For the past 20 some years, I have been working to protect a bit of wilderness not far from here. The Wolf Lake area is host to the largest area of Old Growth Red Pine anywhere. It is located along the Chiniguchi River, and in 1999 was designated as a Forest Reserve (FR). This allowed mining exploration to continue until the claims and leases naturally lapsed, while protecting the land from other commercial exploitation.
The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forests has never been happy with the FR designation, and for the past several years has lobbied the Ministry of Natural Resources to remove the FR protection. And they have prevented the natural lapsing of claims. Now the plan for taking much of the Forest Reserve away has been posted for public comment. You can read a summary of the proposal at
www.kewatch.blogspot.com .
Even if you don't have time to read the background, I'd really appreciate it if you could send a quick email to scott.dingwall@ontario.ca with this simple request: Wolf Lake and the rest of the Chiniguchi River system need to be protected. I object to the removal of the Forest Reserve, and urge the Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forests to stop interfering with the lapsing of claims. A more thorough public review of the protection and boundaries needs to be conducted.
Put EBR 010-7775 in the Subject line.
Send a blind carbon copy to me if you could. Thank you!
