By: Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
Sometime next year, the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA) will be reimaged.
That’s because its merging with three other conservation authorities to become the new Western Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority.
None of this is by choice.
Joining the Chatham-based agency are the Essex Region Conservation Authority; the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority and the Upper Thames Valley Conservation Authority.
The change is part of the province’s bid to consolidate Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into nine. Originally, eight were proposed, with the LTVCA slated to become part of the Lake Erie Conservation Authority (stretching from Kitchener to Windsor), but the government changed course, and the Western Lake Erie Conservation Authority was created.
The proposed changes were announced by the Ontario government in November. Following that, the matter was opened up for consultation with affected municipalities and the public. More than 500 people participated in three input sessions and some 14,000 comments on the proposal were submitted to the Environmental Registry of Ontario.
According to a media release from the LTVCA, the smaller West Lake Erie agency is an “improvement” on the original proposal, noting the agency will continue to “operate without disruption” pending the merger.
“It’s business as usual for watershed protection and environmental services, including conservation areas and trails, drinking-water source protection, watershed protection and management, stewardship programs, agricultural extension services and education,” the release stated.
It’s not yet known how the changes will shake out for LTVCA staff. However, the plan indicates that government will require each regional conservation authority to establish one or more “watershed councils” to ensure that watershed management decisions are informed by local knowledge and input.
