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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Ontario,
Canada's Boreal Forests-Fading Fast
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
http://forests.org/ -- Forest
Conservation Archives
http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest
Conservation
12/4/98
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY by EE
Virtually
the entire forested land base of Ontario is to be turned over to
rapacious
industrial resource development. This
is an incredible forest
ecosystem
with significant remaining late-successional areas. As the
attached
backgrounder details:
"THE
ISSUE: An Ontario government land use planning process called
"Lands
For Life" is about to make a decision on how much land to
permanently
protect across a landbase spanning 45 MILLION hectares (an
area
larger than California or twice the size of Britain), 40 million
hectares
of which is PUBLIC land. ALL LAND not protected will be
tenured
to the forestry and mining industries... ... A final
consolidated
report... ...recommends that only 1.6% of this land base
be
added to the protected areas system (6.6% is currently protected).
The
remaining 92% of this massive area will be made available to the
forestry
and mining industries..."
This
came to me relatively late-the appeal is for signatures and letters
for a
presentation in early December.
However, as a backgrounder, it is a
good
representation of the Lands for Life forest campaign which is
ratcheting
up the pressure for a conservation biology based planning
process
in Canada's critical boreal forests (for carbon storage, future
development
potential, wildlife habitat, biodiversity-just generally
holding
the planetary ecological system together).
I am sure that though
past
the deadline, offers to get involved in the continuing campaign would
be
appreciated.
Hot
stuff! I feel particularly drawn to
this campaign as I work on
biosphere
reserve and wilderness identification (as biodiversity reserves
and
ecological core areas) in the North Forests of Wisconsin, Minnesota
and
Michigan-part of the same forest complex.
g.b.
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RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Help Protect the Boreal Forests of Ontario
Source: Econet Conservation Biology (list.consbio)
conference
Status: Distribute freely with credit given to
source
Date: November 25, 1998
Byline: Kevin Kavanagh
/**
list.consbio: 79.0 **/
**
Topic: Help protect the boreal forests of Ontario **
**
Written 10:38 AM Nov 25, 1998 by
sepope@ccs.carleton.ca in
cdp:list.consbio
**
PLEASE
FORWARD THIS MESSAGE WIDELY TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.
In the
message that follows you will find an urgent STATEMENT OF
CONSERVATION
CONCERN that has been prepared by a group of conservation
biologists
in Ontario, Canada.
THE
ISSUE: An Ontario government land use planning process called
"Lands
For Life" is about to make a decision on how much land to
permanently
protect across a landbase spanning 45 MILLION hectares (an
area
larger than California or twice the size of Britain), 40 million
hectares
of which is PUBLIC land. ALL LAND not protected will be
tenured
to the forestry and mining industries.
A final
consolidated report prepared by public roundtables dominated
by
industry representatives was released on October 30, 1998. The
government
has now given the public only 30 DAYS to respond before it
makes
its final decision!! The report recommends that only 1.6% of
this land
base be added to the protected areas system (6.6% is
currently
protected). The remaining 92% of this massive area will be
made
available to the forestry and mining industries who are currently
seeking
legal tenure agreements that will last in perpetuity.
Despite
the fact that a primary goal of Lands For Life was the
completion
of a representative protected areas system, the Round Table
report
fails to do this.
***What
is Needed From the International Scientific and Academic
Communities***
We are
requesting that scientists who share our conservation concerns
in this
urgent situation sign on to and help circulate the attached
STATEMENT
OF CONSERVATION CONCERN to the Government of Ontario. To
assist
you in deciding whether to sign the Statement, we have provided
a
Summary and Backgrounder that provides you with greater detail on
this
issue (located in this message after the statement).
To sign
on, please e-mail or FAX your NAME and INSTITUTIONAL
AFFILIATION
to Kevin Kavanagh at World Wildlife Fund Canada. A
response
by November 30th would be most helpful.
We URGE
you to forward this statement to other colleagues and request
that
they, too, add their names to this statement.
e-mail
address: kkavanagh@wwfcanada.org
FAX:
(416) 489-3611
*What
we plan to do with the statement and signatures.*
We will
coordinate and facilitate the presentation of the statement to
the
Ontario government and the media at a briefing to be held in early
December,
1998. We will also use the list of names to advise the
Ontario
public of the strong support from the scientific and academic
communities
for increasing the amount of protected lands in Ontario.
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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A
COLLECTIVE STATEMENT OF CONSERVATION CONCERN FROM THE SCIENTIFIC
AND
ACADEMIC COMMUNITIES REGARDING LANDS FOR LIFE
ONTARIO, CANADA
Whereas
conserving biodiversity is of importance to maintaining the
natural
state of the Earth's biosphere and in turn the quality of life
for
humankind;
Whereas
establishing protected areas systems is fundamentally
important
to society in providing humankind with a source of natural
capital
upon which to build a greater diversity of environmental
options
for future generations;
Whereas
the principal cause of wildlife extinction and population
decline
are loss and fragmentation of wild habitat by widespread
industrial
development;
Whereas
industrial mining, forestry and hydroelectric development are
incompatible
with maintaining the natural integrity of a significant
portion
of wild habitats;
Whereas
a representative, permanent protected areas system is
necessary
to help maintain diverse genetic resources and for the
ongoing
function of providing benchmark sites for the evaluation and
improvement
of surrounding industrial management practices:
Whereas
current forest management practices in Ontario, Canada
are
still experimental with respect to the maintenance of
biodiversity,
and in court have recently (October 1998) been shown to
be in
non-compliance with Ontario's own Crown Forest Sustainability
Act;
Whereas
the Lands for Life Consolidated Report from the Round
Tables
only recommends protection of an additional 1.6% of the land
base
within the Lands For Life planning area, bringing the total
protected
land base to 8.2%, a figure inadequate to sustain ecological
integrity
and the long term health of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife
populations
and ecosystem types:
Resolved:
We, the
undersigned, wish to convey our collective dismay that
Ontario's
Lands for Life Round Tables have been unable to bring
modern
science to bear on the urgent issue of ecosystem protection and
failed
to recommend completion of a permanent protected areas system
representing
Ontario's landscape diversity.
Accordingly,
we call on the Government of Ontario to reject the
Round
Tables' recommendation to permanently protect only an
additional
1.6% of the planning area. Rather, we
urge the Government
of
Ontario to complete, as promised, a protected areas system that is
fully
representative of Ontario's diverse ecosystem types. Such a
system
must utilize accepted scientific principles of protected areas
design
and accepted precautionary principles which, we believe, will
require
that at least 20% of the planning area be permanently
protected.
It is
our opinion that to do anything less will lead to the further
decline
and loss of native habitats, wildlife species, and genetic
resources
that underpin the ecological integrity of a significant part
of the
Ontario and Canadian landscape, and forecloses opportunities
for
recreational, cultural, spiritual and economic development on a
truly
sustainable basis.
--end
of public statement--
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
ONTARIO'S
LANDS FOR LIFE PROCESS
Summary
The
Ontario government launched a massive land-use planning exercise
called
Lands For Life in February, 1997. Covering a land area of
nearly
40 million hectares (an area twice the size of Britain or equal
in size
to the entire state of California), this process was mandated
to
achieve three primary goals: (1) complete Ontario's system of parks
and
protected areas, (2) recognize the land use needs of
resource-based
tourism and (3) provide greater certainty on the
intervening
landscape for the forest industry. Later, other resource
goals
were added to explore enhanced opportunities for outdoor
recreation,
including hunting and fishing, and consider the land-use
needs
of the mining industry.
On
October 30, 1998, the Ontario government publicly released a
consolidated
report from three Advisory Round Tables concerning
allocation
of public lands in this large area. In addition to proposed
land
use designations, this report includes 242 recommendations to the
Ontario
government. Currently, 6.6% of the planning area is protected
from
major industrial activity through national and provincial parks
and
conservation reserves. The report recommends that an additional
1.6% be
added to the protected areas system for a total of 8.2%,
leaving
many natural regions without significant protected areas. The
provincial
round tables themselves admitted failure to achieve parks
targets.
Among
the 242 recommendations to the provincial government, are
recommendations
to:
-
Permit mineral exploration and mining in conservation reserves;
-
Permit logging in conservation reserves;
-
Consider deregulation of areas
protected for natural heritage
values if there is found to be existing
mineral potential
-
Consider completing the parks and protected areas system using
"floating reserves"
The
forest industry is seeking long-term tenure for those public lands
not
permanently protected as provincial parks or conservation
reserves.
The forest industry is on record as requesting that it be
granted
compensable tenure in perpetuity across a majority of the land
base.
Draft reports by industry and the provincial government have
advocated
tenure in perpetuity.
The
joint conservation science team of the Partnership For Public
Lands
(World Wildlife Fund Canada, Federation of Ontario Naturalists
and the
Wildlands League, a chapter of the Canadian Parks and
Wilderness
Society) believe that these recommendations fall far short
of
long-standing commitments to move towards completing a protected
areas
system in Ontario, and threaten biodiversity conservation in
Ontario
and Canada. Further, this set of protected areas decisions
will
likely be the last that can be made before all remaining lands
are
handed over to the forest and mining industries.
A
coordinated public response is needed from the scientific community
that
rejects the Round Table recommendations and encourages the
Ontario
government to permanently protect at least 20% of these public
lands
to better meet the Lands For Life goals related to biodiversity
conservation
and maintaining the ecological integrity of the
landscape.
