This is from the February 9, 2012 edition of the Atikokan Progress- the weekly newspaper in Atikokan....

Superintendent moving on after over a decade at Quetico Park
by ATIKOKAN PROGRESS on FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Jessica Smith

Quetico Park superintendent Robin Reilly is leaving his position here bound for Sandbanks Provincial Park in Prince Edward County, and the town will lose its museum curator this summer when wife Catherine joins him there.

Reilly leaves February 17, and begins his new superintendent position of that park March 5. Atikokan MNR area manager Jeff Bonnema will fill in this summer (with park assistant superintendent Jennifer Lukacic) until a new superintendent is hired, likely in the fall. (Bonnema’s position will be filled temporarily by Ralph Horn of the Fort Frances office.)

The Reillys, including daughter Morgan and son Leith, moved here in 2001 from Yellowknife, NWT, where Robin was a parks and recreation director with Parks Canada for 12 years, overseeing the operation of over 30 parks. Catherine was hired at the Museum in 2006.

During his tenure at Quetico, Reilly said highlights have included increased environmental research (including the hiring of a park biologist), building of relationships with regional tourism attractions and adjacent wilderness park counterparts, and enhanced winter tourism promotion.

The shared Voyageur heritage of Atikokan, Superior National Park, BWCA, Voyageurs National Park and other regional attractions, projects and events on both sides of the border has been the focus of the Heart of the Continent Partnership.

Celebrating the Quetico and Superior parks’ centennial in 2010 was a high profile moment for the partnership, which recognizes Quetico as part of an over two million hectare wilderness mass located in the heart of the continent.

“As the world gets more global, you have to be part of bigger things to get noticed,” said Reilly, a Beaten Path Ski Club member, who played an active role in connecting Quetico to the TransCanada Trail network, which now extends from Nym Lake into Atikokan. Other initiatives he has had a hand in here include laying the groundwork for the Canadian Heritage River designation of Quetico’s historic fur trade route. Many of these efforts have been furthered through involvement with the Path of the Voyageur tourism project, Atikokan-Quetico working group and Spirit of Atikokan committee.

Promotion of the park’s winter tourism opportunities has aimed to increase off-season usage of Dawson Trail Campground’s 30 km of ski trails, with the installation of yurts and winter tents, and establishment of some annual wintertime events.

“It gives a winter flavour, as modest as that may be, and is something I wanted to do.”

While he and Catherine intend to return for Quetico trips, Reilly notes that the vast treasure trove of Crown land here is something he will certainly miss.

Prince Edward County is an island county on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, a 15 minute drive from Picton, (south of Belleville). Its unusually warm climate offers a mixture of hardwood forest, agricultural area and numerous orchards and wineries. The park is home to long stretches of beaches – including the world’s largest freshwater bay mouth sandbars – and a haven for diverse migratory bird populations.

Reilly notes that while his position remains the same, Sandbanks is a vastly different landscape to Quetico and presents very diverse attractions and protection needs. Not only is the park is “a tiny postage stamp of land” (about 4% of the size of Quetico’s massive land mass), it sees about 500,000 visitors, mostly day users, each year, compared to Quetico’s typical 20-25,000 annual trippers who spend at least a week in the interior.

While Quetico is a “relatively healthy park” in terms of its ecosystem, Sandbanks has a wide range of species and distinctive features, many which are endangered. Reilly said he is looking forward to that challenge, and the opportunity to use his background in environmental management and restoration.