Projects & Plans – Humber River

TRCA and its partners are involved in many projects in the Humber River watershed, such as the restoration of the 428 hectare (1,057 acre) Oak Ridges Corridor Park in the Town of Richmond Hill, operates recreation areas and educational centres, as well as guiding various conservation and watershed management operations.

What’s New in the Humber River Watershed

Oak Ridges Corridor Park

In Richmond Hill the Oak Ridges Moraine narrows to a pinch-point at Yonge Street, surrounded by encroaching urban development. To protect this environmentally sensitive area that is home to many Species of Concern and Species at Risk, an agreement was reached in 2004, whereby privately-owned Moraine land was swapped for provincially owned land in Pickering to establish the 428 hectare Corridor Park.

Corridor Park is the last remaining natural link between the eastern and westerns parts of the Oak Ridges Moraine. A five kilometre trail runs through the park, with views of forests, kettle lakes and wetlands. There are four heritage buildings within the park that will be available to the public.

In August 2006, a Management Plan for the Oak Ridges Corridor Park was approved which will protect the headwaters of two watersheds (Humber and Rouge) and the natural features of the area.

The Oak Ridges Corridor Park Management Plan (2006)

Urban Agriculture Initiatives

Promoting sustainable communities is one of the tasks of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).  This means working with partners and involvement in agricultural projects.  A new sustainable near-urban agriculture policy was adopted in September 2008 which complements TRCA’s Sustainable Communities objective.

Current Initiatives:

Heritage Initiatives

In 2009, TRCA published Humber River: The Carrying Place, a coffee table book commemorating the 10th anniversary of the designation of the Humber River as a Canadian Heritage River. Other heritage initiatives completed include a Humber Heritage Bridge Inventory.

To learn more about Humber River: The Carrying Place book, or to order a copy, click here.

Public Lands in Caledon, King and Vaughan.

Management plans for two areas owned by the TRCA are currently in development. These properties include the 329 hectare Bolton Resource Management Tract in the Town of Caledon and the 291 hectare Nashville Resource Management Tract in the Township of King and the City of Vaughan.

Humber Watershed Management

Since the publication of Legacy: A Strategy for a Healthy Humber in 1997, monitoring, research and information sharing have provided a stronger scientific foundation and better understanding of the effects of human actions on Humber Watershed ecosystem. With this new information, we can now update our watershed management strategies.

Our management planning will also incorporate other recent policy and planning initiatives, such as the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Clean Water Act, City of Toronto’s Wet Weather Flow Management Master Plan, and a number of stormwater retrofit studies for other municipalities.

Environmental Restoration Projects

Restoration projects are underway or completed at the following locations in Vaughan, Brampton, King, Richmond Hill and Toronto:

  • Albion Hills wetland restoration and stream improvement projects
  • Brampton Humber Valley Lands wetland restoration appreciation, and stream improvement projects
  • Implementation of Claireville wetland, meadow, and stream improvement projects
  • Claireville Conservation Area
  • Black Creek Project
  • Implementation of the Boyd North Conservation Park Management Plan
  • Bolton Community Action Site (i.e., trails, heritage appreciation, planting, in-stream barrier removal)
  • Bolton Tract wetland restoration and reforestation projects
  • Nashville Tract restoration projects
  • Palgrave Community Action Site
  • Palgrave valley and stream improvements
  • Caledon East Community Action Site
  • Eglinton Flats
  • Eaton Hall

Humber River Watershed Report Card

In 2000 the Humber Watershed Alliance produced a report card, grading a range of watershed conditions from A to F.  In 2007 a second report card,  Listen to Your River: A Report Card on the Health of the Humber River Watershed, was published assessing progress to that point.

.