While the controversy around floating cottages was raging on Georgian Bay this spring, a significant related development occurred at Georgian Bay Islands National Park that completely escaped my attention. On May 1, 2023, Parks Canada issued a restricted activity order bulletin announcing it had secured water lots for many of the popular anchoring spots around the park’s holdings. I only learned about the water lots last night, during a presentation by the Southern Georgian Bay OPP marine detachment at the annual meeting of the Midland chapter of the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons. My understanding from the officers is that park staff have also been given increased enforcement powers. The water lots are mainly around Beausoleil Island, but exist at other locations, including the former docking area at Bone Island. The bulletin includes a map that shows their locations (and lat/lon coordinates) and a long list of activities that the water lots forbid, which I’ve included here.
The bulletin reads in part:
Pursuant to Section 7(1) of the National Parks General Regulations, the following activities are prohibited by order of the Superintendent:
- Obstructing or impeding dock space by anchoring or mooring your vessel or belongings in the vicinity of any dock.
- Mooring vessels to trees.
- Mooring vessels to park signs.
- Mooring to or infringing on swim lines. Vessels are not permitted in designated swimming areas at any time.
- Creating excessive noise and/or unreasonable behaviour at any time. Quiet hours are from 11:00 pm until 8:00 am.
- Consumption or use of alcohol/cannabis between the hours of 11:00 pm until 8:00 am.
- Possessing fireworks.
- Hunting, possessing, disturbing, touching or feeding wildlife.
- Littering of any material.
- Operating or possessing a drone within Georgian Bay Islands National Park or managed water lots.
- Scuba diving without written approval from the Superintendent.
- Conducting any business without written approval from the Superintendent.
It would be fair to say that these water lots address the most problematic areas for the park where boater activities are concerned. The small water lots noted for the northeast corner of island 397 in Twelve Mile Bay, the small bay at the west end of Little Dog Channel (where there used to be a dock), the back corner of Lost Bay, and the small bay (points 49-52) on Beausoleil north of Brébeuf Island, suggests ongoing problems there with “squatting” or unpleasant behaviour. Previously on this blog, I have suggested that water lots could be a tool for making it impossible to install floating cottages in certain waters on the bay, and some of these lots to my eye were chosen precisely with preventing long-term use by yachts or floating cottages in mind.
(I had also previously reported on the consultations for the park’s new management plan. The draft was weak on addressing the presence of cruising boats outside designated docks, and I said so at an online consultation meeting. I was pleased to see that content addressing cruising boats was beefed up in the final draft.)
The bulletin notes that that water lots give the park the power to immediately evict non-compliant boaters. Having water lots is also a powerful tool for the park going forward, as they could be used to control (or forbid) anchoring by whatever means the park deems practical. I don’t want to get to far ahead of myself here, but to instil order on some problematic anchorages, the park would have the options of charging anchoring fees and deploying designated mooring buoys with a reservation system.
Wild Great Lakes 