Ontario Nature Blog

Northern Ontario is known for its rugged landscapes of dense black spruce forests, crystal clear lakes and rivers, and pristine wilderness areas. However, industrial development is increasingly fragmenting the northern landscape, causing roadless areas to rapidly decline. Only 54 million hectares of roadless areas remain in Ontario, most of which are in the Far North. ...

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The phrase “30 x 30” dominated the headlines from COP15 in Montreal last December. It’s the international commitment to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s lands and waters by 2030. Formally known as Target 3, it is just one of 23 targets intended to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. It’s an ambitious target, ...

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Without the chorus of birdsong and frog calls heard in warmer months, it’s easy to picture wetlands as vacant in the winter. But appearances can be deceiving. Snow-blanketed ice transforms into a living guestbook wildlife sign with their feet. Barren trees become stopovers for visiting birds. A wetland in winter may be a quiet scene, ...

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Snip, snip, snip. That’s how my supervisor, Anne Bell, described the recent tangle of legislation and policy proposals dumped on Ontarians in October and November of 2022. It was my second day at my new job as Ontario Nature’s Conservation Policy and Planning Manager. What’s being snipped is the thoughtfully interwoven web of protections for ...

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Despite repeated promises that there would be no removal of lands from the Greenbelt, the Government of Ontario is planning to carve 7,400 acres out of the Greenbelt anyway. The proposal has shocked and outraged Ontarians of all stripes, and for good reason. Broken promises are of course offensive in their own right. And so is a ...

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