Lighthouse Divestiture

Heritage

(continued)

Yesterday I received a flurry of emails citing an article with the lead shown below and a talk show interview.

Blindsided by the Feds
Saugeen Shores
by James Morgan (Bayshore Broadcasting)
A bit of a surprise for Saugeen Shores as the federal government has offered to transfer ownership of Chantry Island to Bruce County.

The Marine Heritage Society has been working since 1997 on the restoration of the Island and has a fine relationship with the following organizations:

• The Town of Saugeen Shores Mayors, Council and Staff

• The Provincial Government

• The Federal Government

• Fisheries and Oceans (Coast Guard)

• Wildlife

• Heritage Canada

The tone and headlines of the article indicated to me that the writer had little or no prior background in the subject of Lighthouses and divestiture.

Since about 2002 and before, the Federal Government has had a protocol that offers Lighthouses to the following agencies and organizations in the order listed:

1.  Provincial Government

2. Municipal Government

3. County government

4. Interested private organizations that meet rigid guidelines.

From time to time the feds send out letters to the above and ask them to participate in the long term care of these structures.  They would like the County to do so for other lighthouses along the Bruce Coast

The Marine Heritage Society and the Town of Saugeen Shores has been working since 2004 in the active divestiture of the Chantry Island Light and heritage buildings (work began in 1997 and Chantry opened for tours August 11, 2001)  The Federal Government has been very cooperative in this adventure.  They have done the following:

1.  Recognized the work of the volunteers and community including The Town of Saugeen Shores.  They are using us as an example of 'doing things correctly'

2.  They invested heavily in an environmental cleanup of the Island that was caused by battery and heavy metal debris that had accumulated over the years.  This involved a large contract that used a lot of local content and scientists doing testing over a two month time frame.  It involved removing soil and taking it to shore, finally disposing of it in environmental holding areas.

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19/08/2009 08:39 PM

3.  They have done a survey in conjunction with the Marine Heritage Society and the staff of The Town of Saugeen Shores.  This survey involved very detailed items to be fixed prior to turning the Lighthouse over fully to the Town of Saugeen Shores and the Marine Heritage Society.  You can get a feel for the depth of this work by examining carefully the extensive coverage given to the Year of the Light by the Saugeen and Kincardine Times.  Please see Year of the Light Page

4.  They have helped the Marine Heritage Society and the Town of Saugeen Shores restore the other Lighthouses in the Community:  Inner and Outer Range Lights and McNabb Point Range Light.

If you'd like to see examples of this click below:

• Work Progress

• Finally Done

I'm a former chairman of the Marine Heritage Society and I've participated in extensive meetings up to last week about divestiture at the invitation of Marine Heritage Chair Rick Schumacher, former chair Gord Webb and director of community services Mike Myatt.  The process is going very well and Mayor Smith was not blindsided.  He was asked about a letter that he had not read as yet.

The Federal Government has been amazingly cooperative and their normal protocol requires them to send letters out defining their wish to divest.  They would like an entire Bruce County effort on this and can use the Lighthouse Partners organization to aid them.  It's a big job.  One thing we do know.  Chantry Island Restoration has not been blindsided by anybody.  It is alive and well and all agencies of government have done their job and done it superbly.

Mike Sterling Propeller Club Member