> The openings created by roads have numerous impacts: they can affect a species’ ability to hunt, hide or find denning or nesting sites. Smaller species may find it physically impossible to cross roads, leading to isolated or divided populations that are eventually weakened by inbreeding.

> Road openings and edges are hotter, drier and dustier and these effects can spread for hundreds of metres into the remaining forest. The result is a very different sort of habitat — one that favours weedier species over shade-tolerant interior forest species. Other forest species may suddenly find their home dramatically changed for the worse.

> Many wild creatures need the security of large areas of unbroken habitat and will shy away from road openings even if the roads are rarely or never used. Species such as black bear, lynx and grizzlies have been shown to avoid areas with high road densities. (Lynx, for example, will generally not cross openings wider than 30 metres.) More roads mean less adequate habitat for these species. This effect is called fragmentation — the breaking up of large intact areas of habitat into smaller and less useful fragments.

> Roads create easy access for hunters, fishing enthusiasts and poachers. A sudden surge in hunting pressure can devastate animal populations, particularly as hunters often target the largest, fittest animals in a population. Meanwhile, studies have found that it can take just months for previously hard-to-reach lakes to be “fished out” after road access is established.

> Roads are the express access lane for exotic invasive species. The hot, dry conditions along roads favour species that thrive in disturbed conditions and that further disrupt the balance of natural ecosystems by taking over large areas. The single-species stands often created by invasive plants are much less useful as habitat and food sources for wild creatures. Vehicles can carry seeds and plant materials deep into what was previously an inaccessible wilderness, spreading invasives for miles.

> Pollution, from noise to oil, gas and heavy metals, is spread the length of the road, while sand, gravel and sediment running off the road itself can cloud and clog streams and cover over important spawning areas. Roads also attract garbage and waste dumping.

> And, of course, road building requires the direct destruction of habitat, den sites, food sources, etc.

These are just some of the environmental impacts of roads — the list goes on. And that is why both Parks Canada and the United States Forest Service have adopted strong policies designed to limit the spread of roads into wild areas.

Ontario, however, has no policy to protect our rapidly vanishing large roadless areas. In fact, in the recent renewal of Ontario's master forestry rules, a condition requiring the development of a policy to protect roadless areas outside of parks was actually deleted! We must take action today to protect our remaining large road free areas in the commercial forest zone and to limit the impacts of forestry road building through effective road closures after operations have ceased.


Map of Roads You Know About