Our segment of the resource based tourism industry relies heavily on remoteness. One fact of living in this part of the country is that the resources of the land must be shared. The logging industry is as important to the area as our tourism industry. In order for our two industries to thrive on the same land base, we must work together on some issues. Protecting the remoteness of fly in tourism is one of those issues. Working with us is the Ministry of Natural Resources in protecting the interests of the Province and the people of Ontario. Ontario has recognized that some areas of the province should remain remote; that logging should also occur, but not at the expense of our industry.
In some areas, when logging does occur, the government enforces road closures to allow fibre extraction and at the same time protect tourism.
Last week I rode with the MNR to verify the effectiveness of road closures near one of our outposts. Once logging in the area is complete, and the roads are decommissioned, it does not take long before the area returns to a wilderness setting. Then the need for these signs is diminished as the area returns to a similar level of remoteness as there was before logging occurred.
