{"id":4418,"date":"2023-03-13T14:34:41","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T14:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nebn.davidbeyer.ca\/?p=4418"},"modified":"2023-03-17T17:04:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T17:04:48","slug":"protecting-the-niagara-escarpment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/protecting-the-niagara-escarpment\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting the Niagara Escarpment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"s3\"><span class=\"s4\">When I was a young child, I was endlessly fascinated with nature. As I hiked along the Bruce Trail, I found absolute joy in discovering the many mammals, reptiles, fish, and insects that lived in the forests, streams and meadows that I wandered through. I didn\u2019t realize it at the time, but my discoveries were a celebration of the incredible diversity of life along the Niagara Escarpment. I also didn\u2019t realize that I could be one of the last generations to see many of these species exist. Like so many others before me, the Niagara Escarpment inspired me to take action to protect, to care for, and to share the joy with others so they\u2019ll be moved to do the same.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\"><span class=\"s4\">In the 1960s, development along the Niagara Escarpment was largely unregulated. During that time, an audacious idea was born: the creation of a public footpath spanning the entire Niagara Escarpment. And through that idea something incredible happened. Conservationists, scientists, landowners<\/span><span class=\"s4\">,<\/span><span class=\"s4\"> and everyday citizens banded together to alert the public that the Niagara Escarpment was a true global treasure deserving of protection.<\/span> <span class=\"s4\">Action for the Niagara Escarpment took many forms, including the creation of the Bruce Trail Association (later to be renamed the Bruce Trail Conservancy), which then helped to influence the creation of the <\/span><span class=\"s5\">Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act<\/span><span class=\"s4\"> \u2013 the very first environmental land use plan in Canada.<\/span> <span class=\"s4\">In 1990, the Niagara Escarpment was designated as a <\/span><span class=\"s4\">W<\/span><span class=\"s4\">orld <\/span><span class=\"s4\">(Niagara Escarpment:<\/span><span class=\"s4\">iosphere by UNESCO.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\"><span class=\"s4\">The Bruce Trail Conservancy understands the path forward depends on healthy, protected land. We are grounded in the evidence that land, in a natural state or brought back to ecological health, is a critical step in addressing our climate crisis and protecting global biodiversity. The Bruce Trail Conservancy is one of the only charitable organizations working to preserve sensitive Niagara Escarpment lands while making them safe and accessible for the people of Ontario.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\"><span class=\"s4\">To date the Bruce Trail Conservancy has protected over 18,000 acres of the Niagara Escarpment. Habitat loss, developmental pressure, population growth and climbing land prices add urgency to our important mission. Niagara Escarpment lands, when protected and cared for, safeguard Ontario\u2019s biodiversity <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u2014<\/span><span class=\"s4\"> including over<\/span><span class=\"s4\"> eighty-nine<\/span><span class=\"s4\"> species of conservation concern <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u2014 <\/span><span class=\"s4\">and provide key ecosystem services such as water filtration, air purification and carbon storage. Our awareness of environmental issues and the importance of conservation in partnership with Indigenous peoples can build a shared future to living in harmony with nature.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\"><span class=\"s4\">Today this legacy of conservation has increased in ambition and scope. We are helping to protect larger tracts of land and ever increasing ambitious restoration work.<\/span> <span class=\"s4\">We are also participating in Indigenous led conservation work, and adding Indigenous wisdom into our land stewardship plans. As more and more people come to appreciate the beauty and diversity of the Niagara Escarpment, we have a growing opportunity to make meaningful change together. Today, this region is a shining example of what can be accomplished when people work together to preserve and restore the natural world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\"><span class=\"s4\">These days, I am still in awe of the beauty of nature. I am also incredibly inspired by the creation of the N<\/span><span class=\"s4\">iagara Escarpment Biosphere Network<\/span><span class=\"s4\">, and this new Indigenous led approach to protecting the Niagara Escarpment.<\/span> <span class=\"s4\">The biodiversity of the Niagara Escarpment is a testament to the power of conservation, and a reminder of the importance of protecting our planet for generations to come.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\"><span class=\"s4\">\u2014 \u00a0Michael McDonald is CEO of the Bruce Trail Conservancy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-4418 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"936\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/OWL.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/OWL.jpg 936w, https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/OWL-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/OWL-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"936\" height=\"702\" src=\"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/BruceTrail.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/BruceTrail.jpg 936w, https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/BruceTrail-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/BruceTrail-16x12.jpg 16w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"936\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Coyote.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Coyote.jpg 936w, https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Coyote-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Coyote-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I was a young child, I was endlessly fascinated with nature. As I hiked along the Bruce Trail, I found absolute joy in discovering the many mammals, reptiles, fish, and insects that lived in the forests, streams and meadows that I wandered through. I didn\u2019t realize it at the time, but my discoveries were [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4418"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4456,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4418\/revisions\/4456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}