Park Management Plan

October 2000 (Amended 2014)

Document Prepared by Anthony Usher Planning Consultant

® 2014, Queen’s Printer for Ontario
Printed in Ontario, Canada

Additional copies of this publication are available from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry:

/environment-and-energy/provincial-park-management-direction

Park Superintendent
Presqu'ile Provincial Park R.R. 4
Brighton, Ontario KOK 1H0
(613) 475-4324

62855 (Print)
62856 (PDF)
ISBN 978-1-4606-4457-7 (Print)
ISBN 978-1-4606-4458-4 (PDF)

Examination and adjustment of management direction

Approval DateExamination or Type of AdjustmentExamination Outcome (where applicable)Document
2002
2004
December 29, 2006
Secondary Plann/aManagement Strategy for Double-crested Cormorants at Presqu'ile Provincial Park, 2002-2007 (amended 2004, 2006)
March 2, 2009Secondary Plan Beach and Dune Resource Management Implementation Plan
March 31, 2012ExaminationAdministrative Update
Amendment
 
July 3, 2013Administrative updaten/a 
August 29, 2014Amendmentn/a 

Approval statement

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am pleased to approve this amendment to the 2000 management plan for Presqu'ile Provincial Park. The amendment provides revised policy direction to enable some necessary park resource management, operations and development projects identified since 2000. Zoning changes for existing day use access roads and parking areas improved consistency in zoning policy and better support the use and maintenance of this existing infrastructure.

I would like to express my appreciation to all those who participated in the planning process.

Sincerely,

Signed by:
Bradley Fauteux
Managing Director
Ontario Parks

Dated: August 29, 2014

"I know of no other provincial park or any area in all of southern Ontario that includes so much diversity of natural communities in so small an area. The woods, the marshes, the beach, the Islands, the fields, the sheltered bay and the open waters of Lake Ontario; Presqu'ile has it all." - Barry Kent MacKay, foreword to Birds of Presqu'ile Provincial Park, 1993.

I am pleased to approve the Presqu'ile Provincial Park Management Plan as the official policy for the management and development of this park. The plan reflects the intent of Ontario Parks to protect the natural and cultural features of Presqu'ile Provincial Park, and maintain and develop high quality opportunities for outdoor recreation and heritage appreciation for both residents of Ontario and visitors to the province.

Signed by:
Adair Ireland-Smith
Managing Director
Ontario Parks

Date: October 2000

Foreword

This approved Management Plan represents the third and final stage in the preparation of a management plan for Presqu'ile Provincial Park. In the first stage of the planning process (1995-96), Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Background Information/ Issues and Alternatives was produced and distributed for public review. In the second stage (1996-99), a Preliminary Management Plan was produced and reviewed by the public.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is responsible for managing Ontario’s natural resources in accordance with the laws it administers. As the province’s lead conservation agency, MNRF is the steward of provincial parks, natural heritage areas, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates, fuel minerals, and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87% of Ontario.

In 1994, MNR completed its Statement of Environmental Values as required by the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993. The Statement indicates how the purposes of the Environmental Bill of Rights are to be considered whenever MNRF makes decisions that might significantly affect the environment.

In 2000, MNR released Beyond 2000, which identifies the Ministry’s vision of sustainable development and its mission of managing Ontario’s natural resources in an ecologically sustainable manner. The supporting strategies of Beyond 2000 are also considered in MNRF land use and resource management planning.

As of December 2012, the current strategic direction document for the MNRF was Our Sustainable Future; A Renewed Call to Action (2011).

During the development of this Management Plan, MNRF has considered these documents. This park management plan is intended to reflect the directions set out in them, and to further the objectives of managing Ontario’s resources on a sustainable basis.

All activities undertaken in Presqu'ile Provincial Park must comply with the class environmental assessment for provincial parks and conservation reserves (Class EA-PPCR), where applicable.

1 Introduction

Presqu'ile’s uniqueness as a landform, expressed in its name - "almost an island" - underlies everything else that is special about it. The foot of Presqu'ile Peninsula was once a limestone island, as Gull and High Bluff islands still are. Over hundreds of years, sandspits from the island and mainland grew towards each other and eventually joined to form a tombolo (a barrier beach linking a former island with the mainland). Today, the Presqu'ile tombolo includes tremendous diversity within a narrow strip: a sand beach on Popham Bay, two ridges of dunes, a seasonally wet meadow between the dune ridges (the panne), and finger-like points curving into Presqu'ile Bay Marsh (the Fingers). It is the largest, and the best example of, a tombolo on the Great Lakes and within the provincial parks system.

The park’s physical characteristics combine with its location on Lake Ontario and near major population centres to make it significant in several other ways.

  • The panne is the best example of its kind on Lake Ontario and is home to an internationally significant plant community
  • The park is home to other important environments, including part of Presqu'ile Bay Marsh, recognized as a provincially significant wetland
  • The park provides internationally significant habitats for bird nesting and bird and monarch butterfly migration, and is in the top rank of places to see birds in Ontario
  • The peninsula’s hazards for navigation discouraged settlement and caused Presqu'ile Lighthouse (the oldest easily accessible operating light on the Ontario side of the Great Lakes) to be built, and kept most of the peninsula as public land until park status became a possibility
  • The sand beach is one of the outstanding recreational beaches on Lake Ontario’s north shore. East of Toronto and south of Algonquin Provincial Park, Presqu'ile is the second most visited Ontario provincial park for day use and the third or fourth most visited for camping, and its heritage education program is the most used

Presqu'ile Park was established by a special Act in 1922 and was managed for the next three decades by the locally based Presqu'ile Park Commission. In 1954, the Presqu'ile Park Act was repealed, and the park became Presqu'ile Provincial Park under the Provincial Parks Act. Two years later, the Commission was disbanded, and the park came under the direct administration of the Department of Lands and Forests, now MNRF. In 1996, operation of Presqu'ile and other provincial parks was assumed by Ontario Parks, a new organization within MNRF. In 2006 the Provincial Parks Act was replaced by the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act (PPCRA).

The PPCRA has two specific principles that guide all aspects of planning and management of Ontario’s system of provincial parks and conservation reserves:

  • Maintenance of ecological integrity shall be the first priority and the restoration of ecological integrity shall be considered
  • Opportunities for consultation shall be provided.

Other legislation (i.e., Endangered Species Act, 2007), policies, initiatives (e.g., climate change, invasive species) and best practices (e.g., adaptive management, landscape level planning) also provide additional direction for protecting Ontario’s biodiversity and contribute to guiding protected area planning and management. The mandate of Ontario Parks is to protect, plan, develop and manage Ontario’s system of provincial parks while improving the self-reliance of Ontario Parks.

The park lies entirely within the Municipality of Brighton. The park entrance is 4 km from Brighton town centre and 9 km from the Highway 401 interchange with Northumberland County Road 30. Map 1 shows the park’s setting within east central Ontario, and its relationship to other provincial parks, protected areas, and recreational features.

Detailed information on the park’s setting, facilities, natural and cultural heritage, and markets and use is provided in the Background Information/Issues and Alternatives document, available from Ontario Parks.

The approved Management Plan will guide the development, management, and operation of Presqu'ile Provincial Park over the next 20 years. Section 10 describes the process for review and amendment of the plan.

The policies in this plan will not abrogate or derogate from any Aboriginal or treaty right recognized or affirmed by the Constitution Act.

Map: Regional Setting

Map showing the location of Prequ'ile Provincial Park in relation to surrounding region

Enlarge Map: Regional Setting

2 Public consultation and significant issues

2.1 Background information/issues and alternatives

The public was first invited to participate in management planning for Presqu'ile Provincial Park in August and September 1995, through a mailing to individuals and groups then known to be interested, advertisements in area newspapers, and placement on the Environmental Registry under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993. In November 1995, a Public Involvement Plan was mailed to those on the mailing list.

On November 28, 1995, a workshop for 11 key interest groups was held in Brighton. The workshop’s purpose was to allow the participants to become better acquainted with each other, and search for common ground on, and solutions to, difficult issues.

About 1,000 copies of the April 1996 Background Information/Issues and Alternatives document, along with a revised Public Involvement Plan, were distributed through:

  • a mailing to the 242 individuals and groups then on the mailing list
  • an open house in Brighton on June 22, 1996, attended by about 100 people
  • mailing, and over the counter distribution at the park, in response to individual inquiries

The Background Information/Issues and Alternatives document and the open house were also publicized through advertisements in area newspapers in June 1996.

Included with the document was a questionnaire. Respondents were invited to submit comments in addition to or in place of the questionnaire if they wished. Respondents were asked to bring their questionnaires and/or comments to the Brighton open house, or return them to Ontario Parks by August 6, 1996. Ontario. Parks received 185 responses.

Also in summer 1996, a survey of Presqu'ile day visitors and campers was conducted (visitors to each operating provincial park are surveyed every few years). In addition to the standard questions asked at all parks, questions about management planning were added at Presqu'ile.

Section 2 of the Preliminary Management Plan identified the issues most commented on by the public during review of the Background Information/Issues and Alternatives document. Highlights of the public responses to Background Information/Issues and Alternatives and the park visitor survey responses were provided in an Appendix to the Preliminary Plan. Background Information/Issues and Alternatives: Summary of Public Response (November 1996) provides more detail and is available from Ontario Parks.

