Quetico Provincial Park Is Now Ontario's First Dark Sky Park

Summary: Quetico Provincial Park is now Ontario's first Dark Sky Park, according to the International Dark-Sky Association's Facebook post Feb. 23, 2021.

Quetico Provincial Park's shared Canadian-U.S. borders with northeastern Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) place Ontario's first Wilderness Class Park in the Boundary Waters region, also known as Quetico-Superior Country: International Dark-Sky Association @IDAdarksky, via Facebook Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021

Quetico Provincial Park is now Ontario's first Dark Sky Park, according to the International Dark-Sky Association's (IDA) Facebook post on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021.

The Tucson, Arizona-based nonprofit organization announced the addition of Quetico Provincial Park to its website's list of Dark Sky Places via a press release, "Quetico Provincial Park Awarded International Dark Sky Park Designation," dated Feb, 23, 2021.

Quetico Provincial Park encompasses 4,719 square kilometers (471,942 hectares) in Central Canada's secondary region of Northwestern Ontario, according to the park's website. The park's International Dark Sky Park application, dated Aug. 19, 2020, describes its location as lying with the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest Region, which spans southeastern Manitoba to southeastern Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula (6.0 Park Resources and Significance: Natural Resources: Life Science, page 12). The park's location places it in a transition zone between boreal forests to the north, mixed forests to the south and Great Plains forests to the southwest and west.

Quetico Provincial Park's International Dark Sky Park application describes the landscape as ". . . rugged Canadian Shield speckled with over 2900 lakes . . ." (2.0 Park Location and General Description, page 4). Abundant waterways occupy over 21 percent of the park's surface. The Canadian Shield, also known as the Laurentian Plateau, stretches across central and eastern Canada, from the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean, as exposed igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks dating from the Precambrian Period's span of 4.6 billion years ago (gigaannum; Ga) to about 541 million years ago (megaannum; Ma).

In its reach to the Canadian-United States international border, the park's southern boundary touches the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) of northeastern Minnesota's Superior National Forest. This area of shared border is known as the Boundary Waters and also as Quetico-Superior Country.

Quetico was established as Quetico Forest and Game Reserve in 1909. In 1913, it became Quetico Provincial Park. In 1977, Quetico Provincial Park was designated as a Wilderness Class Park.

The Wilderness Class Park designation applies to eight parks within the Ontario Parks system. Quetico Provincial Park shares the rare designation with Kesagami Provincial Park and Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park in Northeastern Ontario; Killarney Provincial Park in Southern Ontario's Central Ontario region; and Northwestern Ontario's Opasquia Provincial Park, Polar Bear Provincial Park, Wabakimi Provincial Park and Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. Ontario Parks operates as a branch administered by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks. As of Dec. 23, 2020, the Ontario Parks system comprises 343 provincial parks, according to Ontario Regulation 316/07, Designation and Classification of Provincial Parks, of the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006.

The park's vastness is accessed by six staffed entry stations on the periphery. Road accessible stations occur at Atikokan in the north, Dawson Trail in the northeast and Lac La Croix in the west-northwest. Entry stations at Prairie Portage in the southeast, Beaverhouse in the northwest and Cache Bay in the south are only accessible by canoe. The park's International Dark Sky application notes the uniqueness of Quetico's canoe access in the Ontario Parks system. Permit pickups at Prairie Portage and Cache Bay stations account for over half of the park's backcountry visitors (3.0 Park AccessBackcountry, page 5).

Quetico Provincial Park offers clear views of the night sky,'s natural attractions, including the Aurora Borealis and the Milky Way. Among outreach activities available at the park is an annual program conducted at the Dawson Trail Campgrounds by the Thunder Bay Chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) during the Perseid Meteor Shower's peak. Chapter volunteers give lectures and allow visitors' unparalleled views via the Chapter's high-quality telescopes. The Perseids occur as a prolific shower between mid-July and late August and peak around Aug. 12.

The IDA's announcement of Quetico Provincial Park's Dark Sky Park status noted that the park now numbers as the third provincial park in Ontario to receive a Dark Sky designation since 2018. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada designed Killarney Provincial Park, which is also a Wilderness Class Park, as a Dark Sky Preserve on Feb. 28, 2018. On July 17, 2018, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada recognized Lake Superior Provincial Park as a Dark Sky Preserve.

The takeaways for Quetico Provincial Park as Ontario's first Dark Sky Park are that the Wilderness Class Park received its Dark Sky Park designation on Feb. 23, 2021, six months the park's Aug. 19, 2020, application; that night sky viewing opportunities at Quetico Provincial Park include an annual August outreach by Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Thunder Bay Chapter during the Perseid Meteor Shower's peak; and that Quetico Provincial Park joins Killarney Provincial Park and Lake Superior Provincial Park, recognized as Dark Sky Preserves by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2018, as Ontario's third Dark Sky designated park.

