Members of the Niagara Falls…

Members of the Niagara Falls Nature Club have had a long relationship with our local conservation authority, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA). This is a mutually-beneficial relationship in which our members have volunteered with projects such as the Natural Areas Inventory and special events such as Envirothons and water festivals and we have gained knowledge from and brought concerns to the employees at the NPCA.
The Conservation Areas and trails are a vital and lovely part of our Wednesday Evening Walk Program where we host nature walks for members and any others who wish to join us from late in April through August. As we live in a built up part of Ontario, conservation areas are necessary if we are to find places where we can connect with nature.
Some of our conservation areas were donated to the NPCA by local residents who wanted their lands protected in the long term and sometimes available for residents to enjoy visiting. Will this still happen when conservation authorities are governed by a new agency in Toronto?
The NPCA was audited in 2018 and they have adopted changes that made them more open and efficient. This process could be duplicated for those conservation authorities that need this. There is no need to destroy what is working.
Conservation authorities were established to respond to concerns about flooding and erosion. The varied natural ecosystems of areas in Ontario are known by local employees and citizens. Their concerns would be lost as they struggle to be heard by a large central agency.
Please reconsider and do not proceed with the amalgamation of Ontario’s Conservation Authorities into just seven regional authorities. Our natural heritage belongs to all of us and we all should have the right, responsibility and opportunity to comment on decisions affecting it.