| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Lawrence Islands National Park In Ontario’s 1000
Islands celebrates the doubling of its original size
MALLORYTOWN LANDING, 1000 Islands ON, Oct. 2006. The waters and
ecosystems northeast of Toronto just got more protections in a recent
contributions made by members of the community to St.
Lawrence Islands
National Park of Canada.
"Today, I congratulate the many individuals, families and organizations
who have worked alongside St. Lawrence Islands National Park towards
achieving stewardship and conservation," said Minister Ambrose. "The
success being celebrated today is that of community effort which led to
the doubling of the size of the park. This in turn greatly contributes
to Parks Canada's ability to preserve and present this area of the Thousand
Islands (1000 Islands) ecosystem and landscape to and for Canadians."
An engraved window was unveiled to recognize the generous contributions
of local families - the Mallorys, the Skorynas, the Mathesons, the Blisses
and the Smiths - who have previously transferred family owned lands to
St.Lawrence Islands National Park of Canada as gifts to the people of
Canada. In addition, a land transfer from Ontario's St. Lawrence Parks
Commission and a land donation from the Nature Conservancy of Canada were
celebrated. The addition of these lands to the park will contribute both
to its conservation role, and to sustainable tourism through the natural
heritage experiences that
it can offer to Canadians.
"Today is not only a day to look back on the successes of community
stewardship efforts at St. Lawrence Islands National Park, but also a
day tolook forward to continued and strengthened ties between the park
and itscommunity," said Mr. Brown.
Located a 1.5 hour drive from Ottawa, and approxiamtly 3 hours from Tronto,
St. Lawrence Islands National Park includes more than 24 islands and 90
islets scattered through the St. Lawrence River corridor between Brockville
and Kingston, Ontario, within the unique Thousand Islands 1000 Islands
ecosystem.
High levels of biodiversity, rare species habitat
and exceptional landforms representative of the region are found within
these areas. Established in 1904 as the first national park located east
of theRockies, St.
Lawrence Islands National Park is one of the 42 national parksand
national park reserves of Canada that protect and present significantexamples
of our nation's natural and cultural heritage.
Georgian
Bay Islands National Park is the second group of protected Islands
in the Province of Ontario with a significant relationship to the Great
Lakes and the ecological well being of the Great Lakes basin.
All of Canada’s National Parks can be found at the Parks Canada website
www.pc.gc.ca
|
