WE are minnow block holders…

WE are minnow block holders within the woodlands Caribou Park in North western Ontario -holding 18 blocks for our lively-hood in a active business. In 1985 after years of minnowing for another licence, we purchased our first minnow block in the following year we purchased a business with the blocks that are now within the Woodland Caribou park boundaries. In 1988, I had a meeting with then Minister of Natural Resources Mr. Vince Kerrio, I explained the importance of Minnow Harvesting in this area of Ontario and how the miles between southern Ontario where I was born and raised and the geography of North Western Ontario was vastly different and how when making a decision for one area was not necessarily the best decision for a landscape 2250km away that is a completely different temperate and geological zone. I have seen what invasive species have done in Southern Ontario both in water with Zebra mussels to the invasive plants like the purple loose-strife. To take a lively-hood away by closing the park to minnow blocks for a thriving, necessary business in a very small area of population,which in my understanding is what the intention could be doesn't make sense when other commercial business with aircraft, boats,motors, including ministry aircraft and equipment including water bombers will still be allowed to land and carry on with-in the parks boundaries. How will the prevention of invasive species be stopped by shutting out a minnow harvester? "Minnow Men"in this area work out of a lot of landlocked small lakes which they harvest as a farmer would harvest their crops on land. Only the minnow farmer, watches his catch and protects his lively-hood for the many years to come. If they were to abuse the harvest, there would be nothing for years ahead so it is done with great care. A minnow harvester has very little impact on the environment nor is there a disruption to public who do use the park . Over the years, we have helped many canoe trips find there direction as well as the Nesting Trumpeter Swans that the province thought had become extinct to these days still reporting new nesting lakes of them. We have reported forest fires, looked for reported lost people and has lived through a forest fire. Minnow people love the bush and are the watchers of and protectors of this environment. It is not a lively hood you have if you do not love the wilderness and we have the wilderness in north western Ontario. Our Northwestern Ontario parks are not used in vast numbers as Southern Ontario parks -our geography makes it much harder to enjoy. Our Minnow harvesters, tourist outfitters and other air services are what allow most people the enjoyment of getting into the park and the enjoyment of raw nature. Not many arrive in there cars or on foot as in Southern Ontario and in many cases, the hardy who do, would only enjoy the site of the airplane a minnow man will be in and the comfort of someone who passed by in case of a emergency. They would not likely ever see him work his lakes to harvest his minnows before passing back over heading home. So, after that history, I hope you better understand what we do here and it is unique from a southern Ontario minnow business where I still see the minnow men of that area put there nets into the Niagara River and seine the shiners and other species for sale to the public. I grew up on the Niagara River, boated on the Great Lakes, swimming in those bodies of waters. I am proud that we protect and manage our wilderness lakes the way we have for the last 32 plus years. We look forward to continuing the same partnership with the Ministry until as we understood from our beginnings - that our grandfathered clause in the Woodland Caribou Park will be to manage our area and continue the harvest of bait fish. To close the woodland Caribou park minnow licences to the holders of the bait blocks now in these areas because there is a possibility of a invasive species being introduced by a minnow person arriving and departing these waters is possibly still misunderstood in Southern Ontario offices. Most lakes the minnows are harvested from are land locked, not even on the coarse of a large lake or river which would keep a invasive species if introduced to a small lake contained to that lake. Understand that we are all working to keep invasive species from our waters and that plans for all waters in our area are important and not just for our minnow harvesters. We live on a body of water that is very important to us that we take great pride in caring for. I would like to see the ministry of Natural Resources work with people in these areas on a approach to how we take action to stop or slow this problem NOT eliminate our lively-hoods thinking this is the way to stop the spread of invasive species.

[Original Comment ID: 209921]