Ontario's Natural Heritage Areas - Ministry of Natural Resources

The Crown, in Right of Canada, owns all land
including the sea or lake bed and its subsoil, within
a National Marine Conservation Area. Private lands
and interests are acquired by negotiated settlement,
and where appropriate term interests are allowed
to expire. When a new NMCA is established in
conjunction with the settlement of land claims, the
final boundaries, as well as harvesting rights and
involvement of Aboriginal peoples in planning and
management, are proposed in legislation according
to the terms of the land claim agreement. In the
interim, the area may be set aside as a National
Marine Conservation Area Reserve under the
Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act
and traditional hunting, fishing, and other marine
resource-based activities by entitled Aboriginal
peoples are permitted to continue (Government of
Canada, 2002; Parks Canada, 1994:52).
In addition to natural features, National Marine
Conservation Areas can contain significant cultural
resources that are managed according to the Cultural
Resource Management Policy (Parks Canada,
1994:53). Additional legislation used to govern
NMCAs include the National Parks Act and the
Species at Risk Act. Within Canada, a number of other
marine protected areas are managed through Parks
Canada and Environment Canada, namely Oceans Act
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) (see Section 5.7 on
page 138) and Marine Wildlife Areas (see Section 5.8
on page 140), respectively. A federal marine protected
areas strategy has been developed to clarify the roles
and responsibilities of each government agency,
establish a more systematic approach to planning
and establishment, enhance collaboration, increase
awareness, and link to continental and global marine
networks (DFO, 2005).
Protection Goal and/or Objectives
A National Marine Parks Policy was published in 1986
and later revised as a National Marine Conservation
Areas Policy (Parks Canada, 1994:46). The long-term
goal of the National Marine Conservation Areas
Policy is to represent each of Canada’s 29 marine
natural regions in the National Parks system. The
principal objective is “…to protect and conserve
for all time National Marine Conservation Areas of
Canadian significance that are representative of the
country’s ocean environments and the Great Lakes,
and to encourage public understanding, appreciation
and enjoyment of this marine heritage so as to leave
it unimpaired for future generations” (Duffus and
Dearden, 1993; Parks Canada, 1994:49). In addition,
objectives of National Marine Conservation Areas
include to:
• Represent oceanic and Great Lakes environment
diversity.
• Maintain life support systems and ecological
processes.
• Preserve biodiversity.
• Act as ecologically sustainable use models.
• Promote ecological research and monitoring.
• Protect endangered species and their habitats.
• Protect cultural resources.
• Provide marine areas interpretation for the
purpose of conservation, education, and visitor
enjoyment (Yurick and Mageau, 2006).
Selection Criteria
Given that each situation is unique, steps used to
create a National Marine Conservation Area reflect
individual circumstances. The normal sequence is to:
• Identify representative marine areas.
• Select a potential National Marine Conservation
Area.
• Assess the National Marine Conservation Area
feasibility.
• Negotiate a National Marine Conservation Area
agreement.
• Establish the new National Marine Conservation
Area in legislation (Parks Canada, 2006a).
The following criteria are considered when identifying
potential NMCAs:
• Geologic features (i.e. cliffs, beaches, islands, and
underwater troughs or basins).
• Marine features (i.e. tides, ice, current, and
salinity).
• Marine and coastal habitats (i.e. wetlands,
estuaries, and protected areas).
• Biology (i.e. plants, fish, seabirds, and mammals).
• Archaeological and historic features (Parks
Canada, 2006a).
121 Ontario’s Natural Heritage Areas