The Mayor of Russell Township will serve another year as Chair of the South Nation Conservation Authority, better known as South Nation Conservation or SNC.

Pierre Leroux was re-elected Chair of the SNC Board of Directors at the authority’s annual general meeting in Finch on March 16.

Accompanying Leroux on the executive are Vice Chair Steve Densham, Deputy Mayor of North Stormont, and Past Chair George Darouze, Councillor for Osgoode Ward in the City of Ottawa.
 
Composed of 11 members appointed by municipalities, SNC’s Board of Directors oversees the Authority’s budget, programs, and services, and works alongside staff to champion local conservation initiatives. Of SNC’s $9.1 million 2023 Budget, approximately 47 per cent comes from municipal levy collected from 16 member municipalities. Casselman Mayor Geneviève Lajoie and former Nation Municipality Mayor François St-Amour are also members of the SNC board.
 
“It was an honour to receive the Board’s confidence to serve as Chair during SNC’s 75th year of conservation, and I look forward to building on the successful municipal-conservation authority partnerships at work in 2023, which contribute to a living natural legacy for our region,” Leroux. “SNC is a valued municipal partner, and they continue to play a critical role managing the natural resources in our watershed.”
 
Leroux was also elected as Vice-Chair of Conservation Ontario’s Board Executive on April 3, 2023, at a meeting in Toronto. Conservation Ontario is the umbrella agency for Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities.
 
The Authority’s five year “State of the Nation” Watershed Report Card was also showcased at the meeting and was launched on World Water Day on
March 22, 2023. The report provides an update on the status of forest and wetland cover and highlights trends in surface and groundwater quality. Watersheds throughout Ontario are provided with grades from A-Excellent to
F-Very Poor for key environmental conditions. Data can be accessed at watershedcheckup.ca.
 
A digital copy of the Annual Report can be found here: www.nation.on.ca/resources/publications/annual-reports.
 
A digital copy of the State of the Nation Watershed Report Card can be found here: www.nation.on.ca/water/reports/watershed-report-cards
 
More information on SNC’s Board of Directors including meeting minutes can be found here: www.nation.on.ca/about/board-directors-and-committees.