OOS 28-2
Planning for long, wide conservation corridors on private lands: Reflecting on 12 years of Oak Ridges Moraine (Ontario, Canada) Conservation Act and Plan implementation
We explored the evolving process of natural heritage protection on the Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM), Ontario Canada. The focus is on the role of conservation biology in the planning of a natural-heritage system that includes long, wide conservation corridors situated mainly on private lands that connect natural core areas within the ORM. Our review was based on government documents, semi-structured interviews with participants involved in this land-use planning process, and our ongoing involvement with the issue starting in 1990. Conservation biology had a major influence on the outcome of the land-use planning process for this moraine. The landform was identified as an area of value by the environmental movement and was endorsed within the context of a number of government studies that began in the late 1980s. Scientists, planners and citizens carried out work related to conservation biology, including inventories, monitoring, and the development and application of criteria for the delineation of the ORM natural heritage system.
Results/Conclusions
In 2001–2002 decision-makers linked the science of conservation biology to planning policies and law in Ontario and passed the ORM Conservation Act and the ORM Conservation Plan. The moraine continues to evolve through aggressive stewardship and potential changes that might impact the system through a comprehensive Plan review scheduled for 2015. To our knowledge the ORM system constitutes the first time that long, wide conservation corridors on private lands have been regulated through land-use-planning legislation. We will continue to examine this precedent-setting and dynamic planning effort.