We got away in good time and paddled past Norway Bay, QC and across the calm river to Braeside, ON.  We didn’t have time to stop in Norway Bay on this trip, but I have been to this beautiful sandy bay several times before.  The community wharf is a wonderful gathering place and this is where the summer swimming lessons are for locals.  There were many questions last night about testing the quality of the water for swimming and I highly recommend the community take it on to do this simple testing that help parents make informed decisions about the risks associated with swimming on any given day.

Our team was exceptionally punctual as we arrived at Red Pine Bay Beach at 10am to meet Mayor Mary Campbell and local Riverwatcher Dan Smith.  Councillor Aldene Styles and a some locals were also there to meet and greet the Ottawa Riverkeeper team.  We had a very good discussion and I was impressed with Mayor Campbell’s knowledge and understanding of the important local issues.  I was very pleased to know the Township is working to make their riverfront more accessible to the public and they have made Red Pine Bay an official swimming beach and will have water testing done during the swimming season.  In June 2011 they organized the Braeside Riverdrivers Festival that celebrated the rich logging history in the region. I was also very interested to learn more about the extensive property taken up by Gilles Saw Mill, now owned by Tembec.  This is a contaminated site that takes up the community’s prime real estate along the river.  There are no immediate plans to clean up the site, but Tembec did destroy all of the old buildings, lowering the taxes they are required to pay to the Township.  At Red Pine Bay there has typically been some seepage coming from the park site that locals have been concerned about for years – I’ve responded to several calls about this site.  On this trip I learned that there is waste from the mill buried under the park…likely the cause for any strange seepage from the site.  This site warrants further investigation.  Another important issue in this region is the expansion of the Braeside Quarry; many neighbouring residents are legitimately concerned that their well water will be impacted by the quarry.

Mayor Mary Campbell, Red Pine Bay, Braeside

We paddled past the Gilles Saw Mill property and noticed some large piles that were attracting the gulls.  There was plenty of rubble and the shores were visibly polluted with concrete and rebar.  No buildings remain on the site and there are several very large piles of wood chips that are slowly being hauled away at a rate that may take several years.  Along the shores I noticed many of the rocks were covered in a bright green algae – this was noticeable off and on for the rest of the day.

Submersed rock covered in algae, Braeside, ON

The shoreline after the Tembec property is lined with beautiful rock and therefore shorelines are fairly natural.  After a few kilometres the shoreline is forested and beautiful – the Gilles Grove.  Gillies Grove is a rare remnant of the magnificent forest that once covered this region. It is one of the last such tracts of Old Growth in the province and is now owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

This magnificent property is shared by the Galilee Centre, a retreat and conference centre with a stunning view over the Ottawa River and a peaceful atmosphere.  We were greeted on the beautiful sandy beach by many locals including David Reid, mayor of Arnprior, Abby Barclay, Environmental Engineering Technologist for Arnprior, David Spence and John Booth, two of Ottawa Riverkeeper’s directors who live seasonally in Arnprior, and Father Jack Lau from the Galilee Centre.  After a many excellent conversations we were fed a beautiful lunch that was prepared from food grown right on the property.

leaving from the Galilee Centre's beach, photo by Mike Beedell

In the afternoon we met with Kirby Punt, MNR Fisheries Biologist and Eric Smith from the Arnprior Fish and Game Club who have been trapping and tracking American Eel in this reach of the Ottawa River.  The American Eel is now officially listed as an endangered species and there are very few of them left in the Ottawa River.  At one time the river would run silver as huge schools of eels migrated downriver to spawn in the north Atlantic Ocean.  Now the Ottawa River and its tributaries are home to dozens of large dams that impede migration up the river and make traveling down river an act of suicide for fish like the American Eel that get chopped up in the turbines of the hydro electric generating stations as they are trying to reach the ocean to spawn.

We had a beautiful hour of paddling on the river, past Marshall’s Bay to Lavergne Point where we stopped at the upper end of the boat bypass that takes boats around the Chats Dam.  Here we met with Richard Pratt, a director of the Ottawa River Waterway.  I was curious to learn more about the vision of the organization – what now after several boat bypasses have been built?  Richard explained to me that the infrastructure (docks, ramps, trucks and trailers) were the legacy of the organization and now they are hoping the towns and regions on the river can use them to help promote tourism and travel on the river.  While traveling on the river I spoke with people about the bypasses and it seems they are not being used much.  The bypass around the Otto Holden Dam is not operating (we tried calling in advance to help our team around the dam, but we ended up portaging!).  Apparently the busiest bypass is the one at Des Joachims, now operated by a private contractor.

After a lengthy day of meetings and paddling, I was happy to arrive in Lavergne Bay where our Riverwatcher Pat Tait and her husband David hosted a wonderful community BBQ and campfire.  The sunset was spectacular and Pat’s son Dan (a River guide) treated us to some of his original songs around the campfire.

