The Georgian Bay Corridor Project is an ambitious plan to preserve Georgian Bay’s ecological integrity by establishing a 62,900 acre protected habitat corridor along the eastern shore. The proposed South, Middle and North parts of the Georgian Bay Corridor will join existing protected areas to form a new unfragmented wilderness area and establish a permanent migratory haven for over 50 species-at-risk.

The project aims to preserve and protect the natural habitats and ecosystems of Georgian Bay, ensuring the long-term environmental health of eastern Georgian Bay and providing essential space for wildlife to thrive. It will preserve public access to nature by ensuring that these lands remain available for all people to access in their natural state.

Why is a corridor important? 

Nature needs space and connectivity in order to survive. When habitat gets fragmented into smaller parcels, animals lose the ability to move freely, and sources of pollution and disturbance enter the landscape. This is particularly concerning in the era of climate change, as animals will need to move longer distances in order to adapt to changing conditions and access suitable habitats. Protecting a corridor along the coast will allow Georgian Bay to continue to serve as a refuge for 1,150 native plant and animal species whose habitats are being fragmented elsewhere, and give wildlife the space it needs to adapt and survive. It will allow our forests to grow older and richer, and preserve our network of 14,700 inland wetlands, known as the “kidneys of the landscape” for their role in filtering out pollutants from our water. All of this translates into a cleaner, healthier, richer and more resilient landscape to hand on to future generations.

Why Georgian Bay?

In Canada and around the world, animal populations and the habitats they depend on are disappearing at an alarming rate. Just south of Georgian Bay, 70% of Ontario’s forests and 80% of its wetlands have been destroyed, and more continue to be lost each year. The Georgian Bay region is facing increasing pressures which are only going to grow.

We’re extremely fortunate that at this moment, eastern Georgian Bay remains a pocket with large areas of mostly intact wilderness. Here, 80% of forests and 90% of wetlands remain. We are internationally recognized by UNESCO for our unique landscape and ecology, which is like nowhere else on Earth. The many islands, inlets, and rivers of the coast combine to form the largest interface of land and freshwater in the world, and support the richest biodiversity of reptiles and amphibians in Canada. Many animal species that are suffering elsewhere in the province are able to maintain healthy populations here. This is an extraordinary legacy to leave to future generations and to the world – an incredibly important place to protect.

We need your help to make this corridor possible! If you are interested in learning more about funding the Northern or Middle Corridor, please contact Janet Brough at (416) 440-1519 x104 or janet.brough@gblt.org to schedule a meeting. All donations to the Georgian Bay Land Trust support our work on this project and others – you can make a donation now here.

The Southern Corridor: Protecting 32,900 acres of wilderness

We are thrilled to announce a major milestone in protecting Georgian Bay’s irreplaceable wilderness for everyone. The Georgian Bay Land Trust and the Township of Georgian Bay have signed an agreement to conserve a network of land stretching from Honey Harbour to Twelve Mile Bay, directly conserving 553 acres of municipal land and providing additional protection to 32,900 acres of crown forests and wetlands. This is just the start of the Land Trust’s ongoing Corridor Project, whose goal is to secure our region’s ecological integrity and protect public access to nature by creating a protected habitat corridor along much of Georgian Bay’s eastern shoreline. Read more about this achievement here.

Protection of the Southern Corridor was supported in part by: