Latest News
Government Proposes Sweeping Changes to Forestry Rules
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- Created on Thursday, 19 February 2009 11:31
Toronto - Today, an alliance of environmental organizations rang the alarm about a series of dramatic changes the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) plans to make to the regulation of Ontario's forests. The alliance says that many of the 146 proposed changes will undermine the transparency and public oversight of forest management planning, while others threaten the sustainability of the forest.
Proposed revisions to the Forest Management Planning Manual, one of the Ontario's most important forest regulatory documents, will affect all aspects of forest management in the province for years to come. The revisions give insufficient direction on climate change, provide an inadequate definition of sustainability, and expedite the use of the forest for fuel without addressing the full range of environmental impacts. In addition, the new guidelines will reduce public participation, and the transparency of decision making.
Lake Superior’s Pristine Coastline in Jeopardy
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- Created on Thursday, 12 February 2009 18:48
Wawa, Ontario - Local environmental advocates have been fighting a proposed quarry on the north eastern shore of Lake Superior for nearly a decade. The quarry, which will provide no more than 15 seasonal jobs to local citizens, will decimate a section of Superior’s coast that is part of a 300 km stretch of untouched coastline. The proponent of the project, a Michigan-based construction company, hopes to send material from the quarry across the great lake to provide highway building material. This section of coastline provides essential habitat to the endangered Peregrine Falcon, and refuge for threatened Woodland Caribou.
Government's Definition of Oak Ridges Moraine Protection Remains Dangerously Ambiguous
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- Created on Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:41
Concerned residents of Aurora, lawyer Rod Northey, and the environmental community have been seeking a consolidated hearing, bringing together the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) and the OMB. Having a consolidated hearing would increase the chances of seeing environmental considerations streamlined into planning decisions. A consolidated hearing is important in bringing all three approval layers together (Planning Act approval, Water Resources Act approval and Environmental Assessment approval). Furthermore, the presence of the ERT would be an incredibly valuable asset during the hearings, as this would mean that there would be a greater understanding and sensitivity to the preserving ecological and hydrological integrity.
Environmental Organizations Band Together to Appeal Algonquin Sustainable Forest Certification
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- Created on Thursday, 05 February 2009 21:48
Earthroots joined Wildlands League, Forest Ethics, Greenpeace and Ontario Nature in retaining Ecojustice to appeal the Canadian Standards Association Sustainable Forest Management certification of Algonquin Forest Authority (AFA) operations.
Currently, only 22% of Algonquin Park is protected. The Ontario Parks Board has recommended the expansion of protected areas from 22% to 54% of the park. And even the Algonquin Forest Authority has recommended that an increase from 22% to 49% is completely possible!
In 1978, the Ministry of Natural Resources made the decision to ban commercial logging in most classes of Ontario’s parks (except for Algonquin). This move implies that the government believes this practice is not acceptable, and is unsustainable within our protected areas. Commercial forestry is completely at odds with the fundamental principles of Ontario’s parks and the recently enacted Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act.
10 years of culling cormorants and deer proposed for Presqu'ile Provincial Park
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- Created on Tuesday, 23 December 2008 11:09
The public has an opportunity to comment on a controversial proposal to shoot both whitetail deer and double-crested cormorants for the next 10 years at Presqu'ile Provincial Park near Belleville, Ontario. The comment period ends on Monday December 29th, 2008.
To review the background documents, please visit http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/pres_planning.html
If this proposal is allowed to pass without public opposition, it could set the stage for other culls in the provincial parks system and/or establish indefinite culls. Ontario Parks, in their ‘screening’ document, have already stated that they anticipate little reaction for the proposed deer cull.
New Threats to the Kawartha Highlands
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- Created on Tuesday, 18 November 2008 14:03
Ontario’s newest provincial park, Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park, is the largest protected area south of Algonquin Park. At nearly 39,000 hectares, it possesses a rich level of biodiversity and is home to many species at risk.
The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is currently proposing a change to the regulations by broadening the scope of hunting in Kawartha Highlands through an increase in the number of species that can be hunted throughout the entire year. Since associated ATV (all terrain vehicle) use is permitted when hunting in Kawartha, this proposal could result in remote areas of the park being opened up. The new regulations contradict the notion of “balance” that was struck between stakeholder groups involved in the process.
Ontario Allowing Extinction of Caribou in the Province
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- Created on Monday, 17 November 2008 05:47
Critical Caribou Habitat Logged Despite Commitment to Forest Protection in the North
The Ministry of Environment has decided to allow a controversial logging plan to proceed in caribou habitat despite the province's commitment to protect the northern boreal forest, and its species at risk, such as caribou. Environmental groups and individual citizens have requested that the Ministry of Environment conduct an Individual Environmental Assessment on logging in the Ogoki Forest, in order to determine the impact on caribou populations. The Ministry has decided to forego any environmental assessment, despite indication that logging could wipe out this species from the forest.
The Ogoki Forest, located in remote Northwestern Ontario, contains some of the province's last remaining intact habitat for the threatened Woodland Caribou. Several environmental groups have been strongly opposed to this plan as it calls for intensive road-building and logging in prime caribou habitat areas. Despite the groups' pleas and several months of discussions and consultations, the plan will now move ahead.
Earthroots Joins the Green Prosperity Coalition
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- Created on Thursday, 13 November 2008 16:00
Earthroots has joined with twenty-three environmental organizations in Ontario to develop a list of seven environmental priorities that the coalition will focus on for the next year. The priorities are all policy related initiatives that have been selected because the groups agree they are key to a more sustainable future in this province and real progress in each of these areas is achievable.
The groups, collectively known as Green Prosperity, are focusing on these seven issues as key factors that must be addressed in order to combat the current economic meltdown and the strong need for environmental action in Ontario. With each of the seven priorities comes job creation, economic stimulation and significant movement towards a more sustainable future for this province.
