Celebration in Ontario’s Boreal Forest

Fears of piece-meal development in Ontario’s northern Boreal Forest were allayed this summer when Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that the province would protect half the forest from pressures such as logging and mining.

Giving even more cause for celebration, he also promised that a comprehensive land use planning process would be used to sustainably develop what land isn’t conserved. Any new developments will require First Nations consent and a plan for resource benefit sharing.

“We’re elated,” said Ecojustice staff lawyer Anastasia Lintner who was an integral part of the push for increased Boreal protection. “This is Ontario being a leader in creating the framework for sustainable development.”

The quest to see comprehensive land use planning in the Boreal Forest began in 2005 for Lintner, when she worked with staff lawyer Justin Duncan and staff scientist Elaine MacDonald to launch a formal request for policy reform on behalf of environmental groups, including CPAWS-Wildlands League. The team’s success has reinforced the value of speaking up for conservation.

“Three years later we have one of the largest conservation commitments made to date in Canada. Amazing,” Lintner exclaimed.

The swath of protected area will provide a contiguous stretch of habitat for some of the country’s most treasured animals including polar bears, woodland caribou, lynx and billions of migratory birds.

It will also serve as a valuable tool in the province’s fight against climate change as it absorbs an estimated 12.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually.