The Quetico Foundation

Meet The Trustee – Noah Cole

“In work and life, I’m inspired by nature, wilderness, the environment, insight, dedication, healthy natural systems, mentors and acts of altruism.” – Noah Cole

Why Quetico?

Quetico’s backcountry wilderness camping and canoe routes are unique Canadian locations in the province of Ontario where you can experience old growth forest, drink straight from many lakes, see eagles, moose, loons, songbirds, wildflowers, Canadian Shield, beaches and sunsets all within the same day – and develop leadership, bonding and memorable experiences while you’re at it.

By Luiza Moczarski|November 24th, 2020|Foundation News|0 Comments

During this season of giving and sharing please generously donate to help support the Quetico Foundation

The Quetico Foundation is dedicated to the protection of wilderness with a particular focus on Quetico Wilderness Provincial Park since 1954. The Quetico Foundation primarily has two focuses; conducting ecological research and supporting academic studies to help protect the wilderness of Quetico Provincial Park, and helping students and young leaders connect to the beauty of Quetico’s wilderness, lakes and rivers through the joys, merits and benefits of wilderness canoe trips.

Please donate today to help the Quetico Foundation support protecting wilderness, connecting young leaders and students to Quetico via wilderness canoe excursions and wilderness research.

By Luiza Moczarski|November 22nd, 2020|Action, Fundraising|0 Comments

Covid-19 Latest Excuse to Degrade Environmental Regulations

By: William Stolz, Quetico Foundation, Acting Science Chair

Omnibus legislation has been around since the first parliamentary session in 1868. With no specific legal definition of what constitutes an ‘Omnibus Bill’ the process is basically grouping a variety of legislative changes for a specific purpose. Ontario’s newest piece of legislation, Bill 197 – An Act to amend various statutes in response to COVID-19 and to enact, amend and repeal various statutes (Covid-19 Economic Recovery Act is the short title) is the latest version of an omnibus bill. The fourth omnibus bill in two years, it affects 43 acts. Ontario Nature has created a detailed Backgrounder which further explains the environmental impacts of the Covid-19 Economic Recovery Act.

By Luiza Moczarski|November 13th, 2020|Action|0 Comments

Digitizing Oral History

Quetico’s oral histories have been locked away on archival cassettes at the John B. Ridley Research Library — until now. Courtesy of history enthusiasts from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, they have come out of the vault and into our ears.

By digitizing our 400 (yes, 400) interviews, we hoped to preserve and share Quetico’s stories, in order to build connections to the people who travel here. Also, magnetic cassettes have a finite lifespan. As many of the interviews were conducted in the late ’70s and early ’80s, digitizing became a priority for the archive.

By Luiza Moczarski|November 3rd, 2020|Foundation News, Park News|0 Comments

Local Youth Awarded the Shan Walshe Bursary

Quetico Foundation is pleased to announce Bjorn Van Der Loo the winner of the Shan Walshe Bursary.

Bjorn is an aspiring student who is pursing environmental sciences studies.

By Luiza Moczarski|October 31st, 2020|Foundation News, Local news|0 Comments

Red Pine History Display

Construction is almost finished on an interpretative display that will focus on educating visitors about the role of forest fires in traditional indigenous culture and in sustaining the red and white pine populations. The exhibit will update an aged interpretive display at the Dawson Trail Campground. The Friends of Quetico and the Quetico Foundation are working together to financially support this important project.

By Luiza Moczarski|October 15th, 2020|Foundation News, Park News|0 Comments

First year of Lakehead University and Quetico Foundation Research Partnership

by: Dr. Michael Rennie, Canada Research Chair in Freshwater Ecology and Fisheries Assistant Professor

Quetico Provincial Park has been described as a ‘natural oasis’; with all the things going on in the world, in Quetico, you can get in a canoe, traverse a few portages, and the outside world quickly melts away leaving just you and nature. Unfortunately, even in this relatively untouched oasis, unwanted visitors have begun to appear. Several aquatic invasive species now inhabit various lakes in the park, with the most prominent and widely distributed likely being the spiny water flea (or Bythotrephes to us scientists, which is the genus that these organisms belong to).

By Luiza Moczarski|September 21st, 2020|Foundation News, Local news, Park News|0 Comments

Biology Interns, Katie and Kelsey, reflect on their summer

by Katie Tripp and Kelsey Atalise

Although this year had a shorter than normal season, a lot was accomplished by the biologist assistant crew. They assisted with four main projects this season; assessed lake trout vulnerability to climate change, identified the location of Spiny Water flea, an invasive species in Quetico’s lakes with a Lakehead graduate student working with Dr. Michael Rennie under the Quetico Foundation grant. They also assess the recovery and regeneration of conifer stands after a fire that occurred in the park and helped former biology intern Jared Stachiw, collecting data for his master’s thesis based in Quetico on Red Pine ecology.

By Luiza Moczarski|August 31st, 2020|Foundation News, Jobs, Park News|0 Comments

Quetico Foundation awards a Lakehead University researcher with a $75,000 grant

Quetico Foundation awarded Dr. Michael Rennie, Lakehead University, with a $75,000 grant over the next three years to evaluate how invasive spiny water flea and climate change are affecting the early growth rates and mercury loads of fish at Quetico Provincial Park.

Dr. Michael Rennie, an Associate Professor in Biology, Canada Research Chair in Freshwater Ecology and Fisheries, and Research Fellow at the Experimental Lakes Area, is looking specifically at Lake Herring and Walleye to help inform adaptive management plans for Quetico Park.

By Luiza Moczarski|June 19th, 2020|Foundation News|0 Comments

Quetico Foundation’s #PaddleThanks Video

Ontario Backcountry Canoe Symposium launched the #paddlethanks initiative, to give people an opportunity to say thanks for the wonderful things that make paddling such an important part of life. The Quetico Foundation submitted a video by Abigail Laulman, Trustee. Laulman’s first canoe trip was sponsored by the Quetico Foundation, a paddling trip for new Canadians that began her love for the paddling life.

By Luiza Moczarski|May 23rd, 2020|Action, Foundation News, Uncategorized|0 Comments