Protected Areas

Ontario Nature’s vision includes an extensive network of protected areas that represent the ecological regions throughout the province. Setting aside significant habitat areas connected by green corridors, lakes and waterways will ensure the long-term conservation of Ontario’s native species.

Ontario Nature’s protected areas program focuses on provincially-owned and managed protected areas that presently include:

• Provincial parks established under the Provincial Parks Act;
• Conservation reserves established under the Public Lands Act, Regulation 805/94;
• Wilderness areas established under the Wilderness Areas Act; and
  Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park.

Ontario’s protected areas legislation is under review and will likely result in changes to the current framework. However, the general principles for what is permitted in these areas will remain the same. Protected areas shall be off limits to industrial activities such as commercial forestry, mining and hydroelectric development.

Ensuring that some of Ontario’s natural areas remain free of industrial and commercial activities will help to safeguard our forests, rivers, lakes and wetlands. Protected areas represent one aspect of a multi-faceted conservation approach. They are intended to complement initiatives to develop more sustainable resource management practices across the provincial landscape, from the diverse Carolinian forests of the south to the undeveloped boreal forests north of the 51^st parallel.

Protected Areas Initiatives

The Ontario Nature protected areas program currently focuses on several provincially important initiatives. These include:

• A legislative review of Ontario’s protected areas legislation, including the Provincial Parks Act;
• Advancing the Room to Grow policy framework (linking growth in Ontario’s forest industry to the development of new protected areas);
• Land use planning under Ontario’s Northern Boreal Initiative;
• Monitoring non-conforming developments and land uses in Ontario’s protected areas.