Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Muskoka: Growing Pains in Cottage Country

Muskoka: Growing Pains in Cottage Country

Rating: ****

Peter Gorrie

This article is all about the modernization of the Muskoka cottage area. The area was first settled in 1850 where land was given away free to people as long as they built a house within 5 years. It then became a very popular logging region when people realized it was too hard to farm in this area. In the early 1900s, numerous hotels and resorts were built. Since the 1940s, thousands of cottages have been built in the Muskoka area where there are 6.2 boats for every cottage on the lakes. All of this modernization has left the area with dirty water, bad forests and too many people.

I like this article because this is where my grandparents cottage is, they've been there since nearly the start and I visit this area every year. In the few years I have been alive and visiting it, I have noticed a decrease in wildlife inside the lakes and in the forest. This article speaks to me since it is important that in the future, the next generations can see and enjoy wildlife like we can, so this giant expansion of housing needs to stop and we need to think about how the wildlife is getting killed. Some of these people are dumping sewage, and spilling gas and oil in the lakes which is just killing the environment.

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