October 14, 2009 Doug…

October 14, 2009 Doug Gilmore Park Superintendent Ministry of Natural Resources Natural Resource Management Division Ontario Parks Woodland Caribou Provincial Park 227 Howey Street Red Lake, ON P0V 2M0 Dear Mr. Gilmore, Re: EBR Registry No: 010-7226, Regulation of dedicated protected areas identified in the Whitefeather Forest and Adjacent Areas Land Use Strategy (2006) as Provincial Parks under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act Ontario Nature appreciates having the opportunity to comment on the above mentioned proposal, submitted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Pikangikum First Nation. Ontario Nature is a charitable membership-based conservation organization established in 1931 that works to protect Ontario’s wild species and wild spaces through conservation, education and public engagement. Ontario Nature has over 140 member groups and 30,000 individual members and supporters across the province. We would like to commend the Pikangikum First Nation and particularly the Pikangikum elders for the work that has gone into the Whitefeather Land Use Strategy. We would also like to commend the Pikangikum First Nation for wanting the identified protected areas to become permanently protected under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act. This shows the community’s commitment to maintain ecological integrity of their dedicated protected areas. The Premier of Ontario has recognized the significance of the northern boreal, which includes the Whitefeather Forest, and has promised to protect over half of it in an interconnected network of conservation lands, under the proposed Far North Act. We hope that the Whitefeather Land Use Strategy is forward looking and aligns with this commitment by dedicating over half of the territory as conservation lands (or designated protected areas) that are free from industrial development (logging, mining and hydro). We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the proposal to regulate protected areas to conserve significant conservation values found in Ontario’s northern boreal. Sincerely, Jen Baker Boreal Program Manager