Ontario government restores significant hunting opportunities

Ontario government restores significant hunting opportunities
Heritage activities returned in Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park

After years of discussion and public consultation, the Ministry of Natural Resources (M.N.R.) has released the decision on amendments to regulate hunting in the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site (K.H.S.S.). The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) is pleased that Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield has responded by appropriately restoring significant hunting opportunities to the park.

Posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights (E.B.R.) registry in October of 2008, the amendment to the regulation under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, had proposed more closely restoring traditional K.H.S.S. hunting activities to those that were practiced before the park’s regulation in 2005. The initial regulation did not impact on deer or moose, but it did overly restrict other opportunities. In the decision, the M.N.R. reported that there were 2,714 comments submitted to the E.B.R. posting, most of which were favorable to hunting.

"The broad support of local stakeholders and O.F.A.H. members greatly assisted our efforts with the M.N.R. to recover important hunting opportunities in the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park," said Mike Reader, O.F.A.H. Executive Director.

The K.H.S.S. is a 37,587-hectare park that lies within Wildlife Management Unit 60, and is situated approximately 50 kilometers north of Peterborough. The regulation amendment restores the black bear season to September 1, permits a wild turkey season, restores rabbit and hare seasons, as well as seasons for fox and raccoon. It does, however, institute a moratorium on wolf and coyote hunting for a minimum of two years, closes hunting for non-scheduled wildlife such as porcupines and crows, and prohibits all hunting from the Friday before the May long weekend through August 31.

With over 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters, and 655 member clubs, the O.F.A.H. is the largest nonprofit, charitable, fishing, hunting and conservation-based organization in Ontario, and the voice of anglers and hunters. For more information, visit www.ofah.org.

Fast Facts:

• The Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003, and the park charter also signed in 2003, provided for hunting, fishing, boating and other traditional activities in the park.
• There were four signatories to the charter, including the Kawartha Highlands Local Stakeholder Committee, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, the Stakeholder Groups of the Kawartha Highlands, and the Partnership for Public Lands.
• All four signatories agreed that hunting would remain as it always had been, regulated under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, similar to Wildlife Management Unit in which the K.H.S.S. is located.

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