The natural and recreational values of the Kawartha Highlands area have been recognized for decades; however, the decision to formally protect this area originated with the provincial “Lands for Life” Crown land use planning exercise which took place from 1997 to 1999. Three citizens’ Round Tables, established in the Boreal West, Boreal East and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence planning regions (Kawartha Highlands is in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence planning region), undertook extensive consultations starting in June 1997 and provided recommendations to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) in July 1998.
During Lands for Life, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Round Table considered and presented several land use planning options for new protected areas. In the Kawartha Highlands area, their recommended option included the opportunity to protect two key natural areas:
• the Bottle Creek ANSI (Area of Natural and Scientific Interest), and
• the Long Lake Barrens ANSI.
They also recommended that a much larger area surrounding these two protected areas be an Enhanced Management Area – a new land use category that was established to provide more detailed land use direction for Crown lands in areas with special features or values.
On the local front, the Burleigh Anstruther Chandos Cottagers Association (now the North Kawartha Lakes Association) learned of this consultation process and approached the municipality (now the Township of North Kawartha, where two-thirds of the Signature Site lies) to take the lead and help organize other interested stakeholders. The municipality agreed to coordinate public meetings and the Township of Galway-Cavendish and Harvey (where one-third of the protected area lies) participated as a stakeholder. By the summer of 1998, this group had prepared input for the Lands for Life process which reflected the consensus of a diversity of local stakeholders.
A contingency meeting, following the scheduled Round Table public meetings, was arranged so the stakeholders could present their submissions, which included the proposal of protecting a much larger area than was contained in any of the Round Table options. Unfortunately, the submissions were received late in the process when the Round Table was finalizing its recommendations for MNR; these submissions were provided to MNR as additional input.
Following the public review of the Round Table’s draft recommendations and after a review process involving key provincial resource industry and environmental stakeholder groups, the government released Ontario’s Living Legacy Land Use Strategy (LUS) in July 1999. Identified in the Strategy were 378 new protected areas, including nine very special “Featured Areas” - now known as Signature Sites. The featured areas represented significant natural heritage and recreational landscapes and values – each requiring special and unique approaches to planning and management.
The LUS set out the government’s intention to establish the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site as the largest protected area south of Algonquin Provincial Park. The additional input provided by the local stakeholders had been accepted by the government and incorporated into the Strategy. The local stakeholders support for protecting the natural and recreational values of the Kawartha Highlands area was a key factor in this site being elevated to Signature Site status.
As previous stakeholder submissions regarding the Kawartha Highlands did not show consensus on the appropriate protection designation for the area, the government made the decision to determine this through the continued involvement of local stakeholders.
A Local Stakeholder Committee (LSC) was established in July 2000 to make recommendations to the Minister of Natural Resources on guidelines for land use, the appropriate protection designation (i.e., regulation of the area as a provincial park, a conservation reserve or some combination of these), and possible boundary refinements. The 12 member Committee was made up of a diversity of individuals who represented the variety of interests associated with the Kawartha Highlands. Prior to making their recommendations in November 2001, the LSC offered substantial opportunities for public involvement and consultation.
With unanimous consensus, the Committee recommended that the area be protected as a provincial park and stressed that it needed to be actively managed as an “operating” park. The LSC also recommended that the planned activities be enshrined in special legislation to alleviate concerns of some stakeholders that traditional activities would be discontinued. In total, the LSC made 47 recommendations: 1, with several sub-recommendations related to designation, 25 related to permitted activities, 13 related to boundary refinements and 8 related to future stewardship of the Kawartha Highlands.
In an attempt to address some concerns expressed by the public after their review of the Local Stakeholder Committee’s Recommendations Report, the Minister of Natural Resources introduced the Recreation Reserve Act (Bill 239) for First Reading in December 2002. This Bill was intended to provide a new protected area designation and was to be applied to the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site. This provided greater assurances for traditional users of the area and allowed for a diverse range of recreational activities to occur. In March 2003, the Legislature was prorogued and this Bill ceased to exist. The Recreation Reserve Act evoked strong opinions from key stakeholders. Many groups and individuals supported the Bill because of its protection for traditional activities, while many others viewed this proposal as much too weak on the protection of natural heritage values. It was clear, from the public comments received in response to the Environmental Bill of Rights registry posting for the Recreation Reserve Act and the debate which continued after the comment period ended, that further discussion was required to find a broadly acceptable solution for the Kawartha Highlands.
On March 18, 2003, Premier Eves announced that MPP Chris Hodgson would work to reach consensus on appropriate levels of protection and traditional use for this area. MPP Hodgson undertook a focused discussion with groups that represented a broad range of perspectives in order to reach a general agreement for the future of this site (Local Stakeholder Committee, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Partnership for Public Lands and Stakeholder Groups of the Kawartha Highlands). The results of the discussions have been documented in a Charter, which outlines a broad framework for the management of the area and the proposed text for legislation related specifically to the Kawartha Highlands.
The Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003 (KHSSP Act) establishes the primacy of protecting the ecological integrity of the park, protects traditional non-industrial activities, provides greater private property assurances and establishes a Management Advisory Board that will have a substantial role in management planning and implementation. This Act is based substantially on the recommendations provided to the Minister from the Local Stakeholder Committee, with further inclusions to address other stakeholder concerns.
The Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Charter, 2003 (the Charter) established the intent of the Ministry of Natural Resources to manage this area as an operating natural environment class provincial park. The Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park will be managed under the provisions of the KHSSP Act. The KHSSP Act outlines site-specific policy and operational direction for the Kawartha Highlands and incorporates the provisions of the Provincial Parks Act. Where different than the Provincial Parks Act, the KHSSP Act will take precedence.
Key components of sound planning for the future of this park are continued public input, stakeholder involvement and Aboriginal community participation. The management planning process is designed to encourage and incorporate input, review and comment from a wide cross-section of people such as Aboriginal community representatives, private landowners, environmentalists, business and industry representatives and recreational users. A Management Advisory Board (MAB), established under Section 5 of the KHSSP Act in August 2003, will provide on-going planning and management advice to the Minister of Natural Resources as a key component of the MNR’s commitment to ongoing public involvement.
