” he said.
Hollinger said part of what they do in Thunder Bay is restore fish and wildlife habitat.
“Today is one of our habitat restoration projects where we're restoring riparian and coastal habitat. We are introducing native species to areas that were once industrial property as well as incorporating a lot of native trees, shrubs, grasses and plants for pollinators and all sorts of wildlife,” he said.
When you look across the Thunder Bay waterfront, historically before people were here, it was mostly wetland habitat at the mouth of rivers and river deltas, he said.
“With a lot of industrialization, like here at the Pool Six property where we have a lot of shipping and piers and mills, we saw a lot of contaminants enter Lake Superior.
“We deal with a lot of sediment cleanups as well, at Thunder Bay North Harbour across the bay, we have Pool Six and NOW Park where the RAP cleaned up creosote in the 2000s,” Hollinger said.
He said areas where there is a lot of urbanization and industrialization along the waterfront in formerly biodiverse areas, is where they are looking to restore.
“On this site, we're hoping to incorporate some wetland features as it develops. But also, incorporate this really important riparian vegetation that helps the lake health, and also is a very biodiverse area for plants and animals,” Hollinger said
The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, City of Thunder Bay, members from the Ministry of Natural Resources, summer students from RAP and members of their public advisory committee attended the restoration on Monday.
“Anybody is welcome. Members of the public are welcome to our planting days.
“It's made up of a number of different organizations and groups including the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists, the Waterfront Trail Association, and any members of the public – even passersby are welcome to join us."
Hollinger said to visit the RAP website to learn more about the program, including other areas of concern on Lake Superior as well as the broader harbour clean up, like the Thunder Bay North harbour sediment clean up.
“This project is a great opportunity for our city to reconnect with the lake. For so much of the course of Thunder Bay’s history it's been largely industrial, but with these projects when you look at Fisherman's Park West, projects happening at Boulevard Lake, we also have one at the former Superior Fine Papers Property where we're doing some stream and wetland restoration.
“These projects aren't just for fish and wildlife, they're for the public, for recreation opportunities at the waterfront and really just providing more access to our waterfront,” he said
This is a great opportunity for the city of Thunder Bay, the public and tourists to enjoy Lake Superior, Hollinger said.
“It's a really beautiful morning down here with the ships and the Sleeping Giant in the harbour and we're just trying to make it a bit of a more pleasant place for people to visit.”
