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| Stillness on the Rideau River. |
In August 2000, the Rideau Canal Waterway was officially
designated a Canadian Heritage River, culminating four years of work by
approximately 100 environmental, municipal, historical and other organizations.
As part of the Canal, the Rideau River thus joins an
elite group of some 40 Canadian rivers, recognized for their great historic,
ecological or recreational value. [28]
With this designation, the Canadian government has emphasized
its commitment to preserving the unique historic character
of the Rideau Canal Waterway.
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Most locks have been
opened and closed by
hand since 1832! |
"Travelling the waterway is like going back in
time. Almost everything is still as it was. The buildings have been preserved
and almost all the locks are still manually operated, as they were in
the old days," notes Charles Billington, Communications Director
of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. This is one of the groups
that spearheaded the effort to have the waterway given heritage designation.
The Rideau River
Biodiversity Project helped to bring about this designation by demonstrating
the rich biodiversity of the Rideau River and its generally good state
of health.
Various organizations, including the Rideau
River Roundtable, are continuing the work of preserving the quality
of this newly designated Heritage River for future generations.
Find out more about Canada's Heritage Rivers at http://www.chrs.ca
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