2.2 Preliminary Management Plan

About 1,000 copies of the February 1999 Preliminary Management Plan were distributed through:

  • a mailing to the 556 individuals and groups then on the mailing list
  • an open house and public meeting in Brighton on March 25, 1999, attended by about 500 people
  • mailing, and over the counter distribution at the park, in response to individual inquiries

The Preliminary Plan and the open house and public meeting were also publicized through advertisements in area newspapers in February 1999.

Because of the very high level of public interest in the Preliminary Plan, during the review period Ontario Parks also:

  • met with several key interest groups
  • issued Preliminary Management
  • Plan: Questions and Answers in June 1999, to clarify issues of concern in the Preliminary Plan and indicate some of the changes being considered, and mailed it to about 2,800 individuals and groups then on the mailing list
  • issued to key interest groups and the media in July 1999 a summary of proposed changes to the Preliminary Plan

Preliminary plan recipients were invited to submit comments to Ontario Parks by April 23, 1999, later extended to August 31, 1999. Ontario Parks received 169 responses from 147 individuals and interest groups, and 2,409 form letters. In addition, those attending the public meeting were given comment sheets; 234 were returned.

Preliminary Management Plan: Summary of Public Meeting - Brighton, March 25, 1999 (June 1999) summarizes what was said at the public meeting. Preliminary Management Plan: Summary of Public Response (October 2000) summarizes all written responses to the Preliminary Plan, including the public meeting comment sheet. Both documents are available from Ontario Parks.

The following proposals emerged as the most significant issues during public review of the Preliminary Plan:

  • Changing the water boundary in Presqu'ile Bay
  • Prohibiting motorboating in most park waters in Presqu'ile Bay
  • Adding Salt Point to the park
  • Closing the Calf Pasture Point boat launch
  • Managing the sand beach for both bird migration and beach recreation.
  • Removing the picnic facilities north of the park store
  • No policy on cormorant control
  • Changing municipal official plans to better protect park values
  • Community involvement in plan implementation

Management Plan: Ontario Parks Position on Major Issues (October 2000), available from Ontario Parks, explains the position of Ontario Parks on these and other issues raised by the public, and indicates the changes made in this approved Management Plan as a result. Other minor changes have been made to the Preliminary Plan, to reflect changed conditions or conform with Ontario Parks requirements for approved management plans.

Finally, from 1997 on, a separate process was conducted for one significant issue, waterfowl hunting.

In fall 1997, the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable John Snobelen, asked the Board of Directors of Ontario Parks for its opinion on this issue. On February 18, 1998, the Ontario Parks Board adopted the following recommendation by consensus:

"that the Presqu'ile Provincial Park Preliminary Management Plan should call for waterfowl hunting to be phased out over a period of no more than five years, provided that the Ministryof Natural Resources, working in partnership with conservation organizations, develops alternative hunting opportunities for big water diver duck hunting."

In April 1999, the Minister appointed a committee representing the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, and Brighton area waterfowl hunters and naturalists, and facilitated by Ontario Parks staff, to advise him on the feasibility of implementing the Ontario Parks Board recommendation. The committee concluded its work in May 2000.

The committee recommended Sawguin Creek Marsh, in Muscote Bay, Prince Edward County, for consideration as a replacement site for the waterfowl hunt at Presqu'ile.

2.3 Implementation of management plan direction - waterfowl hunting

Between January and May of 2001, MNR undertook a locally focused consultation process for the Sawguin Creek Marsh replacement site. A letter was sent to the local First Nation, local private landowners and local and provincial stakeholder groups known to have an interest. A public information session was held April 30, 2001.

Based on the results of consultation, it was decided that the Sawguin Creek Marsh site was unacceptable. As a result, the MNR concluded that there were no suitable alternate opportunities, and that the controlled waterfowl hunt would remain at Presqu'ile Provincial Park.

2.4 Management plan amendment (2013)

In winter 2013, Aboriginal communities, stakeholders and the public were invited to participate in the development of an amendment to the Presqu'ile Provincial Park Management Plan (2000). Invitation for comment was distributed through:

  • Direct mailings/emails to six local Aboriginal communities
  • Policy proposal notice posted on the Environmental Registry of the Environment Bill of Rights (EBR) for a 56 day comment period ending January 24, 2013
  • Direct mailings/emails sent to 348 individuals/groups:
    • relevant government and stakeholder group contacts considered mandatory for park management planning
    • adjacent landowners, local stakeholder groups and individuals or groups that responded during previous resource management implementation planning consultation
  • Media ads placed in five local newspapers
  • Proposed amendment posted on external Ontario Parks website

Ontario Parks received 16 responses from individuals (10), stakeholder groups (4), local government agency (1) and provincial government agency (1).

The majority of the amendments to the plan received only a few comments; comments included support, concern and/or requests for clarification. Minor changes were made to the park objectives (Section 3.3.1,3.3.3), land tenure (Section 4.2), zoning (Section 5.5.2, 5.5.3) and plan implementation (Section 9.2) sections to reflect comments received.

Ten (10) respondents expressed concern with the activity of waterfowl hunting within the park. The amendment updated park policy regarding waterfowl hunting (Section 6.5) to reflect the results of consultation in 2001. Further changes to the policy were out of scope for the amendment.

3 Park policies

3.1 Classification

Presqu'ile Provincial Park will continue to be classed as a natural environment park, one of six classes of parks in the Ontario provincial parks system. The other classes are wilderness, waterway, nature reserve, cultural heritage, and recreational.

Natural environment parks protect outstanding recreational landscapes with representative natural features and cultural heritage values to provide high quality recreational and educational experiences. Presqu'ile clearly has all these attributes.

3.2 Goal

The goal for the park is:

To protect Presqu'ile Provincial Park’s outstanding natural and cultural heritage, and provide high quality recreational and educational experiences appropriate to and sustainable within the park’s environment.

3.3 Objectives

The Ontario provincial parks system has four objectives: protection (which is the park system’s paramount objective), heritage appreciation, recreation (includes tourism), and scientific research. As a natural environment park, Presqu'ile will contribute to all four objectives.

The objectives for Presqu'ile Provincial Park are as follows.

3.3.1 Protection

Manage the park to ensure that ecological integrity is maintained and significant elements of the park’s natural and cultural heritage are protected.

For park system planning purposes, Ontario is divided into 67 ecodistricts based on landforms and biological productivity. Presqu'ile and Sandbanks provincial parks are the two natural environment parks in ecodistrict 6E-15, and protect natural environments representative of this ecodistrict. The specific significant natural and cultural features protected in the park’s nature reserve, historical, and natural environment zones are described in Section 5.

Protection will not be limited to provincially significant features. The entire park will be maintained as a healthy, diverse, and sustainable natural environment, consistent with achieving the park’s other objectives. The restoration of degraded environments will be given a high priority.

3.3.2 Heritage appreciation

To provide opportunities for exploration and appreciation of the park’s natural and cultural heritage.

Within the limits of the need to restrict access to certain areas at certain times to protect natural heritage values, the entire park is very suitable for heritage exploration and appreciation. A full range of opportunities will be provided, from unstructured individual exploration to organized programs and interpretive centres. Specific heritage education facilities and services are described in Section 7.1.

3.3.3 Recreation

To provide day use and camping recreation opportunities appropriate to the park and to provide Ontario residents and visitors with opportunities to discover and experience the park’s natural, cultural, and recreational environment.

Swimming, walking and hiking, nature appreciation, picnicking, and camping are expected to continue to be the principal recreational activities in the park. Camping and day use will be maintained near present levels in summer. Ontario Parks will seek to increase camping and day use in the spring, fall, and winter, by increasing heritage appreciation opportunities and improving the suitability of existing park facilities.

Tourism opportunities will be enhanced by achieving the park’s other objectives, and by working with area municipalities and community groups to develop and promote Presqu'ile-Brighton as a primary tourism and recreation destination. The park itself will be promoted on the basis of its natural and cultural heritage values and recreational opportunities, and appropriate enjoyment and appreciation of those values and opportunities. Increasing visitation and revenues will provide more funds to help achieve the park’s protection and heritage appreciation objectives, and to help improve the self-reliance of the overall provincial parks system in accordance with the mandate of Ontario Parks. Tourism development initiatives are further described in Sections 7.5, 7.6, 9.2, and 9.3.

3.3.4 Scientific research

To encourage research that furthers our knowledge of the park’s ecological communities, and contributes to understanding and maintaining landscape-level function. The results of scientific research and monitoring can be used to help maintain and restore the ecological integrity of the park, by allowing park staff to use the best available scientific information and technology to support planning and management decisions.

Specific fields of research appropriate to the park are described in Section 7.2. Resource management implementation plans for the park provide additional direction for monitoring and research actions for landform, vegetation and wildlife management purposes.

3.4 International conservation designations

Ontario Parks will support designation of Presqu'ile Provincial Park under any international conservation initiative that will recognize and promote the park’s natural and cultural heritage, provided that designation does not have any implications inconsistent with continued ownership and operation of the park by the Province or with this plan.

In 2000, the park was recognized as a globally significant Important Bird Area (IBA) within the North American Important Bird Areas Program. This program is an international effort to identify, conserve, and monitor a network of sites that provide essential habitat for bird populations. The IBA program’s partners in Ontario, Bird Studies Canada, the Canadian NatureFederation, and the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, released a Presqu'ile Important Bird Area Conservation Plan in August 1999. Any initiative taken under the IBA plan within the park must be consistent with the park management plan.

