Rideau Corridor Landscape Character
Assessment Project
Collaborating to protect
Ontario’s UNESCO World Heritage Site
Ontario East Municipal Conference
12 September 2012
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Rideau Canal
•Ottawa to Kingston
•202 km long waterway
•19 km of canal cut
•47 Locks
•24 Lockstations
•74 Dams
•12 Swing bridges
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Construction 1826-
1831
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Changing Use
Recreation
Defence
Transport
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The Rideau Canal Corridor –
A Unique Heritage Region
• National Historic Site of Canada 1925
• Canadian Heritage River 2000
• UNESCO Biosphere Reserve 2002
• UNESCO World Heritage Site 2007
• National Geographic Society 2008
• Google World Wonder 2012
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Why a World Heritage Site?
• …best preserved example of a slackwater canal in North America
demonstrating European slackwater technology on a large scale.
• …only canal dating from the great North American canal-building
era of the early 19th century that remains operational along its
original line with most original structures intact.
• …a canal used for a military purpose linked to a significant stage
in human history – the fight to control the north of the American
continent.
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What does World Heritage Site
designation mean?
• Inscribed property
• Buffer zone
• Setting
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Lockstations
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Defensible
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Structures

World Heritage Recommendation
• “that following the completion of the study of the
visual setting of the canal, consideration is given to
strengthening its visual protection outside the
buffer zone, in order to ensure the visual values of
the setting are protected alongside environmental
values.”
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Landscape setting
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Landscape setting
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Landscape setting 13

Towards A New Vision –
The Rideau Corridor Landscape
Strategy
• A coordinated, strategic approach is
needed to ensure:
• Strong, sustainable communities
• Conservation of the unique
character of the Canal Corridor
• Realization of economic
potential for Ontario‟s only World
Heritage Site
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Challenges
New/Continuing Development
Pressure
• Residential
• Houses, condos, cottages, subdivisions
• Commercial
• Large facilities
• Retail, hotels, trailer parks, etc.
• Energy production
• Wind and solar farms
• Infrastructure
• New bridge crossings and
transit tunnel
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The Rideau Corridor Landscape
Strategy: Working Together
• Challenges
• Fragmented government
jurisdictions and processes:
municipal, provincial, federal,
private interests
• Need for a common
understanding of key values
and opportunities
• How to “get it right,” balancing
economic development and the
conservation of key values
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Working Together
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Working Together
• Provincial ministries (8+) and 2 conservation authorities
responsible for land use planning, natural environment,
cultural heritage, mining activity, transportation, agriculture,
water quality and tourism
• Federal agencies (3+) with responsibility for federal lands
(Parks Canada, National Capital Commission, Department of
National Defence)
• Many active not-for-profit organizations, citizens groups
and countless private property owners and businesses
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The Strategy
2009 - present
• Meetings with municipalities, provincial ministries,
conservation authorities, NCC, Aboriginal
communities and other partners
• Rideau Landscape Forum on April 2009 in Kemptville
– over 130 people from a wide range of organizations
across the Rideau Corridor
• Municipal Forum in September 2009 to discuss
governance model
• On-water meetings with key partners to share
information on landscape values, opportunities and
challenges
• Rideau Canal “Forum for the Future” in November
2009 19

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Governance Structure
S
E
STEERING COMMITTEE C
R
E
T
A
R
I
Technical Other A
Advisory Advisory Groups T
Group(s) (as required)
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Governance Structure
Steering Committee (28 members):
Chairperson & Vice (elected by committee members)
13 Municipal Reps (elected officials or planners)
3 County Reps (elected officials or planners)
2 Conservation Authorities
1 Provincial Rep
6 First Nations Reps
1 National Capital Commission Rep
1 Parks Canada Rep
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Planners…an invaluable resource
• Planners and local
organizations are invaluable
Eastern Ontario resources
• Planners work in municipalities
and most public agencies
• Well trained
• Know the system, the players
and the issues
• Know their community
• Experienced collaborators
• Understand landscape
character
• Trusted by the public
and elected officials
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Work To Date
Planners Technical Advisory Group as the project developers
and primary advisors to the Steering Committee
• Corridor-wide planning
policies and regulations
• Encouraged „world heritage
sites‟ to be noted in PPS
• Work Plan
• Scoping-out Landscape
Character
• Implementation Challenges
• Digital Mapping
• Input to RFP for Landscape
Character Assessment
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Landscape
Character
• Understanding the Corridor
• The forces of change
• Understanding landscape
character
• International Best Practices
• Characterization and values
• Preference testing
• Assessing impacts of change
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Implementation Challenges
• Rank planning and
management tools for long
term conservation
• Input from the public and
stakeholders (most of the
property adjacent to the
Rideau Canal is privately
owned)
• Select best option for local
implementation
• Indicators, methods and
frequency of monitoring
change
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Digital Mapping
Description
1988 Ontario Base Mapping Federal Parks
Watersheds and subwatersheds Urban and village areas
Conservation Areas, Source Water Building Foot Print
Municipal boundaries Impervious areas
Physiography of Southern Ontario fences
Bedrock Geology river recreation areas
Bedrock Elevation: OGS Areas of Natural Interest
Surficial Geology Tile Drains
Depth of Overburden / Drift (OGS) Airports
Soils: 2008 Concession
Evaluated Wetlands: 2008 Settlements
Woodlands: 2007 utility lines
Land Cover, 2007 towers
Stream Network Bedrock Geology
Constructed (Municipal) Drains Surficial Geology
Road Network eastern Ontario Bedrock topography
Agricultural lands Drift / depth of overburden
Streams and rivers Physiography
Constructed Drains (Municipal Drains) solris
Railways WRIP stream network
Pathways and trails Indian Reserve
Bridges, communication towers Rideau Canal Locks
Municipal parks, Rideau Canal Waterway
Provincial parks Location or Feature Name
Waterbodies Elevation 27

Selecting the
Right Consultant
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• Dillon Consulting working through 2012
• Selection of best implementation tools
• May lead to further studies or site specific
projects
• Report back to UNESCO by July 2013
• Success in looking at the Rideau collectively and
holistically
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• Provide clarity, certainty and transparency in
planning processes to decision makers,
property owners and other stakeholders
• Serve as a foundation for cooperation
between First Nations, municipal, provincial,
federal governments and stakeholders
• Raise awareness about the values of the
Rideau Canal Corridor and promote new
ways of thinking about development
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More Information
www.pc.gc.ca/rideau
www.RCLS-SACR.ca
rideaucanal-info@pc.gc.ca
613-283-5170
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