About Us | Kawartha Conservation

We would like to acknowledge that many Indigenous Nations have longstanding relationships, both historic and modern, with the territories upon which we are located.

Today, this area is home to many indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island. We acknowledge that our watershed forms a part of the treaty and traditional territory of the south-eastern Anishinaabeg.

It is on these ancestral and treaty lands that we live and work. To honour this legacy, we commit to being stewards of the natural environment and undertake to have a relationship of respect with our Treaty partners.

Kawartha Conservation is a watershed-based, non-profit organization established in 1979 by the municipalities within our watershed under the Conservation Authorities Act. We are one of 36 conservation authorities operating in Ontario and a member of Conservation Ontario.

Balancing environmental capacity and human need, we manage natural resource features that are essential for sustaining water quality and quantity, through watershed planning, stewardship, environmental monitoring and research, and management of conservation and natural areas.

Our programs and services are focused within the natural boundaries of the Kawartha watershed, which extend from Lake Scugog in the southwest and Pigeon Lake in the east, to Balsam Lake in the northwest and Crystal Lake in the northeast – a total of 2,563 square kilometres.

These natural boundaries overlap the six municipalities that govern Kawartha Conservation through representation on our Board of Directors. Our municipal partners include:

Kawartha Conservation believes in providing an excellent level of customer service and has established Client Service Standards focusing on client service excellence in an informed, accountable, transparent, and trustworthy manner. View our Client Service Standards here.

Our Commitment

Our Vision

Engaged communities that love, respect and appreciate our natural environment.

Our Mission

To champion watershed health as the recognized leader in natural asset management.

Our Corporate Values

Our values guide our actions, as they shape the kind of organization that we are part of. In all of our decision-making, we will:

Act with Integrity
Value Knowledge
Promote Teamwork
Achieve Performance Excellence
Foster Innovation

What We Do

What is a Conservation Authority?

A Conservation Authority is a corporate body, formed by municipal request, under the Conservation Authorities Act of Ontario. Under this legislation, the purpose of a Conservation Authority is to further the conservation, restoration, development, and management of natural resources in their watershed areas. The powers and requirements for Conservation Authorities are also set out in the Conservation Authorities Act.

An authority's jurisdiction is based on a watershed (an area of land drained by one stream or river) rather than by political boundaries, since all municipalities through which a river or stream flows, share its resource problems. Our programs and services are focused within the natural boundaries of the Kawartha watershed, which extend from Lake Scugog in the southwest and Pigeon Lake in the east, to Balsam Lake in the northwest and Crystal Lake in the northeast – a total of 2,563 square kilometres.

Our Services and Facilities

We deliver a wide range of services, activities and facilities which include:

watershed strategies and management
flooding and erosion protection
flood plain mapping
planning and permitting
conservation education programs for schools
outdoor recreation facilities such as conservation areas and trails
off-leash dog park
environmental land use planning
habitat protection
reforestation
water quality and quantity monitoring

Our History

Kawartha Conservation is a watershed-based, non-profit organization established in 1979 by the municipalities within our watershed under the Ontario Conservation Authorities Act. We are one of 36 conservation authorities operating in Ontario and a member of Conservation Ontario.

Balancing environmental capacity and human need, we manage natural resource features that are essential for sustaining water quality and quantity, through watershed planning, stewardship, environmental monitoring and research, and management of conservation and natural areas.

Our programs and services are focused within the natural boundaries of the Kawartha watershed, which extend from Lake Scugog in the southwest and Pigeon Lake in the east, to Balsam Lake in the northwest and Crystal Lake in the northeast – a total of 2,563 square kilometres.

These natural boundaries overlap the six municipalities that govern Kawartha Conservation through representation on our Board of Directors. Our municipal partners include the City of Kawartha Lakes, the Township of Scugog, the Township of Brock, the Municipality of Clarington, the Municipality of Trent Lakes, and the Township of Cavan Monaghan.