4 Boundary and land tenure

4.1 Boundary

Maps 2 through 6 in the Background Information/Issues and Alternatives document show the boundary of Presqu'ile Provincial Park as amended in 1969 by Ontario Regulation 86/69. According to boundary surveys up to that time, the park’s area was 937 ha and this value has been used up to now. However, as a result of computerized mapping of the park, the area within the 1969 boundary has been recalculated at 894 ha.

Map 2 in this plan shows the park boundary as amended by regulation in 2008 (Ontario Regulation 197/08). The total park area is 982 ha.

The following changes were made to park lands through the 2008 regulation amendment (see Map 2):

  • Harbour Street and its road allowance along the northern boundary of the park including the junction of Lake and Harbour streets and Bayshore Road, totaling about 2.9 ha, were removed from the park. The Municipality of Brighton, and before it the Town of Brighton and County of Northumberland, have for many years undertaken all construction and maintenance within this right of way, which also includes the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail
  • Two privately owned residential properties on Bayshore Road near the federal dock, totaling 0.6 ha, were removed from the park. They appear to have been inadvertently included within the 1969 boundary

Salt Point will not be added to the park. It will remain Crown land and MNRF will manage it accordingly, either on its own or through partnerships.

The water boundary of the park has been entirely revised, based on the following principles.

  • The boundary was extended off the marsh and sand beach to accommodate recent and anticipated growth of the tombolo
  • The boundary will generally be established on the basis of distance from shore
  • Adequate water access outside the boundary will continue to be provided to all Presqu'ile Peninsula residential properties

All beds of waters, and all lands that have emerged since the 1969 and earlier boundary surveys, are owned by the Province.

For boundary purposes, the shore is defined as wherever it actually is at any time. The outer limit of the boundary is a fixed location, and does not move over time with the water’s edge.

The park boundary will be surveyed to current standards to the extent required for it to be precisely defined in the computerized mapping of the park, as well as on the ground where necessary. The park superintendent will more clearly define the boundary on land (by signage, planting, or fencing as appropriate) and on water (by signage or fixed or floating markers as appropriate), where needed to protect park values and achieve the policies of this plan.

Most if not all of the park qualifies as natural heritage features and areas as defined by the Provincial Policy Statement under the Planning Act. Planning authorities are required to have regard to provincial policy that natural heritage features and areas are to be protected from incompatible development on adjacent lands. MNRF will recommend to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing that the Municipality of Brighton be asked to ensure that its official plans appropriately identify the park’s lands and waters, so that new development near the park is assessed with regard to any potential impacts on the park’s natural heritage values in accordance with provincial policy.

4.2 Land tenure

This plan recognizes the continuing use of park lands by Hydro One Networks Inc. (formerly part of Ontario Hydro), which holds an easement across park lands to provide service to the park and the Presqu'ile Peninsula residential area.

Although the Province owns Presqu'ile Lighthouse, the Government of Canada has authority to operate, maintain, and alter the lighthouse, as well as the High Bluff Island navigation beacon.

Presqu'ile Lighthouse is important to the park and community as a historical resource, landmark, and symbol. Ontario Parks will work with the Government of Canada to ensure that any alterations desired by the federal government are compatible with the lighthouse’s value to the park and community.

Disposition of certain rights to park land for public benefit (e.g., municipal drainage, water or sewer easements) may be considered, subject to review and approval by Ontario Parks. Ontario Parks may impose terms and conditions on authorized dispositions.

An easement will be provided to the Municipality of Brighton for use and maintenance of the municipal water and sewage system within the park. Alterations within the easement will be limited to those that reflect, as much as possible, the natural environment character of the park.

Dispositions of land for other purposes will not be permitted.

5 Park zoning

5.1 Zoning policy

The lands and waters of Presqu'ile Provincial Park are zoned on the basis of their significance for protection and potential for recreation and development. There are five nature reserve, one historical, three natural environment, five development, and two access zones in the park, as shown on Map 2. There are no landscapes in the park of the size and integrity needed to qualify as wilderness zones.

The zone boundaries are shown in more detail on the computerized mapping of the park. It may be necessary to delineate some zone boundaries more precisely on the ground, and this will be done as required.

The following sections briefly describe each zone. The resource uses, recreational uses, and types of development permitted in each type of zone are shown in Table 1. All resource and recreational uses and facility development will be subject to the standard legislation and policies governing provincial parks and public lands and resources, as well as the policies in Sections 6, 7, and 8.

In this plan, "species at risk" means species listed by MNRF on its Species at Risk in Ontario List (SARO) as threatened, or endangered in Canada by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).

Species at risk listings are as of June 2013 and are subject to change.

As noted in Section 9.1, Ontario Parks has prepared resource management implementation plans for the park, to guide landform, vegetation, and wildlife habitat management and restoration (Mainland, Islands, and Beach and Dune Resource Management Implementation Plans).

Where appropriate these plans also provide guidance for recreational management in historical, natural environment, and development zones.

Along with the policies in Section 6, specific principles to be adhered to in amending or replacing each resource management implementation plan will include the following:

The aim of management and restoration will be to:

  • in nature reserve zones, perpetuate the natural heritage values which the zone has been established to protect
  • in natural environment zones, perpetuate natural heritage values to the extent that the zone has been established to protect them
  • in historical and development zones, protect significant natural heritage values that are present.

"Management and restoration" will generally mean maintaining natural environments in, or restoring them to, their original condition as nearly as possible, at which point those environments will be left to evolve naturally and without human interference, except as specifically prescribed in this plan. In some cases, continuing active management to maintain a particular habitat condition or stage of natural succession that does not represent original conditions (for example, an old field) may be justified if it contributes to the park’s overall biodiversity.

"Original condition" means natural conditions before European settlement. It embodies not only natural succession and an absence of post-settlement human interference, but also the original quality, integrity, and diversity of the environment.

Table 1 permitted uses and development

Nothing in this plan, including the permitted uses and development policies in this table, shall be construed so as to abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for the existing Aboriginal or treaty rights of the Aboriginal people of Canada as recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Resource uses permitted, in accordance with provincial parks policies

ActivityNature Reserve ZonesHistorical zoneNatural environment zonesDevelopment zonesAccess zones
Commercial fishing footnote 1Permitted Permitted  
Trapping footnote 2     

Recreational uses permitted footnote 3

Recreation TypeNature Reserve ZonesHistorical zoneNatural environment zonesDevelopment zonesAccess zones
SwimmingPermitted Permitted  
CanoeingPermitted Permitted  
Motorboatingfootnote 4Permitted in zones NR1/NR5 footnote 5 Permitted  
Boat launchingfootnote 4 footnote 6 PermittedPermittedPermitted 
Walking/hikingPermittedPermittedPermittedPermittedPermitted
CyclingPermittedfootnote 7Permittedfootnote 7Permittedfootnote 7PermittedPermitted
Cross-country skiingPermittedPermittedPermittedPermittedPermitted
Sport fishingPermitted Permitted  
Waterfowl huntingPermitted in zones NR1, NR2, NR5footnote 8 Permitted in zone NE3footnote 8  
Car and group camping   Permitted in zone D1. 
Heritage appreciationPermittedPermittedPermittedPermittedPermitted

Development permitted

Development TypeNature Reserve ZonesHistorical zoneNatural environment zonesDevelopment zonesAccess zones
Walking trailsPermittedPermittedPermittedPermittedPermitted
Bike trailsPermittedfootnote 9PermittedPermitted in zone NE3footnote 10PermittedPermitted
Basic day use facilitiesfootnote 11Permittedfootnote 12PermittedPermittedPermittedPermitted
Intensive day use facilitiesfootnote 13  Permitted in zones NE1footnote 14NE3footnote 15Permitted 
Waterfowl hunting blindsPermitted in zones NR1,NR2, NR5footnote 8 Permitted in zone NE3footnote 8  
Campgrounds     
Roofed accommodation  Permitted in zone NE3footnote 15Permitted in zone D2 
Historical restorations and modifications PermittedPermitted in zone NE3footnote 15footnote 16Permitted in zone D2 
Interpretive facilitiesPermitteedfootnote 17PermittedPermitteedfootnote 17PermittedPermitted
Park research and management facilitiesPermitteedfootnote 18PermittedPermitted in zones NE1,NE2footnote 18/ NE3footnote 15+footnote 18PermittedPermitted
Visitor information and service facilities Permitteedfootnote 17Permitted in zone NE1footnote 17 /NE3footnote 15+footnote 17PermittedYfootnote 17
Access roads and parking  PermittedPermittedPermitted
Main roadsfootnote 19and entry station   Permitted in zone D4 
Necessary signsPermittedPermittedPermittedPermittedPermitted

The park superintendent has the authority under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006 to close any part of the park, land or water, to any use, or to restrict any use, for any period of time. In public use areas, this authority would only be used for emergency closures, either to protect park values (such as mass shorebird groundings on the beach, or nesting by species at risk in the marsh), or to ensure public safety.

Natural processes will be used except where other approaches are specifically prescribed by this plan.

Priority will be given to restoration techniques that are judged to be most likely to succeed and to have the most substantial positive impact relative to cost.

Visitor education will be fundamental to successful implementation.

5.2 Nature reserve zones

Nature reserve zones include significant earth and life science features which require management distinct from that in adjacent zones, as well as a protective buffer with an absolute minimum of development. The park’s five nature reserve zones include 80% of the total park area.

Since the Background Information/Issues and Alternatives document was published, MNRF has redefined the Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest in the park area into a single provincially significant Presqu'ile Area of Natural and Scientific Interest, consisting of the panne, backdunes, marsh (including the Fingers), Owen Point, and Gull and High Bluff islands.

