Ontario Nature Blog

Less than 11 percent of Ontario’s lands and waters are considered protected, despite the existence of areas of great ecological, cultural, and community value that deserve protection. Many of these areas are featured on the Protected Places Story Map, a collective vision developed by Ontario Nature and several key partners. Each area featured on the ...

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Ontario’s expansive landscape has four forest regions: the Hudson Bay Lowlands of the far north, the boreal forest in northern Ontario, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest in central and southern Ontario, and the deciduous forest in southwestern Ontario. The province has more than 70 million hectares of forest, yet a recent environmental report from the ...

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In 2021, the Government of Ontario appointed a Protected Areas Working Group to “identify opportunities to protect and conserve more natural areas” in the province, but the group’s final report and recommendations were never released. Two years later, Katie Krelove, Ontario Campaigner at the Wilderness Committee, obtained the report through a Freedom of Information request. ...

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Ontario Nature has identified an opportunity for Ontario to contribute to the 30 by 30 biodiversity target by working with FSC-certified companies. Canada’s most respected sustainable forest certification is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Currently, 19 of Ontario’s 39 forest management units on public land are FSC certified. Many large businesses and organizations require their ...

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Ontario Nature is thrilled to announce the success of ongoing efforts to recognize conservation lands in southern Ontario that can count towards Canada’s “30 by 30” protected areas target. Building on previous accomplishments, Ontario Nature partnered with Conservation Ontario, six conservation authorities and one municipality to assess whether their lands met the national standard. Ontario’s ...

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