How many of you go to places without names? I don't fish parks. Most of the Canadian Shield isn't a park, but Crown Land. Thus, with a simple $10 nightly fee, you are allowed to go wherever you want and camp wherever you want. It's not that there aren't crowds. Generally, there's no one other than you. Who else canoes and fishes the Great Nameless?

$10 per night per person or per group? US citizen?

$10 per person. Free for Canadians. You could not purchase the pass, since I've never met a law person up there, but I figure it's more than fair to pay it, since Canada is kind enough to host us.

One and same pass for all Crown Land in Canada?

No...missmolly probably refers to the Ontario Outdoors Card.

Regulations applying to public lands vary widely for each Province and even within the same province for each area.

Here is an overview of the regulations in Quebec.
-Fishing is always regulated.
-There is no such thing as an Outdoor Card in Quebec.
-Some public lands are organized into ZEC. Their primary goal is to manage fishing and hunting activities. They can setup fees to use the roads they take care of. Some will also ask for fees for canoeing or camping. There is no general rule. Fees are usually low.
-Some public lands are out of bound like military zones and conservation areas.

You may also need to ask for permission (Usually free) under certain circumstances.
-This is mandatory to venture into an Indian reservation (Ask the Band Council and record the name of the person who gave you the permission).
-This is just good behavior toward other users to ask for permission to park your car or take in/out of hunting/fishing lodges.

Thank you. At this moment, I am primarily interested in area around Quetico, and I don't hunt or fish.

much crown land bordering or near minnesota is off limits for americans to camp. i have a map that i am having trouble scanning that outlines the off limit areas. also there is a huge amount of logging and mineral extraction activities going on in ontario. i prefer to use existing parks for two reasons. i prefer to avoid 100 square mile clearcuts, and also geologic exploration crews in helicopters. also i believe that it important for the future of canadian wilderness parks that americans show interest in using these areas that are set aside for this purpose. the canadian attitude towards the "bush" is far different than ours.

jwartman59

Could you please elaborate on the differences between American and Canadian approaches to the woods?

hello frederic. welcome. i have Montreal envy at times, Montreal is a gorgeous city and the province of Quebec even more so. i have visited Montreal several times as with Quebec City. as a voyageur history buff and whitewater canoeist i envy you for living in such magnificent country.

in 1977 i canoed the kaniapiscau river from near labrador city to the artic ocean. as far as i know we were the last group to canoe this river in it's wild state. i could be wrong. i'll be frank, i would never want to repeat an experience like that again, ever. i am lucky to be alive.

i canoe as Sig Olson canoed, he learned canoeing from the canadians. although canadians do some weird stuff,(freestyle canoeing?) what?

most of my recent interactions with canadians are with those who live in the fairly remote regions of manitoba and ontario, north of minnesota. i had lived for a time in alaska, i believe the people in both of these regions have a similar attitude regarding wilderness. my comment "the canadian attitude towards the "bush" ", reflects the fact that people living in sparsely populated 'wilderness' do not have the luxury of appreciating wilderness for it's unique and esoteric properties. for people in these areas the land must provide, the thought of turning huge areas into restricted natural parks, must seem absurd.

canada is an enormous country, most of it is still quite wild. the US really has nothing that can compare with the vast undeveloped lands of canada. i wish i could elaborate better on how i perceive our different perspectives on wilderness and resource use. i guess i am still pissed off about the dead kaniapiscau river.

jwartman59

I am sure you had a robust canoe trip down the Caniapiscau!

Last summer a group ran it probably for the first time since it had been dammed. Still scenic according to pictures but no more the huge river you experienced in the seventies.

I do understand your point on Canadian approach to the wood. This attitude is not shared by everyone in Canada but when you look at the results you realize that it is the dominant point of view.

The Rupert and the Romaine were recently sacrificed.

There are plans to dam almost all remaining monster rivers in Quebec and even plans for a lot of smaller ones.

I guess this example is a good illustration of the dominant point of view. Hydro-Quebec planed to dam the Ashuapmuchuan a few years ago. The project would have created 50 jobs for 6 months for building then 2 full time jobs when in production. Electricity production would have been modest at most. They were protests and the project was postponed. I saw an interview on TV where a local let go this amazing piece of wisdom: Why should we leave this river intact for the enjoyment of the elite from Montreal? We are speaking about jobs here!

I am afraid that this is not about to stop. The New England board of Governors recently told Hydro-Quebec that they are ready to buy all the electricity they can produce. Now our government is about to launch the Plan Nord, an ambitious development scheme for mining in northern Quebec.

of course i have mixed feelings about these development plans. hydro power is a clean and "environmentally friendly" means of producing energy. most of northern quebec is startlingly bleak and uninhabitable, though i find the high hills very beautiful, in a way it reminded me of the foothills of the rockies. the rivers are or were monstrous, nothing in the midwest or ontario is remotely close to the hugeness of these rivers.

my son just received his masters degree in geology. he has already spent a lot of time in the bush, ontario. you would not believe the amount of money they are willing to pay a 24 year old kid. he took a job with the oil industry in oklahoma, he was not interested in working anymore at desolate outposts.

we need energy, and the demand for minerals is going though the roof. think about how many cell phones you may have gone through in the last several years. i am sorry that quebec is being sacrificed.

i have seen the photos you mentioned of the canoe trip down the caniapiscau. i believe they are posted on panorama. they mention that they canoed sections of eaton canyon. when i was there this canyon was the most fearsome waters that i had ever imagined. beyond incredible. it was very sad for me to view these photos.

this is what is happening in the great nameless. ontario has had the foresight to set aside small areas of prime wilderness for, hopefully, the tourist trade. i am afraid that if these areas remain as infrequently used as they are at this time, the protections may be removed.

the north of canada is in danger of loosing that essential quality of wilderness, huge areas where the presence of man is very limited. we americans are hardly aware of what is happening in canada (hard to imagine that). but then i guess the only people who would really care are the elite toronto and montreal (and minneapolis) paddlers and sportsmen who make the huge effort to get to these places.