BY KEITH LACEY
As far as Rod Jarmovitch is concerned, Ontario’s Crown land belongs to members of the public and there should be unlimited access to every inch of it.
That’s why the avid angler and hunter will be in attendance when the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) holds a public meeting next Wednesday (Feb. 28), at the Howard Johnson Hotel on Brady Street, between 3-8 pm.
At the meeting, members of the public will be able to voice their concerns over proposed amendments to a provincial statute that could restrict motorized access to new logging roads planned for development by the province.
“These roads would be created with the use of public funds. These roads are on Crown land and I interpret that as belonging to the people of Ontario,” said Jarmovitch, a retired Inco miner. “In all fairness, I don’t see how the ministry has the right to deny access to roads on Crown land particularly since our tax dollars pay for these roads to be built.”
Don Mark, information specialist for the Sudbury MNR office, confirmed the ministry is seeking amendments to the Crown Land Use Atlas, which would allow the ministry to cut off motorized access to future logging roads.
One reason is these roads would hook up to current logging roads that have been or will be decommissioned, and pose threats to members of the public who would use motorized vehicles to access them, said Mark.
“There are a lot of culverts, water crossings and old bridges on these roads...and they pose a danger to the general public,” said Mark.
“There will never be any problem with someone walking in to an area on any piece of Crown land...but this is a motorized access issue.”
Provincial law has also given the MNR authority to deny access to certain pieces of Crown land where sustainability of local wildlife species might be put in jeopardy if there was easy public access, said Mark.
Ron Luopa, an operations forester in the Vermilion Forest Management Unit, said the forestry industry is in favour of amendments since very few residents ever use these logging roads.
“There’s no doubt this is a contentious issue for some people,” he said.
“I personally think the MNR has good policies in place to allow the public to access Crown land, while preserving our forestry industry and economic development.”
