A minor amendment was originally sought to Crown land use direction to implement commitment #20 of the Ontario Forest Accord by providing the forest industry with the opportunity to access timber harvest areas via road crossings of specific parks and protected areas.

On the basis of comments received and more detailed assessments of the specific sites, a decision has been made to provide for road crossings of 22 provincial parks and protected areas.

The amendment will alter the general land use policy (OLL Land Use Strategy) as well as the area-specific land use policy for specific parks and protected areas.  Road crossings have the potential for significant environmental, economic and social impacts.  The crossing proposals were recommended to the Minister of Natural Resources by the Ontario Forest Accord Advisory Board (OFAAB).

OFAAB Recommendation #20 directs that MNR will undertake a detailed evaluation of each prospective crossing site to ensure that significant values are identified; and that the exact location and conditions of approval for each site will be the subject of more detailed forest, park or conservation reserve management planning which will afford additional opportunities for public involvement.

Of the twenty-two protected areas listed in the amendment, over half are waterway class parks.  The other three provincial parks listed are effectively waterways annexed to natural environment class parks.  The seven conservation reserves also encompass linear watercourses.  The provision for road crossings of linear waterway corridors has been included in park management policy since its inception in 1978 and was re-affirmed in Ontario Provincial Park Planning and Management Policies (1992) and in the 1999 Land Use Strategy.

The proposed amendment to the Area-Specific policies will provide land use direction for road crossings of the following 22 provincial parks and conservation reserves:

P83 – Big East River Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P110 – French River Addition Recommended Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P131 – Ottawa River Recommended Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P153 – Restoule Provincial Park Addition (Natural Environment Class)

P173 – Sturgeon River Addition Recommended Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P187 – Killarney Lakelands and Headwaters Recommended Provincial Park (Natural Environment Class)

P261 – Little White River Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P265 – Blind River Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P1511 – Nimoosh Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P1557 – Ivanhoe Addition Provincial Park (Natural Environment Class)

P2220 – Ogoki River Recommended Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P2263 – Obonga-Ottertooth Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P2287 – St. Raphael Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P2294 – East English River Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

P2363 – Eagle-Dogtooth Provincial Park (Waterway Class)

C55 – Little Mississippi River Conservation Reserve

C326 – Wahwashkesh – Naiscoot Conservation Reserve

C1606 – North of the North French River Recommended Conservation Reserve

C2204 – Nakina Northeast Waterway Recommended Conservation Reserve

C2249 – Attwood River Recommended Conservation Reserve

C2299 – Campus Lake Conservation Reserve

C2348 – Pipestone Recommended Conservation Reserve

See attached.

Commitment #20 of the Ontario Forest Accord provides for the timely implementation of a limited number of crossings of linear parks and protected areas to provide access to timber harvest areas that would otherwise be uneconomical to harvest. Crossings were identified by Sustainable Forest License holders and were submitted to the Ontario Forest Accord Advisory Board (OFAAB). Several of the crossing proposals were "challenged" by the Partnership for Public Lands (PPL) and additional discussions on the need for the crossings occurred. In their final report, OFAAB (PPL, forest industry, provincial government) recommended to the Minister that 23 protected areas have crossing proposals that meet the intent of the Accord commitment.

The original OFAAB decision included crossings of:

·         8 conservation reserves

·         12 waterway class parks

·         3 natural environment class parks

Amendment to the General Policies of the OLL Land Use Strategy (1999)

The general policies of the Land Use Strategy need to be amended to permit road crossings of conservation reserves and provincial parks other than waterway class parks.  Current policy only permits road crossings of waterway class provincial parks.  There are no existing policy provisions for road crossings of other classes of parks or conservation reserves.

The proposed amendment only provides policy provisions for road crossings in conservation reserves and non-waterway class parks specifically identified in OFAAB’s January 16^th status summary.  There is no change to the general policy regarding waterway class parks.

To reflect the commitment in Accord Article #20, the proposed amendment also indicates that the new roads and bridges required for the crossings will be removed when no longer needed by the forest industry.

Amendment to the Policy Reports in the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas

The Atlas is a compendium of land use direction for all Crown land areas in the OLL planning area consisting of maps and descriptive policy reports. (http://crownlanduseatlas.mnr.gov.on.ca)

The policy reports for the specific provincial parks and conservation reserves with crossings included in the OFAAB recommendation are revised to state that a crossing(s) to access timber may be permitted. The exact location and approval of the crossing will be the subject of detailed resource management planning through the forest management planning process or park/conservation reserve management plans. The policy reports of some of the 22 protected areas may include more detailed direction, as required to address specific issues raised during the review of crossing proposals by OFAAB.

The proposed land use amendment will complete the land use policy component of Commitment #20 of the Ontario Forest Accord.

The proposed amendment will facilitate the planning of these crossings in the forest management planning process, as land use direction for these crossings will be established.

The crossings are subject to the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act and detailed planning must occur prior to any road approval. In addition, the crossings must be removed when no longer needed by the forest industry.

Note that within the ‘Management Direction’ of each policy report, a “Y” corresponds to “Yes,” an “N” corresponds to “No,” and an “M” corresponds to “Maybe.”

The issue addressed by the land use amendment (crossing provisions of linear protected areas) was one of the commitments of the Ontario Forest Accord. The crossings that form the focus of the amendment were reviewed and recommended to the Minister by the Ontario Forest Accord Advisory Board (OFAAB). The Minister accepted the final report of OFAAB and is committed to the completion of the Ontario Forest Accord articles.

A description of the proposed amendment was mailed directly to a list of 629 contacts who had known interests in land use and/or protected area planning and management.  The mail-out was supplemented by a 60-day Notice of Proposal posting on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry.  These efforts elicited a total of 28 written responses

See EBR Decision notice for PB04E4001.

 To proceed with the proposed amendment, subject to the recommendations of the Ontario Forest Accord Advisory Board.  Specifically, the land use direction for 22 of the 23 protected areas that were originally contemplated, plus the wording of the general polices of the Land Use Strategy, will be amended to make provision for potential crossings, and to reflect the commitment to undertake more detailed planning prior to implementation.

The decision will be posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry and on the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas.  A notification letter will also be sent directly to the Sustainable Forest License (SFL) Holders, the Partnership for Public Lands, and to everyone that provided written comments during the public consultation period.