Ile Parisienne

Ile Parisienne is an uninhabited island in the province of Ontario in Canada. It is located in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior. Its name is derived from French and means "Parisian island." The Ile Parisienne Light located on the southern tip of the island is a critical aid to navigation on a major shipping lane in Lake Superior. The lighthouse was designated a Recognized Federal Heritage Building in 1991[1] and it is on the petitioned list for designation as a Heritage Lighthouse of Canada. The Ile Parisienne Conservation Reserve was created in 2001 to protect the island's pristine geology, habitat, and wildlife.

Ile Parisienne Conservation Reserve
Ile Parisienne Conservation Reserve
IUCN category II (national park)
Ile Parisienne sandstone cliffs on Western side
LocationWhitefish Bay, Ontario, Canada
Nearest citySault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Area911 ha (2,250 acres)
Established2001
Governing bodyMinistry of Natural Resources
Ile Parisienne Light - Northern side

Ile Parisienne is located at the eastern end of Lake Superior in the middle of Whitefish Bay about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The island is 911 hectares (2,250 acres) in area, 8 km (5.0 mi) long from north to south and 1.6 km (0.99 mi) at its widest point.[2]

The Ile Parisienne Conservation Reserve was created by the Ontario Public Lands Act of 2001 to protect Ile Parisienne.[2] The reserve encompasses the entire pristine island except a privately owned 46 ha (110 acres) tract at the southeast end and the southwest end where the lighthouse is located.[3] The reserve includes a 1.6 km (0.99 mi) marine zone extending from the shore into Whitefish Bay.[2]

The reserve's geology comprises Pre-Cambrian age Jacobsville Sandstone bedrock outcrops, postglacial raised beaches of sand and cobble, vegetated sand dunes, and unique boulder lags. The reserve protects spawning areas for lake trout and whitefish, feeding, nesting, and breeding habitat for waterfowl, raptors, and migrating birds. It also protects various wetland complexes and a super-canopy approaching old-growth status of white pine, black spruce, balsam fir, and white birch.[2]

The reserve is managed by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. There are no resource access roads. Private and commercial use is prohibited and no land permits have been issued. Scientific research is encouraged if it is conducted by qualified individuals or institutions. Any change in the reserve's land use is subject to a "Test of Compatibility" with Crown Land Use Policy.[4]

In 2010, Fisheries and Oceans Canada declared almost 1000 Canadian lighthouses as surplus under the new Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act.[5] The Ile Parisienne Light was petitioned for designation as a Heritage Lighthouse of Canada on or before 29 May 2015.[6]

Notes
  1. Tower. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  2. Ile Parisienne Land Use Policy, 1.
  3. Rowlett.
  4. Ile Parisienne Land Use Policy, 2 - 6.
  5. "Parks Canada won't preserve historic N.S. lighthouses". CBC News. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  6. "Heritage Lighthouses of Canada". pc.gc.ca. Parks Canada. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.

References
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