Sunset in Lavergne Bay, photo by Mike Beedell

We were met on the river by Peter Haughton, driving his steelcraft winch pointer boat.  We arrived at Riverwatcher’s Peter and Barbara Haughton’s place, nestled in a small sheltered bay with a sandy beach and a collection of heritage boats, including a refurbished barge, once the bunkhouse for lumbermen on the river.  The Haughtons have an extensive photo collection of heritage river craft and a lumbering museum at their place in Bristol.  We were treated to an amazing dinner that was a collection of fine food and dishes prepared by friends in the community.

Dinner at Peter and Barb Haughton's

After dinner we paddled to Riverwatcher Virginia MacLatchy’s cottage on the river and were hustled up to nearby Pine Lodge where a community meeting was planned.  The turnout for the meeting was fabulous, with mayors Brent Orr and Ross Vowles present and about 55 members of  nearby communities…not bad for a week night in September!  From 7pm to 10pm I was kept on my toes with excellent questions and conundrums brought forward by a variety of people who are connected to the Ottawa River and want to help protect it.  Many thanks to the Haughtons and Virginia MacLatchy  for their hospitality, to Pine Lodge for hosting the meeting, to Riverwatchers Virginia MacLatchy, Deb Powell, Hope Cadieux-Ledoux, Dan Lussier and the Haughtons for organizing the meeting, and to Katharine Fletcher for helping spark interest in the work of Ottawa Riverkeeper!

Community Meeting at Pine Lodge

The Riverkeper downstream of Portage-du-Fort photo credit: Mike Beedell

We launched our canoes in Portage-du-Fort on Wednesday morning at the boat launch by the River Club.  The morning was calm and the light beautiful.  I am traveling with Mike Beedell, and two of our local Riverwatchers, Pat Tait and Gail Clarke.  The major feature at the launch site is the Cheneaux Dam, owned and operated by Ontario Power Generation.  This reach of the river is fairly undeveloped, though that is slowly changing as large lots are being divided and sold for development.  The shorelines are mostly pristine and there was one property where we saw cows accessing the river, although the shoreline was completely natural and wooded.  The river moves swiftly past several alluvial islands, the largest of which is owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.  From talking with locals, it seems that the water quality has improved in this reach of the river since the closing of the Smurfit-Stone Paper Mill in Portage-du-Fort in 2010.  As we paddled the river opened up in front of our eyes (Sand Bay to our left) and doubled in width – the Ottawa River was looking really big now!  For the next 5km highway#1 hugs the shores of the river and there are houses and cottages along the entire length of the shoreline.  We were met by Kathy Lindsay, Chair of the Bonnechere River Watershed Project and Skip Ross, an Algonquin elder who lives on the Petawawa River.  Skip was happy to see that we had not given up and we were still on our journey to raise awareness about the Ottawa River and he offered the river some tobacco and asked to keep us safe and keep the water clean.  We paddled up the mouth of the Bonnechere River where the change in water quality is noticeable.  We arrived at the Horton boat launch to a sound of drumming and we received a warm welcome from Mayor Don Eady, and folks from Ottawa River Institute, the Bonnechere Watershed Project and Skip Ross.  After lunch Kathy took Skip, Mike and I up the river to see the First Chute where Renfrew Power is eying up the falls as a potential micro-hydro project.  Thank you to everyone who was there and made our visit interesting and fun and to the Township of Horton for taking an interest in the health of the Ottawa River (and feeding us!).

Skip Ross, Kathy Lindsay and Riverkeeper at First Chute on Bonnechere River, photo credit: Mike Beedell

In celebration of World Rivers Day and to launch the fifth and final segment of the Great River Project, Ottawa Riverkeeper would like to invite you to attend and participate in Paddles Up! With Ottawa Riverkeeper. This event will be taking place on Victoria Island in Ottawa on Sunday, September 25th from 11:30 AM to approximately 4:00 PM.  The event will begin at the Aboriginal Experiences site on the island.

This will be an unforgettable day of meeting new people and sharing your stories and experiences of the Ottawa River. Riverkeeper Meredith Brown, along with experts on topics ranging from fisheries to the history of the river and First Nation presence in the watershed will be on hand to answer all of your questions about the River. If you would like to bring your children to this event, we will be organizing some fun activities, including learning how to build your own water filter! Lunch will be available for purchase from Aboriginal Experiences, and complimentary coffee and tea will be provided courtesy of Bridgehead.

Bring your canoe or kayak and paddle with us in a flotilla from Victoria Island to Kettle Island, where we will wish the Great River Project team good luck and see them off on their way to Montreal.  Don’t have your own boat?  We will have a limited number of seats in 8-12 person Voyageur canoes available by reservation only (for details on how to reserve your spot, see below).

