.png)
MORAINE WATCH
Moraine Watch helps residents document development activity, track proposals, and contribute local knowledge that supports transparency and stronger protection for the Oak Ridges Moraine.
Protected on Paper;
Threatend in Practice
Over the past two decades, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP) provided a stable, ecosystem-based framework that protected the ORM from the worst effects of urban sprawl. That is no longer our present reality.
Beginning in 2018, a series of provincial policy changes has weakened many of the checks and balances that once helped uphold and enforce the ORMCP in day-to-day decisions. So while the Plan still exists and has been unchanged, the broader planning systems that support its implementation have been steadily eroded.
Moraine Watch exists to help make the effects of these shifts visible by improving public understanding of how the ORMCP is applied in practice, tracking what is being proposed across the Moraine, and helping communities act early when it matters most.
Track Development Changes in Your Community
Municipal planning decisions shape how the ORMCP is applied on the ground. Moraine Watch Municipal Dashboards compile planning applications, council materials, and development proposals across ORM communities, helping identify emerging growth pressures to better understand the cumulative effects of these individual decisions.
Explore your municipal dashboard by scrolling to your municipality in the table below:
Explore Maps & Spatial Data
Moraine Watch mapping tools help users understand where the Oak Ridges Moraine is located, how it is designated under the ORMCP, and how development, infrastructure, and resource extraction pressures intersect with its hydrological and ecological systems. By compiling publicly available spatial data, the maps provide context for understanding planning decisions, landscape change, and the policy frameworks that guide them.
Explore maps to better understand the Moraine’s landscape, designations, and development pressures.
Improve Policy Outcomes
Conducted in Fall of 2025, STORM's Planning Review examines how changes to legislation, policy direction, and oversight since have affected how the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan is applied in practice. It identifies gaps in implementation and outlines potential improvements that could strengthen protection of water, natural heritage systems, and agricultural lands across the ORM.
Read our Planning Review and proposed policy improvements.
Take Action
Protecting the Oak Ridges Moraine depends on informed and engaged communities. Moraine Watch connects residents, researchers, and decision-makers with opportunities to support stronger planning outcomes, improve policy protections, and ensure the ORMCP continues to function as intended.
Support this work by contributing to research, participating in campaigns, or helping build the evidence base needed to strengthen protections for the ORM’s water, ecosystems, and communities.