I am an ecologist and obtain…

I am an ecologist and obtain permits from Conservation Authorities (CAs) for infrastructure and development projects.

I agree that improvements with consistency throughout CAs is required.

I don’t believe that current services provided by CAs will be maintained if CA boundaries are consolidated into 7 regions. Existing staff have extensive local knowledge of watersheds. If they are not retained, this local knowledge and expertise will be lost. If they are retained to work at a new centralized region, it will be far from where they currently live which may deter them from accepting to work at a new centralized region. With only 7 centralized regions, the number of staff will likely be reduced as well, negatively impacting services provided.

During the permit application process, staff would meet onsite to discuss projects details. Site visits would also be completed during and/or after construction to ensure compliance with permits. By having more centralized regions, travel to sites will be more challenging and costly or not possible. Mitigation measures outlined in permits will be more generalized and not site specific if regulatory staff have not visited the site. Compliance with permits will likely decrease if regulatory staff are not completing site visits during and after construction. In addition to this, site visits to collect environment data or complete conservation efforts throughout the watershed will be more challenging or not possible.

I disagree that consolidating CAs into 7 centralized regions will be beneficial. This decision should be reconsidered and CA boundaries should be maintained along with staff that have extensive knowledge of current watersheds.