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Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
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Dr Walter Momot fonds

  • Fonds
  • 1950-2005

Records relate to water quality and fish research in Northwestern Ontario.

In 1986, the International Joint Commission’s Remedial Action Plan for the Great Lakes designated four Canadian areas of concern (AOC) in Lake Superior. The following areas were identified to have water quality impairments, Thunder Bay, Nipigon Bay, Jackfish Bay, and Peninsula Harbour (Marathon, Ontario). Pulp and Paper mills were identified as a major source of pollution. In Thunder Bay, the inventory and assessment projects were initiated as Stage 1 and completed by 1991. Stage 2, remedial strategies, completed in 2004. General issues: unpleasant foam, oily residue, and odour in waterways, high levels of chemicals in sediment and fish, loss of fish and wildlife habitat, impacts to sediment-dwelling organisms, and impacts on fish populations. Specific fish habitat concerns were water quality degradation, loss of wetland, degradation or loss of spawning substrate, and habitat destruction by dredging. Important fish population problems have occurred over time due to fish habitat loss from both physical and chemical changes on Lake Superior and its tributaries.
Many government agencies were involved with Lake Superior remedial action plans including the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Department of Fisheries Oceans (DFO), Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Lakehead Conservation Authority. Lakehead University was tasked with portions of the fish and fish habitat inventory in Stage 1 and providing an external review of the stage 2 plans for remedial action. Lakehead University sought Dr. Walter Momot, Professor of Ichthyology with this responsibility.

This collection is divided into three series involving the International Joint commissions Remedial Action Plans of the Canadian Portion of Lake Superior.
1) Kaministiquia River Project
a. Kaministiquia River External Reports
2) Northwestern Ontario Fish Inventory Collection
3) Remedial Action Plan Reviews

Further Reading;
• Cullis, Ken I., et al. Fish Community and Aquatic Habitat of the Kaministiquia River, 1987. Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources, 1987.
• Cullis, Ken I., et al. Fish Community and Aquatic Habitat of the Kaministiquia River, 1987. [Thunder Bay Remedial Action Plan], 1990.
• Dean, J. F., et al. Geofisheries: A New Concept for Determining Fish Habitat Suitability as Applied to Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis). Lakehead University. Dept of Biology, 1991.
• Hartviksen, Connie and Momot, Walter T. Fishes of the Thunder Bay Area of Ontario a Guide for Identifying and Locating the Local Fish Fauna. Thunder Bay Salmon Association. 1987.
• Hartviksen, Connie, and Walter T. Momot. Fishes of the Thunder Bay Area of Ontario: A Guide for Identifying and Locating the Local Fish Fauna. Wildwood Press, 1989.
• Momot, Walter T. Review and Recommendations Concerning Delisting Criteria and Beneficial Use Impairments for the Four North Coast of Lake Superior Areas of Concern. Dept. of Biology, Lakehead University, 2005.
• Momot, Walter T., and S. A. Stephenson. Threespine, Gasterosteus Aculeatus, and Fourspine, Apeltes Auadracus, Sticklebacks in the Lake Superior Basin. 2000.
• Momot, Walter T., and Sam A. Stephenson. Isostatic Rebound and Its Effects on Fish Colonization and Distribution in the Western Lake Superior Basin. National Research Council., 1993.
• Momot, Walter T., et al. Reproductive Guilds of Percids : Results of the Paleogeographical History of Ecological Succession. s.n.], 1977?
• Momot, Walter T., and Sam A. Stephenson. Atlas of the Distribution of Fish within the Canadian Tributaries of Western Lake Superior. Lakehead Centre for Northern Studies, 1996.
• Picard, Christopher Robert, et al. Effectiveness of Using Summer Thermal Indices to Classify and Protect Brook Trout Streams in Northern Ontario?
• Stephenson, Sam A. The distribution of fishes in the Thunder Bay area of northwestern Ontario since deglaciation, with special reference to the darters (Genus Etheostoma) and the Sibley Peninsula. Thesis (M.Sc.)--Lakehead University. 1991
• Stephenson, Sam A., and Walter T. Momot. Sibley Fishes. Lakehead Centre for Northern Studies, 1994.
• Stephenson, Sam A. Food Habits and Growth of Walleye (Stizostedion Vitreum), Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieui) and Northern Pike (Esox Lucius) in the Kaministiquia River, Thunder Bay, Ontario. s.n.], 1989.
• "FOR THE RECORD SALMON THREATENED." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada], 20 Feb. 1989, p. A12. Canada In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A164803910/CIC?u=ko_acd_con&sid=CIC&xid=329c59cd. Accessed 24 May 2019.

Parks Planning Advocacy

The Ministry of Natural Resources began developing master plans for parks in the 1970s. The plan for Sleeping Giant Provincial Park (at that time Sibley Provincial Park) didn’t rely on any public consultation, and was not well received.

As more Park Plans were rolled out, the MNR engaged in more consultation. Responses to plans as well as draft and final Plans are included in these records.

Park Plans include those for:
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park (1972)
Northern Lights Lake Area Plan (1972)
Ouimet Canyon (1975)
Neys (1977) (no files)
Rushing River (1986)
La Verendrye (1985-1986)
Slate Islands (1985-1988)
Turtle River/White Otter (1990-1992)
Brightsand (1990-1993)
Lands for Life (1998)
Kakabeka Falls (2000-2001)
Black Sturgeon River (2002-2003) (no files)
Lake Nipigon Area Plan (2002-2003)

As well as other records related to:
Stanley Bur Oak park proposal (1988-1990)
Pukaskwa National Park Provisional Master Plan (1972-1995)
Graham Area Land Use Plan (1972)
Algonquin Park (1973)
Greenwood Lake White Pine (1979)

Silver Islet Collection

  • Collection
  • 1870 - 1910

Photographs and documents from the Silver Islet Mine and Silver Islet Store, including ledgers and a chart.

A rich deposit of silver was discovered on Silver Islet in 1868. A small island at the tip of the Sibley Peninsula, the mine was built deep below the waterline, and relied on breakwaters and pumps. Silver Islet was mined until 1884, when pumps failed, and the mine was flooded. The small community built on shore to support the mine is still inhabited.

Thunder Cape Bird Observatory fonds

  • Fonds
  • 2009 - 2016

The records consist of daily logs and banding data for birds observed at the Thunder Cape Bird Observatory.

Thunder Cape Bird Observatory (TCBO) is a joint project of the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources - Wildlife Assessment Program (OMNR-WAP), and Bird Studies Canada, working in partnership with Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, and the Canadian Coast Guard. (TBFN)