Wilderness News Online

The comment period on the Draft Environmental Report for Ojibway Power and Energy Group’s proposed hydroelectric project on the Namakan River west of Quetico Provincial Park closes tomorrow.

Hydro development in the heart of the Quetico-Superior Wilderness. Map courtesy The Quetico Foundation

The Duluth News-Tribune has a story about the project HERE.

OPEG, a collaboration between Chant Construction and the Lac La Croix First Nation, is planning a 6.4 megawatt dam at High Falls.  That project could be the first of a handful of projects along the Namakan River between Quetico Park and Rainy Lake.

Proponents of the project trumpet the green energy aspects of the plan as well as its ability to diversify the Lac La Croix First Nation’s economy.

Lake Sturgeon, photo courtesy The Quetico Foundation

Critics — including the Quetico Superior Foundation, which produces Wilderness News Online — say the project would damage the river’s wild nature and threaten the region’s lake sturgeon.

More information on the project — including the Environmental Report –  can be found HERE, on the OPEG web-site.

To comment on the Environmental Report, FAX Tim Saville, President, Ojibway Power and Energy Group (905) 726-8331.

You Can Help

Click HERE for information on who to contact and how to help preserve the Quetico region.