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8-Oroiio Weekly Times, Wednesday, June 15, 1983 Words of blessing the head of Sid played by gratulated in the presenta- Jereray Pooler. tion by the students of the All are to be con- senior grades at the Orono Public School. Todd Thertell, Rev. Walters of Tom Sawyer lays a comforting hand on New Parks for Ontario WOODS, WATER AND WILDLIFE by Arlin Hackman - Federation Federation of Ontario Naturalists InT5*W ,T978 the Ontario Government approved a parks policy designed to protect protect a comprehensive system tit. natural areas second to ,»>uc. Sitte» then conservationists conservationists have pressed for action action to fulfill this promise. On June 2, 1983 the government government responded with a land- mark commitment to establish 155 new parks over the next two decades. Altogether, these areas will more than double the number of Ontario parks, increasing the total area reserved by more than 40 percent to something in excess of 6 million hectares. New parks are to be located in every region of the province, though concentrated in . the mid-north, and in every class the policy contains. There are to be 5 new and one enlarged Wilderness Parks, 74 Nature Reserve Parks, 25 Waterway Parks, 35 Natural Environment Environment Parks, 3 Historical Parks and 12 Recreation Parks. Of greatest importance, of course, is the protection which these new parks should provide for the incredibly diverse and dwindling natural heritage Ontarians share, ranging from rare plant communities communities and unique glacial features, to remnant herds of woodland caribou and the. wilderness landscapes of virgin boreal forest. It is still a bit early to gauge , the overall public response. But preliminary reactions to this sweeping commitment among individuals and in- lcrest groups most involved ii; i'..,: controversy, have ran .. , ed from mildly critical to largely positive. And that's good news for Alan Pope, the brash, young Minister of Natural Resources responsible responsible for parks, who has drawn fire from northern com- ' munities for other resource decisions. Conservationists have been delighted by the quick designation of the 5 * new Wilderness Parks, applauding applauding Mr. Pope for his decisiveness and thoughtful assessment of the merits of ail the arguments in mapping out a political compromise among the competing interests interests of resource users. At the same time, the parks package contains several disturbing features. Ninety of the original 245 candidate parks reviewed by the government have been dropped without replacement. replacement. Many of those which remain have shrunk dramatically. Losses are particularly, particularly, heavy in the south, close to population centres. But the list of deletions also includes large nature reserves in the far north and the proposed proposed Alneau Peninsula Wilderness Park. Since the roster of 245 areas fell far- short of meeting / the Ministry's own policy targets, Mr. Pope's announcement remains but the first step towards a complete park system. Then too, there is no clear timetable, or legal obligation binding the government to designate the 155 approved parks. A second major compromise compromise is that the government government has chosen to allow, by regulation, mining, hunting and commercial tourism to expand in wilderness parks and others without apparent constraint. Only logging will i,,- (■' sided : ■ Po PC- coming EVENTS Orono Father's Day Turkey Dinner is to be held on June 19th in the Orono Arena Community Centre. Delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings to be served from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Proceeds to the Orono Arena Project and Improvement Fund. Tickets available at Mom's Kitchen or call 983-5608, 983-5840, 983-5858. X Adults $6.00, Children (6-12) $3.00, children under 6 free. acknowledges this to be a significant departure from the government's policy and it certainly flies in the face of public opinion. It remains to be seen .whether, (his unwarranted concession, and the prospect of recurring park management management debates it raises, will be resolved in favour of proper management to protect On- tario's natural areas. But for the present at least Mr. Pope's promise njakes June 2,, 1983 the most important day in the history of parks! Every citizen of Ontario should feel a winner. A SPECIAL NOTE: Beginning this week, Woods, Water and Wildlife will be produced by Mr. Arlin Hackman of'the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. After more than 4 years of writing this column, Ron Reid has left FON to travel the world to see some of the pressing international international conservation , issues for himself. He thanks all those who have followed his ramblingss, and who have so often provided an encouraging encouraging response. An change in direction Although we had packed packed in the typewriter for the week-end and forgot about the Orono Times we did leave the field of communication communication but rather had our attentions directed to another form of the news media, television. Through some means or another we did have the opportunity to say Yes to be on a program to be aired by CHEX TV