I’m an early-career…

I’m an early-career ecologist who has worked for conservation non-profits and the Hamilton Conservation Authority. Even within one conservation authority (eg Hamilton) there are so many different ecosystems and specific regional challenges to be addressed to protect the health of the watershed. I cannot imagine that these issues can be addressed if one conservation authority cannot focus on one region. Everyone I know who is currently working at one of Ontario’s conservation authorities is incredibly worried about this change.

If the land and water managers are not behind this change, why should it go ahead? Shouldnt we listen to the experts? Shouldn’t we continue to do what has been working? Many of us can’t help but wonder what the true goal of this move is. We are away it will reduce the power of conservation authorities to protect us.

Don’t we want clean water, flood prevention and healthy biodiversity? Don’t we want biologists who are well acquainted with the land they are managing? Ontario’s conservation authorities are a nation-wide (even world-wide) case study of how to effectively manage watersheds. Why undermine that? It’s clear that greed is driving this decision. Please listen to the experts.