Cheltenham Badlands Management Plan is under way
By Anneleen Naudts

The wheels to develop a management plan for the Cheltenham Badlands have been set in motion, and on the agenda is the long-term direction for the protection, development and management of the area's resources.

The Badlands property has been designated as an Escarpment access park and is located along Olde Baseline road, east of Creditview Road.

The management plan will be based on a great deal of public input, said Beth Kümmling, executive director of the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC).

A public meeting last Wednesday night, one of several meetings planned during the process, was aimed at collecting input on the initial phase of the process.

The management plan is lead by BTC, which assumed responsibility for the site's management from the Ontario Heritage Trust, the property titleholder.

Under the Niagara Escarpment Plan, a management plan must be developed, to give guidance on how the site should be used.

A planning team, composed of 10 members, has been formed to complete the management plan over two years.

"This might be a bit ambitious, but we'll give it our best shot," said Kümmling.

The team will target issues systematically and in order of urgency, added Kümmling.

The issues are related primarily to the high public use of the site, and include safety along Olde Base Line Road, garbage and littering, vandalism of signage and trails, the creation of "rogue" trails, and the impact of pedestrian, equestrian and wheeled traffic on the slopes, trails, and in other areas of the site.

BTC reported erosion is an ongoing problem. Due to erosion concerns and maintenance issues, it closed access to the side trail connecting the unofficial viewing area with the Bruce Trail in 2007.

The fence and stiles restricting access to the trail have since been vandalized, reported BTC.

Janice McLelland, president of the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club (CHBTC) told attendees that the fence would soon be repaired. New signage will also be added, she said.

Volunteers carry out stewardship of the Badlands, explained Kümmling. They regularly perform trail maintenance tasks, and recently used wheelbarrows to carry in gravel for the 1.4- km stretch of Bruce Trail, cutting through the 36.6- hectare property.

McLelland said CHBTC contacted the Caledon Cyclist Club and the Bike Shop in Inglewood to inform cyclists that riding the section of the trail is not permitted. A letter specifically directed at the equestrian community has also been mailed in an effort to keep horses off the trail, reported McLelland.

The badlands' topography is exposed Queenston Shale, which forms the base rock of the Niagara Escarpment. Due to the removal of vegetation during land clearing and livestock grazing in the early 1900's, the shale eroded into a series of hummocks and gullies.

The Management Planning team prepared a Draft Terms of Reference as one the first steps in creating the management plan. It is available on the BTC Web site at www.brucetrail.org. The document will be available for public review for 30 days, and BTC encourages the public to provide comments.

A second public meeting has been planned for June.