Firstly, I believe…

Firstly, I believe maintaining a healthy and diverse environment across Ontario and Canada is extremely important. As a child, I have very fond memories of my father taking me to all the fishing spots his father showed him. I was shown different trees, plants, animals, lakes and all other aspects of our environment. I will continue to pass down this knowledge to my own children as will many other Canadians. To be sustainable, that is to utilize the resources we have without diminishing it for future generations, is an important battle we all fight. By conserving the environment where these resources are extracted, we are in turn protecting the diversity of habitat and wildlife. The endangered species act is one attempt to protect the element of species abundance and diversity. However, certain aspects of the endangered species act are either not successful or fallacious in a sense. Below are some of my opinions regarding the four areas of focus of the discussion paper.
Regarding the landscape approach, it is important to assess the difference between jurisdictional rarity and species at risk at a more broad scale. With the ever changing climate, species are likely to move their habitat range slowly over time. Understanding these patterns will assist in determining which species at risk to focus conservation efforts on. For example Gibson et al. (2009) estimated that approximately 75% of Canada's terrestrial species at risk are located at their northern range limits. The topic of caribou conservation is perhaps one of the most controversial issues in regards to species conservation. This is a prime example of jurisdictional rarity as woodland caribou are located at the northern periphery in Ontario. The fact that woodland caribou and barren ground caribou are genetically identical is widely unknown by the public. The only difference is that barren ground are a little smaller due to their extensive migratory patterns which in turn, gives them a higher survival rate. The widespread panic of the destruction of caribou habitat can therefore be greatly misunderstood and is turning large tracks of productive forest into a preserved old growth forest. While certain amounts of these forest types are necessary, the caribou blocks are large and extensive which is not only causing job losses and a decrease in economic development, but is also adding to climate change as these forests become carbon sources over time. Proper knowledge and information of species can allow for a more focused approach for species at risk(SAR) which allows for better time management for the listing process and protections of SAR.
I believe a longer review period of the SAR is essential in providing the public and other groups/organizations with proper and accurate information about the habitat, range, life and migratory habits of the species which is being evaluated. Having more extensive research on a species will allow for proper classification of the species. With more species at risk, comes more research, more cost, and a reputation for not conserving habitat properly. The lack of research and automatically putting an "at risk" label on a species is a problem which must be addressed. It must be explained that conservation does not happen instantly, but is the result of collecting reliable data over time in order to streamline conservation efforts towards the species which are in direct need of protection. Additional public hearings where people give their own inputs or traditional knowledge are important. However, responses in these hearings are just as important and must be based on science and real data collected in order to better inform everyone about the true details of the SAR (i.e. caribou).
In regards to the third and fourth areas of focus, I believe it is imperative to first focus efforts on the first and second area as they all go hand in hand. The loss of productive forest land based on data which is either insufficient or unreliable should be seen as a failure in preserving the integrity of forest conservation in Ontario. Taking away the rights of trappers, losing the ability to utilize large tracks of land for public use by destruction of roads and taking away opportunities for people like myself who want to work for the forest sector in a responsible and sustainable manner, is not humans coexisting with nature. It is simply laying down and allowing all preservation methods to occur without sufficient or accurate data. In conclusion, before more negative impacts occur, a more strategic approach to broaden the SAR listing must occur to eliminate unnecessary cost, efforts or loss of economic development due to the immense loss of productive forest land due to mis-aimed conservations efforts.