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economist sunsuntribune environment saturday march 25 2006 trca lsrca look ahead to continued watershed protection by serena willoughb y staff writer it was the best of times it was the worst of times it is a tale of two watersheds this year the toronto region conservation authority celebrated its 50th anniversary and lake sim- coe region conservation authority lsrca celebrated 55 years of serving their respective communi ties but after more than half a cen tury in operation the question is what exactly do the two conserva tion authorities in york region do while most people think they are primarily concerned with look ing after birds and animals and parks the main purpose of the trca is actually to look after your water sources history of conservation both authorities were born out of the conservation movement of the 19th century at mat time the germans were just beginning to explore the field of forestry in british india managing forests using early climate change theories in 1898 prussianborn bernard femow founded the forestry school at university oftqronto one of only two at that time in north america the two original schools of thoughts behind conservation still exist today one side believes for est lands should be regulated for public activities and commerical use the other feels this will lead to commercial overuse and ruin the pristine wilderness the present according to brian kemp acting director of conservation lands at lsrca over the years they have refined their approach the way we do business has changed he said the lesson of walkerton is that we cant just treat the water we have to look at a more holistic approach of protecting water at the source this means being conscious of the fact the water we use in our everyday lives doesnt just go down the drain and vanish it goes back into a system we hear horror stories about water quality from third world countries and you think that could never happen here but it can he said at lsrca protecting lake sim- coe means bringing it back to earli er levels of health by generating awareness about the impact of phosphates and encouraging peo ple to conserve water community groups concerned with the health of lake simcoe are consulting with lsrca to ensure the longterm health of lake sim coe lsrcas approach has been to involve the community groups in efforts to clean up the lake by form ing commiinity partnerships we dont want to dictate to a community what they can and cant do that doesnt make us any friends mr kemp said the future finding innovative ways of working with the community is key for the trca as well arid has made members of the trca coastal ecology team collect samples in lake ontario conservation authorities have gone above and beyond to ensure safe drinking sources greenspaces and a wilderness legacy for thegta great strides working with different sectors the easiest way to protect the land is to own it said mr kemp he would like to see more acqui sition of lands on the oak ridges moraine and he stresses the need to provide linkages amoungprotected lands brian denney chief aiministra- tive officer for the trca also feels preserving greenspace is an impor tant mandate for conservation authorities it is easy to take for granted the impact the conservation authori ties now more than half a century old have on the environment each year they hold tree planti ng events such as the sunoco tree plant april 29 at george r richard- son park in newmarket conservation authorities grew out of tragedy in 1954 hurricane hazel ripped through the greater toronto area killing 81 and leav ing 1800 families homeless this tragedy served as a wake- up call for everyone and shared the need for a holistic plan for dealing with the gtas waterways in his book on the origins of the trca entitled paths to the liv ing city bill mclean said the tragedy of hurricane hazel was not only the loss of life and destruction of property it was the fact that it could have been avoid ed the problem was most people didnt understand the danger of working and living in a flood plane however as brian denney chief administrative officer of the trca said hazel was both a friend and a foe of the authority at me beginning hazel prompted communities to get behind the idea of a conser vation authority originally called the metropolitan toronto and region conservation foundation however it dominated the authoritys mandate at first hazel sort of hijacked the agenda mr denney explained hazel was bad because it drove an agenda to try to manage nature rather than managing human impacts on nature for the first 30 years trca dealt mainly with the ramifica tions of hazel the acquisition of lands was only for the purpose of dam and reservoir sites and the prevailing attitude was not aimed at conserr vation but on trying to control nature through flood control in fact the site of kortright centre for conservation in vaughan was originally acquired as part of the lower east branch flood control reservoir like many of the trcas green- spaces it was originally preserved as a means of controlling flood impacts trca wasnt alone in dealing with the aftermath of hazel lsrca which in 1954 was called the upper holland valley conser vation authority faced loss of life washed out roads and collapsed buildings for the simcoe region hazel identified the need for flood alerts and warnings for the region serena wilhughby conservation areas kortright centre wood- bridge nature trail refreshment facilities picnic sites lake st george field centre richmond hill youth outdoor edu cation programs kettle lake explo ration on a pontoon craft learn to canoe boyd conservation area woodbridge nature trails refreshe- ment facilities group camping and pic nic sites bruces mills conservation area3291st0uffvillerd stouffville nature trails refreshement facilities group camping and picnic sites for more information go to wwwtrcaonca helping out newcomers volunteer at trca there are many ways you can- help your local conservation authority one example of community involvement is the environmental volunteer nework developed by trcas chandra sharma in co operation with the ontario council of agencies serving immigrants many of the volunteers who par ticipate are new canadians who have backgrounds in environmen tal sciences and are looking for canadian experience ms sharma said while they have the profession qualifications they lack the experi ence and many find this program ideal for their needs as a result ms sharma devel oped a database to connect volun teers with organizations that need help her network works with groups such as the green party of canada and the royal ontario museum the trca administers the data base and contacts with groups look ing for volunteer aid for more information contact your local conservation authority office serena willoughby maikham far pafonntng ara ioihtsts remember featuring the voices of showtime with guest performer peter appleprd i youll be 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