Ontario's Natural Heritage Areas - Ministry of Natural Resources

experience, without significant interruption by
modern human intrusions.
• The river is capable of supporting recreational
uses without significant loss of, or impact on, its
natural and cultural values or its visual character
(Parks Canada, 2001b).
Management Objectives and/or Guidelines
The Canadian Heritage Rivers System is created and
managed in accordance with the following principles:
• Participation in the Canadian Heritage Rivers
System is voluntary.
• Participants in the Canadian Heritage Rivers
System will retain their traditional jurisdictional
powers over rivers in the system including
ownership of land, the choice to nominate a
river to the system, and the right to continue
to operate and manage designated rivers in
accordance with the objectives of the system.
• All participants in the Canadian Heritage Rivers
System will respect the rights and concerns of
communities, Aboriginal peoples, landowners,
and other stakeholders in the nomination,
designation, and management of Canadian
Heritage Rivers.
• Rivers, or sections of rivers, included in the
Canadian Heritage Rivers System will meet the
spirit of the heritage and recreational value
selection guidelines as set out by the Canadian
Heritage Rivers Board.
• River nominations and designations will be
jointly approved on the recommendation of
the Canadian Heritage Rivers Board, by the
Minister(s) of the nominating jurisdiction(s), and
by the Minister responsible for Parks Canada.
• Parks Canada will continue to be the lead
federal agency in the Canadian Heritage Rivers
System and will, through a Secretariat operated
on behalf of the Board, provide support for the
promotion of the system at the national and
international levels and co-ordination of the
ongoing monitoring of designated rivers. Parks
Canada will also provide assistance to provinces
and territories for the preparation of studies and
plans leading to the nomination and designation
of rivers to the system.
• Provincial and territorial governments will
continue to make a substantial commitment
to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System by
assuming the long-term operational and
management costs of having rivers within their
jurisdictions designated to the system (Parks
Canada, 2001b).
The Degree of Protection for Canadian
Heritage Rivers and the Corresponding IUCN
Protected Area Management Category: A
Preliminary Assessment
The Canadian Heritage River designation is not a
regulatory mechanism. Some Canadian Heritage
Rivers qualify as ‘fully protected’ areas based on
their location in National Parks, Provincial Parks,
Conservation Authority properties, or other
designations. Rivers that are ‘fully protected’ may
qualify as IUCN Category I, II, or III protected
areas. In addition, it is possible that the collective
application of domestic protection mechanism(s)
used to care for Canadian Heritage Rivers (e.g., the
Grand River) could qualify these designations as IUCN
Category V protected areas. The objectives for the
management of, and the degree of natural heritage
protection offered in, each river system may provide
the determining criteria. The management plan for
each site would require examination in order to assign
IUCN protected areas categories.
Key Contact(s)
Canadian Heritage Rivers Secretariat
c/o Parks Canada
25 Eddy Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0M5
Telephone: 819-997-4930
Fax: 819-953-4704
Website: www.chrs.ca
131 Ontario’s Natural Heritage Areas