I work for a forestry…

I work for a forestry company in Northern Ontario as a Geographic Information Systems Technician. I believe the endangered species act should be revised. We are constantly being forced by MNRF to implement reduced / modified harvest to protect species that are not found on large tracks of our Forests. We will work with the MNRF for areas they have solid evidence that the species of concern is present and work with the MNRF to expand the species range but just forcing a blanket harvest reduction on the entire forest is not the answer. The First Nations that live and work in these forests have not been consulted or had their views considered. The MNRF continues to implement more restrictions without community engagement every time a new forest management plan is being created. There are species in the forest that the current endangered species act is having a negative impact on and the First Nation communities rely on. There needs to be more balance between protection and jobs. People would be more willing to work with species protection if it was not so highly correlated with job losses in the forestry sector.

Thank you for this opportunity to voice my concerns.