October 13, 2026 - Inverhuron Secondary Plan, and more
Friends,
Happy Fall! If you haven’t heard from us lately, it’s because we’ve been incredibly busy implementing the initiatives we told you about at our various events this past summer. There's been a lot of positive momentum, and we're excited to share with you the following updates:
Land Use
So many of you came to the public meeting in Walkerton back in June and told the Bruce County Council your concerns regarding intensive development in Inverhuron. You wrote to your elected officials repeatedly, calling attention to the fact that Inverhuron and the Lakeshore should NOT be designated as Urban Communities. Over the past three years, together we have made a concerted effort to protect natural heritage in Inverhuron and the Lakeshore by addressing the big picture: land use policy. And because we have not backed down for one second, we are close to achieving the long-term protections we have been advocating for.
To this end, PWEP requested that a Secondary Plan be written into the local Kincardine Official Plan. In simple terms, the Secondary Plan would function like a special policy area, placing a protective layer over Inverhuron and the Lakeshore, managing development so as not to adversely impact the natural environment, and ensuring that community priorities are met. Community engagement in the form of a Citizen Advisory Committee is at the forefront of our proposal, to make sure your voices are heard throughout the process. We were even able to get the University of Guelph Graduate Planning School (SEDRD) on board; they have agreed to support the creation of the Secondary Plan by lending their expertise in the form of faculty and graduate student involvement. Now all we are waiting for is the Municipality's green light to move forward.
What you can do: In light of the current municipal election, if you want to get a better understanding of the candidates' vision for Inverhuron's future and their stance on environmental protections, you could write to each (especially the mayoral candidates) and ask them what their position is on PWEP's Secondary Plan proposal. This would remind the candidates that the Inverhuron community cares deeply about the outcome of this matter.
You can read PWEP's proposal in our Secondary Plan for Inverhuron and the Lakeshore: Outline of Concept, Purpose and Process (see attached document – we will be updating our website shortly as well to make sure this material is available online). You can also view our presentation to the Kincardine municipal council on this topic – the recording of the council meeting is available here (the PWEP delegation is the first item on the agenda).
Other matters...
PWEP is participating in the Impact Assessment of Bruce C. We are making progress on our Cumulative Effects Study as well as our Evaluation of Projected Emissions. The public hearing is currently expected to take place in May/June 2027.
As well, we are continuing to develop our Water Quality program, and will be conducting the first volunteer-run benthic sampling of the Little Sauble River later this month. We are also building relationships with other organizations active in this area, and aim to scale up our operations over the winter months to begin laying out mitigation strategies and include Inverhuron Bay in our program. Due to various stressors including pollution from agricultural runoff and excessive development without adequate environmental protections, water quality can become impaired, leading to a host of negative impacts. Protecting streams and waterways is essential for maintaining healthy ecosystems, clean drinking water, fisheries, recreational activities and much more. More on how you can get involved soon...
And don't forget the Ontario Farmland Trust's (OFT) excellent ongoing programming at the Bourgeois farm. You can sign up for the OFT's Bourgeois Farm Newsletter here.
Thank you so much for your continued trust and support. Many of our initiatives develop over the long-term, so we are especially grateful to all of you for sticking with us and having the patience to see all our collective work come to fruition.
Stay tuned!
The Team @PWEP
The Philosopher’s Wool Environmental Preserve
2 Alma Street
Tiverton, ON
Respectfully acknowledging that we live, work and benefit from the Lands and Waters of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation.
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