Hello, My professional…

Hello,

My professional background was in engineering and engineering management. During the pandemic I took up the past-time of birdwatching, and as a result I am becoming much more aware of the different habitats in the world around us, and how they support different species. Our province is blessed with many different habitats, supporting many different species, and I continue to visit new sites and marvel in the species and habitat diversity in Ontario.

The re-appearance of breeding Piping Plovers in the Ontario Great Lakes after a decades-long absence is a great success story. Wasaga Beach is the best Piping Plover habitat in Ontario, nurturing many fledgling birds since 2007. However, the comeback is tenuous, and the species is still endangered. I feel that now is not the time to remove protections for the species or the habitat, and it is not the time to decrease funding.

I personally feel that the best solution is that all of the existing Piping Plover habitat at Wasaga Beach remain within provincial park boundaries, so that the habitat will continue to be legally protected, and hopefully the species will continue to increase in numbers and eventually no longer be threatened by extinction. The existing program has been very successful; its funding, and its protections, for the habitat and the species should be maintained or increased.

Thank you for considering my submission.