Specific resource management guidelines for the nature reserve zones are within the Mainland, Islands, and Beach and Dune Resource Management Implementation Plans.

5.2.1 Zone NR1 - Panne-Marsh (326 ha)

This zone protects:

  • most of the tombolo, the park’s most significant landform, and representative sites for its interpretation
  • the panne, backdune, and marsh (including the Fingers) portions of the provincially significant Presqu'ile Area of Natural and Scientific Interest
  • the panne and marsh portions of the provincially significant Presqu'ile Bay Marsh wetland
  • significant butterfly and moth habitat
  • significant, highly sensitive water bird nesting habitat; one species designated as vulnerable in Ontario and of special concern in Canada, and a second designated as vulnerable in Ontario, nest here regularly, and one regulated under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 nests here occasionally
  • significant, sensitive land bird nesting habitat; one species designated as vulnerable in Ontario and of special concern in Canada nests here regularly and a second nests here occasionally
  • highly significant water and land bird migration areas

Much of the panne within this zone has been disturbed by past or present development. Development not permitted by Table 1 (picnic shelters and comfort station) will be removed from the disturbed areas, which will be restored to their original condition.

This zone includes the waters of Presqu'ile Bay within 100 m of shore, with reductions in front of the private lands along Bayshore Road.

5.2.2 Zone NR2 - Owen Point-Islands (200 ha)

This zone protects:

  • a representative site for landform interpretation of Owen Point and Gull Island
  • the Owen Point and islands portions of the provincially significant Presqu'ile Area of Natural and Scientific Interest
  • the Owen Point portions of the provincially significant Presqu'ile Bay Marsh wetland
  • significant, very highly sensitive water bird nesting habitat
  • potentially significant, sensitive land bird nesting habitat; two species regulated under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 nested here in the past
  • significant monarch butterfly migration areas
  • very highly significant shorebird and water and land bird migration areas.

This zone includes the lakebed of Lake Ontario within 200 m of shore.

The prohibition of public access to Gull and High Bluff islands from March 10 to September 10 will be continued.

The Islands Resource Management Implementation Plan includes the cormorant management strategy for the park (see Section 6.5).

5.2.3 Zone NR3 - North Beach- Foredunes (14 ha)

This zone protects:

  • representative sites for landform interpretation of the beach and foredunes
  • significant beach and foredune vegetation
  • potentially significant, sensitive land bird nesting habitat; one species regulated under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 nested here in the past
  • a highly significant shorebird and water and land bird migration area

5.2.4 Zone NR4 - Foot of Presqu'ile (232 ha)

This zone protects:

  • representative sites for landform interpretation of the foot’s limestone plain and sand ridges
  • significant deciduous forest
  • a plant species designated as threatened in Canada
  • significant butterfly and moth habitat
  • significant, sensitive land bird nesting habitat; one species designated as vulnerable in Ontario and of special concern in Canada nests here regularly and a second nests here occasionally, and one regulated under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 nested here in the past
  • very highly significant shorebird and water and land bird migration areas.

Part of Zone NR4 consists of conifer plantations and old fields. The resource management implementation plan(s) will strike a balance between restoration to original conditions and maintenance of the zone’s outstanding habitat diversity.

5.2.5 Zone NR5 - Calf Pasture Point (8.5 ha)

This zone protects:

  • representative sites for landform interpretation of the point
  • significant, highly sensitive water bird nesting habitat
  • significant, sensitive land bird nesting habitat
  • a very highly significant shorebird and water and land bird migration area

This zone includes the bed of Presqu'ile Bay within 100 m of shore, with reductions in front of the private lands along Bayshore Road.

5.3 Historical zone

Historical zones include significant historical resources which require management distinct from that in adjacent zones, and support minimum development required for visitor exploration and appreciation and scientific research. The park’s one historical zone includes less than 0.5% of the total park area. There are no Lake Ontario or Presqu'ile Bay waters in this zone.

Specific resource management guidelines for the historical zone are within the Mainland Resource Management Implementation Plan.

5.3.1 Zone H1 - Presqu'ile Point (1.5 ha)

This zone includes historic Presqu'ile Lighthouse, the historic lighthouse keeper’s cottage section of the Lighthouse Interpretive Centre, and associated day use facilities. The Friends of Presqu'ile Park will continue to be allowed to operate a small nature shop in the Lighthouse Interpretive Centre (see also Section 9.3).

Zone H1 is part of a significant monarch butterfly migration area and a very highly significant shorebird and water and land bird migration area. The resource management implementation plan will seek to protect these values.

5.4 Natural environment zones

Natural environment zones include natural, cultural, and aesthetic landscapes in which minimum development is required to support low-intensity recreational activities. The park’s three natural environment zones include 10% of the total park area.

Specific resource management guidelines for the natural environment zones are within the Mainland and the Beach and Dune Resource Management Implementation Plans.

5.4.1 Zone NE1 - Beach-Foredunes (52 ha)

This zone includes the 1.2 km of sand beach that is currently managed, and the foredunes behind it. The beach is both an outstanding recreational resource and a highly significant shorebird and water and land bird migration area. The windward foredunes are highly sensitive landforms.

This zone includes the waters of Lake Ontario within 100 m of shore, including the waters off Zone NR3.

In this plan, "beach managed for recreation" means:

  • the entire length of beach in Zone NE1
  • from the water’s edge to about 10 m in front of the dunes
  • for Beach 4 (the southernmost 200 m of the beach), from June 8 to August 15, and for the rest of the beach, from June 8 to Labour Day (the "management seasons")

On the beach managed for recreation, algae, fish, litter, etc. and associated sand will be raked and the raked material removed, daily or as needed to maintain optimal recreational conditions during the management seasons.

A central objective of the Beach and Dune Resource Management Implementation Plan is to optimize conditions for migrating birds, while seeking to maintain quality beach recreation opportunities in the times and places where those opportunities are most in demand. Along with the policies in Section 6 and the principles listed in Section 5.1, specific principles to be adhered to in amending or replacing this zone resource management implementation plan will include the following.

  • The park’s current commitment to foredune protection and revegetation will be continued
  • Disturbance to shorebirds will be minimized
  • Natural processes will be used wherever possible
  • Experimentation with various management approaches and techniques will be encouraged, and their effects monitored
  • One experimental approach may be to restrict access to limited parts of the beach for limited times, where and when critical to bird migration. Another may be to erect snow fences at points where they would promote sand deposition
  • The beach managed for recreation will be fully open to the public year round, except for:
    • emergency closures (see note at end of Table 1)
    • access restrictions as described above, outside the management seasons only.
  • The focus on a high standard of management of the beach managed for recreation during the management seasons should not prevent more limited management actions from being undertaken as needed during the rest of the year.

Map: Park Boundary, Zoning and Development

Map showing Presqu'ile Provincial Park Boundaries, Zoning and Development areas

Enlarge Map: Park Boundary, Zoning and Development

Zone NE1 will remain one of the park’s two main day use areas and will be managed accordingly. Minimal food services may be provided by vending carts which may be located and used on the beach during daytime hours only.

5.4.2 Zone NE2 - Calf Pasture Cove (3.5 ha)

This zone includes a low intensity day use area. Zone NE2 is also part of a very highly significant water and land bird migration area.

This zone includes the waters of Presqu'ile. Bay within 100 m of shore, including adjacent waters off Zone NR5.

Although the Calf Pasture Cove boat launch has been closed, this area will remain important as a secondary day use area and the park’s only recreational area on Presqu'ile Bay.

5.4.3 Zone NE3 - South Shore (43 ha)

This zone consists of:

  • the waters of Lake Ontario within 100 m of shore in front of Zones D1, D2, H1, and NR4 from High Bluff Campground to Presqu'ile Point
  • the shorelands in front of Zones D1 and D2 up to 10 m inland from the ordinary water mark, excepting existing car campground areas less than 10 m inland, which will remain part of Zone Dl.

The limestone bluffs and gravel and cobble beaches that form most of the south shoreline are subject to erosion and deposition. The shore includes representative sites for landform interpretation and is a significant shorebird and water and land bird migration area. It also provides outstanding vistas over and low intensity access to Lake Ontario.

Existing higher intensity development that is more appropriate to development zones and that extends into the Zone NE3 shoreline strip (intensive day use facilities and the Lighthouse Lane heritage cottages) will be permitted as a continuing nonconforming use. This development will be allowed to remain and may be repaired, restored, or adapted for appropriate reuse, but those portions of development within Zone NE3 may not be expanded, enlarged, or replaced.

5.5 Development zones

Development zones provide access to the park, and facilities and services for more intensive day use and car camping activities. The park’s five development zones include 9.5% of the total park area.

There are no Lake Ontario or Presqu'ile Bay waters in the park’s development zones.

Specific resource management implementation guidelines for the development zones are within the Mainland Resource Management Implementation Plan.

5.5.1 Zone D1 - Campgrounds (51 ha)

This zone includes the car campgrounds and group camping area, the campground access roads, and shorelands in front of the car campgrounds up to the Zone NE3 shoreline strip. The zone boundary extends a 30 metre distance out from campground loop roads, to include the footprint of existing development (e.g., campsites). There are 394 regular campsites. There are also 10 group campsites in the group camping area, which can accommodate a maximum of 750 campers. (The Background Information/Issues and Alternatives document referred to a maximum of 400 campers; this was an error.) The numbers of regular and group campsites and the capacity of the group camping area will not be increased. However, the following improvements will be made, with the particular objective of improving the campgrounds' suitability and attractiveness for spring, fall, and winter use.

