About

In 1991, farmers in Ontario recognized the need to identify and deal with environmental concerns relating to agricultural production. The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) is the product of this farmer-driven initiative. Based on the Environmental Farm Plan, the Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide Program was developed as a response to the awareness that the health the rural landscape depends upon the actions of all rural landowners, and not of farmers alone. The First Edition of the Guide was published in 2007.

The overriding goal of the Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide is to protect and enhance the quality of our natural environment – both groundwater and surface water such as streams, rivers, ravines, creeks, wetlands and lakes, and the natural landscape features that support these ecosystems.

The Second Edition 2013 version of the Guide is available for download in a PDF version (linked here). The manual should be printed in landscape format, double-sided in B&W (except for the Cover page, which should be printed in colour on cardstock paper with page 2 on the flipside). The entire document can then be bound on the left side for distribution.