Research Agenda for Protected Areas in Northwestern Onatrio
- 1. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario Towards a Research Agenda Erin Mosley 1 , Steve Kingston 1 and Bob Payne 2 1 Ontario Parks, Northwest Zone Office, Thunder Bay 2 Lakehead University, Thunder Bay
- 2. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario Introduction Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006 “ research” and science Internal research agenda External research agenda Ecological integrity Partnerships: Ontario Parks, Northwest Zone and Lakehead University First Nations
- 3. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario Background October, 2007 Event Northwest Zone Research Agenda Steering Committee Ontario Parks, Lakehead University, Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research, Pukaskwa National Park Strategize to develop a research agenda for parks and protected areas in northwestern Ontario
- 4. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario Methods Online survey (insitefulsurveys.com) 95 contacts Ontario Parks, OMNR, CNFER, Lakehead University, Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, City of Thunder Bay, ENGOs and consultants 36 responses 13 from Ontario Parks; 13 from LU 132 research needs/questions identified
- 5. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario Workshop (February, 2008) Modified “nominal group technique” 132 research needs/questions grouped into 19 categories E.g., Visitor impacts, Life science, First Nations 4 groups selected based upon “red dot” exercise Break-out groups developed research questions
- 6. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario Towards a Research Agenda Workshop produced four areas for research focus: Representation and Values of Protected Areas in Ontario How effective are the current surrogates of biodiversity (the “L/V" approach) used by Ontario Parks ?
- 7. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario Visitors and Their Effects on Parks and Protected Areas What are the effects of development outside boundaries? What are the impacts of visitor activities? What are the benefits of parks in economic, social, ecological terms? What are the effects of “non-conforming uses” that occur both inside and outside boundaries?
- 8. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario Fire and Disturbance How do fire regimes and natural fire cycles function within parks and protected areas? Within the context of park management planning, how do we determine: What areas are most likely to burn in parks? How to plan and to manage around this? If seasonality affects prescribed burns?
- 9. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario First Nations Issues What can be learned from co-management case studies regarding its effectiveness? What can be learned from case studies on integrating aboriginal values (TEK) into planning/management processes?
- 10. Parks and Protected Areas in Northwestern Ontario Next Steps Explore challenges of doing research in parks and protected areas in northwestern Ontario Explore possibility of a one day research workshop Establish a web site to share first steps towards a research agenda Develop research proposals