Importance of Watershed Management
by Emily Wright - Advocacy Coordinator
Ontario’s proposal to shrink our 36 conservation authorities down to 7 larger bodies may sound reasonable: fewer agencies, fewer applications, simpler development processes. But what’s not being said is why watershed-based, local management is so essential — especially for sensitive wildlife like turtles.
Local conservation authorities weren’t designed to make development harder. They were designed to protect people, property, water, wildlife, and natural resources at the scale where nature actually functions: watersheds, not political borders.
As Turtles Kingston, we fully stand behind the importance of our local conservation authorities and the irreplaceable work they do. This is not the first time this government has attempted to reduce their role — and we are asking the Province to consider less destructive options that strengthen, rather than dismantle, the organizations that keep our communities safe.
What Is a Conservation Authority, Anyway?
Conservation Authorities (CAs) were first created under the Conservation Authorities Act (1946) in response to flooding and erosion problems during a time when municipalities recognized the need to manage shared water systems (Ontario Gov.). According to Conservation Ontario, the core mandate of conservation authorities is:
“To undertake watershed-based programs to protect people and property from flooding and other natural hazards, and to conserve natural resources for economic, social, and environmental benefits.”
They don’t exist to “slow down development.” They also aren’t funded primarily by the Province (only 8% of their funding) — instead their funding comes mostly from municipalities, the local communities they support and protect (About Conservation Authorities). In fact the reason that Conservation Authorities have the power to buy and set aside land for conservation is due to mass destruction following Hurricane Hazel in 1954. It was then that it was decided that management of watersheds needed to be prioritized and regulated in order to protect our communities.
Because CAs operate by watershed — not by town borders — they’re uniquely suited to think in ecological terms. Water, after all, doesn’t care about city or county lines.
How Conservation Authorities Protect Our Turtles
Here’s where things get personal for our turtle friends:
Habitat Safeguarding
Conservation authorities regulate and protect wetlands, shorelines, and small water bodies through permitting systems. These are some of the most critical places for turtles, especially species at risk. Conservation Ontario+1Stewardship & Restoration
Many CAs run species-at-risk programs specifically for reptiles, including turtles. For example, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority has worked with landowners to restore nesting sites, create new ones, and monitor reptile populations.Community Education & Science
CAs often engage local landowners, volunteers, and schools. They encourage “report your sightings” programs, teach how to protect turtle nests, and involve community members in long-term surveys.Regulating Land Use
Through Section 28 permits (or similar in their regulations), conservation authorities review development proposals around watercourses, wetlands, and shorelines. This helps prevent destruction of turtle habitat from things like infilling or poorly planned construction.Species-at-risk Compliance
Because many turtle species are on Ontario’s Species at Risk list, CAs coordinate with provincial conservation programs to ensure that development and land use are compatible with turtle survival
Without conservation authorities, these protections become much weaker — especially for the small, fragile habitats turtles depend on.
Why Local Conservation Authorities Matter
If you’ve travelled across Ontario, you’ve probably noticed how dramatically landscapes can change from one region to another. Wetlands, soil types, bedrock, vegetation — all of it shifts over surprisingly small distances. These differences matter deeply when managing floods, erosion, wildlife habitat, and water quality.
Let’s look at two places you may know well:
Kingston and Ottawa (both proposed to be amalgamated in the new St. Lawrence RCA). They’re just under 200 km apart and they’re both within the Lake Simcoe–Rideau Ecoregion, but they have major differences, specifically in their geology.
Variability in geology is important as it impacts soils (type and acidity etc), landforms, distribution of organic deposits, flow of groundwater and surface water, vegetation communities, and the actual ecosystems that form on the landscape.
Both Kingston and Ottawa are underlain by sedimentary rocks (limestone, dolostone, shale, arkose, sandstone) and have been impacted by the most recent glaciation, with deposits of fine-grained sediments from glacial lakes. This seems pretty similar to at a glance; however, one of the biggest differences (we will touch on here) is the impact of the Champlain sea on the Ottawa area. The Champlain sea was a temporary extension of the Atlantic Ocean as the glaciers retreated and sea levels rose. Glacial deposits from the Champlain sea are considered glaciomarine as they were impacted by a salt water ocean.
Just imagine the impact of oceanic water and marine sediment deposits compared to glacial and lake deposits. That’s one of the differences we are talking about.
Oh, and just northeast of Kingston lies a completely diffferent region than even Ottawa - an area underlain by Precambrian bedrock of the Frontenac Axis. Just look at the below map to see how different and complex that region is
This is why watershed-based management is so effective: it captures these small-scale ecological realities that political boundaries simply cannot.
Created using the GeologyOntario Spatial Search.
Watersheds: Nature’s Own Boundary
Currently, conservation authorities are structured around watersheds — the natural drainage areas where rainfall and snowmelt flow into the same river, creek, or lake. Watersheds contain:
Headwater streams
Wetlands
Floodplains
Aquifers
Shorelines
Forests and fields connected by water movement
These connections are what keep ecosystems — including turtle habitat — functioning.
A large amalgamated authority covering multiple watersheds cannot maintain this level of fine-scale understanding. Local knowledge isn’t a “nice-to-have” — it is the difference between protecting an area or accidentally destroying it.
Yes, Processes Can Be Improved — But Not Like This
We know that dealing with multiple conservation authorities can be challenging for municipalities or industries that operate across boundaries. And yes — permitting processes could be standardized or streamlined.
But that can be done without eliminating local authorities, such as by:
Standardizing forms and terminology
Simplifying and standardizing application processes where local knowledge isn’t relevant
Sharing GIS, technical, and hydrological tools
Developing province-wide digital permit systems
Creating regional hubs for specialized expertise
Streamlining ≠ gutting.
Efficiency should not come at the cost of local ecological understanding.
Our Call to Action: Keep Conservation Authorities Local
We at Turtles Kingston are urging the Province to reconsider.
The goals they claim to be pursuing — efficiency, clarity, consistency — can be achieved without dismantling the local organizations that safeguard our watersheds.
Let’s not risk our wetlands, our turtles, our homes, or our watersheds.
What you can do:
Write to your MPP expressing your opposition to amalgamation.
Share this article with your community.
Support your local conservation authority by attending meetings, volunteering, and staying informed.
Join turtle conservation efforts — including nest protection programs, community science, and wetland stewardship.
Local watersheds need local guardians.
For the sake of our turtles — and everyone who depends on healthy water — let’s keep conservation authorities strong, local, and intact.