on the edge summer 2011

Newsletter of the Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment

Summer 2011 Issue No. 82 ISSN 1491-2740

In thIs Issue

Introducing CONE’s Escarpment Enterprise Club Page 4

SEHC’s Transportation Development Strategy Draft 0

Edmund Zavitz: Champion of the Niagara Escarpment’s Protection Page 14

PResIDent’s MessAGeby Robert Patrick

The last six months since our January issue of On The Edge has just flown by. Maybe it has been because CONE has been so busy. CONE has been at the Nelson Aggregate Mount Nemo Quarry Expansion Joint Board Hearing as often as possible. The hearing is recessed for a summer break from June 16 to August 22. Since November 2010, all of Nelson’s case has been presented and all their witnesses have testified and have been cross examined. The opponents to the quarry have barely started. The City of Burlington has presented and the water experts for PERL have testified. On August 22 we will see the ecologist for PERL lead off. The Hearing is expected to go to Christmas.

In February, CONE was involved in the formation of the Stop the Highway Coalition (SEHC), both Monte Dennis and myself have been involved, with Monte being our lead with this initiative to stop a 400 series highway being planned as part of the GTA west corridor Environment Assessment study from being built across the Niagara Escarpment. This fight is just starting. CONE member groups, Citizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment (COPE) and Stop the Highway Coalition (SEHC), have prepared a brilliant policy paper that was recently submitted to the NEC and will form part of the NEC Comments to MTO. I was interviewed by talk show host Bill Kelly on CHML on May 20 about our stance with respect to the Niagara Peninsula and GTA West highway corridors threat to the Niagara Escarpment. CONE wishes rail to be considered for the movement of goods from Hamilton to Fort Erie. Rail is less costly to implement and operate and has a smaller ecological foot print than a highway. There has been no needs assessment to determine that a highway is required or will ever be needed.

Also in February, CONE, COPE (Citizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment), and PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Lands) joined the communities of Killbride and Lowville as they initiated a pure community development process to create a vision and plan for the next seven generations (7G) on Mount Nemo. CONE applauds and supports this very positive planning exercise. Several CONE members joined the recent 7G public open house.

on the edge | summer 2011

On April 9, CONE became for the first time, a sponsor of the Halton Eco Festival. With the help of CONE member groups Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy (EBC), PERL, COPE, PALS (Protecting Agricultural Lands Society), and POWER (Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources) we created a large presence at this year’s Halton Eco Festival which had the largest attendance in its 12 year history. CONE was pleased to be able to partner for the first time with the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights to put on this event. CONE has had a display at the Halton Eco Festival for several years. We were pleased to be able to discuss issues affecting the Niagara Escarpment with people living in its shadow.

Also in April, PitSense became a member group of CONE. PitSense was formed by neighbours opposed to a proposed gravel pit on Heart Lake Rd known as the proposed McCormick pit. This group formed about a year ago and has made significant strides. PitSense is requesting compensation for personal damages that is caused by aggregate extraction. PitSense has had a Broker of record give an opinion of the affects on their property values and will be requesting compensation for lower property values and other aspects such as noise, air quality, water quantity, and water quality issues. PitSense believes that aggregate prices are artificially low because the current pricing does not take neighbour concerns and compensation into account. My wife, Katherine, and I attended the Pitsense second annual community BBQ held on Don McDow’s farm on Heart Lake Rd. in Caledon on June 11. It was a very positive experience. CONE has encouraged and will continue to support PitSense.

CONE once again participated in Earthday Hamilton-Burlington’s three day Eco-Festival event held at the Royal Botanical Gardens on May 18 to 20 for Hamilton and Halton school children. CONE had our display and hand outs for the 1,500 plus Grades 4 to 6 students who attended. CONE described the formation of the Niagara Escarpment and why it was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1990. This was CONE’s second year at this event. CONE finds the children at this age absorb the information and engage us in a quality discussion.

CONE participated heavily in the NEC sponsored Leading Edge Conference May 26 and 27 held at Brock University. I gave a presentation on protecting the Niagara Escarpment while encouraging tourism. Other CONE Members also presented. Bob Barnett, Executive Director of EBC presented on creating conservancies and passive recreation opportunities. Leslie Adams, Executive Director of POWER, presented on protecting biodiversity to keep our UNESCO World Biosphere designation intact.

