© Lora Denis
May 8, 2024–Corina Brdar
Conservation News•Campaigns and advocacy•Protected Places•Reduce Your Footprint
Quetico Provincial Park, mature white pines © Noah Cole
Nature advocates have come a long way since the days of “fortress conservation” when nature was thought to be a place where humans aren’t. We now understand that humans have always been a part of nature, and conservation doesn’t work if it comes at the cost of Indigenous rights or local livelihoods. But it seems ...
April 11, 2024–Janet Stavinga
Conservation News•Campaigns and advocacy•Habitat•Nature Network•Wetlands
Lookout over the Goulbourn Wetland Complex, a provincially significant wetland, at the headwaters of Poole Creek, along the Trans Canada Trail just west of Stittsville. © Brian Beattie
In a province already experiencing extensive wetland loss, one would think all efforts would be made to protect those that remain. However, from March 2023 to March 2024, 156 hectares of wetlands across 17 municipalities lost their Provincially Significant Wetland (PSW) designation and the strong provincial protection that designation imparts.* The highest proportion of these ...
March 13, 2024–Kellsie Bonnyman
Singing Sands Beach, Bruce Peninsula Provincial Park © teachandlearn CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Over 12,000 hectares of protected areas in southern Ontario – about the size of Bruce Peninsula National Park – have been officially accepted into the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD). Spearheaded by three municipalities and one conservation authority, the inclusion of these lands marks an important step towards achieving Canada’s commitment to protect ...
Rapids clubtail dragonfly © Dan Irizarry CC_BY-NC-SA 2.0
Yet again, the people of Ontario are witnessing an attempt by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) to weaken protections for the province’s species at risk. If approved, proposed changes to “streamline” several regulations under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) will create new loopholes to harm species at risk and their habitats, ...
Massasauga rattlesnake © Joe Crowley
I’ve been thinking about Samuel Beckett and Ontario rattlesnakes. There used to be two species in the province, the Massasauga and the timber. But for decades there’s only been one. In 1967, conservationist Barbara Froom said the timber rattler, “that was common in the Niagara Gorge region many years ago, is now extinct in Ontario.” ...
Laurel Creek Conservation Area © Carl Hiebert / Grand River Conservation Authority