The new Hattie Cove Wetland Walkway in Pukaskwa National Park/Parks Canada

The new Hattie Cove Wetland Walkway has opened at Pukaskwa National Park in northern Ontario thanks to a $540,000 ($417,000 USD) federal investment.

Connecting visitors to the park’s popular Suspension Bridge Trail and Coastal Hiking Trail, the walkway was officially reopened in June with a blessing and sharing of stories on the significance of the site by Biigtigong Knowledge Keeper Donald Michano, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Chief Duncan Michano and Parks Canada team members.

Through the federal infrastructure investment program, Parks Canada replaced an old boardwalk with a new, more sustainable structure.

The old Hattie Cove Wetland Walkway/Parks Canada

“Countless visitors have enjoyed walking on the boardwalk through this special habitat while hiking the Coastal Hiking Trail,” Parks Canada said in a news release. “Water levels in the marsh vary with changing Lake Superior levels and natural processes, resulting in ongoing challenges for maintaining a safe and dry walkway for visitors.”

The new pre-fabricated floating walkway can move up and down with the changing water levels that occur with changing beaver activity in the wetland. Visitors can now keep their feet dry and avoid slips while allowing beavers to naturally maintain this important wetland.

Parks Canada said the replacement of this trail structure will enhance visitor experience, ensure ecological integrity is maintained and reduce maintenance requirements.

“The new marshland walkway will give the visitors and local residents from Biigtigong and Marathon the opportunity to observe and enjoy the abundant and diverse wildlife that thrives in these types of wetlands,” Duncan Mishano, chief of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, said in a news release.

Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Chief Michano (left), Pukaskwa National Park’s park manager Christine Drake (center) and Knowledge Keeper Donald Michano (right) look out over Hattie Cove wetland from the recently replaced walkway/Parks Canada

Well maintained, accessible national parks help areas have more to offer as they grow their tourism sectors.

"Preserving natural environments is important for the health of our region and contributes to the joy we all feel when we think about Northern Ontario,” said Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario and Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay—Superior North.

Spanning more than 1,878 square kilometres (725 square miles) on Lake Superior’s remote northern coast, Pukaskwa weaves untouched nature with the long history of the Anishinaabe people.

Ontario’s only wilderness national park boasts pink-and-slate granite shores and near endless stretches of spruce, fir, pine and hardwoods. The biodiverse coastal regions — where wetland, lake and forest meet — are home to many iconic Canadian species and species at risk.

The Government of Canada is investing more than $11 million ($8.5 million USD) dollars to support infrastructure work in Pukaskwa and close to $27 million ($20 million USD) for national parks and national historic sites throughout Northern Ontario, as part of the largest federal infrastructure plan in the history of Parks Canada.