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BecoMInG A MeMBeR wIll soon Be An eAsy clIckWritten by CONE Member-at-Large, Josh Gordon

One of items on our to-do list this year was to update CONE’s website and add in some much needed features. I’m happy to say that CONE’s website will now give users the option of purchasing and renewing membership all online through our website and PayPal account. Ever wanted to give a membership as a gift? No problem! Want CONE to automatically renew your yearly membership? We can do that! Users will also have the option to register as a volunteer to help us with Niagara Escarpment awareness. Look for these updates early fall 2011.

IntRoDucInG cone’s escARPMent enteRPRIse cluBWritten by CONE Administrator, Greer Gordon

CONE is excited to introduce our members to the Escarpment Enterprise Club. To thank you, our members, for choosing to support our important coalition, we will soon be offering a variety of membership benefits. We have invited stores, attractions, parks and other environmental groups, that align with CONE, to join us and offer you great discounts and perks. By the end of 2011 or early 2012 you will be given a CONE membership card in the mail. Details on how to take advantage of the Escarpment Enterprise Club’s benefits will be on our website soon. Stay tuned!


cone’s woRlD BIosPheRe ReseRve RoAD sIGn cAMPAIGnWritten by CONE Member-at-Large, Josh Gordon

After celebrating its 20th anniversary back in the early 2000’s CONE launched its Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve road sign campaign. These signs, which you may have seen on your travels through the biosphere, are placed in specific entrance points along roads which enter a Niagara Escarpment Plan area. Individual members and supporters of CONE generously contributed funds to see their own road sign placed in these significant areas. It has been two years since CONE has had any of the signs put up but we are now proudly re-introducing this campaign with the support of the Niagara Escarpment Commission. Why a road sign you ask? These road signs act as a public education tool which promotes UNESCO’s World Biosphere Reserve designation but also promotes Niagara Escarpment communities throughout Ontario. We are currently taking an inventory of the signs we have out there and signs that currently need to be replaced. If you know of a specific location of a road sign that will need to be replaced, send us an email. To make your own contribution to this project contact CONE President, Robert Patrick at [email protected].

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BecoMInG An escARPMent AMBAssADoR of coneWritten by CONE Member-at-Large, Josh Gordon

Like any not-for-profit organization, one of the things that CONE relies on is the power and passion of its members and supporters. Not so long ago, CONE had the pleasure of recruiting devoted Escarpment Ambassadors that were located in different Escarpment communities. The role of the Escarpment Ambassador was quite different from a volunteer position. The Escarpment Ambassador (which can be from age 18 and up) essentially gave CONE a leadership presence in the Escarpment regions. These ambassadors were responsible for collecting articles of interest, gathering community event dates, attending public meetings and workshops related to the environment, recruiting new CONE volunteers and more. Escarpment Ambassadors would then report back to CONE on a monthly basis and update everyone on the local happenings. We’re currently seeking out at least two Escarpment Ambassadors in any of the Escarpment regions. Although an Escarpment Ambassador position requires more commitment and responsibility the value it gives to CONE as a not-for-profit, environmental organization, is priceless. We would love to have you represent CONE in your region and become one of our Escarpment Ambassadors. Please send an email to [email protected] for more information on this opportunity.


CONE Member-at-Large, Josh, speaking to a concerned Hamilton resident at a community event we attended in June.

PRoMotInG the escARPMent to onlIne coMMunItIesWritten by CONE Member-at-Large, Josh Gordon

As of late last year CONE joined the thousands of online users of social media’s favourite spaces, Facebook and Twitter. CONE knows that now more than ever these websites are where individuals, businesses, community groups, organizations and all of their supporters are making instant connections that lead to stronger and positive relationships.

We connect with you our supporters and members via our Facebook page and Twitter account on a mutual level and at your convenience from around the world. Facebook and Twitter have also made it easier for us to re-establish relationships with other conservation authorities, environemental groups and long-time friends of CONE throughout Ontario.

We encourage you to share your thoughts and feelings about the Escarpment, upload your snapshots from your Bruce Trail hikes, comment on Escarpment-related articles or blogs that we post, attend environment focused community events, ask questions and every so often we’ll test your Niagara Escarpment knowledge. Get ready!

Bob (President), Andrea (Member-at-Large) and myself are available online during the week to keep you in the loop.

facebook.com/niagaraescarpment twitter.com/CONEorg

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nIAGARA sectIon RePoRt

by CONE Board member, Dr. John Bacher

Area Around the Niagara Escarpment in Grimsby Threatened by New Verison of Mid-Peninsula Expressway.

