I must admit that I am…

I must admit that I am unfamiliar with the Wasaga Beach area; I have never been there. And I am sure that a case can be made for development to revitalize the community - that must be true of almost every provincial park in the province. But I am deeply familiar with another provincial park which is in its early stages of being formed and is where I reside. I and other locals are playing a strong role in engaging our community to participate in creation of the Park. There are key land connections we are seeking from private landowners which can play an integral role in strengthening or building corridors for park users and nature alike. So far we have had good luck in securing lands which will build this new park. One impetus which has struck a chord for the private landowners we have been working with is that the land they donate or sell for the park will be permanently protected for generations to come. This new park I am involved with is close to urban areas and our community will benefit from having the park nearby. It is most unfortunate that removal of lands from the Wasaga Beach are occurring at this time. I believe we will have a much harder time building the park in our community, many kilometres from Wasaga Beach, because of the publicity related to the removal of lands from Wasaga Beach Provincial Park. I will no longer be confident in my interactions with landowners in my community to secure key trail connections. And it makes me question the many hours I have devoted to helping build the new park near my home. I genuinely thought it would be a forever park.