Environmental Planning and Management

Beacon Environmental has bench strength in all aspects of environmental planning. These include providing input to Official Plan review, peer review of ecological studies, advice to governmental agencies, strategic advice to public and private sector clients and input to planning processes for natural areas, including landscape-scale projects. Beacon staff have represented clients at many Ontario Municipal Board hearings and other land use tribunals.

Policy Development and Review

With over 75 years of experience in southern Ontario, Beacon Environmental staff have been involved with the evolution of planning policy related to natural heritage. Through working with both government and private sector clients, we have a thorough comprehension of policy application and implementation.

Beacon has developed natural heritage and planning policy for regional/county and local municipalities through Official Plan updates, secondary plans, Master Environmental Servicing Plans, watershed plans, and natural heritage systems. Having worked extensively with the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP) and the Greenbelt Plan, Beacon has developed expertise in working with the specific requirements of these plans (e.g., Natural Heritage Evaluations and ORMCP conformity exercises).

Beacon staff are frequently called upon to provide peer review services and strategic advice to both regional/county and local municipalities, as well as Conservation Authorities on matters related to the application/interpretation of natural heritage policies.

Natural Heritage Planning

Natural Heritage planning is now a major component of planning applications at all levels, from plans of subdivision to secondary/block plans, and Official Plans. Beacon Environmental is known for knowledge and understanding of current landscape ecology and conservation biology science, upon which sound Natural Heritage plans are constructed. Natural Heritage planning exercises completed include the development of a Natural Heritage System for the Lake Simcoe Basin.

Wetland Evaluations

Beacon staff members have conducted over a thousand wetland evaluations and/or updates, including evaluating wetlands using OWES in both southern and northern Ontario, and on wetlands ranging from several hectares to thousands of hectares. We have also been involved in wetland boundary delineations and desktop evaluation updates as part of development applications on behalf of private and public sector clients. We are often called upon as expert witnesses on wetlands.

Litigation Support

Throughout their respective consulting careers, all senior staff have been qualified as expert witnesses (e.g., at the Ontario Municipal Board, the Environmental Assessment Board). We have represented private sector clients, as well as the provincial government, municipalities and conservation authorities.

Course Instruction

Beacon Environmental provides course instruction on an assortment of environmental-related topics. Beacon staff have been instructors of the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES) course on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for more than 15 years. Other instruction has included the Ecological Land Classification course (MNR), Environmental Impact Assessment (Trent University) and Wildlife Management Courses.