People in Bruce, Grey, Huron, Dufferin and Wellington Counties are invited to help shape the future work of the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA).
The SCVA has launched public consultations on their Watershed Resource-Based Management Strategy and their Conservation Areas Strategy.
Acting General Manager Erik Downing said public input will help inform decision-making, direct land management, improve educational outreach, enhance accessibility, create a Conservation Lands Inventory, and ensure up-to-date land acquisition and disposition policies.
"We are preparing an overall strategy across all of our conservation areas. Over the past 70 years, we've acquired numerous lands, serving various purposes, of course, recreation active, and recreation passive," explained Downing. "This strategy allows us to sort of outline what our current and future goals are for those properties and to get public input to see how we can better serve our watershed."
Over the past 70 years, the SVCA has acquired numerous lands serving various purposes such as promoting environmental awareness, providing recreational opportunities, controlling erosion and flooding, and generating financial benefits through campgrounds, leases, and harvesting.
Conservation Areas with active recreation offer activities like camping, disc golf, maintained recreational trails, and more.
Conservation Areas with passive recreation offer a location for activities such as hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, wildlife watching, picnicking. Management Areas include managed forests, agricultural lands, and wetlands.
The SCVA oversees 15 conservation areas, four campgrounds, and over 8,000 hectares of primarily forested land, and all of them are publicly accessible.
"We'd certainly be interested to hear from the public on how they are enjoying these properties currently, and what they maybe could see as an adjustment that we could make to make them a little bit more conducive to their use," said Downing. "For instance, we're working to increase our accessibility of our properties for all of the population of Grey Bruce, and we would love to hear on how that could or should be achieved."
Downing explained the authority operates a comprehensive flood forecasting and warning system, monitors water quality, and maintains essential water and erosion control infrastructure.
"So we're really interested in the public input on how they've interacted with us in any one of those, or maybe more than one of those programs, and how they would see us moving forward with those programs in a more appropriate way," he said. "Or if they are very happy with the current methodology and the current approach, we'd certainly be happy to hear from them as well on that front."
The consultation period is open until Wednesday, August 14, at 9 a.m. at www.saugeenconservation.ca/2024Deliver
Participation is simple, and anonymous submissions are welcome.