The Essex Region Conservation Authority is looking forward to a growing and greener 2017.
General Manager Richard Wyma says there is a lot planned for next year.
Opening the Cypher Systems Group Greenway, completing work on the Maidstone Conservation Area boardwalk and rehabilitation of Sturgeon Creek in Leamington on the top of that list.
Wyma says it will be an exciting year.
"2017 will be another great year," says Wyma. "There is a lot to be celebrating in this region as a whole. I think we as a conservation authority work towards what we call the place for life. It is a way to integrate all of those different functions we do to ultimately make this region healthy, more sustainable and more resilient to change."
Wyma says there's a lot to be celebrating in this region.
"The community is demanding these assets," says Wyma. " There are increasing numbers going to our conservation areas. They're increasingly using our trails and our greenways, increasing seeing the positive growth. We're seeing the impact its having on our resources in order to respond to the increase in permit application, but that shows this region is growing and that's a very positive thing."
Wyma says people are hitting the trails more.
"We're going to be completing our Cypher System Greenway that links Essex to Amherstburg, and celebrating a terrific opening of that greenway in the spring," says Wyma.
Wyma says there is a lot to do with a small increase in the 2017 budget, but everything is manageable.
The $11.2-million budget was bumped up by just under $91,000 ...that amounts to 34-cents per Windsor-Essex household.