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Rouge
National
Urban Park
Rouge National Urban Park
• Since 2011, the TRCA has been a
central partner to Parks Canada &
the Government of Canada in the
creation of Rouge National Urban
Park
• Parks Canada has also engaged over
201000 people & worked closely with
Indigenous Peoples, all levels of
government, conservationists,
farmers, the Toronto Zoo, & others
to create RNUP
Rouge
National
Urban Park
Park Overview
• At 79km2 in size spanning Toronto, Markham,
Pickering and Uxbridge, RNUP will be the
largest urban park in North America
• RNUP protects natural, cultural & agricultural
heritage, & features over 10,000 years of
human history
• RNUP has its own unique legislation and a
recently released park management plan
Rouge National Urban Park Area
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Rouge
National
Urban Park
The Management Plan:
• Guides the next 10 years of park management
• Enshrines ecological integrity as RNUP's 1St
priority in parks management & focuses
efforts in this regard on species -at -risk &
habitat restoration
• Commits to reconciliation and working with
the RNUP First Nations Advisory Circle on all
aspects of park management and operations
• Provides long-term certainty for park farmers
and protection of some of the last farms in
the GTA
Rouge
National
Urban Park
The Management Plan:
• Connects Lake Ontario to the Oak
Ridges Moraine with dozens of
kilometres of new trails
• Provides new education & visitor
facilities, in Toronto, York & Durham
• Establishes RNUP as a premier "Learn -
to" park where GTA residents,
newcomers & visitors can learn to
camp, paddle and hike
Rouge
National
Urban Park
Service Agreements
• Parks Canada wishes to see the TRCA play a key
role in achieving management plan objectives
through partnerships & service delivery
agreements
• TRCA is uniquely positioned to help implement
key aspects of the plan, as proven national
leaders in:
• Restoration services
• Urban camping
• Trail maintenance
• Watershed management
• To move ahead with service agreements &
implementing the management plan, land
assembly needs to be concluded
Rouge
National
Urban Park
Land Assembly
• Major land contributions by jurisdiction:
• Transport Canada (56%) — Lands transferred in 2015 & 2017
• Ontario (9.3%) — Lands transferred in 2017
• TRCA (32.1%) — 2.7% (Bob Hunter area) transferred in 2018
• While 2.7% of TRCA lands transferred in late 2018,
most TRCA lands (20.6 km2, mainly south of Steeles
Avenue, shown in green) have yet to transfer,
impacting the scope, scale and pace of restoration and
partnerships
• Following the TRCA transfer, Parks Canada will manage
nearly 98% of Rouge National Urban Park lands
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Rouge
National
Urban Park
Visitor & Education Centre
• Parks Canada recently completed a feasibility
study of 9 location options for a flagship park
visitor centre in Toronto
• Parks Canada's preferred option is east of
Meadowvale Road
• This location is part of the Zoo's leasehold and is
used for overflow parking, and is home to three
small breeding facilities
• Parks Canada has begun positive discussions with
the Zoo to look at mutually beneficial outcomes
• TRCA and Parks Canada have already agreed to
provide the Zoo with 41 acres of parkland where
these species could be bred, as well as parkland
to grow browse to feed Zoo animals
44
Rouge
National
Urban Park
Moving Forward
• Parks Canada appreciates the TRCXs
expertise, support & partnership
• We look forward to working with the TRCA
on completing land transfers in a timely
fashion and implementing RNUP's
management plan
• Thank you