Mixing business with pleasure in Sagamok: popular North Shore hunting lodge expanding, rebranding.

AuthorKelly, Lindsay
PositionABORIGINAL BUSINESS

In 2014, just two years after Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation acquired Ritchie Falls Resort, a fire ripped through the showerhouse, damaging the boiler and other infrastructure. But rather than seeing it as a disadvantage, the community embraced it as an opportunity.

"I think it was a good thing, really, because it kickstarted the work we've identified that we need to move forward on with that particular business," said Alan Ozawanimke, CEO of Sagamok Anishnawbek and the Sagamok Development Corporation.

The community, located along the north shore of Lake Huron, is now embarking on a multi-stage renovation of the hunting and fishing lodge, which will include upgraded hydro and an increased capacity.

The off-grid, hydroelectric power system is currently being upgraded by Patrick Mechanical of Sudbury. The generators and turbine are being manufactured and sent from overseas, and the project should be complete this spring, Ozawanimke said.

Work will then begin on phase two of the project, which involves the construction of three cabins and a conference centre. The new infrastructure will increase the lodge's capacity from 60 to at least 80.

"It's a middle ground, I think, for those who still want to have not necessarily an overly rustic type of environment, which a lot do continue to seek, but those j who want something a little more modern, too," Ozawanimke said.

Ritchie Falls' managers, Matthew and Kyla Owl, are currently on a marketing tour of the U.S., promoting the lodge to its target "consumptive" market--those who travel north for the bear, wolf and moose hunting, along with the area's excellent fishing.

Ozawanimke said the lodge has received high praise in recent years for its facilities and activities.

After a visit last summer, an Ontario ATV club ranked the lodge as the number two...

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