UTRCA Properties Assessment Project Report

• Acknowledgements, Executive Summary, Table of Contents

• 1.0 Project Background

  • Map 1. The 28 Subwatershed of the Upper Thames River Watershed

  • Map 2. Land Cover Map of the Upper Thames River Watershed

  • Map 3. Location of Upper Thames River Watershed with Respect to Floristic Zones or Rowe (1972) and Jalava et al. (1997)

  • Map 4. Components of the Natural Heritage System of the Upper Thames River Watershed

  • Map 5. Critical Habitat Components of the Natural Heritage System of the Upper Thames River Watershed

• 2.0 Vision for the Property Assessment Plan

• 3.0 Land Parcel Classification

  • Maps 7a-7d. Distribution of the 301 UTRCA Land Parcels into Core Conservation Lands and Parcels Needing Further Analysis (City of London/Middlesex County/Oxford County/Perth County)

  • Map 8a-8d. Distribution of the 41 Parcels Needing Further Analysis (City of London/Middlesex County/Oxford County/Perth County)

  • Map 9a-9d. Results of the Review of 41 Parcels Needing Further Analysis (City of London/Middlesex County/Oxford County/Perth County)

• 4.0 Conclusion and Next Steps

• 5.0 Glossary

• 6.0 References

• Appendix A. Description of the Final Natural Heritage Patch and Parcel Criteria for the Five Management Categories

• Appendix B. Summary of the Final Natural Heritage Patch and Parcel Criteria for the Five Management Categories

• Appendix C. The 34 Patch and Parcel Landscape Criteria met by each of the 41 UTRCA Property Parcels Needing Further Analysis

• Appendix D. Rationale and Recommendations for the 41 UTRCA Property Parcels Needing Further Analysis

Executive Summary

The Upper Thames River watershed is approximately 3, 482 square kilometres, of which 15% is developed, 72% is in agriculture and 13% is in natural cover (Table 1). The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) has acquired approximately 5,967 hectares of land (approximately 1.7% of the watershed). The majority of these lands were acquired for flood control, in the absence of a comprehensive and strategic land securement program for natural heritage. Pressures of development, competition for resources and the scale of the watershed means that an updated, proactive, and strategic approach is needed to evaluate the land parcels the UTRCA currently owns, to ensure that they meet the UTRCA’s mission and goals.

The UTRCA’s Property Assessment Team developed five land management categories that reflect the goals of the UTRCA Strategic Plan. These categories include: 1) Terrestrial and Aquatic Natural Heritage Systems, 2) Natural Hazards, 3) Ground (Source) Water, 4) Recreation and Culture (Public Benefits), and 5) Aggregate.

Thirty-four landscape criteria were developed for all five management categories to evaluate all land parcels in UTRCA ownership. Out of the 301 land parcels owned by the UTRCA, 278 (92%) were determined to be core conservation parcels to the UTRCA.

The next steps of the Property Assessment Project will be to:

1. Establish a natural heritage cover target for the watershed.

2. Review the remaining 23 parcels to determine their importance in furthering the UTRCA’s conservation objectives (and natural heritage cover target).

3. Develop a targeted map of parcels that will achieve the UTRCA’s mission and goals.

4. Develop appropriate implementation and funding strategies for all parcels based on the information gathered about each land parcel.

5. Develop management plans for core conservation parcels identified for UTRCA ownership.

Once the strategic natural heritage approach is complete, the UTRCA will have up to date information that will allow a quick and effective response to development pressures and land securement opportunities when they arise, and to better decide which projects should not be pursued. The result will be a more proactive approach, although opportunity will always play a role.

Table 1. Summary of Upper Thames River watershed and land parcels currently owned by UTRCA

For information on the UTRCA Properties Assessment Project, please contact , Ecologist.

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