Peterborough, Peterborough, Channel 12. ' Never one to turn down . a new venture I travelled to Peterborough Saturday noon along with Carlos Tamblyn and Sid Rutherford Rutherford for a taping of Durham Round-up, a program program that is aired mid-day on Saturdays. I always enjoy a drive jo Peterborough going through What appears to me some fine farm land and as well some lands that are more in the rough and possibly suitable to such a popular and birch trees. On top of this Peterborough Peterborough always appeals to me and CHEX TV is. located in the east end of the City looking down on the Trent Canal. Its a fine location. We arrived in plenty of time for the taping and were able to observe such work going on with others involved. . * This included a vocal quartet from the Pickering-Ajax area who sang without, any accompaniment. accompaniment. They had a name for their type of music which does escape me at this time but it was emjoyable from my part. Then we sat through an interview in which a Brooklin boy, winner of a number of shooting championships championships both in Canada and throughout the world was centre stage for what must have been a half hour show. It was then out turn and the show was somewhat of a Johnny Carson interview interview with Carlos hitting the lights first. The idea was to give some history of the Village and this Carlos did referring to the Orono Fair, the Town Hall, he Oono Band and other subjects. He was well prepared to give as much as possible during his time alottmént. Sid was the historian of the group from Orono and was, corning up with dates „and events like a computer. computer. Ofg'course Carlos had to move over to seat nurpber two with Sid,taking Sid,taking seat number one. ' It came to that time tliat ' both Carl and Sid had to shufüe over to make room for Kov who had come to the conclusion that he wasn't really prepared as were his counter parts in this episode. Fortunately Judy, conducting conducting the interviews, was most personable and the director was an easygoing easygoing chap who had put us all at ease. My time allotment Was over before I had even realized the cameras were rolling and I do feel that I triust have felt at home. Its going to be interesting interesting .Jo see and hear what eûmes out of it all come this Saturday, August 13 on Channel 12 starting, we believe at 1:00 p.m. and continuing for a half hour. Like anything else that is new it was most interesting interesting and did provide the opportunity to witness and watch in action another segment of the news media. Orono Nursery School Half Day Enrichment Program For Preschoolers Qualified Staff Licensed Premises Registrations now being taken for September start Call 983-5402 a.m., or 987-4012 evenings ORONO WEED CONTROL GOVERNMENT LICENSED LAWN SPRAYING ■ WEEDS INSECTS - FERTILIZING (OIL) DRIVEWAY SEALING , Work'Completed By Licensed Professional FriEE ESTIMATES PHONE BOB 983-5267 BOX 277, ORONO the other day about an interview we carried with the parents of Lee lÿlarie Di Palma, the Barrie area mother whose skeletal remains were found near her home several weekends ago. The police are almost certain it was a homicide and are treating it as such. The viewers who telephoned us were critical of the fact that we interviewed interviewed the parents in the first place, and critical of the fact that our camera dwelt on the parents' grief. I understand the viewers' criticism and the sense of decency which provoked it. I sometimes feel the same way myself, despite the fact that I have been in the news fojr nearly 30 years, and ought to be used to the. idea that a reporter's job is to be interested in other people's business and even other people's anguish. I don't expect I'll be able to convince anybody that snooping has always been distasteful to me, or that there are situations into which I simply wouldn't intrude, news or not. But it's true, and I suspect if the evidence on the highways reflects general attitudes, I am much less morbid than all those idiots who slow down when they see an accident so they can get a better look. Having Having said all that, I defend that interview and others like it. Why do you suppose the parents agreed to the interview interview in the first place? I think it's because in their grief, they wanted to reach out to other people, to solicit not just moral support, but justice. Murder is a ghastly business, and one of the major problems police always face in solving them is that people who might have evidence wpn't come forward.* Part of the reason is simple simple inertial part of it is a fear of becoming involved. The anguish of the parents, and the face of the stricken husband, husband, who spoke of his child's feelings in this time of tragedy, carry à powerful mes,sage: that'no man is an island, that this is an Interdependent society in which we live qnd attempt to survive. If these interviews stir just ohç person who might know something about that terrible crime to come forward and talk 'about it, then in my view, the invasion of privacy, which was invited, I might point out, is justified. Csfl us*w'rong about this, "if you like. We may be wrong.about it. But pieass think a little longer before you accuse us of sensationalizing.