Innisfil asks County of Simcoe to protect natural areas as part of growth review

Big Bay Point resident Megan Varga (left) and Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition executive director Claire Malcolmson are happy the Town of Innisfil is asking the County of Simcoe to reconsider removing several parcels of land in the town from the province’s Na  | CLAIRE MALCOLMSON PHOTO

From the Toronto Star, February 17, 2022
By Shane MacDonald

Simcoe County environmentalists are hopeful county council will commit to protecting natural heritage lands after Innisfil council agreed with their urging to protect local natural areas.

The County of Simcoe is undertaking a planning exercise called a Municipal Comprehensive Review to plan growth in the county out to 2051, and part of the process involves reviewing the province’s natural heritage system map — a map of interconnected natural areas.

When the County of Simcoe suggested removing 7,000 parcels of land from the natural heritage system, alarm bells starting ringing for area environmentalists.

“The county has recommended to remove all lands with registered planned subdivisions, no matter the date they were registered,” said Big Bay Point resident Megan Varga, who delegated to Innisfil council on the topic.

Under that criterion, the county would be removing planned subdivisions that were registered as far back as 1913, according to Town of Innisfil staff.

“In 1913, when a registered plan of subdivision was established, there was no public meeting for public consultation, it didn’t have the same regulations as it has now,” Varga said.

Thanks to the advocacy of residents like Varga, and the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, the Town of Innisfil has asked the county to reconsider removing parcels of land near Big Bay Point and Crescent Harbour Road, and a 1988 draft plan of subdivision north of Gilford, from the natural heritage mapping.

Claire Malcolmson, executive director of the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, called Innisfil council’s recommendation good news, but noted it still needs to be ratified by county council.

“I’m really happy that Innisfil responded in a way that reflects a commitment to protecting the natural heritage that they have,” Malcolmson said. “I am fully expecting that on the advice of the municipality that Simcoe County would put those features back into the NHS map.”

Protecting these interconnected natural spaces is key to protecting the environment and Lake Simcoe, Malcolmson said.

“The whole point of a natural heritage system is to connect and protect patches, so that you have the movement and migration of the critters themselves but also the genetic material and seeds plants and all that stuff,” she said.

“Healthy forests are critical to having a healthy watershed, they produce oxygen, they filter contaminants out of the air, they help to reduce erosion and flooding. We simply cannot just cut down trees and expect the lakes to be healthy.”

Malcolmson said the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan has a target of 40 per cent high quality natural cover in the watershed, further reinforcing the need to protect the natural heritage system. 2011 mapping showed 28 per cent high quality natural cover in the Lake Simcoe watershed.

The County of Simcoe still needs to approve revisions to the natural heritage system suggested by Innisfil council and other member municipalities.

The province has set a deadline for July 2022 for the county to complete the municipal comprehensive review and natural heritage system mapping process.

For more information, visit https://www.simcoe.ca/dpt/pln/mcr.