Why This Matters:
Natural heritage features are the forests, streams, wetlands and regenerating fields (and their interconnections) that support key ecological services such as water provision, water purification, improving air quality, storing carbon, reducing air temperature, pollination and flood prevention.
Simcoe County is blessed with a rich natural heritage including vast interconnected water systems with provincially and internationally important water resources: Wasaga Beach, Minesing Wetlands, Matchedash Bay and Wye Marsh. Simcoe County is home to over 1500 species of vascular plants, 150 species of nesting birds, 50 mammals and 33 types of reptiles and amphibians. It offers specialized vegetation communities adapted to unique habitats such as coastal plains, prairies and savannas, alvars, bogs and fens, the Great Lakes shoreline and the Niagara Escarpment.
In addition, the county contains provincially significant wetlands, provincially significant Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest and more than 60 species of plants and animals deemed vulnerable, threatened or endangered in Ontario and/or Canada. Extensive tracts of undisturbed forest in the north and east are habitats for forest-dwelling birds and mammals. All these features combine to provide a healthy habitat for Simcoe County residents, flora and fauna.
Maintaining and protecting a connected, healthy and robust natural heritage system has significant benefits to local communities socially, financially and environmentally.
Simcoe County is blessed with a rich natural heritage including vast interconnected water systems with provincially and internationally important water resources: Wasaga Beach, Minesing Wetlands, Matchedash Bay and Wye Marsh. Simcoe County is home to over 1500 species of vascular plants, 150 species of nesting birds, 50 mammals and 33 types of reptiles and amphibians. It offers specialized vegetation communities adapted to unique habitats such as coastal plains, prairies and savannas, alvars, bogs and fens, the Great Lakes shoreline and the Niagara Escarpment.
In addition, the county contains provincially significant wetlands, provincially significant Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest and more than 60 species of plants and animals deemed vulnerable, threatened or endangered in Ontario and/or Canada. Extensive tracts of undisturbed forest in the north and east are habitats for forest-dwelling birds and mammals. All these features combine to provide a healthy habitat for Simcoe County residents, flora and fauna.
Maintaining and protecting a connected, healthy and robust natural heritage system has significant benefits to local communities socially, financially and environmentally.
Did You Know…?
- Lake Simcoe’s key natural heritage systems provide ecosystem services valued at $922.7 million per year. This includes benefits to the economy, flood prevention, water supply, pollination and carbon sequestration
- Living in and near nature has cognitive and psychological benefits for both children and adults including lower depression rates, improving cognitive development in children, boosting happiness levels and increasing physical health.
- Ontario lost 72% of its pre-settlement wetlands by 2002.
- A report by Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition and the Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition found that:
- While 50% forest cover in a watershed is likely to support most potential species and aquatic life, Simcoe County only has 22% and that number is dropping.
- Only 14% of Simcoe’s natural heritage system is well protected by policy, while 58% is only somewhat protected.
- Simcoe County only has roughly half of its historic wetland cover.
What You Can Do As A Municipal Leader:
- Review your municipality’s natural heritage system policies against Ontario Nature’s Best Practices Guide to strengthen and improve them
- Subsidize the costs of grey infrastructure by adding or utilizing existing green infrastructure (natural heritage). Learn more at Green Infrastructure Ontario.
- Protect the existing natural heritage that your municipality has by re-directing urbanization and transportation investments away from natural areas
- Increase natural heritage within built up areas to mitigate and adapt to climate change, prevent flooding and to support existing grey infrastructure. You can find more ideas here.