Ontario is a large province,…

Ontario is a large province, larger than many countries. The geography varies significantly across locations -- not only do we have three different physiographic regions, we also have substantial differences in population density in different parts of the province. Ontario also has a large camping and cottage industry, meaning that people regularly travel into different parts of the province with land use as a primary purpose. Reducing the number of conservation authorities would have a major impact on the ability to adjust conservation approaches for the nuances of each unique environment. Habitats are different, seasonal patterns are different, and historic and current industry impacts are also wildly different. It is important to have provincial guidelines and oversight to help support these conservation authorities, but it is even more important that decisions that are being made to support conservation are being made locally, by people who understand the risks and needs in a certain area and who can interact with sufficient nuance to create successful solutions. Increasing the size of these authorities will make it hard to address the niche needs of different areas and may create blanket solutions that increase risk for certain environments and habitats. Conservation is done, in many ways, at the micro level. While ecosystems are at play, a focus may be a specific animal, pond, nearby development project, or other small focus. It will not be possible to take this detailed approach if there are fewer conservation authorities. A macro approach will miss these details -- ecosystems are damaged significantly when we do not consider the role each plant, animal, or body of water has in the overall health of their environment.