Finding the right balance: for 80 years, NOTO has been the voice of Northern wilderness tourism.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: NORTH BAY - Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association

Doug Reynolds likes to think of the Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association (NOTO) as a voice of calm and reason in the midst of mass confusion.

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When phone calls stream into their North Bay office with questions on how the new fishing regulations will impact a lodge business, or if a minor criminal charge in the U.S. will hamper an American's entry into Canada, NOTO likes to think they'll always have an informed answer.

"There is nobody in government they can call and ask those questions," says Reynolds. "Those people don't exist."

Often, education of public policy falls to industry associations to act as a source of consumer information.

Throughout its 80-year history, public access to Crown land has been frequently written in the pages of NOTO's history since the late 1920's.

When ATV'ers, hunters, anglers, remote camp owners and the forestry industry have been at each other's throats, and at the Ministry of Natural Resources,' over some stretch of disputed logging road, Reynolds has often been in the mix, searching for a solution.

To Reynolds, it's only through thoughtful discussion and mechanisms like resource stewardship agreement, that everyone can win.

Since 87 per cent of Ontario is Crown land, many people think there's unrestricted use, which Reynolds calls "patently untrue." That's always been the crux of public conflict, he says, those who believe in no rules, those who respect multiple users, and some who want the land untouched.

NOTO hasn't always had a conciliatory tone through its history. There were times when the relations with Queen's Park were very frosty. There's also been times when NOTO has been accused of being in bed with the politicians.

Despite what people may think, Reynolds says the business of government relations is more open now than it's ever been over the last 20 years.

"We don't do public policy by lobbying politicians exclusively anymore. Governments now have a well-articulated public policy executed by a professional civil service."

That doesn't stop Reynolds from pounding on a cabinet minister's door. In fact, he knows his way around the corridors of power in Queen's Park better than he knows the street network in North Bay.

Before Reynolds came aboard as NOTO's executive director six years ago, he understood how to interact with government. He worked in advertising and public relations at his Sudbury consulting firm, while volunteering on provincial non-profit boards.

He...