Ontario and Manitoba partner to protect boreal forest

MNR News Release

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Ontario and Manitoba today signed a memorandum of understanding to establish and manage a protected Interprovincial Wilderness Area in the boreal forest along the Ontario-Manitoba border.

The new wilderness area covers more than 9,400 square kilometres, including Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and the Eagle-Snowshoe Conservation Reserve in Ontario and Atikaki Provincial Park and parts of Nopiming Provincial Park in Manitoba.

The area is of national ecological and cultural importance. It protects a wide variety of species and habitats in Canada's central boreal forest, including important habitat for woodland caribou.

The creation of the Interprovincial Wilderness Area is a significant step towards the success of Pimachiowin Aki, a partnership of four First Nations and the governments of Manitoba and Ontario that is working to have 40,000 square kilometres of boreal forest in the two provinces declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It also strengthens Premier Dalton McGuinty's mid-July announcement that Ontario will permanently protect 225,000 square kilometres of Ontario's Far North boreal region.

QUOTES

“By partnering with Manitoba to create a protected Interprovincial Wilderness Area, Ontario is building on our efforts to protect the Far North boreal region,” said Ontario Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield. “With Manitoba, we will work with nearby First Nations, the Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Project, and other local communities to enhance the conservation of this remarkable area.”

“In addition to marking another milestone in our march toward a World Heritage Site designation for the pristine boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg and northwest Ontario, this interprovincial wilderness area is a unique approach that recognizes that neither wildlife habitat, ecosystems migration patterns nor protected areas should be restricted by provincial borders,” said Manitoba Conservation Minister Stan Struthers.

QUICK FACTS

The Interprovincial Wilderness Area provides significant habitat for species at risk such as forest-dwelling woodland caribou, the bald eagle, the wolverine, the carmine shiner, green and mink frogs and the barred owl.
The area contains many popular canoe routes, including the Bloodvein, Pigeon and Bird rivers, and can be accessed by road, boat or float plane.

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