WHEREAS our natural environment is one of the most important and most valuable asset of the Town of The Blue Mountains;
AND WHEREAS population growth both within The Town of the Blue Mountains and within reasonable commuting distance from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) will continue to put pressures on our natural environment, and whereas ecotourism within our natural environment is essential to all aspects of our local economy, and whereas the connectedness of green space is essential to maintaining a healthy eco system necessary to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and whereas a healthy eco system is essential to future tourism, and whereas ongoing development pressures resulting in urban sprawl continue to threaten our natural environment and impact on the health of eco systems, including human health, and whereas the GTA continues to expand outward;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council of The Town of The Blue Mountains direct staff to investigate the feasibility of partnering with
neighbouring municipal and regional councils (Grey Highlands,
Clearview, Simcoe County and Grey County, as well as private owners of connecting lands and conservancy groups) and the Province of Ontario to protect green space from Devils Glen Provincial Park through Pretty River Valley Provincial Park towards Castle Glen, Lorre Forest and Feversham Gorge westwards towards the Kolapore Uplands, Duncan Escarpment, Old Baldy in the Beaver Valley and the Cuckoo Valley Provincial Park, potentially using the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park Model;
AND THAT Council direct staff to investigate potential opportunities
and challenges to initiating a process of collaborating with potential
partners and bring forward a report to Council in 2023.