By Jenn Watt

Kennisis Lake Cottager Owners’ Association is researching historical portage routes in the area seeking to locate and secure the rights of way before they are forgotten and potentially blocked.

Gino Ariano an executive member with the association spoke at the spring meeting on May 18 about the project.

“What we’re doing is trying to better understand the portage routes that connect Kennisis to some of the other lakes in the area. The reason this is important … is that we want to make sure that we keep these routes open open for ourselves our families and our kids and grandkids so that we can travel from our lake to some of the other lakes in the area” he said.

Ariano said key portages have been identified including to Lipsy Lake and Cat Lake. The association has retained a lawyer to help with questions about land use.

He said much of the work to be done involves educating landowners about the historical use of the portages.

“We’re trying to work with the people that own these properties so that they understand the routes and allow people to use them. The fact of the matter is there’s not going to be hundreds of people going over these [routes] every day. It’s occasional use kind of thing. That’s part of the education process” he said.