An Area in Recovery is defined as follows:
An area that was originally identified as an area of concern where, based on community and government consensus, all scientifically feasible and economically reasonable actions have been implemented and additional time is required for the environment to recover.
JACKFISH BAY
The announcement recognizing Jackfish Bay Area of Concern as an Area in Recovery was made at the Terrace Bay Green Tradeshow, May 14th, 2011. Volunteers involved in the Remedial Action Plan for Jackfish Bay, Terrace Bay/Schreiber municipal officials, federal and provincial representatives as well as area residents joined together to celebrate this announcement.
More historical photos from Jackfish Bay…
Photos of the Blackbird Creek/Jackfish Bay waterway from the eighties…
More Information about Jackfish Bay
Jackfish Bay was identified in the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement as an Area of Concern. Located on the north shore of Lake Superior, this former Area of Concern is approximately 250 kilometers northeast of Thunder Bay. It consists of a 14-kilometer stretch of Blackbird Creek between the pulp mill in Terrace Bay and Jackfish Bay, including Lake “A” and Moberly Lake (Lake “C”) as well as Jackfish Bay.
Jackfish Bay was originally listed as an area of concern based on problems related to conventional pollutants, heavy metals, toxic organics, contaminated sediments, fish consumption advisories and impacted biota due to industrial point sources (pulp mill) and in-place pollutants (contaminated sediments). Some of the major environmental concerns relating to this area include health of fish and wildlife communities including habitat, degraded aesthetics, and the degradation of sediments and aquatic communities, which utilize the watercourse. The predominant source of contamination for Jackfish Bay is the wastewater discharge from the Terrace Bay pulp mill into Black Bird Creek, since the opening of the pulp mill in 1948. The effluent flows from the mill site located in Terrace Bay, Ontario, through Blackbird Creek into Jackfish Bay, Lake Superior.
In 2009, Lakehead University was contracted to undertake an assessment of environmental impairments in Jackfish Bay to ascertain whether this Area of Concern met the Canada – Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Ecosystem definition of Area in Recovery (see definition near top of page). Lakehead University concluded that the Jackfish Bay Area of Concern met this definition and Jackfish Bay was recognized as an Area in Recovery in 2011.
The Jackfish Bay RAP is a partnership between the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, with support from the Jackfish Bay Public Advisory Committee (PAC). Many linkages and alliances have been developed as part of the Remedial Action Plan process between the RAP team and various other groups in the community; including private citizens, recreational groups, industry and municipalities.
Access more information about the Jackfish Bay Area in Recovery.