We believe that the Salmon River is precious and loaded with natural riches, and we want to ensure that it will continue to be so in the future.
We are a non-profit organization formed in 2004 made up of volunteers with an elected board of directors. The funding for projects is raised through membership fees, donations, grants, sponsorship and fund raising events. We are people who enjoy the benefits of the ecologically healthy and beautiful watershed of the Salmon River.
Statement of Community Outreach:
Bill 23 Presentation to Stone Mills Council
The repercussions of Bill 23 will be monstrous and destructive to our environment.
On January 16, 2023, Friends of Salmon River and Friends of Napanee River made presentations at the Stone Mills Council meeting to show the impacts of the coming changes and to seek collaboration with our council to find a way forward that will provide some protection for our waterways.
Here is a screen recording of that meeting. The FNR presentation runs from minute 4:10 to 17:00, the FSR presentation runs from minute 17:00 to 27:60, and the discussion on the topic runs from minute 27:60 to 57:12.
(Stone Mills Township is here.)
The outcome of the meeting was very positive. Stone Mills Council agreed unanimously to request that staff report on a model for an Environmental Advisory Committee, hopefully composed of community groups, individuals (with relevant experience), councillors, etc. This will allow collaboration on environmental protection.
FSR plans to give similar presentations to our other municipalities.
Bill 23 will effectively remove the power of Conservation Authorities (CAs) to regulate development that negatively impacts wetlands and waterways. It will prohibit CAs from working with municipalities to provide expert review of planning applications, and limit the CAs’ right to appeal land use planning decisions.
Wetlands: our Provincially Significant Wetlands have had strong provincial protection until now. But with Bill 23 – most existing Provincially Significant Wetlands will be at risk of losing that designation, leaving them potentially open to destruction. (99 PSWs stand to be ‘lost’ in the Quinte Region alone.)
Canadian Environmental Law Foundation (CELA) on Bill 23
Bill 23 has passed,
“Ontarians will remember this day as one when critical environmental protections were undercut. We will live with, and pay for, the predictable consequences of harming our natural heritage, wetlands and farmland under the pretense of affordable housing. Adding insult to injury, input from the public and conservation authorities into land use planning and decisions that affect their communities has been silenced.”
– Caroline Schultz, Executive Director of Ontario Nature
BILL 23 COULD REVERSE DECADES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN ONTARIO
Friends of the Salmon River is astounded and inflamed over the impacts of Bill 23: the Government of Ontario is proposing sweeping changes to the province’s natural heritage and land use planning legislation. If this bill goes through, we have a great deal to lose. The public will lose their right to be notified of upcoming developments and lose their right to appeal decisions about developments.
Bill 23 will effectively remove the power of Conservation Authorities (CAs) to regulate development that negatively impacts wetlands and waterways. It will prohibit CAs from working with municipalities to provide expert review of planning applications, and limit the CAs’ right to appeal land use planning decisions. Without Conservation Authorities, who will protect people and property from natural hazards? This leaves a huge unguarded gap, especially now, in a time of climate crisis.
The Ontario Wetland Evaluation System will be dismantled. Provincially Significant Wetlands now receive a high level of protection, but under Bill 23, they will be at risk of losing that designation, leaving them open to development and destruction. Similarly, our Wetland Complexes may lose their designation.
The potential development of Wetland Complexes leaves the headwaters of the Salmon River – the Kennebec Wetland Complex, the lifeblood of the Salmon watershed – open to disturbances from which it might never recover. Wetlands reduce flooding, provide filtering (i.e., cleaning) and regulate the flow of rivers. Wetlands are an essential part of our landscape, and their losses could do great harm to our water quality, quantity, and many of the precious species that live here.
To help save our precious land and waterways, make your voices heard.
TAKE ACTION
From Ontario Nature: Send a (pre-written) letter to your MPP.
Shoreline Planting Program Available!
Quinte Conservation is offering a shoreline planting program on an ongoing basis for landowners in the Quinte region, i.e. – the Salmon, Napanee, and Moira river watersheds.
The program includes a free (confidential) site visit, the creation of a customized shoreline-planting plan, and Ontario native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. The cost will vary with individual needs, such as site size and number of plants.
The program is subsidized and there is funding help available. Friends of Salmon River can contribute some money for landowners in our watershed who would like assistance with the cost of the program. We are eager to see more restored shorelines to help preserve habitat and prevent erosion (and all the essential services that well vegetated shorelines provide). As well as the creatures living in rivers and lakes, there are so many species that feed and breed/raise young in the shoreline zone.
If you are interested, the first step is to apply directly to Quinte using the link above. But if you know of someone interested who is not online, please have them contact: Maya Navrot, Outreach and Stewardship Coordinator at mnavrot@quinteconservation.ca
Friends – Please take good care of your shoreline, it is vital to the health of the Salmon watershed.
Learn more with our
Interactive Watershed Map
Recent Posts
- Invasive Species Action in the Salmon River Watershed
- Get into a FLAP and help the birds !
- 50 Million Tree Program
- A Bit of Paddling News
- Letters of Support from FSR Members
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