  • Parking at the amphitheatre will be expanded
  • Additional existing campsites may be electrified in accordance with Ontario Parks' corporate strategy. Sites selected for electrification will be those that are most likely to be attractive to spring, fall, and winter campers and where the work can be done with the least disturbance to the park environment. There will be no electrification in areas of mature native forest in Craigs, Hidden Valley, Lakeside, and Maples campgrounds
  • Small group picnic shelters will be installed in the group camping area
  • New comfort stations with showers will be developed in Trail’s End campground and the group camping area
  • A new park store/campground office building with reconfigured parking area may be developed.

Wet conditions in portions of Zone D1 provide amphibian and reptile habitat and affect some campsites. The resource management implementation plan seeks to minimize habitat disturbance and optimize campsite quality by seasonally restricting use of campsites as needed.

5.5.2 Zone D2 - Lighthouse Lane Day Use (23 ha)

This zone includes the Lighthouse Lane day use area on both sides of Lighthouse Lane, the four heritage cottages and adjacent lands south of Lighthouse Lane, and associated parking, except for the Zone NE3 shoreline strip. This is one of the park’s two main day use areas.

The general level of development will not be significantly increased. However, in the day use area, facilities will be upgraded as required and small group picnic shelters will be installed. South and east of the group camping area, day use development will be low intensity in character and restricted in extent.

The cottages may be used for heritage education, visitor information and service, and park research and management support purposes consistent with a heritage buildings stewardship plan for the park (see Section 6.6). Parking may be reconfigured or enlarged to support the associated use, but will not result in clearing of forested or other undisturbed areas.

The cottages also present an opportunity for providing roofed accommodation for visitors, consistent with a new initiative of Ontario Parks to diversify its accommodation options. The heritage building stewardship plan has determined which cottages and sites are most appropriate for this purpose, while ensuring that their cultural heritage values would be perpetuated.

Zone D2 includes native forest stands south of Lighthouse Lane. The resource management implementation plan seeks to maintain and enhance this shoreline forest.

5.5.3 Zone D3 - Park Store (0.5 ha)

This zone includes the park store and associated access, parking, and services.

The park store was demolished in 2009 and a new, temporary structure established within the existing footprint.

The store may be renovated and expanded, so that it can provide a basic, efficient level of service consistent with current visitor expectations, and maintain or increase revenues to Ontario Parks. The total footprint within this zone that is occupied by the store and its outbuildings will not increase by more than 50 m2. The park store will be accessible to persons with disabilities and may provide the following services:

  • indoor seating for fast food buyers
  • washrooms accessible from both inside and outside, including from outside when the store is closed
  • Ontario Parks gift shop

Picnic facilities may be developed around the store as required. Subject to development of a new park store in Zone D1 (Section 5.5.1), the temporary store building will be removed and the site rehabilitated. The existing site and associated parking area may still be used for day use recreational access and educational programs. The parking area may be reduced in size, which would require appropriate site rehabilitation; the access road to zone D5 may continue.

5.5.4 Zone D4 - Main Roads (17 ha)

This zone includes Presqu'ile Parkway, the section of Bayshore Road within the park, Paxton Drive, and Lighthouse Lane. It consists of a 15 m road right of way, which may be widened as required to include traffic islands and junctions.

Underground water and sewage lines for the municipal water and sewage collection system, associated lifting station and access parking are within this zone.

Roads will be maintained to provincial parks operating standards for hard surfaced main interior roads, and will occupy only as much of the right of way as required to meet those standards. The Paxton Drive-Lighthouse Lane loop was made one way for motor vehicles, counterclockwise, year round, and the rest of the existing road surface made available for trail purposes (see Section 7.3). The surface of road shoulders along Presqu'ile Parkway may be improved (i.e., paved/resurfaced, widened) to establish cycling and/or pedestrian trails.

5.5.5 Zone D5 - Operations Areas (3.5 ha)

This zone includes:

  • the park office and maintenance yard and associated access and parking
  • the pump house and associated access, including utility lines
  • a native plant nursery for park management and restoration purposes (established in the location of a former woodyard east of High Bluff campground, originally included in Zone D1)
  • a section of underground water and sewage line for the municipal water and sewage collection system
  • the trailer dumping station and associated access (formerly included in Zone NR1)

The park office may be expanded and the footprint of the trailer dumping station may be enlarged (i.e., additional lane for trailer dumping station) to better accommodate use. Otherwise, the general level of development will not be increased. A maintenance yard perimeter will be defined and fenced, enclosing the smallest area consistent with efficient and effective park operations. Wood chips will only be stockpiled within this perimeter.

5.6 Access zones

Access zones include development associated with access for day use. The park’s two access zones include 0.5% of the total park area.

5.6.1 Zone A1 – Beach and Trail Access and Parking (5.5 ha)

This zone includes:

  • existing beach access roads and parking formerly in Zone NE1
  • the Marsh Boardwalk access road and parking area formerly within Zone NR1
  • Calf Pasture Cove access road and parking area formerly within Zone NE2
  • Lighthouse Interpretive Centre building, access road and parking area formerly within Zone H1.

All roads are within a 10 m road right of way.

Minimal food services may be provided from mobile vending units located in the parking lots.

5.6.2 Zone A2 – Emergency Access (0.5 ha)

This zone includes a new emergency access road between Presqu'ile Parkway and High Bluff Campground, formerly in Zone NR1. Road re-establishment will include installation of culverts to replace footbridges and limited surface improvement (e.g., placement of gravel in disturbed areas).

It also includes an existing emergency access route between the end of Bayshore Road and the Lighthouse Interpretive Centre parking area, formerly in Zone H1.

All roads are within a 5 m road right of way.

Access routes will be gated and used during emergencies only and as directed by the park superintendent.

6 Resource management policies

Ontario Parks will manage Presqu'ile Provincial Park in accordance with the policies for natural environment parks as set out in Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Management Policies, and the specific policies of this plan.

Species at Risk (SAR) and their habitat will be protected in a manner consistent with the Endangered Species Act, 2007 and associated regulations, and this plan and all resource management and other implementation plans must be consistent with this aim. Recovery actions (e.g., projects to enhance, rehabilitate, restore or manage habitat) may be implemented in accordance with relevant government response statements and Ontario Parks' policies.

Further to direction provided in this section and sub-sections, detailed resource management (e.g., landform, vegetation, wildlife) project information is provided in the park’s resource management implementation plans.

6.1 Land and water management

All existing roads in nature reserve and natural environment zones that are not specifically permitted by Table 1 will be closed and permanently blocked to motor vehicles. Waterfowl hunters holding a daily blind permit for the park will be allowed to use the boat launch site at High Bluff camping area on the day that permit is valid. With that exception, all existing boat launches will be closed. The closed roads and launches will be allowed to deteriorate naturally or their sites will be restored to original conditions, as appropriate.

Sewage from comfort stations and in- building washrooms in Zones NE1, D1, D2, D3, and D5 will be disposed of through the municipal sewage system installed through the park, or through other authorized sewage treatment systems (e.g., septic tank-tile field systems). Sewage from vault privies will be removed from the park for disposal.

Waste consisting of natural materials will be reused or composted inside the park where feasible and appropriate. Otherwise, all solid waste will be removed from the park for recycling or disposal.

No dams or weirs will be built in the park. Wherever possible, new development or redevelopment will be undertaken so as not to disrupt natural drainage, and zone resource management implementation plans will seek to restore natural drainage where it has been disrupted by past or present development.

6.2 Landform management

Landform management planning will be accomplished through zone resource management implementation plans. Shorelands will be managed in accordance with the Presqu'ile Mainland Resource Management Implementation Plan.

6.3 Vegetation management

Vegetation management including, but not limited to, invasive species control and eradication, thinning of plantations to promote establishment of native forests, and tree planting, may be used to maintain or restore natural environments.

Planted conifers will be removed from Zones NR1 and NE1. In other nature reserve zones, removal will be a long term objective to be addressed through zone resource management implementation plans. In the rest of the park, zone resource management implementation plans will determine whether planted conifers should be removed, thinned, or left alone.

Additional alien plant species will not be deliberately introduced to the park. (In this plan, "alien species" means species that have been unintentionally or deliberately introduced by human activity into areas outside their natural past or present distribution). If established alien plant species threaten natural heritage values, a program for their eradication will be developed, subject to specific policies elsewhere in this section of the plan.

Extirpated native species may be re-established if biologically feasible and acceptable, using seed stocks native to the park or area if possible.

Vegetation may be mowed only:

  • along the park boundary, where mowing would assist in clearer boundary identification
  • in Zone D4, as required to maintain road safety
  • in other development zones, only to the extent necessary to minimize interference with intensive recreational use

Trees and brush may be cut or pruned only:

  • to enable resource management or facility development specifically authorized by this plan or by an approved zone resource management or other implementation plan
  • to ensure public safety
  • in the Hydro One Networks Inc. easement, subject to the guidelines in Section 8

Trees may not be cut for the purpose of providing firewood. Trees and brush cut in nature reserve and natural environment zones outside of conifer plantations will be left to deteriorate naturally as close as possible to where they have been felled. Trees and brush cut in conifer plantations and historical and development zones will be left to deteriorate naturally as close as possible to where they have been felled, or if that is not feasible, may be used for firewood or wood chips in the park.

