Tenets for Temagami

The “Tenets” were agreed upon by the Township of Temagami, the TLA, and the Lake Temagami Permanent Residents’ Association (LaTemPRA) on March 8,1994.

Skyline Reserve and Ecological Buffer Reserve

Skyline Reserve: The mainland surrounding Lake Temagami and Cross Lake is to be zoned as a landscape ecology zone to preserve the beauty, to restore the integrity and to preserve the wilderness aspect/feeling of the Temagami Forest. This ecology zone would consist of two reserves which would both be afforded protection from natural disturbance such as fire and insect infestation, but would otherwise have separate management goals and prescriptions. A map of Lake Temagami will be drawn to illustrate the area that will be required to meet these objectives.

The two reserves would be the following:

1. Skyline Reserve: The Lake Temagami and Cross Lake skyline reserve must protect the appearance of the natural skyline vista. It must provide the viewer on any part of Lake Temagami or Cross Lake with no visual evidence to the naked eye that any activities such as timber cutting or mining have taken place. The minimum dimension would be 200 meters. This reserve would be preserved in its natural state and its permissible uses would be very limited.

2. Ecological Buffer Reserve: This reserve surrounds the skyline reserve to protect the natural forest and wildlife habitat ecosystems of the Temagami region. It would have a broader range of controlled activities but no new public roads would pass through it except in the village of Temagami.

Lake Temagami and Cross Lake Road Access:

The current ban on the construction of new public road access points to Lake Temagami and Cross Lake is supported by our three groups. We define the existing public road access points to consist of the Village waterfront, Finlayson Park, Strathcona Landing and the Lake Temagami Access Road landings. We agree that, where possible, parking areas must be screened from the main body of the Lake. Shiningwood Bay, Cross Lake, Austin Bay, Bleu Bay and any other illegal access points are to be closed using scarification methods as possible from Lake Temagami and Cross Lake. Existing gates are to be maintained and new ones are to be installed to prevent new public access roads to Lake Temagami and Cross Lake. New skidoo trails accessing Lake Temagami/Cross Lake are to be no wider than ten feet and zoned exclusively for winter skidoo use. Proposals for these access points to Lake Temagami and Cross Lake are to be reviewed and sites inspected by the new governing body prior to construction.

Mainland Development:

There should be no mainland development on Lake Temagami and Cross Lake with the exception of those potential lots immediately adjacent to the Township of Temagami that are able to be serviced by the Township’s central sewage treatment facility. All other future development will occur on islands, the number and location to be determined by the revised official plan which will be sensitive to current ecological standards.