Tourism a growth engine.Since the days of the river drives of the early 1900s, the economic foundation of the townships of Nipigon and Red Rock has been dominated by the forest products industry. While the Nipigon River The Nipigon River is about 48 km (30 miles) long and 50 to 200 m (165 to 656 ft) wide in Ontario, Canada. The river drains Lake Nipigon into Nipigon Bay in Lake Superior, dropping from an elevation of 260 m (853 ft) to 183 m (600 ft). waterway down to Lake Superior has not been choked with logs since about 1972, hundreds of jobs in logging and trucking still rely on the forestry sector to feed the two mills in the two townships situated about 70 kilometres east of Thunder Bay Thunder Bay, city (1991 pop. 113,946), SW Ont., Canada, on Thunder Bay inlet of Lake Superior. The city was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and two adjoining townships. . Earlier this year, Columbia Forest Products Columbia Forest Products is the largest manufacturer of hardwood veneer, hardwood plywood and laminated products in the United States. Founded in 1957, it is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. became the new operator of the former Weyerhaeuser multiple hardwood plywood underlayment operation. Employing a stable workforce of approximately 150 workers, the mill produces plywood used as underlayment for vinyl, ceramic and laminate flooring This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. . Norampac Inc. in nearby Red Rock operates a 485-employee containerboard and corrugated cor·ru·gate v. cor·ru·gat·ed, cor·ru·gat·ing, cor·ru·gates v.tr. To shape into folds or parallel and alternating ridges and grooves. v.intr. fibre plant making linerboard lin·er·board n. A type of paperboard used in making corrugated cartons. , paper bags and newsprint wrappers. But town officials are concentrating on tourism to be a vital economic engine for the area already frequented by sportsmen coming from all over North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. hunting for bear, moose and deer. Three years ago Nipigon decided to dedicate its efforts into boosting tourism by revitalizing its downtown to draw a portion of an estimated four million tourists annually who pass by on the Trans-Canada Highway Trans-Canada Highway, c.4,800 mi (7,700 km) long, S Canada; dedicated 1962; completed 1970. The world's longest national highway, it traverses North America from St. John's, N.L., to Victoria, British Columbia. . "You have to go through Nipigon to get east or west, and if we can get some of (the tourists to) stop overnight it's going to benefit the gas and food (suppliers) and hotels," says Mayor Edward Belanger. "Quite a few businesses are closed and you have to have something to draw them in." With potential opportunities developing within the area as part of the Great Lakes Great Lakes, group of five freshwater lakes, central North America, creating a natural border between the United States and Canada and forming the largest body of freshwater in the world, with a combined surface area of c.95,000 sq mi (246,050 sq km). Heritage Coast, Nipigon and Red Rock development officials and politicians are preparing a community profile this year and next year geared to tourism and value-added forestry. They are also discussing ways to better utilize the wood fibre basket within the region. Located at the Highway 1117 crossroads, the area features natural scenic attributes like breathtaking views of Ouimet Canyon Ouimet Canyon is a large gorge in Canada. It is 100 metres deep, 150 metres wide and 2 kilometres in length, and is situated in Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park in Northwestern Ontario, northeast of Thunder Bay. , combined with the area's hiking trails linking the communities of Nipigon and Red Rock. As the oldest community on Lake Superior's north shore, with a history dating back to the early days of the fur trade in the mid 1600s, it grew into a Hudson Bay Company trading post--Red Rock House--located near the current day marina. Plans are afoot to open a regional museum in late May, 2004 to celebrate the area's history. With many empty downtown storefronts and few small businesses popping up, Nipigon officials have been working with Thunder Bay consultants to develop a Paddle to the Sea park as a major tourism drawing card as part of the downtown revitalization project. The design-build project will have several interactive stations leading down to the marina. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Other ideas under discussion include starting up an excursion train from Thunder Bay to Nipigon similar to the Agawa Canyon Tour, and upgrading the area's snow-mobile and hiking trails. While the state of the local economy remains stable, there are subtle pressures on its manufacturing base due to the situation regarding softwood lumber and the cyclical fluctuations in the forest products market, town officials say. But one newly minted Nipigon township councillor wants to see the town pursue an economic development plan for the future and set aside some industrial park space for incoming and local business. Mike Shusterman, Nipigon's Chamber of Commerce president and local mill manager at Columbia Forest Products, says there are potential opportunities to be researched in value-added forestry and mining exploration that will deliver full-time, well-paying jobs. "I'd like to see the secondary manufacturing of our forest products and find out what the mining potential is and develop that. "We've got to look at what we have first and then spread from there. We do have the resources and I don't think they're fully tapped yet. "I'd like us to see make a laminated veneer lumber Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is an engineered wood product that uses multiple layers of thin wood assembled with adhesives. It offers several advantages over typical milled lumber: it is stronger, straighter, and more uniform. product. We've talked about it at this mill under previous owners just never got the final push, but it would be a perfect fit for this area and it's a new product in the marketplace." www.nipigon.net/tourism RELATED ARTICLE: Nipigon Population 1964 Top employer Columbia Forest Products Top five employers Hospital, Weyerhaeuser-Plywood Mill, Domtar-Red Rock, Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.) is the Provincial Police force for the province of Ontario, Canada. Overview The OPP is the largest police force in Ontario and the second largest in Canada. , Ministry of Natural Resources, Zechners Foodmart, Area size of community 110 square kilometres Industrial park(s) Fully serviced industrial Park, road, rail, airport access Land values from $20,000 Real estate market conditions a buyers market By IAN ROSS Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. |
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