The Kinsmen Club of Sault…

The Kinsmen Club of Sault Ste. Marie is a not-for-profit service club that owns and operates over 230 acres of land, and has land use permits totalling another 560 acres. Our managed lands are directly adjacent to, and functionally interconnected with, lands currently managed by the Conservation Authority of Sault Ste. Marie. Together, these lands support extensive silent sport and low-impact recreation, including hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, cycling, and nature appreciation, and are deeply embedded in the community’s quality of life.

We are writing to express our strong concern with the provincial proposal to amalgamate multiple Northern Ontario Conservation Authorities into a single Northeastern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority. Based on our experience and understanding of local conservation and recreation management, we believe this proposal would be detrimental to the community of Sault Ste. Marie and would weaken, rather than improve, conservation outcomes.

Effective conservation and land stewardship depend on deep, local knowledge of specific watersheds, landscapes, and community use patterns. The Conservation Authority of Sault Ste. Marie possesses decades of institutional knowledge regarding:

- Local hydrology and watershed dynamics
- Flood and erosion risks specific to the area
- Ecologically sensitive lands
- Long-established recreation corridors and access points
- Relationships with community groups, volunteers, and land managers

A large, centralized regional authority covering an immense and geographically diverse area of Northeastern Ontario cannot realistically maintain the same level of place-based expertise. Decision-making risks becoming generalized, remote, and less responsive to local environmental conditions and community needs.

Currently, Conservation Authorities are governed in close partnership with local municipalities, ensuring that local priorities are reflected in governance, budgeting, and service delivery.

Amalgamation would inevitably dilute the voice of smaller northern communities such as Sault Ste. Marie within a much larger regional governance structure. Decisions affecting local lands, trails, flood mitigation, and recreation could be made by a board that is geographically and politically distant from those who live, work, and recreate on the land.

This reduction in local accountability is particularly concerning given that municipalities and communities continue to be key funders and stakeholders in conservation work.

The lands managed by the Conservation Authority of Sault Ste. Marie, in conjunction with adjacent not-for-profit and municipal lands, form an integrated network that supports silent sport and low-impact recreation. These uses depend on:

- Consistent local management
- Ongoing trail maintenance
- Knowledge of seasonal conditions
- Close collaboration with volunteers and user groups

A large regional authority may prioritize statutory or administrative functions over community recreation, especially where recreation does not generate direct revenue. There is a real risk that silent sport infrastructure and stewardship - highly valued by the Sault Ste. Marie community - will receive reduced attention under a centralized model.

Northern Ontario’s vast geography, diverse watersheds, and dispersed population make centralized governance particularly impractical. A single regional authority would be responsible for an enormous area with widely varying environmental conditions and community priorities.

This scale is not conducive to effective, responsive conservation management and is especially ill-suited to the realities of northern communities.

From the perspective of a local not-for-profit land manager in Sault Ste. Marie, the proposed amalgamation of Conservation Authorities would likely:

- Reduce local expertise and accountability
- Weaken community-based recreation and stewardship
- Create uncertainty around land management
- Introduce risk and disruption without clear benefits

We respectfully submit that the existing Conservation Authority model in Sault Ste. Marie is effective, locally accountable, and well-aligned with community needs. Improvements to conservation services, if required, should focus on targeted investment and collaboration - not large-scale structural amalgamation.

We urge the Province of Ontario to reconsider this proposal and to meaningfully engage with local communities, municipalities, and land managers before proceeding with changes that would have lasting impacts on conservation and recreation in Northern Ontario.