Under the Remedial Action Plans for the Great Lakes, the Toronto and Region AOC lists the Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) of Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat and Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations as impaired. A Prioritization Tool is needed to guide aquatic habitat restoration along the waterfront to achieve delisting targets for Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) 14 Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat and BUI 3 Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations and support ongoing restoration efforts post-delisting. Ecosystem restoration planning requires an integrated approach considering many components of the natural system when prioritizing where and what to restore. Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and partners are developing a strategic approach to restoration planning, using the concept of applied science to inform meaningful implementation decisions focusing on priority areas rather than opportunism. TRCA has amassed a wealth of knowledge and data on terrestrial biodiversity, aquatic ecosystems, lake processes and hydrology. Consolidating these data sets to compare discrete areas based on different parameters and thresholds has helped direct future restoration initiatives. The Waterfront Integrated Restoration Prioritization (WIRP) framework uses existing data to reflect different restoration goals, ensuring important habitats and corridor linkages are protected, enhanced or rehabilitated. This is achieved by identifying where impairments to ecological function are located and prioritizing restoration opportunities that could contribute most to improving the existing habitat along the Toronto waterfront. This approach has been used in watershed planning and has proven successful for garnering support and new partnerships which has resulted in measurable improvements to the natural system. This presentation will outline WIRP methodology and demonstrate how it can be used as a tool to successfully achieve different natural resource planning objectives.
