Logging and access roads threaten the integrity of Protected Areas -- Earthroots files Impacts Roads facilitate access into remote wilderness areas, opening it up to prospecting, mining, logging and increased hunting and trapping activity. The potential for more vehicle collisions with wildlife also increases. Thousands of animals die every year in Ontario after being struck by a motorized vehicle. Roads lead to more pollution via exhaust and from the salts and chemicals used during the winter. Importance of roadless wilderness Large predators are the most vulnerable to road development. Animals like wolves and bears need large tracts of contiguous, roadless wilderness to survive. According to research noted by the MNR, wolf populations diminish or cease to exist in areas with road densities exceeding 0.58 km/km2. As more wilderness areas become encroached upon by road development and urban sprawl -- it becomes critical to protect the remaining regions of the province that remain intact and relatively undisturbed. When are roads permitted in protected areas? Under Ontario's Living Legacy Agreement, new roads may be permitted through Conservation Reserves if it is necessary for mineral exploration and development. Roads existing before the area was officially protected can continue to be used. Earthroots opposes the construction of new roads to access mineral deposits or for any other purpose. Earthroots is demanding the MNR to close and rehabilitate former logging roads that existed before areas were given protected status. Current road closure techniques are often ineffective -- Earthroots files Areas currently threatened by road development Kahshe Lake Barrens Conservation Reserve is home to numerous provincially and nationally rare plant and animal species. It is ecologically significant because of its large size and lack of habitat fragmentation. A few cottage owners are currently seeking the MNR's approval to build a private road through a section of this protected area. Since the boundaries of this newly established Conservation Reserve are currently being reviewed, the road may be approved. Earthroots opposes the principal of altering protected area boundaries to allow road development or other activities not normally permitted within a protected area. Earthroots has demanded the MNR to oppose the road, which would run along the shoreline of Kahshe Lake and come precariously close to a great blue heron nesting site.	[an error occurred while processing this directive]