FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions? Find answers to common questions and helpful insights.
Who Are We?
The Escarpment Corridors Alliance (ECA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2023 by local residents in South Georgian Bay determined to protect the Niagara Escarpment’s landscapes from irreversible development. We work to safeguard and restore natural corridors—forests, wetlands, rivers, and farmlands—that connect and sustain this ecosystem. These corridors support clean water, thriving wildlife, climate resilience, and the rural way of life that defines this region.
By partnering with communities, landowners, Indigenous leaders, and decision-makers, we’re ensuring that future generations inherit a healthy, connected, and living escarpment.
To create connected corridors of park and protected‑land systems running along the Niagara Escarpment—from Devil’s Glen through Blue Mountain to Georgian Peaks, and from Castle Glen across and up and down the Beaver Valley.
Since becoming a charity in 2023, we’ve halted damaging development proposals; engaged nearly 30,000 citizens; hosted a Nature Corridor Summit and grassroots events; and launched a science‑based study to map critical corridor lands.
Our volunteer board comprises passionate leaders from across the ECA geography, all well known to major land conservancies. They bring corporate‑Canada financial, entrepreneurial and governance expertise, organized into more than a dozen clear portfolios.
Founding board highlights:
– Principals behind the 2004 OMB battle against Castle Glen
– CEO who led the 2013 “Mega Quarry” buyout of 6,500 acres in Dufferin County
– Former marketing & economic development lead for Collingwood
– Founding Chair/Director of the Georgian Bay Land Trust
– Immediate past Chair of CREST (Center for Responsible Travel)
No. We are not creating new policies. We are working with the NEP and NEC to try and…
Yes! We are always looking for passionate and talented individuals to fill a variety of roles, including:
– Environmental and Scientific Affairs
– Political Action
– Events and Education
– Director at Large (open portfolio)
If you have an interest in joining our board, please keep an eye on our website (insert link), where we regularly post what specific roles we are looking to fill. You can also contact us directly if you know someone who would be a good fit.
We fund mission‑critical, interconnected purposes:
– Grassroots awareness building
– Media exposure
– Scientific research and studies
– GIS mapping
– Government lobbying
– Legal and professional services
All board members serve as volunteers and receive no compensation.
Since becoming a charity in 2023, we’ve successfully halted damaging development proposals, collaborated with other conservation organizations across sectors, informed and engaged nearly 30,000 citizens in the cause. Hosted a Nature Corridor Summit and several grassroots events, began a science-based study to identify the most crucial lands to establish a nature corridor on the escarpment. And we’re just getting started. (insert link to research and reports)
Please contact us, and we would be pleased to reach out to you directly.
– Dozens of nonprofits focus on conservation, research, education and recreation along the Escarpment. ECA is unique because:
– Our geographic focus spans the entire Southern Georgian Bay Escarpment corridor.
– We blend education, awareness, political action and strong conservation principles.
– We build a diverse stakeholder coalition for greater political and financial clout.
Early collaborations include: coordinated planning across adjacent conservancies, joint science studies and co‑hosted community events.
No. We are not creating new policies. We are working with the NEP and NEC to try and…
Yes. Through our partnership with Small Change Fund, gifts to ECA’s “Protecting Niagara Escarpment Corridor” project are tax‑receipt eligible.
Join our mailing list and newsletter to receive regular updates.
How Can You Help?
Collaboration is at the heart of our name. We aim to build alliances with conservation authorities, local businesses, farming associations, municipalities, and Indigenous leaders to drive change on the ground.
Whether it’s co-hosting educational events, co-authoring policy submissions, sponsoring conservation projects, or conducting joint research—there’s a role for you. If your organization shares our vision of a protected, connected escarpment, we want to hear from you.
Are You Anti-Development?
Not at all. We support smart, sustainable growth that prioritizes housing in existing urban areas, protects farmland and natural systems, and builds resilient communities. Sprawl is not the answer to a housing crisis—it threatens food security, water quality and the economy.
Inappropriate development occurs outside existing infrastructure and requires clearing sensitive lands—fragmenting ecosystems and destroying habitat. Appropriate development focuses on infill, intensification, brownfield redevelopment and adaptive reuse that minimize land take and leverage existing services.
– Conservation easements: Legal agreements with landowners to keep their land natural and productive.
– Land trust acquisitions: Building capacity to acquire and steward key parcels in perpetuity.
– Connecting fragmented lands: Linking reserves, parks and private holdings to maintain wetlands, watersheds and species corridors.
– We implement proven tools, not just raise awareness—ensuring long‑term protection of land and water.
What Are Conservation Solutions?
– Conservation easements: Legal agreements with landowners to keep their land natural and productive.
– Land trust acquisitions: Building capacity to acquire and steward key parcels in perpetuity.
– Connecting fragmented lands: Linking reserves, parks and private holdings to maintain wetlands, watersheds and species corridors.
– We implement proven tools, not just raise awareness—ensuring long‑term protection of land and water.
What Is a Conservation Economy?
