In April 2011 the world-reknown National Geographic has published their list of the 10 Best Trips of Summer 2011 and Muskoka is number 1.
This is world-wide – Muskoka rates better than Patagonia (that would be in Argentina), Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, and the Azores (Portugal). See the Toronto Star article.
But once people get to Muskoka, they’ll only come to Bala if there’s something to see. Muskoka is big, and there’s lots to do.
People won’t come to Bala to see dry rocks where the falls used to be. People won’t come to Bala to stand on a concrete building, feeling the vibration and listening to the drone of the 4 million watts of machinery below. They don’t want to look at a river (they can do that on the Internet), they want to touch the river.
What it unique about Bala is the falls and the natural shorelines and the water. People come to Bala to access the water, to stand on the shore, to fish, and to swim.
The proposed generating station would ruin all this. The world knows this is special, we need to protect it.
To our politicians.
My wife and i purchaed a cottage near Bala in 2004 with the hope of removing ouselves from the threat of massive development that persists in our home address location..We were hoping to move to Bala permanently for our retirement . Since then the prospect of a hydro develpment at this beautiful site in the heart of Bala has haunted us. We have had many visitors from overseas staying with us since 2004 and they all cannot believe how utterly stupid this concept is and how ruinous to the environment and town a hydro plant in the proposed location would be. Considering all the other options available for green energy please please let common sense prevail and do not allow this scourge on our community..