Native insects and diseases affecting vegetation will be allowed to progress naturally, except where they threaten significant natural heritage values in nature reserve, historical, or natural environment zones, or significant aesthetic values in development zones, in which cases they will be controlled where feasible. Alien insects and diseases will be controlled where feasible. Where control is undertaken, it will be directed as narrowly as possible to the specific insect or disease so as to have minimal effects on the rest of the park’s environment. Biological controls will be used whenever possible.

Human caused wildfires in the park will be suppressed. Suppression techniques that have the least residual impact on the park’s environment will be used wherever practical. This policy does not apply to fires in fireplaces as permitted by regulation under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act.

Chemical fertilizers will not be used in the park. Chemical herbicides, pesticides, and suppressants will not be used for any vegetation management purpose except:

  • insect and disease control and fire suppression under the conditions set out in this section of the plan
  • eradication of alien species, where it has been demonstrated that other methods with less residual impact on the park’s environment are not feasible
  • control of poison ivy in development zones.

Vegetation management planning will be accomplished through zone resource management implementation plans.

6.4 Fisheries management

The fisheries of Presqu'ile Bay and Lake Ontario within the park will be managed in accordance with the policies prevailing for those waters. Wherever possible, fisheries management will seek to maintain and enhance native, self-sustaining fish populations. Policies in Section 6.5 on the introduction, replenishment, and eradication of animal species will not apply to the fisheries of Presqu'ile Bay and Lake Ontario.

Angling in Presqu'ile Bay and Lake Ontario will continue to be subject to the regulations prevailing in Fisheries Management Zone 17, which includes these waters. Waters within nature reserve zones may be closed to angling temporarily or permanently for fisheries or wildlife research or management purposes.

During the management planning process, the concern was raised that commercial fishing in Presqu'ile Bay and Lake Ontario might be affecting park birds. There is not yet enough information available to determine to what extent this concern is justified, or identify the range of alternatives that might be available to reduce any such impacts without unduly affecting commercial fishers. As part of the implementation of this plan, MNRF will seek to obtain the needed information and resolve this issue.

6.5 Wildlife management

As indicated in Section 5.2, the park is or could once again be home to eight bird species at risk. Several other bird species at risk regularly migrate through the park. The park is also significant to the migration of the monarch butterfly, another species at risk.

Wildlife habitat enhancement, rehabilitation and restoration may occur (e.g., turtle nesting habitat creation).

Additional alien animal species will not be deliberately introduced to the park. If already established alien species threaten park values, a program for their eradication may be developed if feasible and practical. Extirpated native species may be reintroduced, and existing populations replenished, if biologically feasible and acceptable, and desirable in terms of perpetuating park values.

Animal populations, including invasive domestic animals, may be controlled when essential to protect human health and safety, natural heritage values, or the health of species outside the park. Conflicts that have arisen between visitors and healthy native animals mainly due to visitor behaviour such as feeding and littering will not be considered as endangering human health and safety. These conflicts will normally be dealt with through visitor education rather than animal control. When animal control is necessary, techniques will be used that have minimal effects on the rest of the park’s environment. Any hunting, trapping, or other control measures will be carried out directly by, or under the supervision of, Ontario Parks.

Ontario Parks will obtain authorization from the Canadian Wildlife Service before undertaking any control or eradication of migratory bird species.

The deer population will be reduced to, and then maintained at, a level that is within the carrying capacity of the park’s deer habitat and sustainable in the context of the park environment. Ontario Parks will set a target population that represents its best scientific judgement as to how many deer the habitat can sustainably support. The target population is estimated to be 35 as of 2000, but will be subject to change from time to time on the basis of new information or habitat changes. The population will first be reduced as quickly as possible to near the target, and then maintained as required to keep it near the target.

Deer population reduction will be undertaken directly by Ontario Parks, or through partnerships under the supervision of Ontario Parks. Reduction will be by shooting.

The park superintendent may close the park to the general public during deer population reduction. Presqu'ile Peninsula landowners and their visitors will continue to be able to drive across the park during any such closure. Special precautions will be taken to ensure public safety when reduction is undertaken near the Presqu'ile Peninsula residential area or Bayshore Road through the park.

A cormorant management strategy has been developed for the park, within the framework of:

  • MNR's 1998 policy statement that control may be considered if cormorants are having significant adverse ecological impacts on specific habitats or other species
  • MNR's 2000 announcement of a five year cormorant research, monitoring, and experimental control program, focusing on the park area and several other locations

Implementation will deal with cormorant impacts on specific park values (e.g., vegetation, terrestrial habitat, other bird species). As of 2012, this strategy has been developed as part of the Islands Resource Management Implementation Plan.

Waterfowl hunting, and the launching of boats and use of blinds for that purpose, are permitted to continue (Section 2.3). Under no circumstances will the duration or the extent of the hunt be increased.

There are no commercial trapping authorizations within the park boundary. Those portions of Zones NR1 and NR5 previously licensed to trappers were removed from the trap area description prior to January 1, 2010, in keeping with phaseout policy direction. Status Indians were exempted from this phaseout.

Wildlife management planning specific to individual habitat issues (for example, shorebird migration in Zone NE1) will be accomplished through zone resource management implementation plans.

6.6 Cultural heritage management

Cultural heritage values that may be impacted by park projects and activities shall be identified and managed (i.e., protected, maintained, used and disposed of) in accordance with the Standards and Guidelines for Conservation of Provincial Heritage Properties (Ontario Heritage Act). Staff will also consult MNR's Technical Guideline for Cultural Heritage Resources (2006).

Archaeological and historical artifacts may only be removed and heritage landscapes altered as part of approved cultural heritage research or management projects.

Ontario Parks has prepared a heritage buildings stewardship plan for the four heritage cottages along Lighthouse Lane. The plan:

  • assessed the significance of each building and its immediately surrounding cultural landscape, and the structural condition of each building
  • prescribes the kinds of interpretive uses and/or adaptive reuses appropriate to each building, within the range of uses permitted in Zone D2
  • indicates any conservation or restoration required to perpetuate each building’s cultural heritage value and permit appropriate uses consistent with public safety
  • indicates the ranges of structural and use changes permitted to each building without an amendment to the heritage buildings stewardship plan provides guidelines as to appropriate non-structural maintenance (painting, landscaping, etc.)

The heritage buildings stewardship plan determined that two buildings (Cousins Cottage, Cruise Cottage) did not qualify as built heritage resources; both may have potential for adaptive reuse as a visitor centre or roofed accommodation. If adaptive reuse is not feasible, either of these two existing buildings may be expanded or removed/demolished and replaced by a new visitor centre building and associated infrastructure.

Although an archaeological survey of the park was carried out in 1972, further study is required and will be encouraged. Management strategies for any archaeological sites found in the future may range from allowing the sites to evolve without human interference, to research, excavation, and rehabilitation. Protection and management will be undertaken in consultation with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.

7 Park operations policies

Presqu'ile Provincial Park’s operating plan will continue to provide Ontario Parks staff with the information required to operate the park on a day-to-day basis. The plan will provide specific direction for the management and operation of all park facilities and activities. In addition to the policies that follow, the plan will address such topics as budgets, staffing, maintenance, enforcement, and emergency services. The park operating plan will be consistent with this plan and the Ontario Provincial Parks Operating Standards, and will be reviewed annually and updated as required.

To ensure that park operations continue to meet the standards of the park operating plan, self-serve facilities may be developed, and individual volunteers and partner organizations (see Section 9.3) may be involved in park programs. Ontario Parks has the right to suspend operations of any facilities or services due to funding limitations, but in so doing will ensure that heritage values are not impaired and customer service standards are affected as little as possible.

Various new business practices may be introduced into park operations in accordance with the mandate of Ontario Parks. These will include:

  • improving operating efficiency and controlling costs
  • contracting out some operating functions
  • improving customer service standards

Ontario Parks staff may use motorboats and motor vehicles in the park to the extent necessary for efficient park management and operations. In approving research applications (see Section 7.2), Ontario Parks may authorize researchers to use motorboats and motor vehicles to the extent necessary for research to be conducted safely and efficiently. Both Ontario Parks staff and approved researchers will conform wherever possible to the limitations applicable to recreational users. Any other public agency may use any craft or vehicle for emergency rescues in the park, subject to the approval of the park superintendent.

7.1 Heritage education

Heritage education in provincial parks is intended to develop visitors' awareness and appreciation of Ontario’s natural and cultural heritage, fostering a commitment to protecting that heritage for all generations. Heritage education opportunities are meant to be educational and recreational, formal and informal, and accessible to all. There are three components of heritage education in parks: information, interpretation, and outdoor recreation. The level of service each park provides depends on its significance and visitation. At Presqu'ile, heritage education is at the major activity level, the highest available.

The 1991 Visitor Services Management Plan (now referred to as a natural heritage education operating plan) will continue to guide the park’s information and communications services and interpretive and recreational programs. It will be reviewed annually and updated as required. The park will continue to offer:

  • a comprehensive, high quality information system
  • a full range of interpretive and educational programs and opportunities, from unstructured individual exploration to organized programs directed to a variety of audiences
  • appropriate outdoor recreation skills programs

As prescribed by the natural heritage education operating plan, the principal themes of park interpretation are evolution of life in the Ordovician era, development of the tombolo, ecology of the marsh, ecology of Lake Ontario, biodiversity of the park, bird migration, monarch butterfly migration, and marine history.

