News

Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) Chair Helen Jowett is convening a special meeting of the GRCA board for members to review and discuss the Province’s proposed changes to the Conservation Authorities Act.

On November 5, the provincial government identified a number of legislative amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act and the Planning Act through Schedule 6 in Bill 229: Protect, Support and Recover from COVID-19 Act (Budget Measures).

Update: Due to unanticipated delays, portions of this property will remain closed until late February.

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) will be carrying out forest improvement operations in the conifer plantations around the Damascus Reservoir, near Wellington County Road 16, beginning in early November. 

Rain over the past two weeks has increased and stabilized stream flows in the Whitemans Creek, McKenzie Creek and Mt. Pleasant Creek subwatersheds.

The low water declaration has been removed from the entire Grand River watershed as flows have returned to more seasonal conditions.

Post-secondary students who are planning a career in an environmental field may be eligible to apply for one of three scholarships offered by the Grand River Conservation Foundation.

The three scholarships, in the amount of $4,000 each in 2020, will support full-time or part-time students attending a Grand River watershed university or college. Applicants must be enrolled in programs that are focused on environmental science, resource management or engineering.

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is pleased to announce a new grant program undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change Great Lakes Protection Initiative for agricultural producers in the upper Nith River subwatershed. These grants and incentives are available for farmers interested in trying out new Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) or implementing projects to manage phosphorus losses from their land.

The fourth phase of a plan to control an invasive plant at Taquanyah Conservation Area, just west of Cayuga, is expected to begin October 1 and last approximately two weeks.

While phragmites is a problem throughout the province, it is important to control it at Taquanyah – one of only two locations in Ontario where an endangered plant, Virginia mallow, grows.

Cover crops grown over winter are the right thing to do according to some local producers, who participated in the Grand River Conservation Authority’s Rural Water Quality Program and received an incentive payment last year. The program offers a per acre incentive to applicants in Waterloo Region, Wellington, Brant, Haldimand, and Dufferin counties. The benefits of cover crops are numerous as they can reduce erosion, build better soil structure and improve soil health. 

At the August 28, 2020 GRCA General Membership meeting, board members received Report Number GM-08-20-52 – Snowmobiling Agreements on GRCA Lands. Despite ongoing discussions, the GRCA and the snowmobile clubs have not been able to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

A section of trail within Dumfries Conservation Area in Cambridge will be temporarily closed from August 31 through September 4 in order to undertake tree maintenance along a hydro corridor that runs through the park.

The GRCA will be reopening playgrounds at Grand River Parks, as well as its tubing operations at the Elora Gorge Conservation Area on Saturday, August 1.