ECOSYSTEM
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PLANNING AREA
General
Description of the Study Area
The
Lands For Life Planning area covers approximately 46 million
hectares
of Ontario stretching from the Quebec border westward nearly
1,500
km to the Manitoba border. Nearly 40 million hectares are
publicly
owned "Crown" lands and represents the area directly impacted
by the
Lands For Life decision-making process.
Much of
the planning area consists of hilly topography characteristic
of the
Canadian Shield. Towards the northeast, the topography becomes
much
gentler in the ancient lake-bed clay belts and the James Bay
lowlands.
The entire area was glaciated and soils are often thinly
deposited
over acidic bedrock, although their are large areas of
deeper
alluvial, fluvio-glacial and lacustrine deposits.
Mixed
hardwood forests stretch from southern Georgian Bay east to the
Ottawa
valley and west to the eastern shores of Lake Superior. Here
are
found some of the most extensive old-growth white and red pine
stands
remaining in the world. Places such as the Lower Spanish River,
Temagami
and the Algoma Highlands contain significant stands. As one
moves
northwards through the planning area, forests transition into
mixed
hardwood-boreal forests and finally, boreal forests and northern
wetlands
that extend from the James Bay lowlands along the Quebec
border
westward to the Ontario-Manitoba border. Wild fire was
historically
the dominant force of forest renewal in the boreal
forests
of the area. Fire suppression is now practiced throughout the
planning
area, even in most protected areas. Fortunately, in some of
the
larger protected areas, discussion of fire management is now
beginning
to occur.
A
diversity of wetland types, including fens, bogs, marshes and
forested
swamps are distributed throughout the planning area. Aquatic
systems
are also well represented, and extensive and diverse shoreline
communities
are present along the north shore of Georgian Bay and Lake
Superior.
Current
Status of the Landbase
The
majority of this land base has already been accessed for
industrial
development, principally forestry. Of the 46 million
hectares,
only 40 roadless areas are larger than 20,000 hectares. A
few of
these are protected in existing national and provincial parks
but
most are vulnerable to the rapid encroachment of industry.
The
widespread nature of human impact across Ontario's landscape was
referenced
in the most recent annual report (April 1998) from the
environmental
commissioners office, where it was stated that the
Ministry
of Natural Resources (MNR) should use the "precautionary
principle"
when it establishes the extent and size of land designated
to
protect Ontario's natural heritage features (recommendation #9). In
other
words, protected areas should tend towards larger rather than
smaller
sizes. The ecological integrity of the intervening industrial
landscape
across the planning area is a major concern of conservation
biologists
in Ontario. The methods used by the MNR to select large,
representative
protected areas assume that large sizes are not
required
in the planning area since the good forest industry
management
practices in the surrounding landscape can support and
conserve
Ontario's biodiversity. The above notation by Ontario's
environmental
commissioner and additional evidence presented below
regarding
industrial land management suggests that this a dangerous
assumption.
Wildlife
Issues
Most of
Ontario's wildlife species are still present, but significant
contraction
and fragmentation of the ranges of
several large-bodied
animals
are well documented. Eastern cougar and wolverine are believed
to be
virtually extirpated from this entire planning area. Gray wolf
populations
have contracted across the southern portions of the
planning
area. Within the past year, genetic studies of wolves in the
eastern
portions of the planning area have shown that these are, in
fact,
red wolf populations that were thought to be extirpated in the
North
American wild. The range of woodland caribou has retracted
significantly
northwards with remaining populations are centered
primarily
within and around existing protected areas.
Populations
of most wildlife species are not consistently monitored by
the
Ontario or Canadian governments. This
is evident from the report
of the
Auditor General for Ontario that was issued in early November,
1998.
With respect to the MNR, which has a mandate to manage wildlife,
the
report stated that "the Ministry had not developed proper
effectiveness
measures to assess success in achieving sustained
development
of the province's fish and wildlife resources and lacked
the
information necessary for identifying areas requiring corrective
actions."
The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario's Annual Report
for
1997/98 assessed the Quality of Reporting - Wildlife Inventory
Databases
as "poor". For example, the report stated that "MNR manages
a
[black] bear hunt which harvests about 7,000 bears annually.
Although
MNR has put out news releases estimating the Ontario bear
population
at 75,000 to 100,000 individuals, the ministry has not
publicly
released any reports on bear population numbers."
A lack
of enforcement of sustainable industrial activities.
It has
been clearly documented that the Ontario government is not
effectively
monitoring or enforcing sustainable use of the province's
forest
resources by industry. In October, 1998, the Ontario court of
appeal
upheld a February, 1998 decision brought forward by
environmental
groups against the government of Ontario that it was in
violation
of its own Crown Forest Sustainability Act. The judges
condemned
the government for failing to abide by its own requirements
to
provide for the habitat needs for sensitive wildlife species such
as
American marten and pileated woodpeckers (both of which succeed
best in
areas with mature forests.) The
government was also found in
violation
of planning requirements necessary for the long-term
sustainability
of the forest.
