Guest Speaker: Bob Barnett, Executive Director of the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy (EBC), Creating Nature Reserves on the Niagara Escarpment and Beyond.
Introduction by Susanne
Bob is an architect and member and past president of the Rotary Club of Leaside. He and his wife Anna established the EBC after spending 2.5 years hiking the Bruce Trail with their children in 1984.
Bob explained the origins of the Niagara Escarpment, how poorly protected the escarpment and its ecosystem are, and how he and friends established the EBC in 1996 to create reserves to protect the Escarpment and the Huron shore including Manitoulin Island.
Facts included:
- Beyond environmental issues, there are strong economic arguments for preserving reserves. Southern Ontario’s parks and public lands generate $2 billion/year from those engaged in birding, hiking, cycling, mountaineering etc.
- Canada is one of 191 countries that have agreed to protect 17% of the land as reserves. Southern Ontario currently protects only 4.4%, much worse than the global average for all regions of 13%.
- The EBC has created 165 nature reserves protecting 13,170 acres (53 square miles) and 54 rare species. This is more than any of the other private organizations seeking to protect land in Southern Ontario.
- Owners persuaded to create reserves keep the land but put covenants on the title that bind themselves and future owners, restricting new construction, cutting, hunting, gravel pits etc. They get various tax benefits. EBC works with them on this and to do estate planning. It opposes the current regressive tax system – a 1% annual tax on land kept natural, which is already providing so much value that should be encouraged not taxed.
- Currently Southern Ontario is losing 300 acres/day, 10,000 acres/year to development. Sadly people forget: We don’t inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
Lionel thanked Bob, who remained after the meeting to answer questions.
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