Hundreds of hectares of land immediately east of the planned future suburb of Tewin are now protected as provincially significant wetland — one of the biggest wetland designations the City of Ottawa has embarked on in several years.
It means no development can take place on 561 hectares of swamp and marsh that hug Highway 417 east of the urban core.
The Algonquins of Ontario own much of that land, which the group purchased from the Ontario government in 2020.
They and development partner Taggart Group have said they would create a “natural heritage trust” there, possibly linked to the National Capital Commission’s Greenbelt, beside where they’re planning homes for up to 45,000 people.
In a study posted recently on the city’s website, evaluators gave the South Bear Brook wetland more than enough points to secure top provincial protections — even under the updated, controversial wetland scorecard the Ontario government rolled out two years ago.
The sheer size of the wetland and its importance to the watershed made it worth protecting, explained Nick Stowe, who leads the city’s team responsible for policies and land-use planning involving the natural environment.
Evaluators also found five provincially significant species and nests with great blue herons, he said.
Wetland addition instead of loss
These newly protected wetlands are a different outcome compared to the 55 hectares of wetland west of Stittsville that lost provincial status in 2023.
In those cases, a private owner and a local quarry saw existing wetlands downgraded on their properties now that Ontario rules allow existing files to be re-evaluated.
This near Tewin, on the other hand, was a new evaluation initiated by the municipality. But Ontario’s updated points system for evaluating wetlands still affected the outcome at South Bear Brook.
The city’s consultants originally identified more than 1,000 hectares of significant wetland a few years ago, said Stowe. Then the rules changed in January 2023 and they applied the new scorecard.
In the end, 561 hectares of provincially significant wetland were protected.
None of the top-ranked wetlands with provincial status are located in the future Tewin development and it has only a few of the lesser wetlands, he said.
“If the Tewin development proposes any changes to those wetlands, they would have to go through permitting process with the conservation authority,” Stowe explained.
The original Tewin area proposed to city council in 2021 by the Algonquins of Ontario and Taggart is seen in blue, while the 445 hectares eventually added for urban development are within the dashed line. The contours of provincially significant wetlands designated in 2024 are shown to the right of the development area. (CBC)
Expensive evaluations
The wetland evaluation was one of many studies set in motion after city council gave Tewin the green light in 2021.
When the partners first made their pitch at city hall that year, their proposed area for Tewin was much larger than the area currently being studied, but there was indeed a natural area in the east that was unlikely to be developed.
The wetlands in that area had never been properly assessed for protection, however.
“It’s an expensive and a long process to evaluate a wetland,” said Stowe, noting that half of all wetlands across Ottawa have not been evaluated.
“We don’t have the resources to go out and evaluate wetlands unless there is actually a pressing reason to do so.”
Nick Stowe leads the team of biologists, planners and foresters at the City of Ottawa responsible for environmental land-use planning. (Mathieu Deroy/CBC)
Jim Meness, the executive director of the Algonquins of Ontario since 2023, said the group had worked with the city and welcomed the wetland designation. He said he was unable to do an interview but sent a statement through a communications firm that has worked for the Tewin partners.
“We have been aware of these beautiful natural heritage features since before we acquired the land,” the statement said. “In fact, it was an important feature that we wanted to acquire for the purpose of protecting and enhancing.”
The maps that show South Bear Brook as protected wetland were updated by Ministry of Natural Resources staff in January.
Stowe says the City of Ottawa will likely go through the process to have its zoning match in early 2025.