The event will start at 11:30 AM and the flotilla will be departing at 1:30 PM. The flotilla will return at approximately 4:00 PM to Victoria Island.

Celebrate World Rivers Day in a unique and educational way – bring your family and friends, learn and share your thoughts about the Ottawa River and paddle past Parliament along one of the most famous stretches of the Ottawa River. Hop in a voyageur canoe or bring your own boat!

REGISTRATION FOR A SEAT IN THE VOYAGEUR CANOES IS NOW OPEN

Sign up now to reserve your seat in a Voyageur canoe! The cost is $10 per person. To register for your spot, please send an email to info@ottawariverkeeper.ca with your name and the number of spots that you would like to reserve. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

No registration is necessary if you have your own boat, and help will be available on site to carry canoes and kayaks to and from your vehicles. Please note that everyone participating in this event MUST have a personal flotation device, so please bring your PFD along with your boat.

We sincerely hope that you will be able to join us for this wonderful celebration of the river, and look forward to seeing you there!

Meredith

Here’s what others have to say:

“My best childhood memories are centered around my collage on the river” – Leo, Renfrew, ON

“Kitchissippi was the highway to the Pontiac” – Venetia, Shawville, QC

“I fish and eat from the waters” – Shirley, Pikwakanagan, ON

“My body is 85%+ water. We are all connected” – Irvin, Pikwakanagan, ON

“I’ve spent my life on this river and I want it to stay healthy” – Mary, Sheenboro, QC

“It is my keeper” – Lionel, Ottawa, ON

“The morning mist is calming and brings me peace” – Leonard, Pembroke, ON

On the morning of day 6, we were all excited to get out onto the white water. We started at Esprit basecamp and hopped on a bus which took us to the rapids. Though some of us were a little bit scared (Will), the adrenalin made for an extremely thrilling experience. The thundering of our hearts accompanied the roar of the water as we soared through the rapids of the Ottawa River. A sudden plunge into the cool flowing water, and awakening to a new world taken away by the raw power of the waters! In the end we were able to experience new heights of adventure and excitement, two things this great river never lacks.

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Note: On this part of the trip, the expedition team was the fortunate recipient of very generous hospitality by Jim Coffey, owner/operator of Esprit Rafting. Thanks to Jim, the team experienced a full day of rafting on upper and lower channels of the Ottawa River, home to some of the best and most intense rapids in the world! Please help us extend thanks to our friends at Esprit Rafting, by visiting next time you’re in the area.

We’re on day 5 of our youth expedition down the Ottawa River and oh the things we have seen! After departing from Pembroke yesterday afternoon, we paddled through some rough waves and braved the Allumette Rapids in our voyageur canoes. We came through all in one piece and spread a few rounds of high fives through the group before picking up the pace and racing each other the rest of the way to our campsite just upstream of Westmeath.

We were met there by two Riverwatchers, John Meadows and Ev St Amour, who shared some of their own stories about the river. Ev grew up with a family of commercial sturgeon fishers and gave us an idea of how significantly the state of the sturgeon population in the river has declined in the last 50 years. She told us about a 160 pound sturgeon her family once caught – that’s more than what most of our participants weigh!

In keeping with the trend, today was yet another amazing day. We met with Al Donaldson, a retired professor and lifelong geologist, who hopped into a canoe with us for the day as we paddled through one of the most geologically interesting sections of the river. He gave us the rundown of all the different types of rock that are found in the river, and talked about the fossils we would be seeing later in the day. We paddled down the river with Al to meet with Elizabeth and Alan Elliott who talked to us about the underground cave system on their stretch of the river and then went out to see the site of one of the sinkholes that’s a part of this system. It was not only fascinating to see different features of these underwater caves, but also incredible to find that almost every rock we paddled past, stepped on, or picked up had fossilized remains in it! It was a great experience for all of us, and an enormous thank-you goes out to the Elliotts and their wonderful neighbours for their stories and generous hospitality!

We ended the day by paddling to Esprit Rafting basecamp, where we’re currently camped out for the next couple of nights. It was an incredibly fun evening – pizza, a campfire and corn roast, and a musical performance by none other than Ian Tamblyn.

If you have the opportunity, check out the Pontiac Equity, a local newspaper, that interviewed the participants about the trip and got to hear what a great time we’ve been having!

Here’s what one of the participants, Callum Steele, has to say about the trip so far:

Beauty – that’s the one word I would pick from the variety of amazing characteristics found on the Ottawa River. The smell of fresh water, the sound of the waves rolling onto the beach, combined with the lush green landscape of the river all create an amazing and awakening experience.

Thanks for the inspiring words Callum!