DECEMBER 2001

MONT O'BRIEN ASSOCIATION:
PRESIDENT'S 2001 REPORT and
POTENTIAL ACTION PLAN FOR 2002

Winter 2001

• Officers of the Association's first Board of Directors elected and meetings held throughout the year on either a weekly or bi-weekly cycle
• Bowater carried out its agreed-upon cuts for Year 1 of the Ministry of Natural Resources' "Five-Year Forestry Management Plan"
• Provided input into the West Quebec Trail Infrastructure Study carried out by the Genivar Consulting Group
• Meeting held with the Chairman of the University of Ottawa's Leisure Studies Department
• Letter sent out to all private landowners whose property borders the Mont O'Brien region
• Parc Mont O'Brien Project mentioned in the Annual Report of the National Human Resources Development Committee for the English Linguistic Minority (the parent body of the Outaouais Regional CEDEC)

Spring 2001

• Location of Right-of-Way road decided upon and work started through Parc Miljour Estates property
• Outaouais Alliance Newsletter article published in May
• West Quebec Post article published on May 22

Summer 2001

• July 3^rd site visit with Bowater in order to verify their Year 1 cuts
• Board of Directors insurance researched and purchased
• Reached and signed agreement with Bowater regarding their planned logging activities for the winter of 2001/2002 (Year 2 of the MRN's "Five Year Forestry Management Plan")
• A perpetual Right-of-Way Agreement was signed between the Mont O'Brien Association and the partners of Parc Miljour Estates (Mr. Renato Livinal, Mrs. Carole Chiswell and Mr. Colin Chiswell) and work continued on the road throughout the summer months
• Received a $2000 grant from the Municipality of Alleyn-and-Cawood
• Two hikes were held in the Mont O'Brien region during the 125^th Anniversary Celebrations which took place between August 4th and 6^th
• Successful promotional partnership with the 125^th Anniversary Executive Committee saw the sale of approximately 150 Mont O'Brien/125^th Anniversary t-shirts
• Membership drive during the 125^th Anniversary Celebrations brought our family membership total up to nearly 140
• Association's "Mont O'Brien Hiker" hydro pole won top prize in the 125^th Anniversary Celebration contest
• Article published in the August 8^th edition of the Shawville Equity on the 125^th Anniversary Celebration mentioned Association's participation

Fall 2001

• Early September meeting held with MRC Pontiac Warden Michael McCrank, CLD Executive Director Jean-Pierre Ledoux and MRC Pontiac Director-General Luc Séguin in order to ask for their advice on future development stages
• Our "Overview and Action Plan" revised as a start towards a more formal Business Plan for the future Parc Mont O'Brien
• Met with the Executive Council of the Ottawa Chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in order to request their expert assistance with a development plan for the future Mont O'Brien Observatory
• Right-of-Way road completely cut out through the Parc Miljour Estates property; work continues to remove stumps and lay gravel; to date 24 members of the community have generously volunteered their time and resources
• "Member Acknowledgement Form" created and translated to govern all members' use of the Right-of-Way Road
• Permission acquired from the Ministry of Natural Resources to cut trees and bush along the portion of our access road which travels through Crown Land
• Mont O'Brien webpages on the Danford Lake website finalized (http://www.danfordlakevillage.qc.ca)
• Met with the staff of Natural Resources Canada's Sustainable Communities Initiative; our application to their GIS Program should be submitted by the end of December 2001

Winter 2001

• Participated in early November meeting of the Integrated Resources Management Discussion Table for the 71-21/71-04 public forest zones which was organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources
• November 2001 Newsletter distributed to 180 families
• Met with the Société de la faune et des parcs du Québec (FAPAQ) in order to explore the possibility of acquiring human or financial resources assistance to carry out an inventory of flora and fauna in the Mont O'Brien region
• Year of the Volunteer insert in the December 1^st editions of La Presse and the Montreal Gazette carried an article about the Association and the Parc Mont O'Brien Project
• December 3^rd meeting set with Louisiana-Pacific who will be presenting us with their 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 cutting plans at the MRN office in Fort-Coulogne

Possible Action Plan for 2002

Winter 2002

• Absolutely need to locate additional volunteers willing to take responsibility for particular projects, i.e.

• Newsletter and other communications to Association members
• FAPAQ - a letter needs to be written in order to request the assistance of a biologist to establish a flora and fauna inventory and in addition we should apply to two of their funding programs by early March (the Wildlife and Forest Program and the Wildlife and Nature Program)
• University of Ottawa's Leisure Studies Department - contact must be re-established with a letter requesting the inclusion of our Project in some of their course plans
• Explore funding possibilities in listed within Environment Canada's Green Source catalogue (a quick reference to funding sources for environmental projects by non-profit organizations in Quebec)
• Need to investigate ways to involve area youth in the Parc Plan i.e. through CRDO (Centre Organisme Régionale d'Outaouais) Program job funding for youth 15-30
• Trail Cutting and Flagging Plan needs to be established and then started once the good weather returns
• In the early fall of 2001, a member of the Outaouais Regional CEDEC approached the Board to see if he could use the Association's experiences in a paper he was writing for a course in his Graduate Diploma in Community Economic Development which he was taking at Concordia University. The paper, entitled the "Mont O'Brien Project" provides a number of possible leads that need to be investigated.

• Membership renewals to be sent out
• Presentation and request for a resolution of support to be made to the January meeting of the MRC Pontiac

AGM ADDITION: The Association will present its interest in the intra-municipal lots to the MRC Council.

• Work on the Parc Mont O'Brien Business Plan and Parc Site Plan must continue
• The Municipality will be revising its Planning programs and planning by-laws and the Association will need to provide input regarding the areas surrounding the Mont O'Brien region
• Should evaluate the need to acquire General Liability insurance and health insurance for our Association volunteers
• Work to continue on the future Observatory Development Plan with expert guidance from Royal Astronomical Society of Canada members

Spring 2002

• Visit to the La Blanche Forestry Centre in Mayo
• Gate key distribution for the Right-of-Way road will take place in early June (weather dependent)
• Trail cutting and maintenance to begin

Summer 2002

• Lac O'Brien improvements to be undertaken, i.e. beach area, picnic spots, parking area