Not at all. Many corridors support low‑impact recreation—hiking, biking, cross‑country skiing and, where compatible, snowmobiling—so long as activities align with conservation goals and the landowner’s vision.
Absolutely. Our Conservation Economy Report demonstrates how prioritizing conservation fosters a vibrant, innovative economy—supporting green jobs, eco‑tourism and sustainable agriculture that benefit both people and the environment.
Where Do Agricultural Lands Fit In?
We protect what matters most: clean water, healthy soil and the ability to pass land to future generations. Our corridor vision shields farmland from sprawl, buffers fields from floods and droughts, and defends rural livelihoods.
Farmland is integral to our corridor. Through voluntary conservation easements and sustainable‑agriculture partnerships, we help landowners maintain productive operations while preserving ecological functions—creating buffer zones, wildlife habitat and seamless connections between natural areas.
About Private Land Conservation
Many landowners choose to keep large properties undeveloped. ECA partners with the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy and supports the Bruce Trail Conservancy to secure easements, ecological gifts and reserve acquisitions that lock in protection while respecting landowner rights.
– Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy’s full protection of Springer Congers (51 acres of Provincially Significant Wetlands)
– Bruce Trail Conservancy’s new Eugenia Woods and Balsam Wetlands nature reserves
Both organizations receive ecological gifts under Canada’s Eco‑Gifts program.
About the UNESCO World Biosphere Designation
A biosphere reserve designates an ecosystem in three zones: protected core, buffer and transition, fostering biodiversity, sustainable development and community capacity building. There are 686 global sites; 18 in Canada; 4 in Ontario.
Yes. The Niagara Escarpment was designated in 1990, and the Niagara Escarpment Commission oversees it.
It’s Ontario’s most prominent landform, the longest continuous natural corridor in southern Ontario, home to ancient ecosystems, high biodiversity and world‑class hiking along the Bruce Trail.
Yes. UNESCO conducts ten‑year reviews; as of 2018, 45 sites worldwide have been withdrawn—none in Canada. Reviews assess zoning, management, community involvement and conservation outcomes.
About the Niagara Escarpment & Bruce Trail
Yes, but we believe some past NEC decisions—like Castle Glen’s 2004 approval—missed key conservation opportunities. ECA advocates for applying today’s stronger policies to protect the corridor.
ECA fully supports the Bruce Trail Conservancy’s mission of “Preserving a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.” We encourage BTC membership and donations. ECA also engages in policy advocacy and extends corridor protection to areas not directly adjacent to the Trail.
The Castle Glen Development
– 1969: 87‑lot Thunder Hill subdivision approved
– 1973: Official Plan Amendment #7 for seasonal‑use residential
– 1985: Niagara Escarpment Plan enacted; OPA 7 grandfathered
– 2001: Application for Official Plan amendment
– 2002–04: OMB hearings; Phase 1 & 2 approved
– 2021: Sold to Great Gulf Homes
For a detailed history, see our Castle Glen position paper.
A resort town: 1,600 residences; 300‑unit hotel/conference centre; three golf courses; two village centres; 54,000 sq ft of retail; gas station; spa; civic and office space—all on prime Escarpment lands.
At 1,500+ acres, it anchors both the south‑north axis (Devil’s Glen to Georgian Peaks) and the east‑west axis (Beaver Valley to Castle Glen). Development would sever contiguous forest, wildlife corridors, headwaters, sensitive aquifers, wetlands, dark‑sky areas and cultural heritage sites.
No. That plan predates modern conservation policy. Placing a mini city, golf courses and commercial villages on fragile Escarpment lands makes no sense today. We urge municipalities, NEC and the Province to revisit those approvals.
The Talisman Development
Once a ski resort, Talisman fell into disrepair and bankruptcy. The Municipality of Grey Highlands acquired key parcels nearly ten years ago after repeated failed redevelopment attempts.
Framing the brow of the escarpment and draining into the Beaver River, Talisman links north‑south and east‑west corridor routes, supports salmon streams, hosts the Bruce Trail and sustains vital habitat.
We disagree. In February 2022, council agreed to a below‑market sale despite higher conservation offers. Legal action is underway, and ECA works with local groups to ensure full scrutiny and protect these lands.
Success Stories
Yes. Ontario campaigns such as the Mega Quarry and the Epping development challenge show that dedicated community action can halt inappropriate projects.
How are you funded?
Yes. Our Bedrock Donors fund roughly XX % of our budget; the remainder comes from grants and smaller gifts.
Yes. We’ve received grants from government bodies, including a $60,000 award from the Greenbelt Foundation in 2024 for our science and research.
Absolutely. As a growing organization, grant applications are vital to support our operations, projects and mission fulfillment.
Do you have a Board of Directors?
We have 11 volunteer Directors whose expertise spans corporate leadership, nonprofit governance, environmental science, land‑conservation law, sustainable agriculture, community advocacy and Indigenous engagement.
Yes! We welcome expressions of interest. Please visit our website’s Board Opportunities page (link) to see current needs and application details.