Coalition worried about future of Wolf Lake – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – October 15, 2020)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Mine company, however, promises minimal disruption and commits to maintaining the beauty of the area

Wilderness champions say concerted political pressure is now required to protect Wolf Lake after another permit for mineral exploration was recently granted.

In a post at its Facebook page, the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury said more than 500 people commented on the permit application through the Environmental Registry of Ontario, with the vast majority — 98 per cent — opposing it.

Nevertheless, “the application was approved with no conditions attached,” the coalition said. Wolf Lake is located northeast of Sudbury in the Chiniguchi waterway chain — a popular area for canoe tripping — and counts the largest contiguous stand of old-growth red pines in the world.

Those trees are protected from logging as the site is designated as a forest reserve, but neither mineral exploration nor mining are currently prohibited.

“Under the current rules, as long as there are active mining leases and claims in Wolf Lake, we will continue to see mining exploration given the go-ahead,” the coalition said. “We are very concerned about the cumulative impacts of this activity and the lack of conditions and oversight.”

For the rest of this article: https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/coalition-worried-about-future-of-wolf-lake