Resource Access Roads - Ministry of Natural Resources - Ontario.ca

Resource Access Roads Geospatial Data
Information Management Plan and Data Management Guide
Part F - Restriction/Sensitivity Designations for NRVIS Roads Data
In most cases, the MNR’s resource access roads within NRVIS will not be restricted or marked
as sensitive. Many of these roads are open to the public and the information is shown on
internal and external map products.
There are however cases where roads and their access are a serious concern for managers of
national and provincial parks and nature reserves in Ontario. Roads can threaten ecological
integrity and park values. In protected areas, systems of roads can pose a threat to
endangered species, other species at risk, as well as other sensitive environmental, heritage
and social values. This is increasingly a concern as development encroaches on the boundaries
of rare habitats and protected areas.
Data distribution may be restricted in cases where if the information were readily available it
could jeopardize the protection of sensitive resource values or result in increased disturbance
on private property. In Ontario, there is legislative framework, which treats roads in parks
differently than elsewhere. The intent of this legislation is to recognize the many issues related
to roads and access and the right and responsibility of park managers to control access. One
way to control access is to limit the distribution of data and mapping of roads.
Within NRVIS, Low Sensitivity value can be justified for one of the following
purposes:
User will have one of two options within NRVIS to denote an individual road segment as
sensitive:
A.)
Restriction of access to private property
When a landowner has requested that information regarding a private road on
their private property not be made publicly available through the MNR database.
B.)
Restriction of access to sensitive wildlife values and public safety issues on authorized
travel restricted roads:
Low sensitivity may be designated on roads to limit unauthorized access to
sensitive and protected resource values as well as to limit the ease of discovery of
the same resource values:
- to restrict public knowledge of roads which if travelled would cause the location
of sensitive feature locations to be readily identifiable.
- to restrict access to VTE species or other sensitive fisheries or wildlife resource
or values.
- to restrict public knowledge of roads closed to the public within a Park or
protected to help prevent unauthorized and/or inappropriate uses of these
roads which would impact Park values such as remoteness, solitude and access
to sensitive values.
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