Hello. I am a forestry…

Hello. I am a forestry consultant business owner (RW Forestry Inc.).

I have worked in the forest industry for 25 years in various capacity's including forest management planning and forest renewal

I have a few comments to share regarding the 10th year review of the ESA:

The Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA) has proven to be very effective legislation to regulate forestry in Ontario as it strives to balance social, environmental and economic outcomes associated with the management of SFL's.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) however does not seek to achieve this same balance, instead it requires individual threatened or endangered species to be protected at the expense of all other forest management outcomes.

I would recommend the following;

- a permanent ESA Section 55 regulatory exemption for the forest sector.

- continue to manage for at-risk species through the CFSA, in balance with other social, economic and environmental objectives

- ensure species prescriptions are developed with input from forest practitioners, affected stakeholders and rights holders, to ensure they are workable

-complete socio-economic impact analysis and share with impacted stakeholders and First Nations prior to any species at risk policy being implemented.