In the spring of 2010 it appeared that the Regional Municipality of Niagara was finally rescued from the blight of new expressway corridors, when a provincial environmental review recommended that this project be confined to the City of Hamilton and Burlington. Now the preferred option in the new document being circulated for public review and comment, recommends the construction of a Hamilton by-pass expressway. Unlike the previous proposed “corridor”, a term used by the province to describe a potential expressway route, this proposal would have two crossings of the Niagara Escarpment.

While the provincial proposal in the spring of 2010 was for an Escarpment cut just in the Burlington area to construct a new expressway parallel to Highway 403, the new Hamilton by-pass would have this cut, plus an additional one in Grimsby to link the by-pass with the Queen Elizabeth Highway. This would put considerable pressure to remove agricultural zoning protection on all the remaining tender fruit lands in the Town of Grimsby.

During the recent five year review of the Niagara Region’s official plan, Grimsby called for the removal of all the tender fruit land north of the Niagara Escarpment in its municipality from agricultural zoning protection and the Greenbelt. While it was told by the Niagara Region that this is not now possible due to Greenbelt controls, it is preparing to make this case during the 2015 Greenbelt Plan review. Approval of an expressway in this area could well be a prelude to a major gutting of the protections of the Greenbelt for unique tender fruit land deemed to be permanently protected in the Greenbelt Plan. This would end the current magnificent vistas in Grimsby of tender fruit orchards between the Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario.

PALS & Municipalities Debate Proposed Reduction in ANSI in Fonthill Kame.

The Fonthill Kame is a significant geological feature that is important for both the micro -climate needed for tender fruit production, (especially sour cherries), and as a ground water aquifer for the Twelve Mile Creek. It is the last cold water stream in Niagara that supports a population of Brook Trout.


The Ministry of Natural Resources, (MNR), is proposing to in effect, open up areas of the Fonthill Kame that are restricted from aggregate extraction, by proposing a new definition of the Earth Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest for the Fonthill Kame. This is because as a Niagara Regional Planning Department report points out, it is proposed to remove from the ANSI area boundaries lands that are “the most vulnerable to development expansion in the form of proposals for aggregate extraction.” This is opposed by the Town of Pelham, the Niagara Region and the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society, (PALS).

Victory Won Over Jet Boat Operators in Niagara River.

For over a decade the operation of jet boats in the Niagara River has been the subject of extensive litigation, as environmentalists concerned with noise, pollution and disruption to the breeding habitat of the Black Crowned Night Heron, have attempted to prohibit the operation of these tourist attractions. Although legal wrangling in the old Town of Niagara on the Lake, (lands covered by the Planning Act), resulted in a judicial ruling that permitted this activity on lands regulated by the Planning Act, the Niagara Escarpment Act as usual, has shown itself to be of stronger mettle.

On April 17, 2011, Linda Jeffrey, the Minister of Natural Resources, upheld the decision of the Hearing Officer’s report and recommendation to deny the issuance of a Niagara

Escarpment Development Permit to permit the construction of a two story building in the

Queenston Dock area in the Escarpment Rural Area of development control in the Niagara Escarpment Plan. The Minister’s April 17th decision upholding the decision came after a 27 day hearing conducted by the Niagara Escarpment Commission Hearing Office, in which a decision was rendered on February 7, 2011.

In his decision, Hearing Officer, ruled that “the jet boat operation ...including the start-up of the jet boats, the coming and going of the jet boats, buses, vehicles, and passengers and the proposed enlarged dock services building, with its fencing and lightening ...and the proposed building and current jet boat operation, are not harmonious with the Escarpment’s ecological, physical, visual or cultural environment, and do not provide compatible rural land uses.”

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sehc’s tRAnsPoRtAtIon DeveloPMent stRAteGy DRAftProvided by CONE Vice President, Monte Dennis

Below is a summary of SEHC’s (Stop Escarpment Highway Coalition) response to the MTO’s Environmental Assessment. Summarized by Ken Woodruff.

N i a gara to GTA Cor r idor Planning and Environmental Assessment Study Transportation Development Strategy Draft (NGTA TDS)

NGTA TDS Overview

The Draft Transportation Development Strategy report released by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) on March 7, 2011 describes four groups of measures that can be taken incrementally to address transportation needs. The study is in response to the province’s “Places to Grow” for the Greater Golden Horseshoe projections which forecasts growth to the year 2031.

