Federal Land Holdings

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Green Durham Association - Partial image of Federal Land Holdings Map

We have been involved with the Federal airport lands issue since they were first expropriated. Some of our early members lost their homes to this huge expropriation of land. Over the years since, we have reviewed studies released by Transport Canada and others and made the case that there was no need for an airport in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, we tried various tactics to incrementally reduce the amount of land set aside for a future airport, should one ever be needed.

One strategy was to secure the transfer of approximately 1,000 acres of the Federal lands to the Rouge National Urban Park which would create valuable trail connections to the Park for the residents of Seaton (section A on map) and Claremont (section B on map) outlined in yellow. Providing connections with nearby communities is an explicit goal we share with Parks Canada. With the technical/environmental support of the TRCA, we developed a proposal which we presented to our Member of Parliament and sent to the Federal Minister of Transport in 2017. We continued to advocate for the federal government to move forward on this important connection. In 2025 the federal government announced plans to scrap the idea of an airport forever.

Green Durham Association - Image of The Tree - Photo by Catherine Holden

Stewardship

Green Durham Association - Image of two people walking on a trail in the fall. Photo by Catherine Holden

Trail Visions

Green Durham Association - Image of Fly Agaric - Amanita muscaria - mushrooms. - Photo by Catherine Holden

Conservation

Green Durham Association - Image of Brock tract of land.

Protection / Perservation