Wilderness is important to Ontarians and important to the sustained, healthy functioning of Ontario’s ecosystems. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is committed to ecological sustainability, an important component of which is a network of parks and other protected areas. This policy:
- Responds to Term and Condition 106 of the Class Environmental Assessment for Timber Management on Crown Land in Ontario 1994, which states that “within three years of this approval, MNR shall develop a provincial policy on roadless wilderness areas.”
- Confirms Ontario’s commitment to wilderness protection through existing Wilderness Park and Wilderness Zone targets, and provides direction that will result in the completion of Ontario’s system of Wilderness Parks.
- Addresses the contribution of other parks and protected areas to the protection of wilderness values.
- Addresses the consideration of wilderness values through ongoing management activities on the intervening landscapes and waterscapes outside parks and protected areas.
Wilderness values will be accounted for under the auspices of land use planning and resource management planning, such as MNR’s “Lands For Life” program, and policy, legislation, and management programs developed in support of sustainable natural resource management in Ontario. Specifically, MNR will:
- Identify and establish a Wilderness Park in each of Site Region 3S and 5S through the “Lands for Life” land use planning program. Candidate areas will be protected through interim management guidelines. This target will be met by 1998.
- Identify and establish Wilderness Zones in each of Site Region 0E, 1E, 2E, 3S, 4S, 5S, and 2W through park management plans. Wilderness Zones in Site Region 3S, 4S, and 5S will be identified in 1998. Wilderness Zones in Site Region 0E, 1E, 2E, and 2W will be identified by December, 1999.
- Continue to work with partners and clients to assess opportunities to protect and manage for additional wilderness areas (e.g., Wilderness Zones and other public and private land opportunities) in southern Ontario Site Regions 6E and 7E. This will be pursued under the auspices of a variety of public land protection programs and private land stewardship and acquisition programs.
- Continue to provide direction for the management of wilderness values on the intervening landscapes and waterscapes through a variety of existing policies and ongoing resource management and operational planning initiatives (e.g., Wetlands Policy, Policy Framework for Sustainable Forests, and forest management planning).
- Enter into discussion with clients and partners to determine if there are any changes required to existing resource management and operational planning guidelines. The discussion will aim to:
- Operationally define wilderness characteristics and identify those characteristics through landscape-level assessment. MNR will complete a GIS-based mapping project in support of landscape-level assessment.
- Identify and describe the cumulative contribution of existing area designations (e.g., Conservation Reserves, Wildlife Management Areas, Limited Access Areas, Areas of Concern, Provincial Nature Reserves and other parks, and Provincially Significant Wetlands) to the maintenance of wilderness characteristics.
- Identify and describe existing tools and techniques (e.g., Provincial Guidelines, Construction/Operation Manuals, and Resource/Environmental Manuals) that collectively can be employed to manage for wilderness characteristics on the intervening landscapes and waterscapes.
- Assess the need, pursuant to the above discussions, for additional guidelines and techniques to manage for wilderness characteristics.
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Ontario's Approach to Wilderness: A Policy (PDF, 1.0 MB 32 pages)
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