The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-08-19
The Backus Dam Proposition Analysed
Front Several Approximations all
Point to BenefIts--for the Backus End
While the People Will be Horned
a-PIenty.

switched to new course into Loon
Lake on the boundary. The Won
derful chain of lakes in the Quetlco
Park north of Hunters Island, in
Guiding Kahnipiminanikok and Stur-
geon, and the whole of the incom-
parable Namakan River with its SUI
perb gorges and falls will be- left
high and dry except for what water
they IiIay accumulate from their own
minor tributaries.
Ontario Application Differs
Nor is that all. The hearing
brought out that since 1920 Mr..
Backus has had an alternative pro-
ject on file with the Ontario govern
ment, covering these lakes In even
broader way. AS for the border
lakes his recommendation are the
same except for two important dit
ferences. He would build four more
storage dams to take care of the
smaller lakes already named, Iron,
Bottle, Birch, Carp, Knife and Cy-
press. Instead of diverting Saga
naga to the boundary chain, he
would allow it to flow as at present
north of Hunters Island but would
add a dam at the outlet of Kahnipi-
minanikok and one at the outlet of
Sturgeon, raising each of these lat
ter lakes according to his own fig
ures 80 feet. In this way, he would
not only dam ALL the waters along
Vic boundary line but the entire rs
miles of canoe route north of Hunt
er's Island in Canada.
Entire Watershed Ultimately
Included ~
Nor is that all yet. Mr.. Backus
said: Further storage is practicable
| in this watershed on tributaries not
along the boundary, which will I'M
questionably be developed in the
future, and thus bring the run-off
under a control that is practically
absolute. Among these are the
basins of the following: Vermilion,
Maligne,s Turtle, Seine, 0tukama-
moan, Manitou, and Footprint" In
short, all the tributaries of Rainy
Lake both in the United States and
Canada basin 100 miles across
both from east to west and from
north to south. By means of dams
recently installed Mr.. Backus already
has complete control of the entire
12O miles of Seine river in Ontario
and envisages the time when he will
have similar control of every other
tributary in the watershed.
Effect on Shores and Islands
So much for the comprehensive
industrial vision revealed and elo-
quently championed by Mr.. Backus
at the hearing. There was much
that was not revealed but Of that
we shall not speak. The question
is, aside from the development of
storage capacity, what happens to
a region like this, when the waters
on it's principal lakes and rivers are
raised from Is to go feet Those
who know the district, and those
especially who have seen Seine river
since the construction of the dam at
Sturgeon Falls, need not be told.
Every water fall and rapid-and
their number and variety are legion
Immediately disappears. Likewise
every beach. Mill ponds and ma
sonry dams take their places; thus,
as Mr.. Backus suggests, improving"
navigation. Those who love lakes,
he Says, should be pleased, for they
will have more than before and
easier to travel. Bigger lakes, yes,
and with shore lines inundated,
leaving a fringe of water-killed tim
Der of varying width along the
banks. There are tens of thousands
of miles of shore line on these lakes
and literally thousands of islands.
1t may be said that the shores could
be cleared in anticipation but Mr..
Backus has no such plan. The costs
would probably be prohibitive and
the improvement only partial. Not
an island but will be damaged, many
of them completely submerged ex-
cept for their whitened tree-tops.
ne commission has a book full of
testimony to that effect, not by cap
tains of industry like Mr.. Backus,
who have been too busy with paper
and pencil ever to visit the lakes
but by actual travellers, settlers and
scientific experts.
Damage Includes Intangible Values
|. 1t matters not whether the tim
Der killed is merchantable or not.
Some of it is; some, as Mr.. Backus
says, is not. 1t is all beautiful and
dear to those who visit the lakes for
health and recreation, and it is
equally ugly when killed. Because
the region is largely in a state of
nature, Mr.. Backus assumes that it
is valueless; but that is exactly what
constitutes it's value for the public.
And that is exactly the way they
wish it kept, especially it's lakes and
rivers, its only means of commune
cation. How much land back of the
shore lines these new levels will
flood they can only conjecture. The
amount is sure to be large, extending
in places for many miles deep into
the forest, but unlike the damage
to the shore line cannot be readily
observed but must be determined
by careful government survey. Judg-
ment on that must therefore be re-
served. Intangible values are not
there concerned to the same extent |
as on the shores, where beauty is of |
paramount interest.
Fire Hazard
What the public can understand,
however, without government figures