Farabout Peninsula Coalition hosts presentation, Aug. 13

A local coalition concerned with the preservation of Eagle Lake’s Farabout Peninsula will host a public presentation Saturday, Aug. 13, 7 p.m. at the Eagle River Recreation Centre.

The evening will focus on the findings of Thunder Bay Naturalists Sue and Mike Bryan who were asked by the coalition to explore and catalog the area’s rare bird and plant species over the past few years.

The duo will present a slide show on what they’ve found including rare Yellow Lady’s Slippers, and threatened bird species like the Canada Warbler.

The Farabout Peninsula Coalition formed four years ago in response to plans to harvest timber on the 1,000 hectare landmass, as well as build a logging road on the narrow isthmus that connects it to the mainland. With support from the lake’s tourism operators, their efforts resulted in a forestry moratorium on the peninsula. Since enlisting the help of local naturalists and birders to get a complete picture of the remote area’s natural features and biodiversity they are submitting their findings to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Farabout Peninsula Coalition’s Dale MacKenzie hopes everyone with an interest in Eagle Lake will take the opportunity to attend the event.

“We’d like to increase our membership,” said MacKenzie. “We’ve just begun some preliminary talks about expanding the coalition to call it the Farabout and Eagle Lake Conservation Coalition. Some of the tourist camps are very interested in that — the idea of trying to preserve and protect as much of the shoreline area, especially the north side of Eagle lake where the population is.”

By Chris Marchand