Marine Access Development Plan Update

By Cory Gaudet

The Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) recently embarked on developing a strategy for capital spending during its first ten years and beyond. This plan was dubbed the Marine Access Development Plan to highlight that the focus for future development should be on enabling visitors to access the water and islands.

The Marine Access Development Plan was created in a collaborative fashion with partners and stakeholders attending two separate engagement sessions. Feedback received from both sessions has contributed to the final plan. Some notable feedback received was the need for a focus on improvements to smaller access points, such as at Sibley Bay, during the initial five years, and that work should start along the coastline and work its way towards the outer islands.

The final plan contains a chart style breakdown of planned areas for investment over 5, 10 and 10+ years, and a visual representation of this table using a development map.  We hope to share the summary of the MADP with partners and stakeholders soon.

The plan is expected to evolve as the area develops and will be reviewed and updated annually by Parks Canada. The NMCA is positioning itself to deliver on these investments as it progresses towards establishment.

Some projects which are already in the initiation stages include an enhanced visitor experience at Hurkett Cove Conservation Area, a Highway Wayfinding plan, and Micro Access Point improvements. 

Some improvements to enable better access to the NMCA have already been completed through contribution agreements with stakeholders, such as the new floating dock at Terrace Bay.

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