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Cootes to Escarpment Park System

Cootes to Escarpment Park System. A Conservation Vision. An Update for March 2011 Dr. David Galbraith, Royal Botanical Gardens Steve Miazga, Hamilton Region Conservation Authority. Ours is an area of spectacular natural beauty. Hundreds of thousands of people use the area for recreation.

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Cootes to Escarpment Park System

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  1. Cootes to Escarpment Park System A Conservation Vision An Update for March 2011 Dr. David Galbraith, Royal Botanical Gardens Steve Miazga, Hamilton Region Conservation Authority

  2. Ours is an area of spectacular natural beauty

  3. Hundreds of thousands of people use the area for recreation

  4. Over 1,500 species of animals and plants call this area home

  5. Natural Areas • 27 existing parks • 1500 hectares/ 3700 acres of publicly owned lands • World Biosphere Reserve • Niagara Escarpment & Cootes Paradise Marsh • Major Heritage Lands • Cootes Paradise • Borer- Rock Chapel • Burlington Heights • Waterdown-Sassafras Woods • Lower Grindstone • Clappison-Grindstone

  6. Ecological Highlights • Canada’s natural biodiversity hotspot located in the Great Lakes Watershed • 25% of all wild plant species in Canada • Nearly 40% of all plant species in Ontario • Species at Risk: 50+ • Last piece of Escarpment not separated from Lake Ontario by a 400 series highway • Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest • Provincially Significant Wetlands • Important Amphibian and Reptile Area • Important Bird Area • Environmentally Sensitive/Significant Areas

  7. Urban Growth Pressures • Increasing fragmentation (roads, rail lines, housing, etc.) • Patchwork of small natural areas remains, each valuable but isolated and ultimately unsustainable • By 2031 the human population in the area will grow to an astounding 1.4 million people Hamilton & Halton Currently pop. of 914,000 +146,000 by 2011 +526,000 by 2031

  8. The project partners thank the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and the Ontario Trillium Foundation for their generous support.

  9. Study Area Identified in 2007 Intended Only as a Guide

  10. Stakeholder and Public Consultation Public Workshops in 2008

  11. Stakeholder and Public Consultation Public Workshops in 2008

  12. Vision The Cootes to Escarpment Park System will be known internationally as a protected, permanent and connected natural lands sanctuary from the Harbour to the Escarpment that promotes ecosystem and human health within Ontario’s Greenbelt Mission To collaboratively continue preserving and enhancing the natural lands using a sustainable approach that balances natural ecosystem health with responsible human appreciation and activities to achieve the vision

  13. Cootes to Escarpment Park System

  14. Phase II Report - 2009 • Completed late 2009 • Detailed report on the vision and potential for the Park System concept • Formed the basis for submissions to the Boards and Councils

  15. Vision Summary • 16 page illustrated booklet to convey the vision also produced late 2009

  16. Goals • Create a Park System that will help fulfill the province’s promise to establish a broad band of permanently protected greenspace in Ontario’s Greenbelt • Facilitate sustainable recreation where appropriate Conservation Objectives Natural Heritage Recreation Cultural Heritage Interpretation Management

  17. Creating a Park System • The Park System will form one of the world’s most significant urban protected areas, much larger than Hyde Park in London, England, Central Park in New York or the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France • Recommended Governance • Cootes to Escarpment Park System Management Network • Partnerships

  18. Community and stakeholder engagement • Launch event Feb. 6, 2010 at RBG Nature Interpretive Centre • Ted McMeekin statement of support in Legislative Assembly of Ontario, April 2010 • Stakeholder hike, Oct. 2010

  19. Communications • Phase II report published Oct. 2009 • Project website (www.cootestoescarpmentpark.ca) and Facebook group • Poster for Greenbelts Conference (March 2011) • Park system site tour during Greenbelts Conference (March 2011) • Funding secured to develop communications and marketing plan

  20. Funding • Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation • $50,000 over one year • Ontario Trillium Foundation • $149,800 over two years

  21. Working together • Vision approved in principle by all project partners • Terms of Reference for Steering Committee • Collaborative Project Agreement • New Project Manager, full-time as of Dec. 1, 2010 • Funding secured for development of governance model

  22. Activities in 2011 Land securement strategy Governance model Communications and marketing plan Fundraising Continue to engage with stakeholders and decision-makers

  23. Realizing a Conservation Vision: A Future to Celebrate The creation of the Cootes to Escarpment Park System will be an achievement to celebrate and share with the world With support and commitment from the communities of the area, we can make this conservation vision a reality and leave an exemplary environmental legacy for future generations

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