THUNDER BAY — The proposed waterfront trail system in the City of Thunder Bay's waterfront master plan connects to what the city refers to as the "now lands," which is an abbreviation of the former Northern Wood Preservers land.
Guy Walter, the city's architectural designer, explained that two parcels of land are privately owned, with one having to be managed in perpetuity.
He said they're planning to extend the waterfront trail to those lands.
"The Northern Wood Preserver property is on the northeast corner of Pierre Gagne's land, which is south of the Pool Six lands, across from where the cruise ships come in," he said, "On the south side of that little bay is where Gagne's land is and that's where we were planning the "now lands" (waterfront) trail spur."
Walter said the city has contacted Gagne to discuss leasing a portion of his land for the trail to cross near his property's shoreline.
Andre Gagne, Pierre Gagne's son, explained how they purchased 188 acres of land and water property in 2012, with the exception of one small piece of land that was previously severed.
"That (small piece) of land still belongs to the former owner, and that's where they're trying to connect the trail, Andre said, adding that spot is the perpetuity area of the early 1990s creosote "blob" that has since been successfully remediated and will continue to be the responsibility of the previous owner.
In 1997, Pierre was the general contractor who dredged the creosote sediment and built a permanent rock berm around the site, which is still there today. Some of the rock was later used to create fish fingers — long, thin land masses — and embayments to help restore the fish habitat lost by the land infill.
A recent study shows that the marine plants and fish habitat have recovered well.
"Pierre turned a lot of the lake into land," Andre said. "Due to that success, the area has been used as a model for remediation plans for other cleanup projects on the Great Lakes."
He added that a "pollution order" remains against that section, and the former owner must continue to pump water and provide a treatment process for it.
To date, Pierre Gagne has developed businesses on his property including Pierre Gagne Contracting and Midcontinent Terminal, and has more than 10 tenants that are located at the site.
The Chronicle Journal / Local Journalism Initiative
