Conservation Halton has retained the services of EDA Collaborative Inc. to help develop Master Plans for five Conservation Areas – Glenorchy, Mount Nemo and Rattlesnake Point, as well as Hilton Falls and Crawford Lake. As consultants, their role is to inventory and assess all aspects of each of these four areas, determine their current strengths and weaknesses, as well as future opportunities. 

EDA will be utilizing the Triple Bottom Line approach to planning which takes into account "People, Planet and Profit." This is very appropriate in a Parks Master Planning process, as parks, especially in conservation areas, enhance and restore the natural environment while educating people about our shared responsibility to the earth. In addition, given that views may be divided as to how revenue-generating activities might impact environmental factors, the approach must be similarly diversified.

We wanted to take the opportunity to give you an idea of the process we will be taking in developing the Parks Master Plans.

• Internal SWOT analysis.
• Consulting with a wide array of external Conservation Halton stakeholders through interviews, working groups and open houses.
• Before summer present to the public in a series of working open houses, draft Master Plans for Glenorchy, Hilton Falls, Mount Nemo and Rattlesnake.
• Complete Master Plans by the end of the year. 

Each of these Conservation Areas must be planned differently as they are unique and have different challenges. All are facing increased pressure due to rapid growth of nearby municipalities; all have suffered some degree of environmental degradation whether through logging, farming, mineral extraction or just heavy park use.