THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority is extremely disappointed and frustrated after someone dug up and stole plants that were recently planted at Mission Island Marsh Conservation Area.
“We shouldn’t have to remind visitors to our areas to not steal, vandalize or remove vegetation. Our motto is “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints”. We expect visitors to our areas to follow the rules and regulations when visiting,“ the LRCA said in a post on Facebook,
“We have limited staff and limited resources, and we do the absolute best we can with what we have in order to provide exceptional recreational and educational opportunities, all while trying to accommodate multiple user groups who carry out a variety of passive recreational activities on our properties.”
LRCA staff and a group of volunteers from the United Way GenNext Thunder Bay had spent the morning Friday doing a shoreline rehabilitation planting, where they planted various native species of plants at Mission Island Marsh Conservation Area.
Monday morning, LRCA staff went to check on the site as there had been a lot of rain over the weekend and found many of the plants missing with large holes left in the ground,
“A big, really important thing to remember is that conservation areas are protected lands, and it is explicitly prohibited to remove vegetation of any kind from a conservation area under the Conservation Authorities Act, and that’s enforceable by provincial offences officers,” said communications officer Ryan Mackett.
“When you go into a conservation area, at any time, anywhere, you’re not allowed to take anything, to remove anything, that’s a big no-no, and to add insult to injury, the fact that is was freshly planted things, that we had spent the time to put out, it was very obvious that someone knew what they were doing and went out and took it, it’s just really frustrating and it's wrong.”
The LRCA would like to remind visitors to the conservation areas that they need to abide by their rules and the laws set out in Conservation Authorities Act.
