Frequently asked questions

The key question we seek to answer is this: How do we protect what defines Frontenac for the future? This study is a comprehensive natural heritage assessment using a landscape ecology methodology. The work will identify, evaluate, and prioritize natural heritage features and areas and ecological and hydrological functions at a regional scale. The assessment is based on a long-term protection strategy – 100 years – so that Frontenac’s important natural heritage features and areas are protected for generations to come.

The overall direction of the work is guided by the principles of precaution, connectivity, and conservation of ecosystem services..

The study will establish a clear vision of areas and connections for protection, so they are preserved for our children and grandchildren,100 years from now.

Our natural heritage is the natural environment we have inherited from past generations and must preserve for generations yet to come.

It is the land, water, air, plants, and animals that we should preserve and protect because they are unique, beautiful, or vital for life.

“Natural heritage” is defined in the Ontario Provincial Planning Statement as, “features and areas...which are important for their environmental and social values as a legacy of the natural landscapes area.”

The Frontenac County Official Plan also contains policies for natural heritage (Section 7.1 – Natural Environment). One of the deliverables of this project is to develop new land use policies that will be incorporated into the County Official Plan. Natural heritage is separated into three categories:

1. Living things: rare plants, animals, and the biodiversity, or variety of life that makes our area unique.
2. The land – Unusual or unique rock formations wetlands, and lakes that chronicle the Earth’s history.
3. Ecosystems: Entire interconnected systems of living organisms and their habitats that to keep our natural environment healthy.

The natural wilderness is extensive in Frontenac County. Approximately 2,920 square kilometres — about 73 percent of the total area — remains natural and undeveloped. There are also 7,471 water bodies across the region including 685 named lakes, and extensive shorelines on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

Our extensive natural environment does a lot for us:

• It filters the water we drink, cleans the air we breathe, feeds and sustains us, and helps prevents flooding.
• The incredible biodiversity of Frontenac allows for healthy growth and resiliency of plants and food sources.
• It sustains our lifestyles. Once a unique part of our natural heritage is gone, it may be impossible to replace. 

By doing this work now, and thinking 100 years ahead, we have an opportunity to avoid becoming overdeveloped and overbuilt like some other Ontario cottage country areas.

A landscape ecology approach helps to establish priorities for natural heritage protection. It is about protecting nature as an interconnected system, rather than establishing isolated parks or protecting one or two individual species. Landscape ecology accounts for how ecosystems function across whole landscapes, including interconnections and interdependencies among forests, wetlands, lakes, farmland, and villages.

Landscape ecology is the difference between declaring, ‘This wetland is protected, everything else is less important;’ and asking, ‘How do all these ecosystems work together, and how do we keep them healthy over time?

What are the principles of landscape ecology?

Connectivity matters – Interconnected habitats are more resilient than isolated ones. Wildlife, water, and nutrients all move across the land. Landscape ecology identifies wildlife corridors that tie forests, wetlands, and parklands together through and around developed areas so animals can migrate more freely and adapt to climate change. 

Whole ecosystems need protection – Traditional conservation too often focuses on rare species or isolated wetlands that are identified as “provincially significant.” Landscape ecology implies a much bigger picture: Protection of common habitats that support everything else, and identification of entire ecological processes such as flooding and seasonal changes. This bigger-picture perspective helps to prevent rare species from becoming endangered in the first place.

Scale is relevant – We could, for example, protect a single pond, a whole watershed, or the hydrology of our entire region. Landscape ecology works on a regional scale for areas as large and larger than Frontenac County.

Land use and human activity are included – Villages, hamlets, rural residential lots, farms, and waterfront properties in Frontenac are part of the natural environment in our region. Landscape ecology helps us identify where development can happen; where preservation of nature should be the priority; and how working lands like farms, industrial lots, and woodlots, can still support biodiversity. Landscape ecology provides for good development planning; it does not prohibit sensible future development. 

A long-term approach is integral – We need to plan at least 100 years into the future, longer than any term in office, or adult lifespan. Landscape ecology recognizes that our landscape will change over time, especially as our climate does. But this approach reduces our overall risk by positioning our descendants to maintain environmental redundancy (multiple habitats doing the same job); to adapt to our changing climate; and to design our natural heritage so that species can shift ranges easily.

• Establish protected area networks instead of single stand-alone parks.
• Entrench watershed-based planning (this is the basis of the Frontenac County Official Plan).
• Identify core natural areas, buffers, and corridors.
• Add conservation goals into the Frontenac County Official Plan.
• Establish priorities for restoration when connections are broken.
• Assess the potential impacts of climate change on the natural systems and find areas that are buffered by the impacts of climate change.

The lead consultant for this project is Natural Resource Solutions Inc. (https://www.nrsi.on.ca/ ), a team comprised primarily of biologists with expertise in aquatic, terrestrial and wetland biology. They also have staff with expertise in spatial technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS). NRSI is an Indigenous-owned business.

Engagement events will be planned to provide opportunities to educate and provide information about the project, and to receive feedback about important natural areas and ecosystems. At the meeting(s) the initial significant and locally important feature mapping will be presented to the public and the methodology of the work will be outlined. Local knowledge of what is on the ground will be very important to the success of this project so we hope many citizens get involved and share information.

Yes, the project team will consult with indigenous communities and First Nations (i.e., Algonquins of Ontario, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Anishinablek Nation and others) that may contain important Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) within the County limits.  This engagement will recognize and respect the rights, interests, and stewardship responsibilities of indigenous peoples.

A formal invitation requesting feedback on ecological, cultural, or environmental interests and concerns will be extended to each Indigenous community or First Nation identified as having potential interest or traditional territory within the County.  Engagement activities may include virtual or in-person meetings, depending on the preferences of each Indigenous community or First Nation.

The mapping we have available for this work is very sophisticated and detailed, especially when compared to the mapping that was available for the first County natural heritage study in 2012. Working with the County GIS department the consultants will be using this mapping and data from a variety of sources to undertake their analysis. To summarize, no ground field work will take place unless some of the analysis requires a site visit.

At the start of the project the consultants will work with the County to collect and review existing natural heritage information and mapping across Frontenac and within one kilometre of the County limits. Available natural feature data and mapping will be assembled from the County, the four Townships, the Province (i.e., Land Information Ontario mapping) and conservation authorities, including the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority (CRCA), Quinte Conservation Authority (QCA), Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA), and Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA). Data from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC), wetland evaluations, and Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) will be collected. Data pertaining to land cover, species at risk occurrences, Significant Wildlife Habitat (SWH), wetlands, woodland habitat, grasslands, watercourses, soil, and topography will be collected as available and reviewed for integration into the development of the NHS project.

The primary result of this work will be to completely revise the natural heritage policies of the County Official Plan to implement the landscape ecology approach for the protection of our vast natural areas. 

Over time, the County will work with the four Townships to update their Official Plans to implement this policy approach.

The finished work will also deliver detailed mapping of the key areas for protection across the region. This information can also help in educating citizens on the importance of thinking 100 years ahead to protect the natural environment.