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 Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, the

Ministry of Natural Resources An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

and the regional municipalities of Halton, Peel, The County of Wellington, and surrounding municipalities.

History

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 Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

Flamborough Flamborough is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Bridlington town centre on the prominent coastal feature of Flamborough Head. The most prominent man-made feature o ...

, Oakville,

Trafalgar Township Trafalgar Township was a township within the historic Halton County in Ontario, Canada. It today forms parts of the towns of Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hills in the Regional Municipality of Halton. Named after Cape Trafalgar where Horatio Nels ...

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, Nelson Township,

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

, and Esquesing Township (now

Halton Hills ) , image_map = , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , pushpin_map = CAN ON Halton#Canada Southern Ontario , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , subdivision_type ...

Agency profile

Mission statement

''To protect and enhance the

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, living and non-living things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not Artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. Th ...

from

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

for present and future generations.''

Key roles

Conservation Halton serves the communities in which it resides in various functions. It provides environmental protection to the large local

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

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 Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

resources; ensuring the surrounding communities receive clean water and protecting them from

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing.

Staff

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 Burlington is a city in the Regional Municipality of Halton at the northwestern end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada. Along with Milton to the north, it forms the western end of the Greater Toronto Area and is also part of the Hamilton met ...

. In 2004 Conservation Halton was featured as one of

Canada's Top 100 Employers Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual editorial competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions ...

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

magazine for their progressive human resources policies and perks, including free access to local parks for employees and their families.

Parks

The authority operates seven conservation

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s 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 The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail in southern Ontario, Canada, from the Niagara River to the tip of Tobermory, Ontario. The main trail is more than long and there are over of associated side trails. The trail mostly follows the edge of the Nia ...

. *

Crawford Lake Conservation Area 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 Ontari ...

* Glen Eden Ski & Snowboard Centre *

Hilton Falls Conservation Area Hilton Falls Conservation Area located in Campbellville, Ontario on the Niagara Escarpment is a conservation area known for its ten-metre waterfall, hiking trails and small glacial pothole. It constitutes and offers mountain biking as well as ...

Kelso Conservation Area 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 Sixte ...

Mount Nemo Conservation Area The Mount Nemo Conservation Area in Burlington, Ontario is a conservation area owned and operated by Conservation Halton. It is popular with rock climbers in the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe, along with nearby Rattlesnake Poi ...

Mountsberg Conservation Area Mountsberg Conservation Area is a conservation area near Campbellville, Ontario widely known for its Raptor Centre. It is owned and operated by the Halton Region Conservation Authority. Kept there are variety of birds, buffalo, horses, and many ...

Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area 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 Rattlesnak ...

* Robert Edmondson Conservation Area

References

*Macklem, Katherine (Oct. 20, 2003)
Canada's Top 100 Employers
''Maclean's''. *Whitnell, Tim (March 15, 2006). "What a difference a Day makes". Burlington Post, p. 1.

External links

Conservation Halton
{{Authority control Regional Municipality of Halton Protected areas of the Regional Municipality of Halton Niagara Escarpment Conservation authorities in Ontario 1956 establishments in Ontario