Recent
reports prepared with the participation of the forest industry
and
senior MNR management have advocated
long-term tenure on public
lands
for industry, in fact suggesting that compensable tenure in
perpetuity
would be desirable.
Where
we are at today?
Contrary
to the precautionary principle, the Lands For Life Round
Tables
have suggested only slight increases to Ontario's protected
areas
system, and have used points consistently raised by industry
representatives
to support their position. Present forest management
and
Round Table recommendations suggest the following erroneous
assumptions
about conservation biology:
X
Ecologically representative protected areas that are off-limits to
commercial
forestry and mining are not necessary to conserve
biodiversity.
The only protected areas that are necessary are very
small
sites to protect unique or rare values (such as heronries, eagle
nests,
shorelines of coldwater streams etc.)
X
Industrial manipulation of forest cover under increasingly intensive
harvest
regimes will mimic natural disturbance patterns over the
entire
forest landscape.
X
Modern/current industrial harvest methods duplicate fire, insect
outbreak,
wind throw and disease.
X
Industrial clearcutting will perpetuate high quality wildlife
habitat.
X
Landscape, species, genetic and stand structural diversity will be
maintained
through large area clearcutting, (the harvest method used
in 95%
of forest harvesting in Ontario (MNR Annual Report, '94-'95)
X
Secondary impacts of logging such as a permanent road access
network,
over fishing, over hunting and erosion are not thought to be
significant
negative impacts on biodiversity.
X
Industrial uses such as mining and large scale hydo-electric
development
have insignificant impacts on biodiversity.
X It
was recommended that the total landbase be available to industry
and
that the concept of floating (or rotating) reserves be used to
complete
the protected areas system. This designation involves
creating
a park, and then removing it if industry requires it for
logging
or mining operations.
In
keeping with these opportunistic, unsubstantiated claims, the Round
Tables
recommended the following new protected areas as a percentage
of the
total planning area:
Proposed
new Provincial Parks 272,385 ha. (0.6%)
Proposed
new Conservation Reserves
430,506 ha. (1.0%)
Total:
All areas
702,891 ha. (1.6%)
This
includes 72 Provincial Parks and 199 Conservation Reserves
for a
total of 271 areas with an average area of 2,257 ha. More than a
dozen
proposed parks in one of the planning regions are smaller than
100
hectares.
Other
Disturbing Aspects of the Round Table Recommendations
Five
members of the Round tables refused to sign the
recommendations.
Their letters and reasons for not signing were
excluded
from the consolidated report released on October 30th. The
only
reference to their concerns is found at the end of Section 2.5
where
they are referenced as "exceptions to consensus". Although it is
not
stated, the reason that several of the members did not sign is
because
the Round Tables did not keep to their mandate to complete a
protected
areas system.
There
are no recommendations to increase the level of protection
standards
for provincial parks or conservation reserves, only to
weaken
them.
The
Round Tables admit that they failed to achieve the goal of
completing
the parks and protected areas system (Section 6.1) as
required
by the Provincial government.
The
Round Tables admit that they failed to identify areas that will
be used
for intensive or enhanced forestry.
Included
in the 242 recommendations to government are the following
additional
issues of conservation concern:
It is
recommended that protected conservation reserves (like the
Ranger
North old growth pine area in the Algoma Highlands and the
Kaladar
Jack Pine Barrens on Highway #7) be made available for mining.
It has
been recommended that commercial trapping be used to "control
populations
and combat disease" in provincial park wilderness zones
and
nature reserves.
It is
recommended that the lakes in parks be intensively managed to
produce
more fish for anglers.
It is
recommended that hunting be "enhanced" in conservation
reserves
through "proactive habitat and game population management."
We hope
that this brief summary has provided you with sufficient
background
information to add your signature to the Statement of
Conservation
Concern. For more information, please
contact:
The
Partnership For Public Lands
Phone:
1-888-371-LAND
Website:
www.web.net/wild
The
consolidated Round Table report is available from the
Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources website:
www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/lfl
Sincerely,
Kevin
Kavanagh
Senior
Manager, Conservation Science
Endangered
Spaces Campaign
World
Wildlife Fund Canada
90
Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 504
Toronto,
Ontario
M4P
2Z7 CANADA
(416)
489-4567 ext. 262 (Tel)
(416)
489-3611 (FAX)
kkavanagh@wwfcanada.org
Shealagh
Pope
sepope@consecol.org
Project
Coordinator
Conservation
Ecology
Algonquin
to Adirondacks
Biology
Department
Carleton
University
1125
Colonel By Drive
Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
Phone
(613) 520-3657
Fax
(613) 520-4497
###RELAYED
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