A Star story in December detailed the Ministry of Natural Resources’ proposal to change the “forest reserve” designation for 340 hectares around Wolf Lake — 50 kilometres from Temagami — to “general use,” which would have put a greater focus on mining instead of forests and recreation.
The ministry now says it won’t tamper with the government protections around Wolf Lake.
“It was really about finding the appropriate balance,” Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle said in an interview Tuesday.
“We are always trying to find that balance between making sure we maintain the opportunity for economic development in northern Ontario while at the same time . . . we are very committed to the protection of our forests, particularly old-growth forests,” Gravelle said.
The decision is a victory for the 300-year-old red pine trees, said Ontario’s environment commissioner, Gord Miller. He said the plan would have allowed logging of the ecologically treasured trees if the mining intensified.
“The essence of the ecological dispute in that area is whether or not we should preserve the red pine old-growth system,” Miller said.
“The trees are the key issue. The government has reconsidered and that means the trees stay, which is critical in the long term.”
When the story originally broke, Premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters he was unaware of the planned change until reading about it in the Star, and spoke of paddling the pristine lakes and rivers around the Temagami area with his children.
Conservative MPP Norm Miller (Parry Sound—Muskoka) told the Star’s Tanya Talaga the premier should be thinking about job creation instead.
“Someone needs to remind Dalton McGuinty that there is more to northern and rural communities to long weekend getaways and pleasant hikes,” Miller said.
While acknowledging “it is important” to protect some land, Miller argued the government should leverage its treasure trove of forests and minerals.
“Forestry creates jobs. Right now we have 60 mills that have closed down. We need to be doing things in Ontario to support the forestry sector and northern jobs,” he said.
The ministry’s original proposal to remove the forest reserve status was posted on Ontario’s environmental registry on June 1, 2011. It allowed public comments for 47 days.
During that period, the ministry received nearly 300 letters expressing fears that increased mining and logging in Wolf Lake would destroy the “irreplaceable” old trees.
Gravelle, the natural resources minister, said his government has listened.
David Sone’s organization, Earthroots, was among those that campaigned against the plan. Sone said Wolf Lake has “dodged a bullet” but warned its future is precarious.
Last spring, the Alberta-based junior mining company Flag Resources, which is digging for gold in Wolf Lake, had one of its leases renewed for another 20 years. A second long-term lease is up for renewal in May.
“We think most Ontarians believe that Wolf Lake needs full protection and that means no industry,” Sone said. “And, we think that it is high time that Wolf Lake was taken out of limbo and permanently protected.”
Flag spokesperson Murdo McLeod was not available for comment.
It was the Conservatives who created the Lands for Life agreement in the late 1990s. It was supposed to turn Wolf Lake into parkland once the mining rights expired.
The agreement was reached between the government, environmental and industry groups who debated the use of Ontario land. Their plan allotted 88 per cent for industrial use, while 12 per cent — with unique ecological status — was to be protected.
That is how Wolf Lake got its “forest reserve’ protection. The plan said that when the mining rights expired, Wolf Lake would become protected parkland, its land and trees to remain untouched forever.
It will be 2031, when Flag Resources’ new mining lease expires, before that opportunity will arise again.
Original Article
Source: Star
Author: Moira Welsh
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