HISTORY OF THE INGRAM RIVER
Geological Origins
300 Million to 10,000 years ago
As mile-thick glaciers receded, they carved a rugged landscape into 300-million-year-old granite. Over millennia, forests took root and wildlife colonized the new valleys and lakes. This glacial sculpting created the raw, stunning contours of the Ingram River watershed we see present today.
The First Peoples
Pre to 1760
For centuries, the Mi’kmaq have lived in harmony with these lands. Using established portage routes and river systems to travel between the coast and the interior, they relied on the abundance of moose, salmon, and towering spruce. Their enduring presence is a testament to the area's ancestral importance.
Colonization & Industrialization
1760’s to 1900’s
​Beginning in the 1760s, colonization shifted the land toward extraction. As Mi’kmaq were displaced, the Ingram River became a highway for floating sawtimber and ship masts to the coast. This era birthed a culture of remote logging camps and backcountry guiding that would define the region for generations.
Mersey Paper Company
1940’s to 2012
The Mersey Paper Company acquires most of the Ingram lands. The development of road networks and advances in mechanization allowed logging to proceed quickly and efficiently after World War II. While much of the land was for newsprint, rare pockets of intact forest survived, becoming the vital building blocks for the wilderness recovery we are fighting for today.
The Collapse and Buy Back
2012
The Mersey Paper Company folds; "Buy Back the Mersey" campaign results in provincial rebuying of the lands.
The Proposal Phase
2017
SMBSA publishes the first IRWA map and brochure, calling for 20,000 hectares of protection (later modified to 11,000 to accommodate Mi’kmaq forestry initiatives).
The Biodiversity Assessment
2019
Minister Iain Rankin commits to a joint assessment of the area and pauses cutting.
The Environmental Goals & Climate Change Reduction Act (EGCCRA) Mandate
2021
The mandate was passed in October 2021, the EGCCRA mandates 28 specific goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 53% by 2030, achieve net-zero by 2050, phase out coal by 2030, and protect 20% of provincial land and water. The Act focuses on green economic growth, clean energy, and annual progress reporting.
More Area is Under Threat
2024 to 2025
The province doubles the area for clearcutting in the watershed; SMBSA and allies protest "High-Production Forestry" agendas.
Today
Just over 25 percent of the proposed wilderness area is protected. Roughly 75 percent is under threat.