Northern forests at risk
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- Created on Thursday, 04 September 2008 05:04
The old-growth forests of northern Ontario's Temagami region may fall victim to widespread clear-cutting if an Ontario government plan passes unchecked, say outraged environmental and tourism groups.
A draft forestry management plan for the next decade, released yesterday by the Ministry of Natural Resources, could also reduce the buffer zone around canoe routes and historical portage trails that make Temagami a sought-after destination, two environmental groups said.
"It would devastate the area in terms of recreation potential for at least the next 50 years," said Robert Olajos, spokesperson for Friends of Temagami and a local resident.
Especially at risk are old-growth forests – of white and red pine – that surround native spiritual sites, areas generally left untouched by forestry companies, says Mike McIntosh, spokesperson for Toronto-based Earthroots, an organization focused on the protection of Ontario wilderness and wildlife.
McIntosh said ministry documents show they are considering a massive increase in clear-cutting of old forests – up to 3,000 hectares in some places. Government guidelines have limited the majority of the cuts to 260 hectares. "These are bigger than the past plans and that is what has got so many residents upset," said McIntosh.
Golf Courses in Southern Ontario: A Strain on the Moraine and Our Water Resources
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- Created on Wednesday, 06 August 2008 09:51
Due to the growing popularity of golf, a number of courses have sprouted up across Southern Ontario over the past few decades. These courses are now speckled across Ontario’s Greenbelt and sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine, areas the province has finally agreed to protect. While golf courses may have a façade of ‘greenness’ due to their appearance, the reality is that maintaining unnaturally-short, perfect green grass on such large areas requires staggering amounts of groundwater, alongside a slough of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
As part of a coalition of conservation groups, concerned citizens, and municipal leaders that pushed for the creation of Ontario’s Greenbelt and protection for the Oak Ridges Moraine, Earthroots is extremely concerned about the environmental impacts that golf courses are having on these allegedly ‘protected’ areas. Golf courses are allowed on the vast majority of the Greenbelt, including a large portion of the Oak Ridges Moraine.
Due to our concerns, Earthroots has formed a partnership with Ecojustice, formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund, to begin researching the actual impacts golf courses are having on these sensitive areas. Unfortunately, because Ontario golf courses are only monitored through self-reporting and evaluation, it is extremely difficult to find any information regarding actual water takings, pesticide and other chemical use, or the environmental impacts of these activities.
Report urges province to tighten tap on moraine
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- Created on Wednesday, 30 July 2008 06:53
Phinjo Gombu
Urban Affairs Reporter
The Toronto Star
Ontario's environment ministry is being slammed in a new report for allowing dozens of golf courses on the protected Oak Ridges Moraine to draw billions of litres of water a year with little or no oversight.
The report, being jointly released today by the Earthroots and Ecojustice environmental groups, contends the province has not done a proper study of the cumulative impact on the moraine of golf courses and other large water users.
The moraine is the headwaters region for 65 streams flowing into lakes Simcoe, Scugog and Ontario, and the source of much of the region's drinking water.
Earthroots campaigner Josh Garfinkel says their research shows the province doesn't have accurate information on where golf courses are drawing their water from – an important issue because of a history of water shortages and declining groundwater levels in the Aurora-Newmarket area.
"What we need to do is have a better reporting method and monitoring of how much water is being taken and better enforcement of the laws and polices we have," said Hugh Wilkins, a lawyer for Ecojustice. "The government has a system to regulate, but it's not being properly implemented.
Ontario's Water Hazard - the cumulative impact of golf courses on our water resources
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- Created on Tuesday, 29 July 2008 18:00
TORONTO – An investigative report was released today highlighting the toll golf courses are taking on Ontario’s water resources. A joint report by Earthroots and Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund), Ontario’s Water Hazard reveals that golf courses located within environmentally sensitive watersheds are taking billions of litres of water each year and that there are serious inadequacies in how the Ontario government manages water taking permits.
“There are serious problems with how the province allocates water taking permits,” said Hugh Wilkins, staff lawyer with Ecojustice. “Our investigation has revealed that inadequate reporting methods and regulatory lapses have allowed some courses to continue operating with an expired water taking permit for as long as 17 years.”
The report specifically investigated provincial Permits to Take Water given to nine golf courses in the Aurora and Newmarket area, north of Toronto on the Oak Ridges Moraine. The analysis presents an unsettling picture of how much of the province’s water resources are being allocated for the use of golf courses.
“Ontarians would be shocked to learn that these 9 golf courses alone have been allocated more than 3 billion litres of water each year,” said Josh Garfinkel, campaigner for Earthroots. “This is enough to supply all annual water needs for a community of nearly 25,000 people.”
Take action to protect the Oak Ridges Moraine!
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- Created on Wednesday, 16 July 2008 18:00
Proposed Development in Aurora Threatens Integrity of Oak Ridges Moraine Protection
The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act (ORMCA) and the Greenbelt Act came to fruition after years of steadfast lobbying from determined environmentalists, concerned citizens, and members of municipal government. Both the ORMCA and the Greenbelt Act are highly lauded pieces of legislation that symbolize important strides in the right direction by affording more protection of valuable greenspace.
The Ontario Provincial Government has received acclaim for their initiatives to tackle the serious issue of urban sprawl in Southern Ontario. The government has done an admirable job of promoting the Greenbelt by putting up signs along the highway which inform drivers when they are crossing into the boundaries of the Belt. They have also produced informative guides illustrating the importance of supporting local farmers and the diverse range of food options the Greenbelt provides. However, now that a couple of years have passed and the celebrations have died down, what is actually happening on the ground?