The Genesis of a Biosphere
The foundation upon which the Beaver Hills Biosphere was built, the Beaver Hills Initiative, was formed in 2002 after the staff at Elk Island National Park identified the need to address unprecedented pressures from rapid growth and increased economic activity adjacent to the Park in and around the Beaver Hills moraine.
With the involvement of 20+ partner organizations, the Beaver Hills Initiative functioned as a regional, multi-stakeholder collaborative effort to address development and land use planning issues within the Beaver Hills moraine, with a focus on balancing sustainable economic and human development with environmental conservation.
In addition to providing a platform for partners to share and develop tools and knowledge to balance sustainable economic and human development with environmental conservation in the region, the considerable efforts of the Beaver Hills Initiative partners led to the designation of the Beaver Hills as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2016.