I really think some of the less established outfitters might have trouble surviving if Remote Area Border Crossing permits are not reinstated. I know once the highest share of Quetico visitors went thru Prairie portage. It will be an interesting summer.

I wonder what percentage of outfitter business is Quetico campers? I am sure someone on here may know.

It’s a good question. Of that number How many will just switch to the BWCAW and offset the cost.

Also how will this affect tows on moose? I suspect tows will be down. My suspicion is that Q paddlers use tows more. You aren’t in the park until you hit Prairie…Moose is motorized, Moose doesn’t feel like the BWCAW nor Quetico so I suspect a higher percent of Q paddlers pick a tow to get through the Moose mess :)

A bigger question is how much money will Ontario Parks lose. Ontario Parks are supposed to operate based on their revenue. They still will have the same cost of running Prairie Portage and Cache (unless I missed it would be shut down) yet miss the significantly higher American fees and sheer number of permits coming through those entry points. Overall this will definitively reduce Quetico permits so revenue will be significantly down. Some people will switch to the North side, but there is no way that will offset regular Cache and Prairie entries which were the 2 biggest entries.

Financially this will be terrible to Quetico/Ontario Parks. I wonder what cuts in staffing and maintenance this will cause? I feel bad for the people that work there.

T