Mellon Lake Action Alert! Let the Ministry of Natural Resources know that Ontario's Protected Areas cannot be turned into gravel pits and table tops. A government decision on a permit to blast granite from the environmentally sensitive Mellon Lake ecosystem is expected any day now. The ecological significance of this area is worthy of provincial protection under two designations. Though both an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) and a Conservation Reserve, this protection means little when a granite quarry is being considered for the area containing the highest biodiversity. Palu-Corbelli Corp. recently submitted their third application for a permit to develop a granite and gravel quarry. The two previous applications were extensively reviewed and rejected by the public and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). This third application makes no further attempt to address the very serious impacts the quarry will have on the environment and the many species at risk that live in the area. Under the Aggregate Resources Act, a company can keep reapplying for permits as many times as they like. This is loophole that needs fixing and one that mining companies intend on exploiting. The mining industry has the vast majority of the province to stake their claims within while Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves only comprise 9% of Ontario's landbase. Mellon Lake is the staging ground for how mine claims will be handled in other protected areas. TAKE ACTION NOW: The MNR is deciding right now whether to reject or accept Palu-Corbelli's third application. Please send an email demanding them to deny the permit and ensure that Mellon Lake is protected from mining interests forever. The letter below is tailored to help you take immediate action. Instructions: 1. Please read the letter below. 2. Edit the letter to reflect your own views. Consider adding a personal introduction about why you care about wilderness and wildlife protection. 3. Enter your contact information. This is required information for you to use this service and to get a reply. 4. Be sure to enter your name and full mailing address in the second box before sending. 5. If you use web-based email like Yahoo or Hotmail you will need to cut and paste the above message into a new message. To: Lois Deacon, MNR Peterborough District Manager lois.deacon@mnr.gov.on.ca To: Chris Verschuren, MNR Aggregate Resources Officer chris.verschuren@mnr.gov.on.ca Cc: David Ramsay, Minister of Natural Resources minister@mnr.gov.on.ca Cc: Leona Dombrowsky, MPP Hastings Frontenac Lennox and Addington Leona_Dombrowsky-MPP@ontla.ola.org Bc: Earthroots info@parkalert.org Dear Ms. Deacon and Mr. Verschuren, I am writing to register my opposition to Palu-Corbelli's application to mine gravel and granite in Mellon Lake. This proposal has already been extensively reviewed and rejected by the public. Please respect the public consultation process and the primary objective for the establishment of protected areas by refusing this permit. I also ask you to recommend policy changes under the Aggregate Resources Act so that no further applications are allowed. This is the only way Mellon Lake can truly be called a protected area. Sincerely, Enter your name and full postal mailing address here: This message will be sent through your email program. Once you approve sending it, the message will be sent in the background. You can check your email program's outbox to ensure the message has been sent.	[an error occurred while processing this directive]