(Toronto) Earthroots congratulates Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsay, who today announced a strategy to protect biodiversity but says the plan will look better on paper than in the forest if key commitments are not fulfilled. The environmental group is calling on the Minister to now move forward in fulfilling major environmental promises made before the last election.

“We applaud Minister Ramsay’s efforts to make biodiversity preservation a top conservation priority,” said Earthroots’ Campaigner, Melissa Tkachyk. “From strengthening legislation to protect provincial parks and endangered species, many pre-election promises were made to conserve biodiversity. Now it’s time for these commitments to take root.”  

In March 2003, Dalton McGuinty promised to update and strengthen the Endangered Species Act and the Provincial Parks Act, implement a province-wide conservation plan for wolves and set a limit on the size of clearcuts in Ontario’s forests. To date, only minimal first steps have been taken. There is still no new legislation to protect our parks and endangered species, no limit on the number of wolves that can be killed throughout much of the province and 10,000 ha clearcuts are still routine. While Earthroots views the new biodiversity strategy document as a good first step, it says the recommended actions are far too vague, with no funding requirements or schedule attached to their implementation.

“Scientists worldwide have acknowledged that the loss of biodiversity is one of the most critical environmental issues facing the planet with a species going extinct somewhere in the world every 10-20 minutes,” says Tkachyk. “We need to act bolder and quicker to reverse the disturbing trend of biodiversity loss in Ontario and around the world.”

Environmentalists have been waiting a long time for the province to implement a biodiversity master plan. In 1992, Canada became one of the first countries to sign the United Nations International Convention on Biological Diversity at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) endorsed Canada’s Biodiversity Strategy in 1996 yet it wasn’t until last fall, that the Province decided to review its own legislation and policies and the impact these have on the state of Ontario’s biodiversity.

“The Ontario government has taken far too long to fulfill its international commitments to biodiversity protection,” says Tkachyk. “Lets hope they don’t take as long to pass stronger legislation to protect biodiversity and fulfill their commitments to the Ontario public,” added Tkachyk.

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For more information, contact:

Melissa Tkachyk (Ta-caw-chik), Earthroots Wilderness Campaigner

 (cell) 416- 819-7424    

Earthroots website: www.earthroots.org

Earthroots is a non-profit, grassroots environmental organization dedicated to protecting wilderness, wildlife and watersheds through research, education and action. Founded in 1986, Earthroots has over 12,000 supporters in Canada.

Backgrounder

Species at Risk

• Ontario is home to more species at risk than any other province

•  Less than a third of the species at risk in Ontario as listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) have been classified on the Province’s “species at risk” list.

• There are now 172 species on Ontario's ‘species at risk’ list but only a small percentage are actually protected by the Endangered Species Act and even less have plans in place to ensure population recovery. Ontario lost three species (Timber Rattlesnake, Karner Blue and Frosted Elfin butterflies) before recovery plans were developed to prevent their extirpation.

Promises Made, Promises yet to be kept

On March 19, 2003, Liberal Leader and now Premier Dalton McGuinty promised that his government would:

“. . . update and strengthen Ontario’s Endangered Species Act. Our new Act will put in place effective measures to protect species at risk, including a science-based process to list species and help them recover, and meaningful protection for habitats. Protection of species is virtually meaningless unless there are also protected.”

Legislative amendments to strengthen Ontario's Endangered Species Act have been discussed for several years now. Though revisions to this Act are one of the recommendations of the Biodiversity Strategy, there is no timeline for when these changes will be completed.

Provincial Parks

• There are over 600 protected areas in Ontario but the current legislation protecting Ontario’s Provincial Parks is more than 50 years old

• These treasured wilderness areas face increasing threats from industry and high-impact recreation such as sport hunting, snowmobiling and all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use.

• Sport hunting is permitted in 428 Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves in Ontario

Promises Made, Promises yet to be kept

On March 19, 2003, Liberal Leader and now Premier Dalton McGuinty promised that his government would:

“ . . . initiate a full public review of Ontario’s Provincial Parks Act. We will make natural protection the first priority for an updated Parks Act. . . . Ontario’s parks are some of the most beautiful and environmentally significant lands in the world. They deserve to be protected for future generations.”

Last year, the Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsay appointed a park advisory board to review existing legislation and consult with stakeholder groups before making recommendations to strengthen the Parks Act. The advisory board made many key recommendations but has approved the status-quo of allowing hunting in parks. New protected area legislation has yet to be announced.

Wolf Conservation

• The Eastern wolf, which is listed as a species of “Special Concern”, can still be trapped in protected areas

• There is still no limit on how many wolves can be shot, snared or trapped each year

• The government still is not collecting data on how many wolves are killed each year whether for sport or to protect farm animals.

• Wolves can still be killed year-round in southern and eastern Ontario where the recovery of the Eastern wolf is critical.

• Wolves are only protected on 3% of their Ontario range

Promises Made, Promises yet to be kept

On March 19, 2003, Liberal Leader and now Premier Dalton McGuinty promised that his government would:

“. . . . implement a proper wildlife management program for Ontario’s wolves. We will ensure that Ontario gets the vital scientific information it needs to protect and manage wolves.”

In November 2004, Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources proposed a number of measures to improve the conservation of wolves, and in March 2005 he implemented one of them: a limited closure on the hunting and trapping season for wolves and coyotes. Starting this year, hunters and trappers will no longer be able to kill wolves and coyotes between April 1st and September 14th in northern and central Ontario. Since it is difficult to distinguish between the two species, coyotes are included to make regulations enforceable. Though an important first step, more work needs to be done to ensure the wolf’s future in Ontario.

Forestry

• 431 species are currently listed on the National Species at Risk List

• The degradation and destruction of habitat is the biggest contributor to the increasing number of species at risk in the province

• Spanning 12,000 kilometres, Canada’s northern boreal forest is one of largest intact and undisturbed forest ecosystems remaining in the world today. A diverse array of wildlife inhabit the Boreal forest; the last stronghold for many species at risk such as the woodland caribou and wolverine.

• Old growth red and white pine forests now exist on only 1% of their original range, yet clearcutting in these forests is still routine.

• Industrial-scale clearcutting is the harvest method used in 90% of forest operations within Ontario.

• Some clearcuts in Ontario are more than 10,000 hectares in size, equivalent to 17,000 football fields.

• Logging companies now have their sights set north of the current "cutline" (at the 51st parallel) and mining companies have already started prospecting.

• Though the Ontario government has committed to initiate a land-use planning process for the Boreal forest before industrial development projects begin, this has not yet occurred

• The Province has yet to develop a comprehensive policy to ensure our old growth forests are protected.

Promises Made, Promises yet to be kept

On March 19, 2003, Liberal Leader and now Premier Dalton McGuinty promised that his government would:

“. . . institute meaningful, broad-scale land-use planning for Ontario’s Northern Boreal Forest before any new major development, including ensuring full participation by native communities. Land use planning must protect the ecological integrity of this natural treasure and help to provide a sustainable future for native people and northern communities.”

“. . . end the [previous government’s] policy of allowing unlimited size clearcuts in Ontario. These massive clearcuts cause irreparable damage to our forests.”

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