I am not in favour of this…

I am not in favour of this proposal as described. I believe the current system is better (for environmental conservation) than a consolidated authority would be. The local conservation authorities have the ability and incentive to monitor local conditions and respond appropriately to concerns or threats. The primary mandate of of the Conservation Authorities is to take or promote actions that conserve their area of concern. Secondary is promoting public use/access when the risk to the area is minimal. How is a central authority with less personnel, located further away, and not subject to local political oversight going to be better at executing the mandate than existing conservation authorities?

The commercial/private development of conservation area lands should be rigourously constrained to the absolute minimum necessary and subject to multiple levels of review and 'open to the public' assessment. In this way the conservation of the conservation areas will be maximized, and incentives for all levels of government to make decisions about conservation areas that are not conservation based minimized.