Abbreviation | HRCA |
---|---|
Formation | 1956 |
Type | Conservation Authority |
Headquarters | Burlington, Ontario |
Coordinates | 43°25′26″N79°54′11″W / 43.4238°N 79.9030°W (Head office bldg.) |
Staff | 339 (2006) |
Website | Conservation Halton |
Conservation Halton, also known as the Halton Region Conservation Authority, is a conservation authority established under the Conservation Authorities Act of Ontario. It forms a partnership with the Province of Ontario, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the regional municipalities of Halton, Peel, The County of Wellington, and surrounding municipalities.
Conservation Halton was formed in 1956 as the Sixteen Mile Conservation Authority followed by the formation of the Twelve Mile Conservation Authority in 1957. In 1963 these conservation authorities amalgamated to form the Halton Region Conservation Authority which later became known as Conservation Halton. It was created based on the watershed of the two creek systems, by representatives from the municipalities of Mississauga, Flamborough, Oakville, Trafalgar Township, Burlington, Nelson Township, Milton, and Esquesing Township (now Halton Hills.)
To protect and enhance the natural environment from lake to escarpment for present and future generations.
Conservation Halton serves the communities in which it resides in various functions. It provides environmental protection to the large local forest resource and assists in maintaining and improving the health of the watershed's natural environment. This includes the watershed's most significant natural feature, the Niagara Escarpment. Conservation Halton also manages water resources; ensuring the surrounding communities receive clean water and protecting them from flooding.
Conservation Halton employs 339 staff (2003) including full-time, part-time and seasonal employees. Its administration office is located in Lowville, a rural village in Burlington, Ontario. In 2004 Conservation Halton was featured as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers in Maclean's magazine for their progressive human resources policies and perks, including free access to local parks for employees and their families.
The authority operates seven conservation parks year-round, most with full-time staff. These seven parks are all located in the Halton region. Additionally, Conservation Halton maintains a number of smaller conservation lands with limited staff and facilities, as well as local properties that have no facilities or public access. Because parks are funded on a self-sustaining basis, entrance fees are charged at the staffed parks. All parks except Mountsberg offer connections to the Bruce Trail.
Burlington is a city in the Regional Municipality of Halton at the west end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada. Located approximately halfway between Toronto and Niagara Falls, it is part of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and Hamilton metropolitan census area.
The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater Toronto Area begins in Burlington in Halton Region to the west, and extends along Lake Ontario past downtown Toronto eastward to Clarington in Durham Region.
The Humber River is a river in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin, is a tributary of Lake Ontario and is one of two major rivers on either side of the city of Toronto, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999.
Halton Hills is a town in the Regional Municipality of Halton, located in the northwestern end of the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada with a population of 61,161 (2016).
The Regional Municipality of Halton, or Halton Region, is a regional municipality in Ontario, Canada, located in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario. It comprises the city of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hills. Policing in the Region is provided by the Halton Regional Police Service. The regional council's headquarters are located in Oakville. Burlington, Oakville, and Milton are largely urban and suburban, while Halton Hills is more rural.
The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of 1,900 square kilometres (730 sq mi) between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough. One of the most significant landforms in southern Ontario, the moraine gets its name from the rolling hills and river valleys extending 160 km (99 mi) east from the Niagara Escarpment to Rice Lake, formed 12,000 years ago by advancing and retreating glaciers during the last glaciation period. Below the approximately 200 metre thick glacial derived sediments of the moraine lies thick bedrock successions of Precambrian rocks and up to 200 metres of Ordovician aged rock, capped by a regional unconformity of erosion and non-deposition to the Quaternary period. Rivers and lakes scatter the landscape and are important for creating habitat for the rich diversity of species of animals, trees and shrubbery. These are also the supply of fresh water to aquifers in the moraine through complex subterranean connections. Construction development nearby, and with expansion of communities around the moraine in need of potable water, it is a contested site in Ontario, since it stands in the path of major urban development. Conservation of the moraine is thus an important step for keeping aquifers in a safe drinkable condition while also protecting the natural ecosystems surrounding and within the moraine. This region has been subject to multiple decades of scientific research to study the origins of formation, and how early communities used the land. A larger focus currently is how to source potable water without removing the aquifer entirely.
