Most Ontarians believe there are still vast tracts of remote wilderness in northern Ontario, where people seldom visit, beyond the reach of civilization. They also believe that they have time to reflect and to make good choices about where to establish wilderness areas, new parks and old-growth reserves.

Unfortunately, they are largely mistaken. Much of our Great Lakes and boreal forests have already been committed to industrial forestry.

A 4-1/2 year-long environmental assessment of how Ontario's public forests are managed was completed in April 1994. That epic hearing dealt with how timber is harvested from more than 45% of Ontario's land base -- all public lands.

Conditional approval was given to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to continue to manage these forests, if the forest environment was treated more carefully and sustainably than in the past. Approval was conditional on a series of terms and conditions, each with deadlines that must be met by MNR in its management of public lands for timber production.

One of those conditions was that roadless wilderness areas would become an integral part of public-land policy. To date, this legal condition has not been met despite the fact that wilderness values remain at the heart of Ontario's vision of itself.

Other conditions of approval were also set, each with its own deadline. These included the protection of old-growth forests and wildlife, and completed surveys of areas of natural and scientific interest.

Fundamentally, all of our land-protection options, now and in the future, will be based on the few (and shrinking) areas left between the present and committed road networks in our northern forests.

It is not good enough to say that wilderness, old-growth and natural areas will be considered at some vague time in the future, through some new round of public land-use planning when we know that our options are being foreclosed by present activities.

Action is needed now. To keep our options open to protect wilderness areas, old growth, parks and natural areas we must:

• Support the protection of roadless wilderness and old-growth areas.
• Insist on provincial policies that recognize roadless areas and old-growth ecosystems as part of a provincial system of protected areas.
• Insist that the legal conditions of the Timber Environmental Assessment be met.
• Support a moratorium on new road commitments in roadless areas until new wilderness and old-growth policies, based on fall public participation, are in place.

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