With the implementation of this park management plan, increased emphasis will be given to:

  • interpreting the park’s cultural heritage, including its marine, settlement, recreational, and Aboriginal heritage
  • interpreting the implementation of the natural heritage management policies of this plan and the zone resource management and other implementation plans
  • better promoting park programs and services in the Brighton area, and increasing community involvement
  • providing more services in spring, fall, and winter
  • providing more and better services to school groups

A natural heritage visitor centre may be developed in one of the Lighthouse Lane heritage cottages. The heritage buildings stewardship plan described in Section 6.6 provides guidance for which cottage and site are most appropriate for this purpose, to ensure that their cultural heritage values are perpetuated. Alternately, if adaptive reuse is not feasible, one of the existing buildings that did not qualify as a heritage resource (Cousins Cottage, Cruise Cottage) may be removed/demolished and replaced by a new visitor centre building and associated infrastructure (Section 6.6). Parking may be reconfigured or enlarged.

The new portion of the Lighthouse Interpretive Centre will be completed as a cultural heritage visitor centre. The lightkeeper’s home will be a special exhibition area.

In addition to the specific developments authorized by this plan, and subject to the possibility that in nature reserve zones, public access may need to be limited as described in Table 1, viewing decks or blinds and outdoor display panels may be installed along trails or elsewhere at heritage sites of particular interest.

7.2 Research

Research by qualified individuals that contributes to knowledge of natural and cultural history and to environmental and recreational management will be encouraged.

Research activities require authorization issued under the PPCRA, consistent with Research Authorization Policy for Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves. Research is subject to development and management policies associated with the park’s classification, unless special permission is given. Research must meet all requirements under applicable provincial and federal legislation, and may require additional permits or approval (e.g., MNRF Wildlife Scientific Collector authorization or ESA permits). Sites altered by research activities will be rehabilitated as closely as possible to their previous conditions.

The following general fields of research are particularly appropriate to Presqu'ile Park and will be encouraged:

  • landforms, vegetation, wildlife, and archaeology of the park
  • evolution of the park’s landscapes in relation to natural processes and human activity
  • ecological restoration and management in the park
  • the status of species at risk and other rare species and communities
  • optimal relationships between heritage protection and recreational enjoyment within the park

Ontario Parks will evaluate and decide upon each application to conduct research using the following criteria, in addition to the research policies and strategies for provincial parks and the policies in this section of the plan:

  • the subject matter of the research relative to the above priorities, and whether the proposed research complements existing research work and data
  • whether the park is a particularly suitable environment for the research, versus whether the research could be equally well conducted elsewhere, the methodology to be followed and the sensitivity of the resources to be investigated
  • for research on the islands, the researcher’s skills and preparedness for safe boating and camping without support from Ontario Parks, the researcher’s qualifications and experience, and past record, if any, in Presqu'ile or other provincial parks

Bike trail

Bluff campground - alongside bike trail.

As indicated in Section 5.5.2, the heritage cottages in Zone D2 may be considered for research support uses consistent with the heritage buildings stewardship plan.

7.3 Trails

There will be four types of trails in the park. Trail developments since the 1996 Background Information/Issues and Alternatives document are indicated below. Recently completed trails will be formally named, as will new trails as they are developed. Trail development policies and standards are discussed in Section 8.

Interpretive trails

  • Marsh Boardwalk (existing)
  • Jobes' Woods Trail (existing; new trail entrance has been located)
  • Owen Point Trail (Beach 4 to Owen Point) (existing; completed 1998)
  • Presqu'ile Point Birding Trail (existing; completed 2000)

Hiking trails

  • Two trails in foot of peninsula (former Newcastle and other trails; completed 2000)
  • Park entrance to High Bluff campground trail (to be marked within the following existing alignments):
    • park entrance to Beach 1
    • parking - within Presqu'ile
    • Parkway and Beach 1 access road rights of way,
    • Beach 1 parking to Beach 4 parking on trail formerly used for cyling
    • Beach 4 parking to High Bluu campground - alongside bike trail

Bike trail

  • Park entrance to Beach 4 parking – within Presqu'ile Parkway and Beach 4 access road rights of way (partially completed 2000)
  • Beach 4 access road entrance to campground office/Bayshore Road
  • Beach 4 parking to Chatterton Point (existing)
  • Paxton Drive-Lighthouse Lane loop - on part of existing road surface made available by instituting one way traffic

Birding footpaths

  • Existing unmarked paths and new paths (not yet located)

Cross-country skiing will be permitted on all appropriate trails, but trails will not normally be managed for skiing.

Cycling will not be permitted on the interpretive trails, hiking trails, and birding footpaths.

7.4 Recreation management

Entry to the park will be controlled year round and day use and camping fees will be collected from all park visitors.

Presqu'ile Parkway and Bayshore Road across the park will continue to be free and open to Presqu'ile Peninsula landowners and their visitors who are not otherwise using the park. Landowner access will only be limited in case of emergency closure as described in the note at the end of Table 1.

Consistent with day use parking areas being limited as described in Section 8, not more than 1,275 vehicles holding day use permits will be permitted in the park at one time.

The following recreational activities will not be permitted in the park:

  • snowmobiling
  • all-terrain vehicle use
  • aircraft takeoff and landing
  • horseback riding

Park values potentially affected by boating activities include bird nesting habitat and migration areas along the shorelines of Zones NR1, NR2, and NR5 and in the inlets of Zone NR1, and black tern nesting habitat on the open waters of Zone NR1. As described in Table 1, federal regulations already limit motorboat speeds within 30 m of shore. Ontario Parks will seek new regulations to prohibit motorboating, except using electric motors, in the inlets of Zone NR1 as shown on Map 2, and to prohibit all motorboating in Zone NR2.

Ontario Parks will encourage compliance with present and future boating regulations through signage and other communications, visitor education, and increased enforcement. Ontario Parks will carefully monitor boating impacts on the park values of concern. If the approach described here does not adequately protect those values, Ontario Parks may seek to further restrict boating within Zones NR1 and NR5.

7.5 Tourism services

The following tourism services may be developed and operated either through concession agreements or by Ontario Parks directly:

  • the park store as permitted by this plan
  • food services permitted by this plan
  • rental of recreational equipment whose use is permitted in the park
  • public transit on park roads

7.6 Marketing

Presqu'ile Provincial Park will be operated consistent with the overall marketing strategy of Ontario Parks. Marketing may include:

  • promoting the park on the basis of its natural and cultural heritage values and recreational opportunities, and appropriate enjoyment and appreciation of those values and opportunities
  • promoting year-round use

8 Development policies

There are approximately 1,275 day use parking spaces in Presqu'ile Provincial Park (1,200 in Zones D2, with the rest in Zones A1 and NE2 and at trailheads in Zone NR4). Despite any other provision of this plan, the total footprint of day use parking in the park will not be significantly increased. As Zone D1 is for camper use only, parking spaces in that zone will not be considered to be day use parking spaces.

All development undertaken by Ontario Parks, or by concessionaires on its behalf as permitted by Section 7.5, will be carried out in accordance with approved site and development plans that meet development standards for provincial parks. The location, design, and materials of all facilities will as much as possible reflect the natural environment character of the park. Durable, low maintenance, and energy efficient designs and materials will be used wherever possible.

Where appropriate, measures to mitigate the impact of roads on wildlife (e.g., turtles) will be taken.

New trails or trail segments and associated viewing decks or blinds will be built to standards appropriate to their trail type.

Any restoration or reconstruction of cultural heritage features will conform to high standards of cultural authenticity and will complement, not interfere with, the features themselves.

Any new utility lines required by Ontario Parks will be built within rights of way of open roads wherever possible.

Ontario Parks will seek to ensure that any alterations by Hydro One Networks Inc. to its easement and the transmission lines within it, and by the Government of Canada to Presqu'ile Lighthouse and the High Bluff Island beacon, reflect as much as possible the natural environment character of the park and, as discussed in Section 4.2, the lighthouse’s cultural value.

Additional roofed accommodations (including yurts, cabins, or other types of structures) may be developed. Roofed accommodation facilities could be constructed on existing campsites or in limited numbers in other suitable areas within the development zones.

Within the limits established by this plan, the final location and extent of all development will be determined through site and development planning processes.

New developments may include:

  • new park store/campground office building and parking reconfiguration in Zone D1
  • improving road shoulders to include cycling lanes in Zone D4, with a new section of bike trail only off-set from the road to link to the main campground office area
  • trailer dumping station lane expansion in Zone D5
  • park office addition in Zone D5
  • emergency exit road (install culverts) in Zone A2
  • a new visitor centre facility in Zone D2 in the location of one of the heritage cottages with associated parking
  • additional roofed accommodations in development zones

9 Plan implementation

9.1 Implementation priorities

Ontario Parks will give priority to completing the following major initiatives. These initiatives are listed in order of their appearance in this plan, not in any order of rank. Except where indicated otherwise in this plan, or as required under the Environmental Assessment Act, no further public consultation will be required for these developments to proceed.

Implementation of initiatives is subject to:

  • applicable legislation and provincial policy
  • class environmental assessment for provincial parks and conservations reserves
  • the availability of financial and human resources

In order to manage the park effectively, Ontario Parks will prepare various implementation plans. These include those listed among the initiatives that follow, as well as site and development plans as described in Section 8. A natural heritage education operating plan and a park operating plan are already in place. Three resource management implementation plans and the heritage buildings stewardship plan are in place as described below.

