The Ontario Wetland Evaluation System was developed by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (1993), and is a revision of the Evaluation System for Wetlands of Ontario South of the Precambrian Shield (1984). It was implemented in a response to an increasing concern for the need to conserve wetland habitats in Ontario. The wetland evaluation system aims to evaluate the value or importance of a wetland based on a scoring system where four principal components each worth 250 points make a total of 1000 possible points. Subcomponents and attributes receive a varying number of possible points dependent on predetermined criteria.

The four principal components that are considered in a wetland evaluation are the biological, social, hydrological, and special features. Based on scoring a wetland can fall into one of two classes, Provincially Significant or Locally Significant. It takes 650 total points or full points (250) in any one component for a wetland to be classed as Provincially Significant. The Province of Ontario, under the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) protects wetlands that rank as Provincially Significant. The PPS states that “Development and site alteration shall not be permitted in significant wetlands.?/i>

2005 Provincial Policy Statement

Within the CLOCA jurisdiction, there are a number of evaluated wetlands. They are:

Sept. 2008

Provincially Significant Wetland	Locally Significant Wetland
Bowmanville Coastal Wetland Complex	Dagmar Wetland Complex
Carruthers Creek Marsh Wetland Complex	Raby Head Wetland
Chalk Lake Wetland Complex	Tolley Creek Coastal Marsh
Corbett Creek Coastal Marsh
Cranberry Marsh
Enfield Wetland Complex
Gold Point Coastal Wetland
Harmony - Farewell Iroquois Beach Wetland Complex
Heber Down Wetland Complex
Lynde Creek Coastal Wetland Complex
Maple Grove Wetland Complex
McLaughlin Bay Wetland Complex
Oshawa Second Marsh
Pumphouse Coastal Wetland Complex
Solina Wetland Complex
West Side Beach Marsh
Whitby Harbour Wetland Complex
Whitby - Oshawa Iroquois Beach Wetland Complex

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