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14 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, December 12, 1979 I Woods, Wa te r and -Wildlife By Ron Reid Parks Under the Gun Shouid sport hunting be allowed in provincial parks? The Ministry of Natural Resources is once again grappling with this controversial issue, but a resolution satisfactory to everyone seems unlikely. At=pesn, hunting is legal- iyalod in only ning provincial parks, under the authority of special regula- tions under the Game and Fish Act. But until this year, the Ministry had turned a blind eye to hunting in many other parks, and in some cases had actively encouraged it. When the Minister was confronted with evidence that this ilegal activity was reg ulariy occurring with the fulknow- ledge of his local staff, he had littie choice but to order it te:rl.a province-wide investigation, the Ministry has now admitted that hunting without the necessary regula- tions had in fact been occurring in thirty-eight provincial. parks. Under strong pressure from the provincial Wildlife Branch, who maintains that hunting is now a "traditional use"~ in these parks, the Ministry had inteded to quietly pass regu- lations on twenty of the areas this faîl, without any kind of ? ublic discussion. When word eaked out, however, the Ministry began to receive such a flood of outraged mail that the regulations have been temporarily stalled. For some animal-loyers, the wboie idea of hunting is objectionable, since it invoives killing for sport. But for other groups like the Federation of Ontario Naturaiists, the issue relates more to the purpose of parks than to the ethics of hunting. Provincial parks are supposed to be sanctuaries, areas where nature is' protected from changes by man and where natural ecosystems are allow- ed to remain as benchmarks. Where recreation occurs, it is controlied so that the ecosystem is protected - you can't pick the flowers, for example. Logging, mining, and hunting ail conflict with that ideal of a completeiy naturai ecosystem, because they ail remove some part of the naturai chaîn of life. Naturalists point out that parks cover oniy 3 percent of Ontario's area, and that restriction of bunters from these few sanctuary areas is hardly a hardsbip. Whiie hunting is occurring, the safety and enjoyment of other users such as hikers and bîrdwatcbers is ini danger. For whatever reasons, the few public opinion surveys that have been done show that most Park users disagree strongly with aiiowing hunters within provincial park bounds. In any case, this controver- siai question is too important to be decided in secret by civil servants, or to be resoived for eacb individual park accord- ing to local pressures. The best possible answer might be an independent, statistically- sound survey of the opinions of Ontarions as a whoie, to determine the will of the rnajority Once that wiii is decided', the provincial government shouid move quickiy to ensure that its park management policies faîl in line. Sehool Board Briefs For the first time in the history of the Northumberland and Newcastle Board of Edu- cation, a woman bas been elected to the cbairmansbip of tbe board. Sbeiia Parker of Port Hope was elected unanimously at the inaugural meeting of the scbooi board last Tbursday, December 6. Mrs. Parker, wbo bas served as trustee for two terms, takes over from Andy Tbompson. Mr. Tbomp- son, a Bowmanviile trustee, was chairman during 1979. In addition, the scbool board's elected officiais unanimousiy chose Elizabetb Parken to serve as vice- cbairman. She is a trustee for Cobourg, Haldimand, and Hamrilton.- Appointments were made at a scbool board meeting in Cobourg. Margot Samuel bas been elected by tbe Northumber- land and Newcastle Board of Education to serve on the Newcastle Library Board. She joins Gary Milovick and Bruce Lusb, wbo are the otber school appointees on the Board. Mrs. Samnuel, a Bowrnan- ville resident, replaces Roy Forrester of Orono, who bas just completed a three-year term on the library board. Trustees bave agreed to make arrangements 50 that members of CUPE Local 1206 will not bave to work tbe day before Cristmas. The CUPE members, by tbeir collective agreement, wouid otberwise bave bad to work a haîf day on December 24 and a baîf day on December 31. However, tbe local execu- tive requested that schedules of custodial staff be adjusted s0 tbat tbey rnay work additional hours prior to the Cristrnas recess in lieu of baif days. Tbe board of educationbas agreed to tbis request. Letters to Santa 37 Ashdale Cres. Bowmanville, Ont., Dec. 7, 1979. Dear Santa, My name is Kelly. 1 arn 10 year's old. I have 5 peope in my famiiy My rnor and dad sad l'vebeen good ail year. For Christmas, what I would like the rnost is a speak and speil. 1- would also like a walkie taikie set or a battery operated executive style tele- phione set, and an art work- shop and these three games wbich are stop thief, bang- man, and docter, docter. 1 only wisb that you bring what y ou can. 1 hope that you don't catcb cold . Ad y ou and you're riendeer make a safe trip. I will leave you a few cookies and some rilk, and for your riendeer l'Il leave sorne car- rots and wter. Have.a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Dear Santa II only want three tbings thîs year. Tbey are Snuggles, Dasanda cbaik-board ana my brother wants a train, and smash-up derby. I will leave you some cookies and leave your rein- deer some carrots too. Love Mamnie and Scott McGregor 47 Second St. Dear Santa How are you feeling? Hope your reindeer are feeling fine? Don't you get a headache reading ail those letters? Santa will you please bring me, Terri Loves to trike and Cindy's mobile borne. Santa I love you and you elves, your reindeer and Mrs. Caus. Love Terri Alldread -rQ SPECIAL Premiîer Paint Service Regulara- 199.95 âb ý9 ONLY ~5~ (Price includes material & labor) Special ends December 15, 1979 COLLISION EXPERTS LocaIIy owned& operated Hrs.: Mon-Fri. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m FREE ESTIMATES -wz CrAC 710 Wilson Rd. S. Oshawa Phone 579-4000