Speak out for the protection of Ontario's Ogoki Forest and Woodland Caribou

The final Forest Management Plan (FMP) for the Ogoki Forest was released by the Ministry of Natural Resources on March 11, 2008. Unfortunately, the plan has failed to take into account public concerns, and offers no substantive protection for Woodland Caribou. Located in remote north-western Ontario, the Ogoki Forest contains old-growth pine and spruce trees, carbon-storing bogs, and pristine lakes used by caribou for calving. However, the Forest Management Plan for Ogoki will cut thousands of hectares of old-growth forest and punch in a series of roads into wilderness areas. In Independent Forest Audit of Ogoki, commissioned by the Ontario government, predicts that caribou habitat will decline by nearly 60% over the next hundred years if logging goes ahead according to plan.

Pickering Airport: Threat to Greenspace
In the 1970's, the government expropriated over 18,000 hectares of land in North Pickering to build a new airport and city (Seaton). These plans met strong opposition and were defeated by citizens who were concerned about the implications of paving over prime greenspace for an unnecessary new development and airport. Approximately 12,000 hectares of this land are still publicly owned, and 3,000 hectares were resold to farmers to form the Duffins Agricultural Preserve. Now, over 30 years later, plans to build a new airport and housing development are once again being pushed forward at an alarming pace, putting key greenspace, prime agricultural land, natural heritage properties, and wildlife habitat at risk.

Algonquin Park, Canada’s oldest Provincial Park, draws people from all over the world to experience the natural wonders that the region has to offer.  Approximately 1.1 million people now visit the park annually.  As a result of this dramatic increase in the number of visitors to Algonquin, the Ontario Parks Board recently investigated ways to reduce the human impacts in the park in order to better preserve the area.

The Boreal Forest is one of the world’s last remaining pristine forests – larger even, than the Amazonian Rainforest. Reaching across North America and into Russia, the Boreal Forest forms a “green halo” across the top of the globe. Ontario has a significant portion of Canada’s Boreal Forest, which is characterized by large tracts of old-growth White and Black spruce, Jack pine and Balsam fir. North of an imaginary line along the 51st parallel, Ontario’s Boreal Forest is largely intact, meaning it has not yet been destroyed by human activity.

The Ontario government must take the important steps required to protect the Northern Boreal Forest now.

Make your voice heard at Queen’s Park!