The report recommends:

• A new corridor connecting Highway 406 and the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) in the eastern Niagara area. • A widening of the QEW between Niagara and Hamilton. • Further study in the west area of essentially two new transportation corridors – a connection between Highway 403 in Hamilton to Highway 401 in Milton and a connection between Highway 403 in Hamilton and Highway 407 in Burlington.

The study can be reviewed at http://www.niagara-gta.com/ and a more comprehensive review of the issue can be found at http://www.cope-nomph.org/.

Seven key reasons why the NGTA TDS raises concerns:

1. It represents old and outmoded thinking. Highway building does not drive economic development. A US Department of Transportation and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development study indicate: “no strong evidence exists demonstrating that beltways improve a metropolitan area’s


competitive advantage.” There is no better example of this folly than the Red Hill Expressway in Hamilton. It was to reduce congestion and create jobs, other than constructing the highway, it has created about 240 jobs, far short of the thousands promised, along with new urban sprawl and environmental degradation.

2. A substantial cost/benefit analysis has not been completed. A Natural Capital Report recently commissioned by the Stop Escarpment Highway Coalition values the eco-systems in the NGTA West study area at $912 million annually. There has been no consideration to the natural impact of a highway to our natural systems.

3. It is based on poor forecasts, incomplete modeling and lacks basic research.

a. The 2005 “Places to Grow” (PTG) population growth and job forecasts used to build the demand model are out of date and overly optimistic. For example, PTG forecast Hamilton’s population to be 510,000 by 2001, 540,000 by 2011 and 660,000 by 2031. However, the 2006 census found the population to only be 506,000 well below the forecast 525,000 and below the forecast for 2001! Demand modeling for lower population projections has not been completed and consequently future transportation needs are overstated.

b. Metrolinx’s “The Big Move ‐ GTHA Urban Freight Study Final Draft” states “Despite trucking’s importance in the GTHA, not nearly enough is known about it. There is no single source for comprehensive truck data including volumes, routes, origins and destinations. Despite several data collection efforts, only a partial view of the industry is available.”

c. The NGTA TDS traffic “congestion” estimates are only anecdotal.

d. The entire proposal is based on one growth data point in 2029. However, no sensitivity analysis was done to determine the need for the transportation expansion if this growth was not achieved. This further underlines concerns stated in item (a) above.

e. The RWDI Air Quality report completed for the NGTA corridor project was limited in scope, resulting in underestimating proposed road transportation impacts on human health.

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4. It ignores the economic impact of lost agricultural land in Flamborough/ Burlington/Hamilton. In Hamilton alone agriculture is a $1 billion industry providing food and employment to the economy and yet it is reviewed under the “Community” heading. Agriculture is currently a major economic engine in the area and will only grow in importance and value to Ontario and Canada as global food supply dwindles due to Climate Change impacts.

5. Although it claims to be a “multi-modal”, it did not seriously evaluate existing or any new rail capacity. There are two existing rail corridors on the Niagara Peninsula, one below the Escarpment and one above. The majority of both of their lengths consist of only one track, but the width of the existing corridors could accommodate up to 6 tracks each. There is no mention in the report what additional tracks could carry, either passengers or freight.

6. It suggests an anti-Burlington/Flamborough bias.

a. The study talks about “development pressures on the tender fruit and grape lands” in the Niagara area but doesn’t use equally concerned language regarding development pressures on equally important agricultural land in Flamborough and Burlington.

b. The report suggests that the widening of Highway 403 through Hamilton will have greater community impact than entirely new corridors across rural communities with inadequate justification.

c. The report does recommend that further study be conducted on the impacts in the West study area. This was a late addition to a years long project.

7. A multiplicity of concerns with the report have been noted by:

a. The City of Burlington b. The Region of Halton c. The Niagara Escarpment Commission d. Conservation Halton.


Opposite page: CONE Vice President, Monte, protesting earlier this year with members from COPE and other groups who are against the NGTA highway.

Five Key Recommended Actions:

1. Revise the reviews, forecasts, modeling and environmental/agricultural valuations in the NGTA TDS to address the concerns expressed by municipal, regional and environmental agencies.

2. Create an overall provincial agency responsible for Transportation Planning. The current system is piece-meal and lacks the capacity to address the many important factors that impact the entire province. For example, the area of focus for Metrolinx (the provincial transit agency) terminates at Hamilton and municipal systems lack any real coordination or integration.

