Backgrounder
Since 2011, Parks Canada has engaged more than 20,000 Canadians and has worked with Indigenous peoples, all levels of government, community groups, conservationists, park farmers, area residents, volunteers, and many other groups to complete the very first management plan for Rouge National Urban Park (the Rouge). The plan implements ecological integrity as a first priority in realizing the unprecedented opportunities to conserve, showcase and share this protected area's remarkable natural, cultural, and agricultural landscapes.
Species at risk protection
Rouge National Urban Park is home to 1,700 species of plants and animals, including 27 species at risk. Parks Canada will work to stabilize and recover these populations and continue to collaborate with partners, like the Toronto Zoo, on recovery initiatives such as the re-introduction of Blanding's turtles in the park. More than 1,500 Canadians are engaged annually at the Rouge through species at risk interpretive programs and events fostering an understanding of the importance of conservation, action and stewardship.
Focus on ecological restoration
Since 2015, Parks Canada has worked closely with park farmers in the Rouge to restore nearly 50 hectares of wetland, stream and riverbank habitat, more than 20 hectares of forest habitat, as well as plant more than 70,000 native trees, shrubs and aquatic plants. The management plan continues this successful program throughout the park to improve conditions in wetlands, meadows, forests, and stream and riverbank areas, resulting in greater native biodiversity and better conditions for cold-water aquatic species.
Indigenous peoples
Parks Canada is proud to be working closely on all aspects of the establishment, and management of Rouge National Urban Park with 10 First Nations with traditional and present-day connections to the Rouge. The Agency will continue to collaborate and work in partnership with Indigenous communities through an established First Nations Advisory Circle on park operations, including archeology, trail-building, ecological restoration, park programming, public outreach and other areas of mutual interest.
Long-term protection and certainty for farming in the park
Farm leases of up to 30 years will ensure long-term stability for park farmers and their families – some of whom have been farming in the Rouge since 1799 (and many of whom were expropriated from these lands in the 1970s). The benefits of this stability will result in more sustainable and diverse agricultural opportunities, stronger collaboration on ecological restoration work and the facilitation of farming-based visitor experiences in the park. The Rouge has some of the last-remaining working farms in the GTA, with most located on class 1 soil - the richest, rarest, and most fertile in Canada.
Agriculture's contributions to ecological integrity
Parks Canada's work with park farmers since 2015 demonstrates farmland and farming can be significant contributors to the maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity in the park. The management plan builds on this approach to ensure farmland becomes an even more important contributor to the park's ecological integrity by working with farmers to integrate best management practices into farm plans and operations.
Conserving and presenting cultural heritage