Contact details:
Quetico Provincial Park
108 Saturn Avenue
Box 2430
Atikokan, Ontario
P0T 1C0
Canada

Direct questions to: 807-597-2735

website: https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/quetico

Northwestern Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park offers clear night viewing of natural attractions, such as the Aurora Borealis: Quetico Provincial Park @QueticoPP, via Facebook Aug. 6, 2019

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Quetico Provincial Park's shared Canadian-U.S. borders with northeastern Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) place Ontario's first Wilderness Class Park in the Boundary Waters region, also known as Quetico-Superior Country: International Dark-Sky Association @IDAdarksky, via Facebook Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, @ https://www.facebook.com/IDAdarksky/posts/10164717603875401

Northwestern Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park offers clear night viewing of natural attractions, such as the Aurora Borealis: Quetico Provincial Park @QueticoPP, via Facebook Aug. 6, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/QueticoPP/posts/1263102273851767?__tn__=-R

For further information:

Government of Ontario. "O. Reg. 316/07: Designation and Classification of Provincial Parks Under Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 12." Consolidation Period: From December 23, 2020 to the e-Laws currency date.
Available @ https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/070316

The International Dark-Sky Association. Fighting Light Pollution: Smart Lighting Solutions for Individuals and Communities. Mechanicsburg PA: Stackpole Books, 2012.

International Dark-Sky Association. "Quetico Provincial Park (Canada): About." International Dark-Sky Association > Our Work > Conservation > International Dark Sky Places > International Dark Sky Parks > Quetico Provincial Park (Canada).
Available @ https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/parks/quetico-provincial-park-canada/

International Dark-Sky Association @IDAdarksky. "Fantastic news! Quetico Provincial Park is now an International Dark Sky Park! This is an important stride in creating an internationally significant area of pristine protected night skies in Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Minnesota. Read all about it here: https://bit.ly/3qNllxU." Facebook. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/IDAdarksky/posts/10164717603875401

Marriner, Derdriu. "2017 Big Cypress National Preserve Night Sky Outing, Saturday, March 25." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 22, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/03/2017-big-cypress-national-preserve.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Australia and Eurasia Have 11 International Dark Sky Parks for Starers." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/australia-and-eurasia-have-11.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Gabriela Mistral Dark Sky Sanctuary Marks First IDSS Anniversary.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/08/gabriela-mistral-dark-sky-sanctuary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "International Dark Sky Week 2018 Begins Sunday, April 15." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, April 11, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/04/international-dark-sky-week-2018-begins.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Star-Filled Four Corners States Claim 16 International Dark Sky Parks." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/star-filled-four-corners-states-claim.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Stephen C. Foster State Park Offers Darkened Southern Georgia Skies." Earth and Space News. Wedneday, March 29, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/03/stephen-c-foster-state-park-offers.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "United States Has 30 International Dark Sky Parks as of October 2016." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/united-states-has-30-international-dark.html

Morin, Will; and Bruce Waters. "Stories in the Stars / Pride in Our Hearts." Ontario Parks > Parks Blog. Aug. 16, 2019.
Available @ https://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/indigenous-astronomy/

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Ontario Parks. "Quetico Provincial Park Management Plan (Published 2018)."
Available @ https://www.ontario.ca/page/quetico-provincial-park-management-plan-published-2018

Ontario Parks. "Kesagami Provincial Park Management Statement." Government of Ontario > Travel and Recreation > Parks and protected areas > Provincial park management direction. April 15, 1998. Published online Jan. 11, 2017. Updated Oct. 3, 2019.
Available @ https://www.ontario.ca/page/kesagami-provincial-park-management-statement

Ontario Parks Blog. "The Killarney Provincial Park Dark Sky Preserve." Ontario Parks > Parks Blog. July 6, 2019.
Available @ https://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/killarney-dark-sky-preserve/

Ontario Parks Blog. "The Lake Superior Provincial Park Dark Sky Preserve." Ontario Parks > Parks Blog. July 6, 2019.
Available @ https://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/lake-superior-dark-sky-preserve/

Ontario Parks Blog. "Quetico: an International Dark Sky Park." Ontario Parks > Parks Blog. Feb. 23, 2021.
Available @ http://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/quetico-international-dark-sky-park/

Ontario Parks Quetico Provincial Park. "Application for International Dark SkyPark Designation." Aug. 19, 2020.
Available @ https://darksky.app.box.com/s/fvgf3ghzmscz8508d8vx3xuhjiz9jvwm/file/763006542386

Quetico Provincial Park @QueticoPP. "It’s time we learn the astronomical traditions of the diverse Indigenous cultures in the Americas. Connecting to the stories of those people who lived in Ontario long before colonization, the Indigenous peoples, is an act of shifting perspective and respect. We owe it to ourselves as well as to those who were here before us to learn these stories." Facebook. Aug. 28, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/QueticoPP/posts/1273298422832152

Quetico Provincial Park @QueticoPP. "Quetico Provincial Park is pleased to announce that it has been designated as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association. This international partnership with Heart of the Continent, Voyageurs National Park & the BWCA protects pristine night skies in NW Ontario & NE Minnesota." Facebook. Feb. 23, 2021.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/QueticoPP/posts/1750308561797800?__tn__=-R

Quetico Provincial Park @QueticoPP. "What's better than an Aurora? An Aurora with a Meteor Shower!! Be sure you join us and the The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada this weekend for the Perseid Meteor Shower. See our events page for details. Photos of aurora borealis by our Assistant Biologist Jared Stachiw from this past weekend at French Lake." Facebook. Aug. 6, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/QueticoPP/posts/1263102273851767?__tn__=-R

Quetico Superior Foundation. "Quetico Superior Boundary Waters Canoe Area Timeline."
Available @ https://queticosuperior.org/historical-timeline/