A summary of environmental monitoring data collected in Blackbird Creek and Jackfish Bay will be presented at 7 p.m. on October 19th at the Terrace Bay Recreation Centre. This information will be delivered by representatives of Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. A presentation by a representative of the Aditya Birla Terrace Bay mill focusing on effluent treatment will also be included. The presentation is intended to provide insight into the environmental health of the Blackbird Creek/Jackfish Bay ecosystem, just east of Terrace Bay.
In the second part of the meeting a presentation will be made by Paul Turpin of Rossport about locating a train wreck and 106 year old locomotive deep in the waters of Superior. Everyone is welcome and evening events are free of charge.
Blackbird Creek and Jackfish Bay on Lake Superior were designated as one of several Great Lakes areas of environmental concern in 1987. This designation was part of the Remedial Action Plan (RAP), a program put in place by Canada and USA to clean up the Great Lakes.
Blackbird Creek and Jackfish Bay were originally considered to be of concern due to the environmental affects of industrial point source contamination from the pulp and paper industry. The Terrace Bay mill began operation in 1948. Effluent from the mill flows through Blackbird Creek to Jackfish Bay. Substantial upgrades to the mill effluent system have been put in place in more recent years.
“In recovery” status was applied to Blackbird Creek and Jackfish Bay in 2011. Environmental monitoring to gauge the rate of ecosystem recovery has been carried out since 2011. This monitoring data will be presented by representatives of Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change at the October 19th event.
This event is being held by the Jackfish Bay Remedial Action Plan, hosted by Lakehead University’s Department of Geography and Environmental Science. Previous Lake Superior evenings have celebrated the lake through art, music, photography and speakers on topics like lighthouses of the North Shore, diving to Superior shipwrecks and single-handed long distance sailing.
More information about the Jackfish Bay Remedial Action Plan.