Saving the Cup and Saucer
Community Resilience and Ingenuity at Work
Almost everyone who knows Manitoulin Island, residents and visitors, has trekked the Cup and Saucer Trail, one of the Island’s most well-known natural attractions, its twelve kilometres of woodland paths leading to 70 vertical metres (230 feet) of Niagara Escarpment cliffs and spectacular views which were visited by over 20,000 hikers last year.
But hearts sank on May 22, 2017 on reading The Manitoulin Expositor’s online headline announcing the unimaginable: “Cup and Saucer trails closed for now; future of the attraction in jeopardy.”
Minds boggled. Not only is the C and S famous, it is beloved. Previously, the trail had been made available through the efforts of the Manitoulin Tourism Association and the donation of the use of part of their properties by Don Eadie Construction Ltd., Randy Noble, Meredith Chandler and the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy (EBC).
A company that had hosted the entrance and the parking lot announced “with a heavy heart” that they where going to repurpose that property and it would no longer be suitable as the Cup and Sauce trailhead.
While readers were still processing the grim announcement, they heard the very next day from the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands’ (NEMI) Mayor Al MacNevin, in whose jurisdiction lies the Cup and Saucer. Via press release, the mayor declared: “Council is going to take immediate action to find a solution to this problem … We intend to work closely with our community partners and the parties directly involved to see if we can broker a solution, or find an alternative trail entrance and parking area.”
“An emergency meeting was held by the mayor and council of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands Tuesday night in which a partnership was formed between the municipality and the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy (EBC) to create a new access to the Cup and Saucer hiking trails.”
Just one day later, on May 24, the newspaper reported: “An emergency meeting was held by the mayor and council of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands Tuesday night in which a partnership was formed between the municipality and the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy (EBC) to create a new access to the Cup and Saucer hiking trails.”
“We hope to have the trail re-opened by early summer,” Mayor MacNevin concluded.
The Town of NEMI and the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy – which owns 300 acres of land at the Cup and Saucer, including most of the cup, a large portion of the saucer and most of the adventure trails – immediately began putting into effect a contingency plan they’d drafted together in earlier discussions.
Dave Williamson, NEMI’s Chief Administrative Officer, remembers well that May long weekend: “We found out about the closure of the trail entrance on the Friday, and immediately contacted the other landowners, Randy Noble and Meredith Chandler, who assured us of their continuing support for the trails on their properties; we contacted EBC’s Bob Barnett and I met with Roy Jeffery [EBC’s Manitoulin trails steward] on Sunday. The MTO (Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation) was contacted for temporary approval of a trail entrance off Highway 540, on EBC property.”
Dr. Jeffery’s first concern was to acknowledge the traditional lands on which the Cup and Saucer is situated, and to that end, Norman McGraw and other Elders from Aundeck Omni Kaning and Elders from M’Chigeeng First Nations were invited to carry out a ceremony to ask permission of the spirits of the land to create a new trail.
Bob Barnett, EBC’s director: “When emails started coming in the day the trail was closed, it was laudable that NEMI was able to jump in and get things moving right away. I called Roy and we agreed to just get it done.”
Dr. Jeffery’s first concern was to acknowledge the traditional lands on which the Cup and Saucer is situated, and to that end, Norman McGraw and other Elders from Aundeck Omni Kaning and Elders from M’Chigeeng First Nations were invited to carry out a ceremony to ask permission of the spirits of the land to create a new trail.
“It’s a very beautiful site,” says Dr. Jeffery, “that goes through several ecological zones.”
When the news of the trail closure hit, “Facebook groups and all kinds of people emailed wanting to help out. The new trail was created by volunteers and EBC members who did intense sessions to create ways up steep embankments; we replaced ladders with stairs, widened the trail, mitigating dangers to the ecology,” Mr. Barnett recalls.
Dave Williamson: “Public Works from the Northeast Town then installed culverts and removed trees for the parking lot while EBC volunteers blazed a new trail to connect with the old. In about a week and a half we had re-opened access to the trail.”
The collective sigh of relief was heard Island-wide and far beyond.
With interest in the Cup and Saucer intensifying, parking is deemed adequate for now, says NEMI’s CAO: “The first parking lot, for 35-40 cars, has been enlarged with a second that accommodates a further 40-50 cars, so there’s more parking than before. The MTO has installed more ‘No Stopping’ signs as people will no longer be allowed to park on the highway.”
“We have secured the land as public domain, available to the public in perpetuity,” Mr Williamson noted.
The new entrance is located about 3 km west of the Highway 540-Bidwell Road intersection (or about 4 km east of the M’Chigeeng boundary on Highway 540).
“The EBC,” says Roy Jeffery, “is interested in conservation. We need a management plan for maintenance and safety so we’re seeking funds for that. A plan will identify groups that can help maintain the trail, fundraise, and so on.”
“What we need now are more indications of how to get around and stay safe while keeping Nature the preeminent experience,” says Bob Barnett.
At the beginning of 2018, NEMI received support from the MTO for a permanent entrance permit, and a FEDNOR application was approved that covers 43 percent of NEMI’s initial costs for the parking area and signage. “We now have federal support for the trail,” says Dave Williamson.
“People come to Manitoulin for the opportunity to enjoy and experience Nature first-hand – it’s part of what makes us a destination. We have a certain feel over here, you can reconnect with nature, the vistas, the beauty. We value the lifestyle here – low key, relaxed – that’s the environment we have. We connect with the land.
“We have secured the land as public domain, available to the public in perpetuity,” Mr Williamson noted.
The Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy’s ‘Hiking Trails of Manitoulin’ map highlights their twelve Island trails and twelve more that are maintained by municipal, First Nations and private owners. It’s available from May onwards on the ferry and in many Island businesses or by contacting the EBC: http://escarpment.ca. To donate to the Cup and Saucer Trail, visit https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/escarpment-biosphere-conservancy-inc/p2p/save-the-cup-and-saucer/
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