Conservation authority (Canada)

A conservation authority is a local, community-based environmental agency based in Ontario, Canada. Conservation authorities represent groupings of municipalities on a watershed basis and work in partnership with other agencies to manage their respective watersheds.

The 1946 Conservation Authorities Act provides the means by which the province and municipalities of Ontario could join together to form a conservation authority within a specific area - the watershed - to undertake programs of natural resource management. The Act applies to all lands within any given authority's regulation limits.

Conservation authorities are mandated to ensure the conservation, restoration and responsible management of Ontario's water, land and natural habitats through programs that balance human, environmental and economic needs. There are currently 36 conservation authorities in Ontario. Management programs generally occur in lands known as conservation areas, restoration areas or wilderness areas, though not all lands managed are neccessarily designated as such.

Key areas of Authority activity include:

• Environmental protection — Conservation authorities protect local ecosystems and contribute to the quality of life in communities throughout the province.
• Water Resource Management — Conservation authorities are Ontario's community-based environmental experts who use integrated, ecologically sound environmental practices to manage Ontario's water resources on a watershed basis, maintain secure supplies of clean water, protect communities from flooding and contribute to municipal planning processes (that protect water).

List of conservation authorities

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The Conservation Ontario is the umbrella organization for all 36 regional Conservation Authorities in the Province of Ontario:

• • Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority
  • Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority
  • Catfish Creek Conservation Authority
  • Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority
  • Conservation Halton
  • Credit Valley Conservation
  • Crowe Valley Conservation Authority
  • Essex Region Conservation Authority
  • Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority
  • Grand River Conservation Authority
  • Grey Sauble Conservation Authority
  • Hamilton Conservation Authority
  • Kawartha Conservation
  • Kettle Creek Conservation Authority
  • Lakehead Region Conservation Authority
  • Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority
  • Long Point Region Conservation Authority
  • Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority
  • Lower Trent Conservation
  • Maitland Valley Conservation Authority
  • Mattagami Region Conservation Authority
  • Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority
  • Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
  • Nickel District Conservation Authority
  • North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority
  • Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority
  • Otonabee Conservation Authority
  • Quinte Conservation
  • Raisin Region Conservation Authority
  • Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
  • Saugeen Conservation Authority
  • Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority
  • South Nation Conservation Authority
  • St. Clair Region Conservation Authority
  • Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
  • Upper Thames River Conservation Authority

External links

• Conservation Ontario
• Conservation Authorities Act. R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER C.27. e-Laws. ServiceOntario. Government of Ontario. Retrieved 2011-05-18.