Proponents of accessible wilderness resort near Thunder Bay say new deal a 'big relief'

Advocates for an accessible wilderness retreat at Lake Shebandowan, west of Thunder Bay, Ont., say they're relieved a deal has been struck to save the camp for people with disabilities.

A deal in principle was announced Friday between the province and a collective of service organizations in Thunder Bay for the land where the Wilderness Discovery Resort sits.

• Thunder Bay service clubs, province strike deal for Wilderness Discovery Resort

Thunder Bay resident Tracy Hurlbert, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a motorized wheelchair, said the camp is a special place.

"It means freedom, it means that I can do the same things other people can do," she said.

"When I'm out at camp, there's nothing that I can't do ... those cabins are more accessible than my home."

The Wilderness Discovery camp had been facing an uncertain future since HAGI Community Services for Independence let its lease expire on the land in 2015.

The tentative deal announced Friday would see the land transferred to a not-for-profit corporation, consisting of city rotary and kinsmen clubs, as well as HAGI which is under new management. The agreement stipulated that the collective has control of the land for 20 years, with conditions. If those terms are satisfied over that period, the group will own the property outright.

When it was running, the facility featured cabins, a dock, a pontoon boat and other cottage amenities that were customized for use by people in wheelchairs and other mobility aides.

A number of upgrades, as well as needed maintenance on the property which is estimated to cost between $350,000 and $400,000 is expected to keep the site closed until 2018.

Hurlbert, who said she's booking time at the facility when it re-opens, said that ensuring that everyone has access to the northwestern Ontario outdoors is important.

"A lot of able-bodied people take it for granted that they're just going to be able to go out to camp all the time, and now we people with disabilities can take it for granted too," she said.

"Now it's hit home that we're going to go to camp again."

Support from south of the border

One of the more vocal proponents of the camp's survival has been Kevin Johnson from Madison Lake, Minn.

• Lake Shebandowan accessible camp patrons petition to keep site open

Johnson, who, along with his wife, care for a paralyzed U.S. Navy veteran, have been to the resort.

"I'm just happy for everybody up there," he said on Monday.

"Now [they] have the opportunity to go back out to Lake Shebandowan and spend family time together, and the tranquility and be together."

Johnson said that support for the camp was evident right from the start, and that he didn't want to see the facility lost.

"I wanted to make sure that [permanent closure] didn't happen and the place gets sold and the place gets bulldozed before we even knew it was happening," he said.

"I've made some friendships that I think I'm going to have for the rest of my life."