This is a big year for Quinte Conservation as it celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2022.
Quinte Conservation oversees the watersheds of the Moira River, Napanee Region, and Prince Edward County.
Chief Administrative Officer Brad McNevin says the principle of watershed management decades ago is why conservation authorities were formed.
“There was, at that time, a lot of degradation of the land where we were clear-cutting properties and things like that. So conservation authorities were formed to help look at water quality and look at the health of the watershed.”
McNevin notes protection of wetlands and sensitive areas has been vitally important not just for the environment but also for people.
“… improving access to those lands and improving the ability for people to enjoy natural outdoor space and get those important interactions with nature.”
And the work will continue at Quinte Conservation as officials have already outlined a number of initiatives for the next 10 years, many of them coming out of their latest strategic planning exercise.
That includes creating an active foundation to help them with wetland conservation and floodplain mapping work.
“We’ll have a family-friendly booklet with activities for each of our conservation areas. And families can visit these areas and they get a sticker designated by a local artist to commemorate their visit to that specific location.”
