Dear Minister Kathryn…

   Dear Minister Kathryn McGarry,

  (cc: Ala Boyd, Manager Natural Heritage Section, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry)

  Re: EBR 013-1014: Proposed regional Natural Heritage System for the Greater Golden Horseshoe

  York-Simcoe Naturalists is a member group of Ontario Nature. We are pleased to see the government is moving ahead without delay to identify and protect a Regional Natural Heritage system across the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH).  In order to recover biodiversity and better prepare for the impacts of climate change however, the proposed system should be amended to better account for regional variations, enhance landscape connectivity and more fully incorporate municipal and conservation authority expertise, and be supported by the community.

 To update and finalize the Regional Natural Heritage System, we urge your ministry to:

  1) 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.

  2) 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. To increase the number of linkages and build redundancy into the system, narrower linkages should be identified in highly fragmented areas at a minimum width of 500 metres.

  3) Integrate other identified natural heritage systems into the Regional Natural Heritage system map. Many municipalities and conservation authorities have led the identification of natural heritage mapping and these data layers must be included in the final map. 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.

  4) Improve the opportunities for community involvement. A diversity of perspectives and expertise will more accurately identify community values and help develop consensus around the vision, objectives and targets that should guide the development of the Natural Heritage System for the GGH.

  The Province’s plan will be an important legacy to ensure future generations have access to a healthy natural environment with clean air, land and water across the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

  Thank you for this opportunity to provide input.

[Original Comment ID: 211119]