Current projects

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CONGRESS (OCTOBER 2011)

This 4-day workshop, subtitled Balancing Nature and Commerce in Communities that Neighbour Public Lands, will be held October 24-27, 2011 in Thunder Bay, Ontario and Grand Portage, Minnesota. It will provide community leaders, land managers and dedicated residents with an opportunity to explore significant issues facing communities that are balancing community and economic development with preserving the beauty and integrity of the five and a half million acres (2.2 million hectares) of public lands of Heart of the Continent region.

Participants will learn how they can take advantage of their community’s proximity to the vast wealth of natural, cultural, recreational and scenic assets of the region, in a way that will enhance their local economy, maintain the heritage and character of their community, and sustain these assets for future generations. Through case studies, presentations, & work sessions, teams will develop projects to launch in their communities. The workshop is being planned by a diverse team of local leaders and will be facilitated by staff  from the Conservation Leadership Network of Shepherdstown, West Virginia.  Learn more.

REGIONAL MEETINGS (QUARTERLY)

Representatives from participating organizations meet quarterly, building relationships and developing ways to work together. The meetings rotate between various communities around the cross-border region. Typically, each meeting involves an evening lecture and discussion, followed the next day by a general meeting. Lecture topics have included: fire ecology in the HOCP region, sturgeon populations, the history and culture of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, trail archeology along the Grand Portage, and how climate change may affect the border forests. These meetings and discussions have led to an increase of knowledge and respect among the many stakeholder groups, have improved communications between organizations, and spawned new working relationships throughout the transborder region.  Upcoming meetings.

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Past Highlights

CANOE THE HEART OF THE CONTINENT (JULY 2009)

In 2009, HOCP organized a nearly 350-mile (563 kilometers), 18-day canoe expedition across the region where 60 partners took part in paddling a 27-foot (8.2 meters) canoe as a way to meet two of its goals—build awareness of the region as an interconnected whole, and build relationships and good will among the diverse stakeholders in the region.

Along the route, community celebrations included historic, interpretive presentation, voyageur canoe rides, crafts and presentations on Non-Native Invasive Species and Leave No Trace principles. Many paddlers have commented on the lasting benefits of the trip: paddling side-by-side with someone who might have been seen as the opposition before, and now has become someone known and better understood as a potential partner. The voyage was held in conjunction of the 100th anniversaries of Quetico Provincial Park and Superior National Forest.