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Len Hopkins chaired the Ottawa River Heritage Designation Committee until his death in 2007. However, committee members are optimistic Hopkins’ goal of obtaining national heritage status for the Ottawa River could happen as early as next month.
It’s anticipated the announcement could be made at the June 14-17 Canadian Heritage Rivers System conference in Ottawa as CHRS celebrates its 25th anniversary.
“We’re hoping for speedy approval,” committee chairman Larry Graham told the Mercury last Friday.
During the April 29 session of Renfrew County council, Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet said he’d been notified the CHRS board of governors had approved the Ottawa River as a heritage river.
That approval is a big step toward formal and final approval of the designation, which now requires the signatures of provincial Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield and federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice.
That sounds elementary enough, but committee members know the signature from former federal Environmental Ministry John Baird, to have the original nomination approved, took more than a year.
Baird finally signed the nomination documents in 2008 after the river was nominated in 2006. The committee’s work to obtain the nomination began in 2002.
National heritage status would put the famous river in a special class with about 40 other rivers across Canada and facilitate its identification as a place for tourists to visit. CHRS was established in 1984 by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples of Canada’s river heritage, to give them national recognition, and to encourage the public to enjoy them. CHRS also strives to ensure these rivers are managed in a sustainable manner.
While formal approval isn’t completed, Graham says he’s optimistic. “It’s a distinction that takes years to get, but which will only bring benefits for years to come,” he said. “I can’t see a downside to this.”
Sweet says the designation will be a victory for Ottawa Valley residents, with tremendous economic implications for those living near the Ottawa River.
“It’s only right it should be designated,” said Sweet, who remembers Hopkins referring to the Ottawa River as the Highway 401 of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Ottawa River’s heritage status will be for the 590-kilometre section from the head of Lake Timiskaming (near New Liskeard) to East Hawkesbury. For details on the Ottawa River Heritage Designation Committee’s 317-page background study, visit www.ottawariver.org.
steve.newman@metroland.com