I and Huronia Land…

   I and Huronia Land Conservancy, the organization that I represent, wish to submit the following proposed changes to the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan. These changes were originally submitted via a letter sent to the Honourable Kathryn McGarry and signed by representatives from a number or organizations including the Ontario Land Trust Alliance. If adopted, they will help to ensure that biodiversity will improve rather than further erode.

  - Identify smaller core natural areas in heavily developed landscapes. The ministry should identify and include small core natural areas (smaller than the proposed minimum of 100

 hectares) where habitats are highly fragmented by roads and development and where there

 is little natural cover. In places like south Simcoe, Dufferin, Wellington, Waterloo, Brant and western Haldimand Counties, little forest, wetland and other natural cover remains and

 consequently even smaller features have high biodiversity value and merit inclusion in the

 Regional Natural Heritage System.

 - Adapt linkage width to best achieve connectivity while reflecting regional variation. The proposed linkages should reflect regional variations across the GGH to promote connectivity

 and ecosystem function and enable wildlife movement. Linkages intended to support

 connectivity at the broader landscape level should be a minimum width of two kilometres.

 This is consistent with the Oak Ridges Moraine’s east-west Natural Linkage Areas. To

 increase the number of linkages and build redundancy into the system, narrower linkages

 should be identified in highly fragmented areas in addition to the proposed linkages at a

 minimum width of 500 metres.

 - Integrate other identified natural heritage systems into the Regional Natural Heritage System. Many municipalities and conservation authorities have already identified natural

 heritage systems locally, and these data layers could greatly enhance the regional system, if incorporated. We recommend that the ministry make a formal request to all municipalities

 and conservation authorities in the GGH to access and integrate their data into the final

 draft of the Regional Natural Heritage System. Integrating municipal natural heritage systems also provides consistency and avoids the confusion of having two different maps in official plans.

  Thank you for your consideration of these important additions.

[Original Comment ID: 211077]