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 C ...

, 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 Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel Island, Queensland *Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated communi ...

, 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, Flamborough, Oakville, Trafalgar Township, Burlington, Nelson Township, Milton, and Esquesing Township (now Halton Hills.)

Agency profile

Mission statement

''To protect and enhance the

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

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 lar ...

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 ''esca ...

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 ...

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. In 2004 Conservation Halton was featured as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers in

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 persp ...

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 parks 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 N ...

. *

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 Ontar ...

* 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 c ...

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 Sixt ...

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 Rattlesn ...

Robert Edmondson Conservation Area The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, ho ...

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