"I think it's an important scientific endeavour and I don't believe that either provincially, regionally, or nationally and internationally we can afford to let it go," Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said in her announcement.

"What is special about the ELA is that it takes research out of the lab and right into the environment - so the ELA presents a rare opportunity for research, perhaps unique in the world," president and IISD CEO Scott Vaughan said in a statement.

Premier Wynne says the Ontario government will provide operating support and work toward an agreement with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and other partners so that the important science conducted in the ELA can continue.

The Experimental Lakes Area was established in 1968 and is located near Kenora, Ontario, in the Lake of the Woods watershed.