Honourable David Ramsay,
Minister of Natural Resources,
Whitney Block,
99 Wellesley St. W.,
Toronto, ON M7A 1W3
416-314-2301(p)   416-314-2102(f)

John Immerseel, Zone Manager,
Ontario Parks,
Southeast Zone Office,
51 Heakes Lane,
Kingston, ON  K7M 9B1
613-531-5716 (p)  613-536-7228 (f)

 

Dear Mr. Ramsay,

RE:  EBR Registry Number: PB04E6007

I am writing to ask you to stop the slaughter of 6,000 cormorants on High Bluff Island in Presqu’ile Provincial Park, scheduled to begin after April 16, 2004. 

The slaughter contravenes the very notion of a sanctuary for nesting birds.  It undermines the ecological integrity of the park, and it is appallingly destructive to the cormorants. There is no scientific or ecological justification for such a drastic measure.    

The Ministry should take a “hands off” approach to wildlife management in Presqu’ile Provincial Park, allowing cormorants and other species to impact the environment as occurs in any dynamic, healthy ecosystem.  

Therefore I am asking you to take the following actions:

  1. Direct your staff to withdraw the posting – EBR Registry Number PB04E6007;
  2. Clarify that a cull is not to be used as a wildlife management tool in the nesting sanctuaries of High Bluff Island and Gull Island;
  3. Instruct your staff to stop “demonizing” cormorants in order to build a case for their mass slaughter;
  4. Implement a wildlife management programme for provincial parks based on an ecosystem approach; and
  5. Promote provincial parks as evolving and dynamic ecosystems instead of managing them as green museums frozen in time, protecting “desirable” habitat and “desirable” wildlife species for “certain aesthetic values”.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.  I urge you to act quickly to stop the slaughter of 6,000 cormorants on High Bluff Island in Presqu’ile Provincial Park.

Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                               

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