A 1,000 km continuous fenced corridor severs wildlife range. High-speed rail requires full perimeter fencing for its entire length. Unlike roads, which wildlife cross constantly, a fenced HSR corridor functions as a permanent, impermeable barrier — one that the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has described as operating “on a scale that cannot be addressed through conventional mitigation methods.”

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) — representing 100,000 members and 675 clubs — formally opposes the Alto HSR project. OFAH has independently confirmed that Alto representatives stated crossings would be minimized, and characterized this as actively avoiding “the single most critical mitigation strategy available.” No field studies or baseline wildlife data have been released to justify this position.

Game Species Ranges Bisected

White-tailed deer, wild turkey, black bear, moose, and waterfowl all have established seasonal movement corridors across the proposed route. These are not incidental crossings — they are the patterns through which populations maintain genetic diversity, access seasonal food sources, and replenish hunting areas on both sides of an arbitrary line.

HSR fencing does not create a crossing problem that can be solved with a few underpasses. Wildlife crossing infrastructure must be spaced at densities appropriate to species home range sizes. For white-tailed deer, effective permeability requires crossings every 1–2 km. For bear, every 3–5 km. At the minimum crossing density Alto has suggested is economically feasible, population fragmentation effects are inevitable.

Hunting Access and Land Severance

Hunter access in rural Eastern Ontario depends on a network of concession roads, farm lanes, and informal agreements with landowners. When a fenced railway corridor closes a concession road — or creates a dead-end — the hunter on the far side loses access entirely. There is no equivalent of a highway overpass for a hunter with a truck, an ATV, and a dog.

The same road severance analysis that applies to emergency services and school buses applies to hunting access: hundreds of concession roads will be closed or converted to grade separations with no guarantee of pedestrian or ATV access. The cumulative effect is the effective exclusion of hunters from significant portions of the landscape they have used for generations.

40 Years of Game Species Conservation

Ontario’s hunting community has invested decades in wildlife restoration programs, habitat improvement, and species reintroduction. Wild turkey restoration — from near-extirpation in Ontario to a self-sustaining population of over 100,000 birds — is one of conservation’s notable successes in this province. That recovery was built on habitat connectivity. A fenced 1,000 km corridor threatens to partition the landscape in ways that undo precisely the connectivity that made restoration possible.

White-tailed deer management in Eastern Ontario depends on balanced harvest across large landscapes. If fencing prevents deer from moving freely between habitat blocks, population dynamics on either side of the corridor will diverge — creating both overpopulation zones and locally depleted areas that do not recover between hunting seasons.

Economic Impact on Rural Communities

Hunting generates approximately $1.6 billion annually in Ontario’s rural economy — through accommodations, food, fuel, equipment, and guide services in exactly the communities that receive no HSR station and no direct benefit from the project. The townships along the southern corridor depend on this revenue in ways that urban transit studies do not measure or value.

The Initiative’s full submission on wildlife connectivity and hunting heritage is available for download and citation in your own consultation response.