To whom this may concern, I…

To whom this may concern,

I am writing you on Endangered species day, asking you to consider the destruction these blanket changes will wreak on species at risk (SAR) in Ontario. No one project, company, or organization should have blanket authority to destroy habitat without recourse.

Populations of species such as the Blanding's turtle will not survive if we are only protecting the single area where they nest or the log they bask on. Certain plant species also require a whole ecosystem with specific microclimate conditions, not just the plot of dirt it resides in. Allowing development to take away their habitat without mitigation, buffers, or restoration to core habitat will see to the demise of SAR in Ontario. Management of SAR requires an integrated approach that protects their habitat as a whole.

Disregarding the current recovery methods is ignorant, these are helpful tools that have been researched and put together by scientific organizations.

If you are so inclined to cut the red tape, feel free to hire more biologists at MECP (Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks). As a consultant I can wait anywhere from 6 months to a year to hear back from the MECP to provide feedback on client projects. Hire more staff! Streamline the current system by having more experts on deck, the playbook of underfunding, cutting back and privatizing is a political conservative move that has grown tiresome.

Sincerely,

A concerned consulting ecologist