3. “Couple” Transportation and Land Use Planning. To ensure the importance of protecting our land eco‐systems from highways and the subsequent pressure from developers and urban sprawl, plan transport and land use in concert with protection as the overriding principal.

4. Build a world-class transportation system that recognizes the impact of Climate Change and the sustainability provided by natural heritage systems and agricultural lands.

5. Aggressively protect the value and purpose of the Greenbelt Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Commission.

a. Protect the Greenbelt and the Niagara Escarpment from highways that open it up for development that benefits the few.

b. Tighten the loopholes in the Greenbelt legislation and do not grant the MTO exemptions from the Greenbelt Act that allow a new highway corridor scarring this natural and ecologically significant resource.

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eDMunD zAvItz: leADInG chAMPIon of the PRotectIon of the nIAGARA escARPMent

Written by CONE Board Member, Dr. John Bacher

One of the most inspiring contributions to the 2011 Leading Edge Conference on the Niagara Escarpment was a presentation by Robert Milne of Wilfred Laurier University concerning his work on forest plot monitoring in the Credit river watershed. His research, although quite detailed, was a very hopeful one. It was that although the forests he studied had suffered from past ecological devastation from causes such as grazing with cattle, these threats had not vanished.

Milne’s research found that formerly poor quality second growth forests that were suffering from soil compaction, were now becoming healthier and assuming the characteristics of good biodiversity characteristic of old growth. One of the vivid symbols of this positive change, was that a neo-tropical migrant, the Scarlet Tanager, was thriving in the forests of the Credit River headwaters in the Niagara Escarpment. He warned that the major threat to this success story was urban sprawl.

Although Milne did not mention him by name, his findings underscore the importance to the Niagara Escarpment of Ontario of the legacy of the long time Chief Forester of Ontario, Edmund Zavitz. When he began his efforts to conserve Ontario forests in his final year of studies at McMaster University in 1903 by taking a tour with his predecessor as Chief Forester of Ontario, Judson Clark, Ontario forests south of the penetration area of railways and roads were dying from human abuse.

Although Zavitz explored the wilds of Fort Erie with his high school principal Alva Kilman in the 1880s, his photographic expedition with Judson Clark was the first documented visit to the Escarpment.


Although the area he visited appears to be the Balls Falls Conservation Area, which has old growth features, the dynamic duo were not impressed by what they saw.

Zavitz photographed Clark sitting glumly on a gigantic pine stump. This, Zavitz found, was typical of how avaricious loggers had stripped away the former magnificent White Pine super-story that towered above the deciduous forest below. After their expedition Clark wrote a paper to the Ontario Agricultural College how farm animals running through the woods were devastating forests. This situation through the advice of provincial extension agents to farmers to fence off their forests from livestock, Zavitz was finally able to see corrected, near the end of his long life of public service in 1968.

After confrontations with the Minister of Lands, Forests and Mines, Frank Cochrane in 1905, Judson Clark left Ontario in disgust for British Columbia. Zavitz, however, soldiered on, slowly building up public and government support for the protection and expansion of forests. An important step in this process was the surprise election as Premier of Ontario of his close friend, E. C. Drury. Together they developed the County Forest program, which saw large

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tracts of 1,000 acres or more protected and reforested. In 1946 more funding for this Agreement Forest program was secured to protect forest lands through public purchase through Zavitz’s successful campaign for the Conservation Authorities Act. Today the areas of the Niagara Escarpment where forests are the most extensive and healthy are where there are large clusters of forest lands acquired through acquisitions of County Forest programs and Conservation Authorities.

Milne’s understanding of how urban sprawl poses the greatest threat to forests which are the great conservationist legacy of Zavitz shows how the protection of the Ontario Greenbelt are to the continued health of Niagara Escarpment Forests. Currently the Greenbelt Protection Act prevents any urban expansions in the Niagara Escarpment Rural area until a review of the Greenbelt in 2015. It is important for environmentalists to carefully research and prepare for arguments by developers and land speculators to relax these restrictions which pose the greatest threat to the predominate forest ecosystems of the Niagara Escarpment.