Waterdown is a village in Canada which since 2001 has been a community of Hamilton, Ontario. Waterdown is approximately 60 km west of downtown Toronto.
Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) is headquartered in Burlington owning extensive environmental protection areas, historic sites and culturally relevant gardens in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the major tourist attractions between Niagara Falls and Toronto, as well as a significant local and regional horticultural, education, conservation, and scientific resource. The mandate is derived by a Provincial Act of 1941 centred on human interaction with the natural world and protection of environmentally significant lands that form the western tip of Lake Ontario. Royal Botanical Gardens spans an area of about 10 km by 4 km, dominated by two coastal wetlands, and glacial-carved landscapes that extend from the lake up to the Niagara Escarpment plateau. The various gardens and natural areas are accessed through nine public entrance locations. It is one of several Prescribed Public Bodies listed under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is a conservation authority in southern Ontario, Canada. It owns about 16,000 hectares of land in the Toronto region, and it employs more than 400 full-time employees and coordinates more than 3,000 volunteers each year. TRCA's area of jurisdiction is watershed-based and includes 3,467 square kilometres (1,339 sq mi) – 2,506 on land and 961 water-based in Lake Ontario. This area comprises nine watersheds from west to east – Etobicoke Creek, Mimico Creek, Humber River, Don River, Highland Creek, Petticoat Creek, Rouge River, Duffins Creek and Carruthers Creek.
A conservation authority is a local, community-based natural resource management agency based in Ontario, Canada. Conservation authorities represent groupings of municipalities on a watershed basis and work in partnership with other agencies to carry out natural resource management activities within their respective watersheds, on behalf of their member municipalities and the Province of Ontario.
Crawford Lake Conservation Area is a conservation area owned and operated by Conservation Halton near the community of Campbellville in Milton, Halton, Ontario, Canada. It is categorized as a regional environmentally sensitive area, an Ontario Area of Natural and Scientific Interest, and part of the Niagara Escarpment world biosphere reserve. The conservation area contains Crawford Lake, a reconstructed Iroquoian village, and several hiking trails.
Nassagaweya Township is a geographic township and former municipality now part of Milton.
Kelso Conservation Area is located near Milton, Ontario on the Niagara Escarpment and is owned and operated by Conservation Halton. This park has an area of 3.97 square kilometres and contains Lake Kelso which was built for flood control of Sixteen Mile Creek and has a sandy beach for swimmers in the summer with a food concession and board walk along the lake to the Boat Rental shop which offers the rentals of canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, paddle boats and is also open to any non-motorized watercraft. The Park also offers 20 campsites, 18 reserve-able picnic sites, and two camping/picnic mixed sites. Glen Eden Ski & Snowboard Centre is located in the park and offers downhill skiing, snowboarding and tubing during the winter months. In addition, the Halton Region Museum is also located on the Kelso grounds. The park also features marked mountain biking and hiking trails.
The Greenbelt is a protected area of green space, farmland, forests, wetlands, and watersheds, located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It surrounds a significant portion of the Golden Horseshoe.
Rattlesnake Point is an eco-tourism area located in Milton, Ontario, Canada and is owned and operated by Conservation Halton. Spanning roughly one hundred square kilometres across and near the Niagara Escarpment in Halton Region, the Rattlesnake Point area is home to many golf courses, country markets and equestrian training and boarding facilities. It is a popular scouting area.
The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority is a conservation authority established in 1951, and is among the oldest in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Conservation Ontario is the network of Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities.
Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around the westernmost part of the Lake Ontario. Most of the city including the downtown section lies along the south shore. Situated in the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe, it lies roughly midway between Toronto and Buffalo. The two major physical features are Hamilton Harbour marking the northern limit of the city and the Niagara Escarpment running through the middle of the city across its entire breadth, bisecting the city into 'upper' and 'lower' parts.
The Quinte Conservation is a conservation authority in the province of Ontario. It is headquartered in Belleville, Ontario. Quinte Conservation was created as a result of the amalgamation of three local conservation authorities in 1996; Moira River, Prince Edward Region and the Napanee Region authorities.
The Toronto waterway system comprises a series of natural and man-made watercourses in the Canadian city of Toronto. The city is dominated by a large river system spanning most of the city including the Don River, Etobicoke Creek, Highland Creek, Humber River, Mimico Creek and Rouge River.