2009 April DRAFT Environmental Land Management Plan for the Niagara Parks Commission: Stage 1 1 2009 April Prepared By: Katelyn Vaughan Brock University John Middleton Tourism and Environment David Brown St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1 December 2007 Prepared For: This Document has been reviewed by a steering committee but is presented in DRAFT form and will remain in draft until the approved by the Niagara Parks Commissioners. The Niagara Parks Commission wishes to thank those who spent time reviewing its contents and providing us with feedback. A special thanks to: Susan Cooper, Niagara Escarpment Advisor, Land Uses and Environmental Planning, Ministry of Natural Resources Anne Marie Laurence, Ecological Monitoring Specialist, Niagara Escarpment Commission Suzanne McInnes, Watershed Planning Coordinator, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority Alan Gummo, Associate Director, Comprehensive Community Planning, Regional Municipality of Niagara 2 2009 April 1. INTRODUCTION & PURPOSE ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Figure 1.1: Species Hotspots Carolinian Life Zone .................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 1.2 Overview of NPC Lands ........................................................................................................................................... 7 2. ECOLOGICAL AND LAND DESIGNATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 NIAGARA PARKS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 NPC ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS ............................................................................................................................. 8 2.3 NATURAL HERITAGE SYSTEM ................................................................................................................................................... 9 Table 2.1 Relevant Ecological and Land Use Designations ...................................................................................................... 10 Figure 2.1: NPC Environmentally Sensitive Areas, north section. ............................................................................................ 16 Figure 2.2: NPC Environmentally Sensitive Areas, central section. .......................................................................................... 17 Figure 2.3: NPC Environmentally Sensitive Areas, south section. ............................................................................................ 18 Table 2.2: Natural Heritage Component of the Provincial Policy Statement (OMAH, 2005). .................................................... 19 2.4 AREA OF NATURAL & SCIENTIFIC INTEREST (ANSI) ................................................................................................................ 19 Figure 2.4: NPC designated natural areas and features. .......................................................................................................... 20 2.5 WETLANDS ............................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Figure 2.5: Wetlands............................................................................................................................................................... 22 2.6 NIAGARA ESCARPMENT PLAN (NEP) & UNESCO WORLD BIOSPHERE RESERVE ...................................................................... 23 Figure 2.6 Niagara Escarpment Parks and Open Space System (NEPOSS) Boundaries on NPC Lands .................................... 25 2.7 GREENBELT ............................................................................................................................................................................ 25 2.8 PLACES TO GROW ACT ........................................................................................................................................................... 25 2.9 NIAGARA RIVER (ONTARIO) AREA OF CONCERN ...................................................................................................................... 26 2.10 IMPORTANT BIRD AREA (IBA) .............................................................................................................................................. 27 2.11 SPECIES AT RISK ................................................................................................................................................................... 27 2.12 CAROLINIAN LIFE ZONE ........................................................................................................................................................ 28 2.13 OLD GROWTH FOREST .......................................................................................................................................................... 28 2.15 RECOMMENDATION .............................................................................................................................................................. 29 Table 2.3 Definitions of Protected Areas ................................................................................................................................. 30 3. BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ........................................................................................................................................ 34 3.1 ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION................................................................................................................................................... 34 3.2 SPECIES AT RISK ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 3.3 CARBON SEQUESTRATION ....................................................................................................................................................... 35 3.4 FLORA AND FAUNA INVENTORIES............................................................................................................................................ 35 3.5 INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................................................... 36 3.6 EROSION ................................................................................................................................................................................ 37 3.7 RESTORATION ........................................................................................................................................................................ 37 3.8 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................................................. 38 3.9 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................................................................... 38 4. NATURE TRAILS MANAGEMENT........................................................................................................................................ 39 Figure 4.1: Sanctioned Trails. ................................................................................................................................................. 41 4.1 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................................................................... 42 5. SURFACE WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................... 43 Table 5.1: List of strategies for watershed management as outlined by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (Aquafor Beech Limited & LURA Consulting Limited 2005). .................................................................................................................. 44 5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................................................................... 44 6. DEVELOPED AND MAINTAINED PROPERTIES ................................................................................................................ 45 6.1 GOLF COURSES....................................................................................................................................................................... 45 6.2 GARDENS ............................................................................................................................................................................... 46 6.3 OTHER MAINTAINED AREAS ................................................................................................................................................... 47 6.4 INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................................................... 47 6.5 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................................................................... 47 7. SUMMARY OF PUBLIC