Do Ontario residents want new protected areas?
Yes. A 1998 Oracle Research poll shows 82% of Ontarians would support an Ontario Government decision to protect Ontario's remaining wilderness areas.

What is a protected area?
According to the World Conservation Union, a protected area is one where industrial activities are excluded, especially logging, mining, hydroelectric and oil and gas development.

Why does the Partnership for Public Lands suggest that 15-20% of public lands be protected?
The best recent scientific research tells us that this is the minimum needed to maintain Ontario's ecological and economic health. This 15-20% of public lands will include lands for parks, remote wilderness, wildlife habitat, old-growth forests,wetlands, wilderness-based tourism, and other employment opportunities.

How much forest is protected now?
Right now, only 12% of the forests in the Lands for Life planning area are protected, while the vast majority is dedicated to forestry.

What happens to forestry jobs in Ontario if new lands are protected?
It is possible to protect new areas and keep forestry jobs at current levels - or even increase the number of jobs. Employment in the forest industry would increase if we encouraged investment in industries that add value to wood harvested in Ontario, and reward companies that employ a higher proportion of people for the wood they cut with larger forest licences. British Columbia is already implementing these strategies.

If more forests are cut on public lands, will more people have jobs?
No. The increasing mechanization of the forest industry means there is no direct positive relationship between the number of jobs and the amount of forest harvested. For example, between 1989 and 1994, employment in the forest industry dropped by 24% while the amount of wood harvested went up by 15%. In addition, the expansion of logging into wild areas will cause job losses in the remote tourism industry that depends on pristine conditions.

How much money do parks and tourism add to our economy?
Tourism is the province's fourth largest export industry, close behind the forest industry. Ontario parks have five million visits per year, and every year visitors spend $110 million within 40 kilometres of our parks. Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world (and is expected to double in size between 1994 and 2005), and ecotourism is the fastest growing sector of tourism. Ontario could become a world-renowned destination point if we protect wild areas while we can - most places in the world have lost that opportunity.

"Multiple Use." What is it and does it work?
"Multiple Use" means juggling different "land uses" (e.g. forestry, wildlife habitat and tourism) on the same piece of land, often at the same time. One danger in multiple use is that industrial uses (such as logging, mining and hydroelectric development) are given preferential treatment and other economic and ecological values have to "fit in" where they can. Some "uses" are also simply not compatible with industrial uses (e.g. wildlife such as woodland caribou require extensive old growth forests) and so relying on this strategy to protect them doesn't work.

I've heard we can't just leave our forests alone because they will die or become unhealthy without some sort of management. Is this true?
No. Forest ecosystems change constantly, and death and new growth are a part of these natural systems. Dead, dying, and decaying trees are an important part of old-growth forests — not only do they create important wildlife habitat, but they are also the nutrient base for young trees. Natural processes like wind, insects and fire don't kill forests — they help them stay alive and healthy.

I've also heard clearcutting and fire have the same effect, so if it's a choice between the forest going up in flames or being logged doesn't it make sense to log all that we can?
Forest fire and clearcutting are actually quite different:
— Fires leave standing trees, enrich soils, kill tree diseases, and are necessary for new seedling growth in some types of forests.
— Clearcutting promotes erosion, takes nutrients away from the site, and will often lead to the regeneration of a different sort of forest than the one that was cut. Natural processes, such as forest fires, insect infestations, and blowdowns, change forests in ways that allow places for different species and different ages of species to exist. We don't know enough to re-create these complex relationships, which is why we must have protected areas large enough for these things to occur naturally.

Logging leaves certain areas around lakes and streams uncut as well as protecting some bird nests and special habitat. These could be regarded as "mini-parks". Don't these areas along with parks already protect enough land?
No. While protecting small areas to buffer waterbodies is crucial to stop erosion and protect fish habitat and water quality, these areas do not provide adequate habitat for wildlife and are not large enough to allow for natural forest processes.

Why should people who don't live in the Lands for Life planning region be allowed to have a say in what happens?
People all over Ontario have a stake in what happens on our public lands. Our forests are an important part of Ontario's cultural, social, ecological and economic future. For example, there are more people outside of the planning region who work for the forest industry than within the planning region. The outcome of Lands for Life will affect us all.