COVID-19 takes a toll on Kawartha Conservation

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative, for The Standard

KAWARTHA LAKES/SCUGOG: COVID-19 is affecting operations at the Kawartha Conservation Authority. On Monday, April 27th, the local conservation authority announced it has “reduced its full-time and contract staff by nearly 60 percent.” “This was an extremely difficult decision. There are no words to adequately reflect how much we struggled as an organization with this decision and the impact it will have on our staff,” Kawartha Conservation’s CAO Mark Majchrowski said, in a press release. The press release explained, these layoffs “impact business areas, including: outdoor education, watershed monitoring, citizen science projects, stewardship initiatives and administrative functions,” but the authority will “continue to provide necessary and essential services, including: flood forecasting and precipitation monitoring, source water protection, and planning and permitting functions.” Kawartha Conservation has seen the impact this virus is having on the municipalities they work with. “A lot of our member municipalities are struggling and have had to make the difficult choice to reduce their work-forces, in some cases by several hundred employees,” Mr. Majchrowski stated, in the press release. “We are in this struggle together and we need to recognize and adapt to the pressures our municipal partners, communities, businesses and the public [are] experiencing. The only way through this is together.” Mr. Majchrowski later added, he hopes the province sees a flattening of the curve so they “can begin re-integrating staff back into their positions, as soon as possible.” A day later, on Tuesday, April 28th, Kawartha Conservation announced their conservation areas will remain closed until at least May 31st. The closures include: Ken Reid Conservation Area, Durham East Cross Forest, Windy Ridge Conservation Area, Pigeon River Headwaters and Fleetwood Creek Natural Area. “We are asking the public to please respect the closures,” Kristie Virgoe, Kawartha Conservation’s Director of Stewardship and Conservation Lands, stressed in a press release. “We all just need to be a patient a little longer and do our part. By staying home, practising social distancing, and following the best advice of health professionals, we will get through this. When that happens, we look forward to welcoming visitors back to our conservation areas, where we can all embrace nature again.”