Amend Regulation 316/07 under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act to make minor amendments to the boundaries of LaVerendrye and Pigeon River provincial parks to add acquired lands

Description of regulation

In 2000, Ontario Parks bought 8.1 hectares of private land at Middle Falls on the Pigeon River from the Minnesota Parks and Trails Association for the purpose of adding it to the provincial park system. In 2002, Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) acquired 304 hectares of private land (the Horne Falls property) along the Pigeon River for the purpose of adding some to LaVerendrye Provincial Park. As a result of these acquisitions, land south of Hwy 593 will be added to the parks including 5 hectares to Pigeon River Provincial Park and 299 hectares to LaVerendrye Provincial Park.

Purpose of regulation

To notify the public and seek comments on amending the boundaries of LaVerendrye and Pigeon River provincial parks to add acquired lands.

Other information

Over the last few years, patent land adjacent to the Pigeon River has been acquired along an 11 km stretch of land where the boundary is currently at the highwater mark. This section is one of the last links in the protected river frontage along the Pigeon River and the Canada/USA border waters from Quetico Provincial Park to Lake Superior. The most easterly section was acquired by Ontario Parks to prevent cottage lot development on the shore of the Pigeon River. The westerly section was acquired by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for permanent protection of wildlife species including lynx, coaster brook trout, lake sturgeon and the rare extra-striped snaketail dragonfly.

The Pigeon River Provincial Park Management Plan (1994) prohibits hunting however the necessary regulation change has never been made to implement this decision. Hunting is not considered to be a suitable use in the existing park or the addition. Since 1994 Ontario Parks annually posts signs to prohibit hunting in areas of the park where the greatest safety concerns exist. To reflect the park management plan, MNRF will make an administrative amendment to regulation 663/98 under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act to remove Pigeon River Provincial Park in order to prohibit hunting in the park.

Amending the park boundaries of LaVerendrye and Pigeon River provincial parks was screened under A Class EA for Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves and was determined to be a Category A project.

Other public consultation opportunities

Category A projects related to minor boundary amendments require notification to affected First Nations, adjacent landowners and affected parties. Notification for environmental assessment purposes will occur simultaneously with this posting.

Regulatory impact statement

The environmental consequences of regulating land for protected area purposes are positive because the land will be protected from forestry, mineral exploration or development, cottage development and aggregate extraction.

The anticipated social consequences of the proposal are positive. In both cases, the land to be added to the provincial park is private land, therefore the public had no previous right to use the property. As provincial park land, the public will be able to use the land for some types of recreational activities.

The anticipated economic consequences of the boundary amendment proposal are neutral. The land will not be available for forestry, mineral exploration or development, cottage development or aggregate extraction. No commercial resource use (i.e., trapping, baitfish harvesting, bear management area hunting) has occurred. No new operations are permitted.