My top priority is to ensure…

My top priority is to ensure that the woodland caribou range is preserved, improved and extended. The caribou herd needs millions of hectares of undisturbed forest - so Wabakimi alone is not big enough. But it's a start. The herd also needs protective buffers between its range and human activities. Please think big, and then think bigger. Any further segmentation of the landscape is inappropriate for this species. Road networks should be dismantled. I find the terms of reference are not sufficiently detailed with regard to the study of plans to improve woodland caribou habitat and range. I am concerned about invasive species. Leaving huge areas undisturbed (for the woodland caribou) is a very good way of preventing invasive terrestrial plants from infiltrating. Earthworms should be banned as a bait species. The terms of reference for the management plan seem to focus in large part on enhancing recreation. This is not a park at which traditional bucolic recreational activities should be offered. This is a park first for wildlife, and second for the respectful visitor who is prepared to make the extra effort to not be disruptive in any way. The terms of reference fail to look at public education that would communicate the importance of treading lightly. The type of visitor the park should aim to attract (and create, through public education) is one that would have the patience to sit quietly for an hour, or hours, to watch wildlife. Not someone who wants to play volleyball and listen to music. Any expansion of the recreational footprint will have an adverse impact on a woodland caribou population already in decline and under stress. I want Wabakimi to continue as a wilderness park in the full sense of the word. Its primary purpose should not be to drive economic opportunity in the area, because that will simply attract more business and increase pressure for further degradation. Do not try to make money off this park. The people of Ontario should pay for its continued remoteness. o I oppose using "access to enhance the character of the parks and the visitors experience." This is completely at odds with what makes a wilderness park . Keep the park remote. Do not facilitate vehicle access. Limit motorized air and water access. o Park-run facilities. There is no need for more boat launches, campgrounds and day use areas. Do not examine where these facilities might go. They should not go anywhere. o Remove roads, bridge, and culverts in the parks created by the forest industry. o No assessment of commercial tourism accommodation or intensive recreational facility requirements should be undertaken. o The terms of reference state: "New tourism opportunities will be identified through the park management planning process." I can imagine tourism opportunities that respect the underlying principle that this park be preserved as wilderness - but these do not seem to be what the drafters of the terms of reference have in mind. I am very disappointed in this document. o I understand that private hunt camps have been allowed to expand in Wabakimi. This should not happen. Please maintain strict environmental protection measures.

[Original Comment ID: 155739]