Resource protection and management

  • support international conservation designations (Section 3.4, ongoing)
  • prepare zone resource management implementation plans (Sections 5.1-5.5; completed through Presqu'ile Beach and Dune Resource Management implementation Plan (2009), Presqu'ile Islands Resource Management Implementation Plan (2011), and Presqu'ile Mainland Resource Management Implementation Plan (2011)
  • remove panne development, Zone NR1 (Section 5.2.1; continue, partially completed in 2002)
  • remove food concession building, Zone NE1 (Section 5.4.1, completed in 2003)
  • define and fence maintenance yard perimeter, Zone D5 (Section 5.5.5, completed 2003-2004)
  • close and block roads, NR and NE zones (Section 6.1)
  • close boat launches (Section 6.1; completed 2001)
  • remove planted conifers, Zones NR1 and NE1 (Section 6.3; initiated and ongoing)
  • obtain more information on and resolve concerns about commercial fishing impacts (Section 6.4; information obtained, no current concern, no longer relevant)
  • start deer population reduction (Section 6.5; initiated 2004 and ongoing)
  • prepare cormorant management strategy (Section 6.5; completed 2002, 2004, 2006)
  • prepare heritage buildings stewardship plan (Section 6.6; completed through preparation of the 2009 Presqu'ile Heritage Buildings Stewardship Plan)
  • end cycling on trails in panne (Section 7.3, completed 2004).

User facilities and services

  • install mobile vending facilities, Zone NE1 (Section 5.4.1)
  • expand amphitheatre parking, Zone D1 (Section 5.5.1, completed)
  • electrify more campsites, Zone D1 (Section 5.5.1; initiated 2001, 2006, 2008)
  • install small group picnic shelters, Zone D1 (Section 5.5.1)
  • develop new comfort stations, Zone D1 (Section 5.5.1; initiated 2011)
  • install small group picnic shelters, Zone D2 (Section 5.5.2, initiated 2009)
  • provide roofed accommodation for visitors consistent with heritage buildings stewardship plan, Zone D2 (Section 5.5.2)
  • renovate and expand park store, Zone D3 (Section 5.5.3; temporary replacement in 2009) or build new park store, Zone D1 (Section 5.5.1)
  • make Paxton Drive-Lighthouse Lane one way for motor vehicles, Zone D4 (Section 5.5.4; completed 2002-2003)
  • develop natural heritage visitor centre consistent with heritage buildings stewardship plan, Zone D2 (Section 7.1) or develop a new building (Section 5.5.2)
  • expand trailer dumping station, Zone D5 (Section 5.5.5)
  • complete Lighthouse Interpretive Centre, Zone H1 (Section 7.1, completed 2001)
  • mark park entrance to High Bluff Campground hiking trail, Zones D4, NE1, NR1/NR2 (Section 7.3, completed)
  • develop new bike trail segments, Zones NE1, D4 (Section 7.3; initiated)
  • develop emergency exit road, Zone A2 (Section 5.6.2)
  • expand park office, Zone D5 (Section 5.5.5)

Administration

  • revise and resurvey boundary (Section 4.1; boundary amendment regulation completed 2008)
  • pursue community liaison and establish Presqu'ile Forum (Section 9.2; forum established 2001)

9.2 Community involvement in plan implementation

The Presqu'ile Forum was established in 2001, to continue and formalize existing liaisons among the park, the community, and individuals and groups that value the park’s heritage.

The Presqu'ile Forum allows for the exchange of information and perspectives, and provides advice and assistance to the superintendent, on:

  • planning, economic, tourism, and recreational matters of mutual park and community interest
  • implementation of the management plan, particularly as it affects the park’s natural and cultural heritage and recreational opportunities

The Forum met for several years following the approval of the 2000 management plan, and will be reinitiated as needed. The park superintendent will chair the Forum, and appoint individuals who collectively represent a broad range of expertise and perspectives on the park’s heritage.

The Forum included representatives appointed from:

  • Municipality of Brighton
  • Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte
  • Friends of Presqu'ile Park
  • Presqu'ile Point Property Owners' Association
  • Federation of Ontario Naturalists and/or Presqu'ile Brighton Naturalists
  • Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and/or local anglers and hunters
  • such other organizations as the superintendent considers appropriate

The park superintendent may also establish liaison groups independent of the Forum, to provide advice and assistance for a limited time on a specific issue or task.

9.3 Partnerships

Ontario Parks will continue to encourage and assist the growth and development of the Friends of Presqu'ile Park, an important partner in implementing this plan. Ontario Parks will continue its existing partnerships with the Friends and explore new ones.

Partnerships will also be explored with Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, other agencies, community and interest groups, and the private sector. These partnerships will be essential to the achievement of the park’s protection, heritage appreciation, and tourism objectives.

Existing partnerships to be continued include:

  • producing interpretive and educational materials (Friends of Presqu'ile Park)
  • employing student interpreters and researchers (Friends)
  • staging special events (Friends)
  • improving resource management (Friends, Presqu'ile Brighton Naturalists)
  • developing interpretive trails (Friends, Presqu'ile Brighton Naturalists)
  • operating the Friends of Presqu'ile Nature Shop in the Lighthouse Interpretive Centre (Friends)

Future partnership areas that Ontario Parks will explore include:

  • increasing naturalist involvement in natural heritage inventory, research, and management, including monitoring of species at risk
  • increasing community involvement in heritage education
  • working with municipalities to facilitate appropriate use of road allowances adjacent to the park for birding
  • developing corporate sponsorships of exhibits, programs, and special events

Ontario Parks is also willing to enter into a planning partnership with area municipalities for the development and promotion of the Presqu'ile-Brighton area as a primary tourism and recreation area, building on and sensitive to the values of the park.

10 Plan examination and adjustment

After its approval, this Management Plan will be examined once in place for 20 years, and/or as required at any time during its 20 year term. An examination may determine the need for adjustment (administrative update or amendment) or replacement, to confirm or revise its policies, or to address new issues or changing conditions. An amendment or replacement will require public consultation.

Detailed information regarding adjustment to management direction is found in the Ontario Protected Areas Planning Manual (2014).

Anyone may initiate an amendment process by submitting a proposed amendment, with an explanation of its purpose, to Ontario Parks, which will determine whether and under what conditions the amendment process should proceed.

11 Key references

All documents were prepared by and for MNRF except as noted, and are available for inspection at the Presqu'ile Provincial Park office. Copies of the asterisked documents are available without charge on request from Ontario Parks, 51 Heakes Lane, Kingston, Ontario K7M 9B1 (613) 545-4016.

Documents published or copublished by the Friends of Presqu'ile Park may be purchased at the park office or from the Friends of Presqu'ile Park, Box 1442, Brighton, Ontario KOK 1H0, (613) 475- 2204.

Borgal, C. and Canadian Cultural Resource Consultants. 1993. Presqu'ile Master Plan (Draft).

LaForest, S.M. 1993. Presqu'ile Provincial Park Wildlife. Brighton, Ont. The Friends of Presqu'ile Park.

LaForest, S.M. 1993. Birds of Presqu'ile Provincial Park. Brighton, Ont. The Friends of Presqu'ile Park.

Law, J. 1989. The Geomorphology of Presqu'ile Provincial Park. Technical Publication # 9. University of Waterloo.

OMNR. 1988. Presqu'ile Provincial Park Shoreline Resource Management Strategy, (draft). Kingston, Ontario.

OMNR. 1989. Presqu'ile Provincial Park Vegetation, prepared by Cathy Keddy. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 1991. Presqu'ile Provincial Park Visitor Services Management Plan. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 1992. Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Management Policies. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 1995. Presqu'ile Provincial Park Management Planning Background Report. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 1995. Statement of Environmental Values. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 1996. Background Information/Issues and Alternatives: Summary of Public Response, prepared by Anthony Usher Planning Consultants. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.*

OMNR. 1996. Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Background Information: Issues and Alternatives, prepared by Anthony Usher Planning Consultants. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.*

OMNR. 1997. Ontario Parks, A Research and Information Strategy. Part One: Setting Priorities. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 1999. Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Preliminary Management Plan, prepared by Anthony Usher Planning Consultants. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 1999. Preliminary Management Plan: Summary of Public Meeting, prepared by Anthony Usher Planning Consultants. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.*

OMNR. 2000. Beyond 2000: Ministry of Natural Resources Strategic Directions. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 2000. Preliminary Management Plan: Summary of Public Response, prepared by Anthony Usher Planning Consultants. Queen’s Printer form Ontario.*

OMNR. 2000. Management Plan: Ontario Parks Position on Major Issues, prepared by Anthony Usher Planning Consultants. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.*

OMNR. 2005. A Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 2006. Technical Guideline for Cultural Heritage Resources for Projects Planned under the Class Environmental Assessment for MNR Resource Stewardship and Facility Development Projects and the Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 2009. Heritage Buildings Stewardship Plan, prepared by Geoff Hodgins Architect with BRAY Heritage. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 2009. Presqu'ile Beach and Dune Resource Management Implementation Plan. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 2011. Presqu'ile Islands Resource Management Implementation Plan. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

OMNR. 2011. Presqu'ile Mainland Resource Management Implementation Plan. Queen’s Printer for Ontario, Kingston.

OMNR. 2014 Ontario Protected Areas Planning Manual: 2014 Edition. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

Ontario Regulation 230/08: Species at Risk in Ontario List. Endangered Species Act, 2007. January 24, 2013. /laws/regulation/080230. Accessed July 3, 2013.

Turner, L.1992. A History of Presqu'ile. Brighton. Friends of Presqu'ile Park, in cooperation with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.