Project Work Plan	Stakeholder Advisory Committee	Public Open House (held Feb 2009)
Project Documents: Notices - Reports (includes our Summary and Final Phase 2 Reports)	Stakeholder Committee Meeting Schedule (none scheduled)	About Our Steering Committee Contact Us

Welcome to our Web Site Our project is a joint effort of natural land and greenspace owning organizations in the area of the west end of Hamilton and the west end of Burlington, Ontario, Canada. This area is at the same time a vibrant economy and community and home to rich natural areas that are important for both recreation and also nature. The purpose of our project is to complete the background work for a new management framework for the natural lands in the area, based on extensive community consultation and planning work. What has emerged ias a new vision for a park system that brings maximum benefits to both people and nature. The work to date has identified a very strong potential for managing the natural lands within the study area so as to fight the loss of biodiversity that inevitably results when natural habitat is fragmented, and strengthen public recreational enjoyment of these important lands.

A marsh along the Grindstone Creek at Royal Botanical Gardens. The lands within our study area are among the richest in all of Canada for wildlife and native plant diversity.

The Emerging Vision After more than two years of work on the project, a vision for the natural lands in our region is emerging. Encapsulated in 2008 by our stakeholders, our draft vision statement is: Our vision for the Cootes to Escarpment Park System is that it will be known internationally as a protected, permanent and connected natural lands sanctuary from the Harbour to the Escarpment that promotes ecosystem and human health within Ontario’s Greenbelt. Our draft Mission Statement: Our mission will be to collaboratively continue preserving and enhancing the natural lands using a sustainable approach that balances natural ecosystem health with responsible human appreciation and activities to achieve the vision. Over the coming months, the project's Steering Committee will be working with a wide variety of partners to bring things toward the vision and mission. In particular, we are working on ways to ensure that all of the organizations involved in natural lands in our area are cooperating and sharing information, working toward common goals such as management plans, and engaging appropriate sources of support. A key observation about all of our natural spaces is that collectively and individually, the natural areas within our region need on-going, significant investment in management and restoration to combat the growing effects of human activities around, and in, them. Securing significant new resources with which to restore and rehabilitate our area is one of our key joint goals.

Our Progress 8 March 2010 In February 2010 we acheived another significant milestone for the project. All of the city councils and boards responsible for the nine participating agencies in the park system project have now given their approval in principle to the vision and concept. At this time the participating agencies are working on the next step, a detailed agreement on how to collaborate into the future. 26 November 2009 We've completed the long editorial process and how have our "Phase II" report in its final form, which summarizes the results of our many consultations and stakeholder input and puts forward a vision for the Cootes to Escarpment Park System. Final Phase II Report 12 Page Summary You can download the complete Phase 2 report and also a 12 page colour summary of the vision and potential for the park system here: Download the Cootes to Escarpment Park System Final Phase II Report (1 megabyte Adobe Acrobat Reader File) maps for the Phase II report have to be downloaded separately because of the size of the various files Cootes to Escarpment Park System: A Conservation Vision (3 megabyte Adobe Acrobat Reader File) See all of our available reports, and high resolution maps, here...

Project Background The richness of the natural areas at the "Head of the Lake," especially around Cootes Paradise Marsh, has been recognized for many years. Considerable sections are already protected by various agencies, such as the area conservation authorities, Royal Botanical Gardens, the cities and not for profit organizations like the Hamilton Naturalists Club and the Bruce Trail Conservancy. However, development pressures and a growing human population, as well as other issues, have made it desirable for these organizations to join together with the public and stakeholders to seek a vision for these natural lands, and new ways to effectively manage, restore and preserve them for future generations. Particularly important will be finding means to bring more resources to the conservation and restoration of these natural spaces, and to improve appropriate recreational features and uses. Seeking a shared vision for a park system was recommended by the Remedial Action Plan for Hamilton Harbour, and pursued actively in 2007 by Royal Botanical Gardens and other agencies. Funding support for the development of the vision was secured from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation in 2007. This strategy focuses primarily on the conservation and management of approximately 1,550 hectares (3,800 acres) of natural lands owned by Royal Botanical Gardens, Conservation Halton, Hamilton Conservation Authority, City of Burlington, City of Hamilton, Region of Halton, Hamilton Naturalists' Club, and Bruce Trail Conservancy. Working with these groups and the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan, the Cootes to Escarpment Conservation and Land Management Strategy is being prepared for an area between Dundas in Hamilton through to Aldershot in Burlington along the Niagara Escarpment and down to Cootes Paradise and Hamilton Harbour. The Study Area for the Cootes to Escarpment Conservation and Land Management Strategy. The dashed line indicates only that natural lands and open spaces within the outline are considered in the study. This study does not affect land use planning in any formal way within the study area. As part of the Greenbelt (Government of Ontario Municipal Affairs: Greenbelt) surrounding the Greater Golden Horseshoe, these biologically diverse internationally recognized natural lands will potentially be subject to increased use as the population grows over the next two decades. The natural areas will invariably be affected by physical changes to the surrounding lands and waters that will come with development. In anticipation of this urban growth, a conservation and land management strategy is needed now to balance social, environmental, and economic interests to protect and enhance these properties into the future. In detail, the purpose of the Cootes to Escarpment Conservation and Land Management Strategy project is to: 1. create awareness of the issues surrounding the protection of these natural lands that are internationally recognized as being biologically diverse and provide habitat for a number of threatened and endangered plant and animal species 2. develop a strategy for the management of these lands that will protect and enhance the long-term health of the natural system while balancing the need for recreation and nature appreciation within the community. How You Can Get Involved Although we do not have any more public open houses planned under the present project, we value your input! Please feel free to contact the project participants at any time. All of our project reports are available on-line. The "Phase 1" report provides a lot of background detail. The "Phase 2" report encapsulates the vision for the park system, but please note that it is still a draft document. The final background report (based on the December 2008 Phase 2 document) and a more accessible summary document are now finished and available on our reports page. These reports have been presented to the Boards and Councils of our partner agencies in the project, and all have approved them in principle as a statement of the vision for the park system. Funding for this project has been provided by the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation (2007-2009) Web pages created and maintained by Royal Botanical Gardens' Science Department.