Ancaster’s Ben Vanderbrug, former general manager and 36-year employee of the HCA, and Greensville’s Mark Shurvin, former chair and 12-year member of the HCA board, agree that land acquisition is by far the most important role of the Authority and the one that will leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.

As the HCA –originally known as the Spencer Creek Conservation Authority (SCCA) –celebrates its 50th year, the two men affirmed there is much that it can look back on with pride and much to look forward to, as well, as it broadens its role into areas such as drinking water source protection. But both hope that the conservation organization, which currently owns and manages 10,900 acres in the local watershed, doesn’t forsake its aggressive land acquisition policy in the face of ever-increasing budgetary constraints.

One of the reasons that the authority has been able to preserve so much land over its 50 years is the flexibility of the Conservation Authorities Act, which allowed authorities to be formed around the natural –not political –boundaries of waterways, Vanderbrug explained. That decision by legislators, early on, helped keep politics out of decision-making and spurred members of the board to work toward a common goal: caring for the lands surrounding our most vital and life-giving resource, water.

While properties were originally acquired for water management purposes, Shurvin said the HCA is better known for providing recreational open space than for flood control and managing local waterways. He noted that the HCA’s land acquisitions in the Dundas Valley are a prime example of saving a unique area from being paved over and preventing huge water run-off problems in the Town of Dundas. The preserved lands in the Dundas Valley Conservation Authority act as “a sponge” now. “If the Dundas Valley had been developed (with subdivisions and roads running through it), it would have been a nightmare,” he said.

Acquiring land around Tews Falls in Flamborough was another important decision, recognizing the truth of the maxim, ‘buy land, they’re not making it anymore,’ the former HCA chair observed.

The HCA didn’t neglect flood management but moved on to other things, such as conservation, reforestation, public outreach and education, and land acquisition, after successfully tackling flood control problems by undertaking a number of projects including the construction of the Christie and Valens dams in Flamborough.

“The authority did a marvelous job in reducing the flood threat,” Vanderbrug said.

Many of the HCA’s early projects were based in Flamborough, not all that surprising given that the upper part of the Spencer Creek watershed is located there and the original authority included representation from only the townships of Flamborough and Ancaster and the Town of Dundas. It later grew to include the City of Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Saltfleet and Puslinch.

Many of the organization’s ‘firsts’ took place in Flamborough: in December, 1959, the authority purchased its first property, the McDonaugh Farm in Beverly Swamp (50 acres for $1,000); in 1964, the authority’s first paid employee, John Coates, and a summer student built the first walking trail from Tews Falls to the Peak; in 1967, the first Conservation Area opened at Spencer Gorge near Greensville and in 1968, the first organized event, the Valens Fishing Derby, now the John Burns Fishing Derby, was launched.

The significance of the HCA’s accomplishments can be seen by the scope of the projects it has embraced. From Puslinch in the west to Stoney Creek in the east, it now protects 25 waterfalls, 14 Niagara Escarpment properties, seven major recreational parks, 12 significant wetlands, 120 kilometres of trails, an 18,000-year-old muskeg bog in Copetown and one ecological preserve.

“When I was a kid, the only public parks (in the area) were the Dundas Driving Park and Webster’s Falls,” Shurvin said. While many more recreational opportunities now exist because of the HCA, there is a need for even more, Vanderbrug added. Waterfront trail development along Lake Ontario in Hamilton, and the Eramosa Karst and Dofasco Trail projects in Stoney Creek are among projects of recent interest.

Noting that land acquisition by the HCA hasn’t been as aggressive in the past five or six years, Vanderbrug suggested if the authority cannot buy land to preserve it for public use, it should work with municipalities to protect it through Official Plan and zoning restrictions. “I hope land acquisition will never be given low ranking,” he said. “There is still an incredible amount of land that should be in public ownership for protection.” Shurvin agrees. “I’m a great believer that you can’t put too much (land) aside.”