The Blue Mountains councillor Alex Maxwell would like to see lower and upper tier governments join with private property owners and conservation groups to protect environmental assets in the local region.
At council’s committee of the whole meeting on Jan. 9, Maxwell introduced a notice of motion that calls on town staff to put together a report outlining how local governments can combine and collaborate with the province, conservation groups and property owners to protect environmental assets in the area.
“Our natural environment is one of the most important and most valuable assets of the Town of The Blue Mountains,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell’s resolution seeks to work with Grey Highlands, Clearview, Grey and Simcoe counties, the province, private landowners and conservancy groups to protect the green space from: “Devils Glen Provincial Park through Pretty Valley Provincial Park towards Castle Glen, Loree Forest and Feversham Gorge westwards towards the Kolapore Uplands, Duncan Escarpment, Old Baldy in the Beaver Valley and the Cuckoo Valley Provincial Park.”
Maxwell suggested in the resolution that the local area pursue the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park as a model to emulate. Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park is a 33,505 hectare non-operating park in south-central Ontario with no maintained public facilities or services.
With the motion being introduced at committee of the whole, there were no comments or debate about Maxwell’s resolution. It will be on the agenda for council’s meeting on Jan. 23.
