Development in Northern Canada Threatens the Survival of Wildlife Fisheries, Says Report

Development in Southern Ontario, Canada, is not new. This development is expanding into areas of Northern Boreal in Ontario. As it expands, development in Northern Ontario threatens the survival of wildlife fisheries and wildlife located in the north. The northernmost parts of Ontario are famous for their lakes, rivers, and watersheds. Northern Ontario provides excellent recreational activities, including fishing.

The area has a solid economic base that is provided by fishing and recreational activities. Among the industries moving into Northern Ontario include mining, damn construction, and forestry. These activities threaten the destruction of this pristine part of the world.

There have been few, if any, studies on the actual impact of mining, damn construction, and forestry on parts of Northern Boreal of Ontario. Long-term habitat trends are unknown. Fish population numbers and their distribution are unknown.

The report authors, the Wildlife Conservation Society, caution government officials that it is not too late, nor too early. They want to insure that regions of Northern Ontario are preserved as best they can be, that fisheries continue to be plentiful, that watersheds remain.

Development in Northern Ontario should slow. Time is needed to study and catalog the various species of wildlife that live in the area. What types of habitats are needed for survival? Are there easy accommodations that could be made to preserve the life of fish and animals in the Northern Boreal of Ontario? Right now, no one knows the answer to that question.

Some of the species that live in the Northern Boreal of Ontario include wolverines, woodland caribou, and many species of freshwater fish.

The number of woodland caribou has decreased by 40 percent in the past 150 years. Coincidentally, during this same time frame, industrial development in the region has expanded. Since there has not been a wildlife management program in place, it is likely that the industrial development of Northern Ontario has contributed to the decline of caribou. No one knows the impact on the fish.