Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
| Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area | |
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IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
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| Location | Northwestern Ontario, Canada |
| Nearest city | Nipigon, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates | 48°26′6″N 89°13′14″W / 48.43500°N 89.22056°WCoordinates: 48°26′6″N 89°13′14″W / 48.43500°N 89.22056°W |
| Area | 10,000 km² |
| Established | September 1, 2015 |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area is a National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) on the north shore of Lake Superior in Ontario, and is a unit of the national park system. Established on September 1, 2015, it is the largest freshwater marine protected area in the world.
Although national marine parks and a reserve had been created previously, and managed as NMCAs, this was the first area in Canada to be designated a "National Marine Conservation Area" as defined by the Marine Conservation Areas Act. Plans to create it were first announced by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on October 25, 2007, in Nipigon, Ontario. The area is a unit of Canada's national park system administered by Parks Canada.
The conservation area extends 140 kilometres (87 mi) eastward from Thunder Bay, from Thunder Cape in the west, at the tip of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, to Bottle Point in the east, and stretches southward to the Canada-US border, linking with Isle Royale National Park. The Nipigon River and Lake Nipigon lie to the north.
Proposals to protect the area were first suggested in the mid-1990s, and formal plans were first announced in 2002.
The marine conservation area was proposed after discussion with provincial and First Nations representatives. The First Nations in the area, represented by Wilfred King, the regional grand chief of the northern Superior region, endorsed the proposal once they were satisfied that it respected the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850.
Parks Canada distributed questionnaires to local residents as a public consultation. 67% of respondents supported the "largest possible designation area," with 13% opposing any NMCA designation, and the remaining supporting some form of NMCA.
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