What is a Natural Hazard?
Natural, physical environmental processes that occur near or at the surface of the earth can produce unexpected events of unusual magnitude or severity. Such occurrences are generally regarded as natural hazards. Flooding, erosion and dynamic beaches are naturally occurring processes which in and of themselves are not hazards, they only become hazards when human activities and development encroach within the environments influenced by these natural processes. Use our Online Mapping Tool to see natural hazard areas (represented as regulated areas) within the SCRCA watershed.
For more information, refer to the following Ministry of Natural Resources Technical Guides:
What is Natural Heritage?
Planning for natural heritage resources involves making decisions for the plant and animal communities that are found on the landscape. All natural heritage planning is based on the underlying principle that biodiversity, which includes both the number of species and the genetic diversity within species, is the key indicator of ecosystem health. Natural heritage resources include wetlands, woodlands, threatened and endangered species, wildlife and fish and their habitats. Natural Heritage features should be considered as a part of the broader landscape that functions together as a system, often referred to as the Natural Heritage System.
As per Ontario Regulation 596/22, Conservation Authorities have been prohibited from providing comments related to natural heritage matters as of January 1, 2023. The SCRCA will not provide further comments on natural heritage and will defer any responses or outstanding natural heritage matters to the municipality.
For more information, refer to the Ministry of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Reference Manual.