Zavitz understood how the combined Oak Ridges Moraine and Niagara Escarpment protect the headwaters of the streams of most of the Canadian lower Great Lakes and Lake Simcoe. He successfully achieved the reforestation


of the Oak Ridges Moraine and Niagara Escarpment from such waste conditions. Much of the Oak Ridges Moraine through deforestation had become barren and dangerously expanding deserts. On the Escarpment much of the land had become stripped of trees, turned into unproductive “rough pasture”, frequently strewn with boulders. The Escarpment “badlands”, are actually a legacy of the destruction of healthy forests. Zavitz overcame such destruction by encouraging farmers to reforest small parts of their lands, and by assisting municipal governments and conservation authorities to purchase existing forests and expand them.

Zavitz also pioneered in legally protecting trees on private lands. He was shocked by municipalities allowing private land owners to clear cut the forests under the Agreement Forest program just before they assumed land title. Where forests exist of private lands these are now protected through tree by-laws which prohibit the clear cutting of forests, unless this is done following development approval a registered plan of subdivision.

Development interests that seek to undermine the Greenbelt continually obscure its watershed protection goals, which continue the reforestation objectives of Edmund Zavitz. To counter such selfish greed it is necessary to understand the astonishing legacy of Zavitz in the rescue of Ontario’s forests, and how this is threatened by urban sprawl.

John Bacher’s book, Two Billion Trees and Counting: The Legacy of Edmund Zavitz, is published by Dundurn Press. It will be released at the Forest Fest held in St. Williams on August 14. Before the launch, pre-order copies can be obtained for $17.00 via Amazon. Afterwards the price is $26.99, and can be obtained both via Amazon and Chapters.

cone’s tAke A hIke t-shIRtsWritten by CONE Member-at-Large, Josh Gordon

We’re excited to show off a new and easy way that you can support CONE. We’re now selling a limited run of organic, cotton t-shirts at various community events and at our office in Hamilton. As you can see from our model (CONE President Robert Patrick) the t-shirts display the message, ‘Take a hike on Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment’ and feature our logo on the left sleeve. Not only do these shirts promote an active appreciation for the Escarpment but they also promote our efforts. You can purchase your t-shirt for $30 (plus S & H) with proceeds going directly to the revival of our road sign campaign (mentioned earlier on page 5). What a great gift this would be for the Escarpment enthusiast in your life! To order your CONE t-shirt contact our administrator, Greer Gordon, at 905-527-5651, or send an email to [email protected]. And just think, once you’re wearing this t-shirt, you’ll now have a positive reason to say take a hike!


cone MeMBeR oRGAnIzAtIonsThank you for your support as we continue to protect Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment!

Alpine Club of Canada, The (Toronto) • climbers.orgBeaver Valley Ratepayers Association • beavervalleyratepayers.caBlue Mountain Watershed Trust Foundation • bmwt.caBruce Peninsula Bird Observatory • bpbo.caBruce Peninsula Environment Group • bpeg.caBruce Trail Conservancy • brucetrail.orgCaledon Countryside Alliance Canadian Environmental Law Association • cela.caCitizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment • cope-nomph.orgConserver Society of Hamilton and District • conserversociety.caEarthroots • earthroots.orgEscarpment Biosphere Conservancy • escarpment.caFriends of Short Hills Park • friendsofshorthillspark.caGreen Venture • greenventure.caGrey Association for Better Planning • gabp.caHalton/North Peel Naturalists’ Club • hnpnc.comHamilton Naturalists’ Club • hamiltonnature.orgNature League Ontario Nature • ontarionature.orgOwen Sound Field Naturalists • owensoundfieldnaturalists.caPitSense • pitsense.caProtecting Escarpment Rural Lands • perlofburlington.orgProtecting Our Water and Escarpment Resources • powerhalton.caPreservation of Agricultural Lands Society • people.becon.org/~pals/index.htmlSaugeen Field Naturalists •saugeenfieldnaturalists.comSouth Peel Naturalists Club • spnc.caSave The Oak Ridges Moraine • stormcoalition.orgToronto Caving Group, The • trigger.net/~tcg/Upper Credit Field Naturalists • uppercreditfieldnaturalists.orgWildlands League • wildlandsleague.org

coMInG uP In ouR next Issue We’re going to highlight one of the Niagara Escarpment’s biggest threats, aggregate Quarries and Pits. We want to help you understand everything about the Escarpment’s present day scars and how CONE deals with aggregate producers.

Designed by Josh Gordon • joshgordoncreative.com

Printed by CopyDog • copydog.ca

193 James Street South, Hamilton, Ontario L8P 3A8www.niagaraescarpment.org | [email protected]

on the edge summer 2011

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