Amendment to the Devil’s Glen Provincial Park Management Plan

Devil’s Glen Provincial Park:

Devil’s Glen Provincial Park is a 60.19-hectare (ha) park situated on the Niagara Escarpment, south of Nottawasaga Bay, in the Township of Clearview, County of Simcoe. The purpose of Devil’s Glen Provincial Park is to:

• permanently protect the park’s natural and cultural heritage values
• provide a limited variety of compatible forms of outdoor recreation

Specifically, the park protects:

• the Devil’s Glen Gorge Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI), which was designated an ANSI in the early 1990s
• a regionally significant river valley that cuts through the escarpment by the Mad River
• nine provincially significant vegetation community types associated with cliff and talus habitats, a number of old growth cedar trees as identified in the Niagara Escarpment Ancient Tree Atlas Project (2004), significant breeding bird habitat, as well as roosting sites for a significant number of bats.

Proposed changes to the Devil’s Glen Provincial Park Management Plan

Proposed amendments to the management plan include:

• 1.1 boundary
  • content added to reflect proposed park addition.
• 2 classification
  • proposed classification change from recreation to natural environment. A natural environment classification better reflects the current state of the park, the emphasis on protection of natural and cultural values, and the recreational changes since the 1994 amendment which resulted in the closure of the campground.
• 3.1 purpose
  • the purpose statement has been modified to emphasize protection of natural and cultural heritage values at the park.
• 3.2 vision
  • “vision” section added to plan.
• 3.3 objectives
  • recreation
    • proposed addition of rock climbing as a permitted recreational use
    • minor amendment to remove policy relating to the campgrounds that was not removed in the 1994 amendment.
  • scientific research
    • purpose and intended uses of scientific research are defined.
• 6.0 zoning
  • proposed addition of a third zone (nature reserve zone)
  • 6.1: development zone:
    • proposed policy change regarding minor parking lot expansion.
  • 6.2: natural environment zone:
    • reference to proposed addition
  • 6.3: nature reserve zone:
    • description and management intent added to describe new zone along the Mad River, forest community and seepage areas.
• 7.8 land management
  • policy added to describe actions to address pressures originating from adjacent lands.
• 8.2 recreation management
  • rock climbing: policy added to the plan to state that rock climbing may be permitted in areas designated by the park superintendent.
• 12 implementation priorities
  • this table has been added consistent with the current management planning process for Ontario Parks. It describes short-, medium- and long-term priorities that align with the policies of this plan.
• appendix 3: management of rock climbing
  • detailed policy describing the proposed establishment and management of rock-climbing activities at Devil’s Glen.
• updated mapping added to reflect proposed zoning and addition.

Proposed regulation change to expand the park boundary and change the classification

We are proposing to add 18 hectares of acquired land to the park to protect representative features of the Niagara Escarpment and provide a limited variety of compatible forms and levels of outdoor recreation.

The area meets the requirements to be considered for addition to Ontario’s protected area system. The Devil’s Glen Provincial Park Management Plan would apply to these lands if they are added to the park boundary.

We are also proposing to change the classification of the park from ‘recreational’ to ‘natural environment’ in recognition of the park’s unique life science and earth science features and the recreational values of the park. The current recreational classification of the park is no longer appropriate given the removal of the campgrounds and facilities and its environmental functions.

Natural environment class parks:

• protect outstanding recreational landscapes and representative ecosystems
• protect provincially significant elements of Ontario’s natural and cultural heritage
• provide high quality recreational and educational experiences

In order to expand this provincial park and change the classification, we are proposing to amend Ontario Regulation 316/07: Designation and Classification of Provincial Parks under the PPCRA. This amendment would update the Devil’s Glen Provincial Park row in ‘Table 1: Provincial Parks of Ontario’ to:

• change the classification
• increase the provincial park’s size
• update the description of where the park is located to include the new area

We are seeking feedback on the proposed boundary addition and classification change.

Devil’s Glen Provincial Park Management Plan administrative updates

The management plan has also recently undergone an Administrative Update (November 2023). This process combined content from the 1989 Devil’s Glen Management Plan and 1994 Amendment and brought the plan into the current Ontario Parks management plan template, modernized park maps, and updated the plan to reflect current Ontario Parks policies and the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006. No consultation was required during that stage, as any policy added to the document during the Administrative Update has already been consulted upon separately.

Public consultation

This is the only opportunity for the public to comment on this proposed amendment to the Devil’s Glen Provincial Park Management Plan. All comments received will be considered before finalizing the amendment to the management plan.

Concurrent with this proposal, a notice is also posted on the Regulatory Registry.

Regulatory Impact Analysis

Ontario Parks anticipates some impacts to regulated entities resulting from the change in permitted uses and boundary amendment. Non-profit organizations may be impacted by this proposal.

As this is an initial analysis, we welcome any further feedback and will ensure its consideration prior to finalizing the amendment.