M.N.R. province-wide public meetings on moose review coming soon

M.N.R. province-wide public meetings on moose review coming soon

O.F.A.H. encourages hunters to participate

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (M.N.R.) is currently undertaking a province-wide moose program review. The review has two phases, the first of which rolled out in 2008 and included preliminary consultations with stakeholder groups such as the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.). Phase 2 is about to get underway, with the focus of this phase on the resident moose tag draw system, and this time the M.N.R. will be seeking broad public input through a series of public meetings.

The sessions will run from February through April, during which time the M.N.R. representatives will visit 26 communities. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters urges its members and other hunters to be an active part of this process, and to share their ideas and opinions about the present system of allocating moose tags to licensed resident hunters.

“Here is the opportunity for moose hunters to directly influence M.N.R. moose tag decisions by attending and participating in one of these 26 sessions,” said O.F.A.H. Provincial Manager of Fish and Wildlife Services, Terry Quinney. “We are pleased that the M.N.R. is hosting these meetings in so many communities across the province in order to hear directly from moose hunters, face to face. We’ve been assured that each session has been designed to provide information on how the system is currently structured, and to seek input from the public on how to improve it. Now is the time for moose hunters to have their say and I urge them to attend a meeting.”

The public meetings begin in Thunder Bay on February 23 and wrap up in Nipigon on April 8, 2009. All sessions (except Toronto) will offer an open house from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed by a presentation and question period from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Visitors to the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, in Toronto, will have the opportunity to attend a consultation session daily (March 18 through March 22), from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The public meeting schedule is posted online at www.ontario.ca/hunting (scroll down to moose program review). Participants are advised to confirm dates and times by checking this website.

With over 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters, and 655 member clubs, the O.F.A.H. is the largest nonprofit, charitable, fishing, hunting and conservation-based organization in Ontario, and the voice of anglers and hunters. For more information, visit www.ofah.org.

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Contact:

Lezlie Goodwin, Communications Coordinator

lezlie_goodwin@ofah.org

705-748-6324 ext 270