According to the Act “two or more municipalities in a common watershed can establish a conservation authority in conjunction with the province”. The purpose of this authority is to manage and protect “people, property and communities from water-related natural hazards (ie, flooding, drought, erosion, ice formation)” The Act also helps to deliver programs within the municipalities on local issues such as tree planting, research and education, recreation programs, habitat restoration and storm water management advice, amongst other projects.
Ontario has 36 conservation authorities and most of these are in Southern Ontario. A staggering 90% of the province’s population, live within a conservation authority. As the Environmental Registry states “Conservation authorities have played a significant role in Ontario’s natural resource management landscape for nearly 70 years”
In order to ensure that the Act is meeting the needs of Ontarians, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is inviting all ministries, municipalities, aboriginal communities, conservation authorities and stakeholders to review the paper for a 91 day comment period that started July 20th and closes on October 19th, 2015.
Please lend your voice to an important document which can help protect Ottawa and all of Ontario's watersheds, its people and its wildlife.
The websites for the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority and The Ontario Conservation Authority Act are as follows:
http://www.rvca.ca/
http://mvc.on.ca/
To view and download and comment on the Conservation Authorities Act document, please visit the Ontario Government’s Environmental Registry page link here:
http://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTI1Mzgx&statusId=MTg4ODg5&language=en
Latest posts
Rewilding Ottawa 2023 Report
Last year was a big one for our Rewilding Ottawa program. It saw the planting of three pollinator gardens with community groups in different Ottawa locations, advocacy for—and ultimately the adoption of—new regulations concerning the stewardship of boulevards, the widespread sharing of information about both of these so that Ottawans across the City could foster biodiversity in their own communities. Read the report!
Budget 2025 Rally: Ecology Ottawa calls for a Credible Response to the Climate Emergency
The morning on which the 2025 budget came to Ottawa City Council for voting, we joined several organizations calling for a budget that serves all Ottawans. You can listen to a portion of our remarks here, or read them in their entirety below.
Education as Intervention: The Climate Fresk comes to Ottawa
You may have heard of the "climate fresk." But what is it, how did it start, and what happens at one? Our Council Watcher Lesley Isaro recently attended a climate fresk in Westboro to find out.