Ontario Nature Blog

As a party to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Canada has an international obligation to protect at least 17 percent of its lands and inland waters by 2020.   To count towards the 17 percent target a protected area must:  Have a clear conservation purpose  Be protected for the long-term  Prioritize conservation over other ...

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I spent my summers catching frogs with my sister on a small lake in Seguin, Ontario. We did other things too – like swim to the jumping rock and canoe to the island for overnight camping adventures. In the winters we skiied on the lake, marvelling at the giant icicles that formed on the rock ...

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The provincial government is proposing a new approach to getting species off the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) list. And it’s not by addressing threats, preventing further declines or implementing recovery measures. Nothing that involves real, on-the-ground improvements. Rather, it would simply require basing species assessments on how our most vulnerable plants and animals ...

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The provincial government’s proposed omnibus bill makes Ontario a very worrisome place to be. Funding for flood mitigation across the province is disappearing and a critical tree-planting program will soon end. The Government of Ontario is proposing a drastic overhaul of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) through changes put forward in Schedule 5 of ...

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Navigating appeals to planning decisions can be a complex process. When the provincial government recently announced they were shutting down the Local Planning Appeal Support Centre (LPASC), many local citizen groups were dismayed. The LPASC was set up as a service to assist citizens by providing input to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). Prior ...

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