The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) is a public-sector agency with delegated provincial authority to address risks of natural hazards, relating to flooding and erosion.
ERCA was established in 1973 to manage the natural resources of the Essex Region in partnership with its member municipalities and the Province of Ontario. The organization's nine member municipalities include the City of Windsor, and the Township of Pelee Island.
ERCA maintains the following 19 parks and recreation areas:
North: St. Clair Region Conservation Authority | ||
West: United States | Essex Region Conservation Authority | East: Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority |
South: Lake Erie |
Point Pelee National Park is a national park in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada where it extends into Lake Erie. The word pelée is French for 'bald'. Point Pelee consists of a peninsula of land, mainly of marsh and woodland habitats, that tapers to a sharp point as it extends into Lake Erie. Middle Island, also part of Point Pelee National Park, was acquired in 2000 and is just north of the Canada–United States border in Lake Erie. Point Pelee is the southernmost point of mainland Canada, and is located on a foundation of glacial sand, silt and gravel that bites into Lake Erie. This spit of land is slightly more than seven kilometres long by 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) wide at its northern base. Established in 1918, Point Pelee was the first national park in Canada to be established for conservation. It was designated as a Ramsar site on 27 May 1987.
Essex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising seven municipalities: Amherstburg, Kingsville, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Leamington, Tecumseh and the administrative seat, Essex.
Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 27,595 in the Canada 2016 Census, it forms the second largest urban centre in Windsor-Essex County after Windsor, Ontario. It includes Point Pelee National Park, the southernmost point of mainland Canada.
The Rouge River is a river in Markham, Pickering, Richmond Hill and Toronto in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. The river flows from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario at the eastern border of Toronto, and is the location of Rouge Park, the only national park in Canada within a municipality. At its southern end, the Rouge River is the boundary between Toronto and southwestern Pickering in the Regional Municipality of Durham.
The Sauble River is a river in Bruce County and Grey County in southwestern Ontario, Canada that flows from its headwaters in the township of Chatsworth to Lake Huron at the community of Sauble Beach.
Wheatley Provincial Park is a protected area in the municipality of Chatham–Kent in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Erie near the community of Wheatley and occupies an area of 241 hectares. Visitors to nearby Point Pelee National Park often camp at the park.
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.
Wheatley is a community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, within the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It lies about 12 kilometres (7 mi) east of Leamington. Nearby parks include Two Creeks Conservation Area, which has 15 km of hiking and bicycling paths, Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Hillman Marsh Conservation Area and Point Pelee National Park. Rondeau Provincial Park is only a forty-five-minute drive to the east. It also boasts Wheatley Provincial Park, home to the endangered Blue Racer snake, which can only be found in the park as well as the Point Pelee National Park and on Pelee Island.
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.
The Hamilton Conservation Authority maintains the greenspace, trails, parks and some attractions in the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. It currently runs 1,500 miles (2,400 km), from Big Cypress National Preserve to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Florida Trail provides permanent non-motorized recreation opportunity for hiking and other compatible activities and is within an hour of most Floridians. The Florida National Scenic Trail is designated as a National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968.
The Chrysler Canada Greenway is a 42 km-long rail trail in Essex County, Ontario, Canada, stretching from Oldcastle to Leamington.
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.
The Cypher Systems Group Greenway is a 23.9-kilometre (14.9 mi) rail trail along a former CN Rail spur line in the town of Essex, Ontario, Canada. As of May 2013, the trail extends from Sadler's Park in Essex towards Amherstburg. CN Rail had donated this spur line in 1997, following the donation of its other subdivision, which is now the Chrysler Canada Greenway, in 1993, to ERCA, which manages the trail. The total distance of the former rail line is 28 kilometres (17 mi), and extends via McGregor to Amherstburg. ERCA has stated they intended on linking to the Chrysler Canada Greenway and Amherstburg when funds become available, which was finally realized in the summer of 2017.
Gould Lake Conservation Area is a rural conservation area located in the Canadian Shield northwest of the community of Sydenham in the Township of South Frontenac, Frontenac County, in eastern Ontario, Canada. The area was created to manage water resources, preserve wildlife habitat, and provide recreational and educational opportunities, and is managed by the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority. The conservation area contains much of Gould Lake.
The Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (ORCA), sometimes shortened to Otonabee Conservation, is a conservation authority in Ontario, Canada. Established in 1959 and based in Peterborough, its member municipalities include Asphodel-Norwood, Cavan-Monaghan, Douro-Dummer, City of Kawartha Lakes, Otonabee–South Monaghan, City of Peterborough, Selwyn, and Trent Hills. Major watercourses within the watershed administered by ORCA include the Otonabee, Indian, and Ouse rivers, and Baxter, Cavan, Jackson, Miller and Squirrel creeks.
The Black River is a river in the Regional Municipality of York and the Regional Municipality of Durham in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Simcoe; the entire watershed is under the auspices of the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority.
The forests of Canada are located across much of the country. Approximately half of Canada is covered by forest, totaling around 2.4 million km2. Over 90% of Canada's forests are owned by the public. About half of the forests are allocated for logging.