Send the letter

Add your voice to establish a National Marine Conservation Area in Lake Ontario!

Lake Ontario is a crucial home to species at risk and must be protected.

The Eastern basin of Lake Ontario is rich in wildlife and is a crucial location for over 50 species of birds, reptiles, plants, and fish at risk, like the Blanding’s Turtle, Piping Plover and American Eel. The shoreline and waters have unique conditions that support rare species and provide stopover areas for migratory birds.

But the area is vulnerable—Lake Ontario is one of the least protected of the Great Lakes. Land development, runoff pollution, invasive species, climate change, and a lack of protection mean that this natural gemand all the wildlife that inhabit it face an uncertain future unless we act now. Send a letter of support today!

Many First Nations, like the Haudenosaunee, Mississauga Anishinaabe, and Huron-Wendat also have ancestral ties to the lands and waters of Eastern Lake Ontario. Today, the Tyendinaga Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and several Williams Treaty First Nations like Alderville First Nation, Curve Lake First Nation, Scugog Island First Nation and others practice their rights and steward the waters of Lake Ontario.

Establishing a National Marine Conservation Area (NMCAs), in a way that respects Indigenous rights, will help protect this area of Lake Ontario now and in the future, as well as be a step towards the federal government’s commitment to protect 25 percent of land and inland waters by 2025, and 30x30.

You can help protect this vital landscape and all the species that dwell in it by sending a letter in support of the creation of an NMCA in Lake Ontario’s Eastern basin. Time is ticking. But our government won't move on this without the support of nature lovers like you.

Add your name, show your support for establishing this much-needed NMCA and protect Lake Ontario’s biodiversity for generations to come.

Read the letter

Take a second to review our message below and feel free to add your own personal touch. All fields are editable.

Minister

Steven

Guilbeault

Government of Canada

Honourable

Todd

McCarthy

Government of Ontario

Dear Minister Guilbeault and Minister Piccini,

I love the Great Lakes, and I’m proud of the work done to date to restore them. But action to save the Great Lakes must continue! I am writing to you with high hopes that you will work together to advance protections in these waters by establishing National Marine Conservation Areas (NMCAs) in all of the Great Lakes.

Advancing the establishment of an NMCA in Eastern Lake Ontario is an important next step for safeguarding this biodiversity-rich area for future generations. The waters of Eastern Lake Ontario are home to internationally significant Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and are critical habitats for many species at risk like Piping plovers, deepwater fishes, and Blanding's turtles.

The federal government has recently made historic investments in nature, and the provincial government has made meaningful advancements in conserving the terrestrial habitats of this region with two new conservation reserves. This initiative is the next logical step to continuing protections for this biogem region, while continuing to honour Indigenous rights and title.

I am asking you to collaborate to launch the feasibility assessment process for an NMCA on Eastern Lake Ontario as an excellent way to demonstrate leadership and cooperation for the benefit of nature.

The Great Lakes are dear to my heart and I hope that you will work together to safeguard freshwater biodiversity for the long term.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name},
{user_data~Email Address}, 
{user_data~Postcode}

Photo Credits:

Piping Plover (far left) taken by Paul Jones
Long Tailed Duck (far right) taken by Paul Jones
Butterfly on Lavender Field (above form) taken by Peggy deWitt

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