Provincial Parks belong to…

Provincial Parks belong to the people of Ontario and are meant to be protected forever, it is absolutely DISGRACEFUL that the Ontario government is trying to sell ANY amout of provincial park anywhere to anyone.

Wasaga Beach Provincial Park lands have immense value both from the amount of tourism they support and even more importantly, their important ecological value. This includes:

• Known Piping Plover habitat, which is listed as endangered under both the federal Species at Risk Act and the provincial Endangered Species Act.

• Mature sand dunes, which provide important ecological and stabilizing functions including providing a protective buffer against high water, wind and storm events for private or adjacent lands, which is an important role as the climate changes.

• Significant vegetation communities and provincially significant wetlands.

• “The Point” located in Beach Area 1 which is one of those targeted to be removed is designated as a provincially significant earth science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI).

The fact that the Ontario Government is trying to sell off any part of these park lands is INSANE.

As someone who cares about our provincial parks, and also as someone who grew up at this beach and continues to enjoy cottaging in Wasaga I am vehemently OPPOSED to this proposal. I fear it also sets a dangerous precedent to allowing more and more of our provincial parks to be sold away for development in a scheme that feels far to close to what's happening across the border with American parks. I strongly, strongly urge the Ontario government to reconsider this horrible decision and leave our Provincial Park lands ALONE!