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Watershed-Based Resource Management Strategy – Phase 2 Public Feedback

Public Consultation Survey on Phase Two of Watershed-Based Resource Management Strategy

This survey is to provide the public the opportunity to provide input into Phase Two of the Watershed-Based Resource Management Strategy (WBRMS) for Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA).
Please provide your comments on the following by January 31, 2024.
Additional information on Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) is available on the programs and services web page.
1.A. Focus Areas
The draft Watershed-Based Resource Management Strategy proposes six focus areas for the ABCA:
  1. Protecting life and property from natural hazards of flooding and erosion;
  2. Conservation authority lands and passive recreation;
  3. Research and monitoring;
  4. Outreach and education;
  5. Stewardship, restoration and forestry; and
  6. Drinking water source protection.
Please provide your comments below:
B. Program Areas
The following program areas have been proposed during the second phase of the project in order to implement the priorities.
2.CORPORATE SERVICES PROGRAM
Essential assistance provided to all departments, Board of Directors, member municipalities and the public to enable the ABCA to operate in an accountable, efficient and effective manner. The program includes:
  • Policy and strategic plan development and review
  • Internal IT networking, computer services, data management
  • Secretarial and administrative duties for boards and committees
  • Financial services
  • Communications
  • Administration Centre buildings
  • Fleet services
Please provide your comments below:
3.CONSERVATION AUTHORITY LANDS
ABCA owns 3,616 hectares of land which includes conservation areas, management areas, conservation forests, farmland, and flood control structures. The properties are essential to watershed management, environmental protection, habitat and biodiversity, and outdoor recreation for area residents and visitors. Management activities and land use are guided by the Conservation Lands Strategy. Policies and plans guide acquisition and disposition. The program includes:
  • Environmental management for long-term watershed health.
  • Passive recreation: trails and amenities (signs, parking lots, boardwalks, bridges, privies, pavilions) for public use, risk management inspections, hazard tree removal.
  • Invasive species management.
  • Forest health improvement, tree planting and restoration.
  • Research, monitoring, education, and outreach.
Please provide your comments below:
4.DRINKING WATER SOURCE PROTECTION
The protection of municipal drinking water supplies in the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region occurs through Source Protection Plans. The program provides technical support, reports, and source protection committee. ABCA offers risk management official services to municipalities through a delegation agreement. The activities are required by the Ontario Clean Water Act, 2006 and associated regulations.

Please provide your comments below:
5.EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
ABCA is the main source of local environmental information. Education and outreach are included in and support all programs. The ABCA provides high quality, local conservation education experiences at schools, conservation areas, community-based organizations, special events, public meetings, and open houses.
A variety of communications methods are used, depending on the issue and the audience. Increasingly, social media, webinars, videos, virtual meetings and presentations, and websites are used to reach a wider audience in a cost-effective and timely manner. News releases and the ABCA electronic newsletter are important methods of reaching the public.
The public is engaged about projects and strategic plans by the means appropriate for the initiative. This process is an opportunity to provide information and receive public feedback. Staff are involved with community-based committees and work closely with other ABCA departments to deliver watershed-based environmental messaging for on-the-ground projects.

Please provide your comments below:
6.HEALTHY WATERSHEDS PROGRAM
Research, monitoring and community outreach activities improve the understanding of the watershed and its response to human and natural environment stressors and improvements. This information is used to support decision-making. The program supports community efforts to be informed and take conservation actions. The program includes:
  • Monitoring surface water quality, groundwater quality, benthic species, biodiversity and the Integrated Water and Climate Monitoring Station.
  • Research.
  • Supporting the community through education and outreach, watershed community-based studies, and Healthy Lake Huron Initiative.
  • Subwatershed plans and projects to address local issues.
Please provide your comments below:
7.WATER AND PLANNING PROGRAM (NATURAL HAZARDS)
Conservation Authorities are the lead provincial agencies on natural hazard issues. The goal is to protect life and property from flooding and erosion. The program includes:
  • Floodplain Management Program: erosion control projects, flood control projects, flood forecasting and warning system, ice management.
  • Planning and Regulations: municipal plan input and review program, Ontario Regulation 147/06 program, drain review.
  • Low water response program.
Please provide your comments below:
8.WATERSHED STEWARDSHIP AND RESTORATION
Staff work with private landowners, municipalities, and organizations to undertake on-the-ground projects to improve watershed conditions including water quality and quantity, forest conditions, biodiversity, and actions to make the watersheds more resilient to climate change. Stewardship projects contribute to flood and erosion control and stormwater management by reducing peak flows, storing flood waters, protecting soil, and naturalizing hazardous lands. Programs include tree planting and forestry, agricultural stewardship projects, wetlands and stormwater management, invasive species management, grant programs and technical advice.

Please provide your comments below:
9.C. OTHER PROGRAMS:
Are there other programs, activities or projects you’d like to see ABCA undertake to implement the priorities?

Please provide your comments below:
10.D. Please provide your postal code:
Thank you for the time you have taken and the interest you have shown. We appreciate that very much. Your input will help to make this a better document and help to guide our future direction.