Regional Maps
Get to Know the FAB Region Through Maps
Mapping matters! Maps help us see connections that aren’t always visible on the ground. In the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Region, mapping allows us to:
- Inform conservation planning by prioritizing areas for protection and restoration
- Inform conservation partnerships
- Document ecological and cultural values
- Understand wildlife movement and habitat fragmentation
- Equip and inform residents and landowners
By visualizing ecological systems, we can make better decisions for biodiversity, climate resilience, and community well-being.
Our team has put together various interactive and downloadable maps to help you understand the land, water, wildlife, and communities that make up this globally significant region.
The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Region sits at the meeting point of the Precambrian Shield (often called the ‘Canadian Shield’) and the St. Lawrence River — an internationally recognized landscape of forests, wetlands, rivers, and vibrant communities.
We’ve prepared a series of maps to help you explore:
- The boundaries and zones of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Region
- Ecological corridors and natural heritage features
- Watersheds and landscape types
- Communities, parks, and protected areas
We’ve designed these tools to help you understand the region and your place within it.
Where Is the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Region?
The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Region stretches from Brockville to Kingston along the St. Lawrence River and north to Westport. It forms a critical ecological connection between Algonquin Park and the Adirondack Mountains.
Designated by UNESCO in 2002, the region includes:
- Thousands of lakes and wetlands
- Five forest regions
- Globally significant wildlife habitat
- Rural and urban communities
- Public and private lands
Not sure if you’re in the biosphere region? Use our interactive map below to zoom in and find your location.
How to Use Our Interactive Map
Our main map is powered by ArcGIS and allows you to explore layers of ecological and geographic information. For the best experience, open the map in its own window by clicking “view our map” to launch the full map viewer. Opening the map separately makes it easier to zoom, search, and explore all available layers. Here’s how to get started:
Zoom & Pan
Use your mouse or touchpad to zoom in and explore specific features and locations.
Turn Layers On & Off
Select “Layers” from the menu on the left for a list of items you can toggle such as Ecological corridors, Land cover types, watersheds, protected areas and more!
Mobile Friendly
Maps can be viewed on mobile devices, though desktop provides the best experience.
Watch the Tutorial
Learn more about all our map features and how best to navigate them from our Conservation Project Manager, Christine Grossutti, in this short video.
Regional Maps by Type
The following maps have been generated by FABN by activating various map layers in ArcGIS. If you are looking for something specific not listed here, or are having issues with downloading or interpretting any of these maps, please contact us at info@fabn.ca.
UNESCO designated FAB Region Boundaries, core and buffer areas.
Municipal boundaries
Watershed boundaries
We will continue to work collaboratively with project partners, local communities and First Nations as we groundtruth the refined wildlife corridors, identify stewardship opportunities and priorities and develop corridor-scale maps to document these priorities. We also plan to reach out to local residents and decision makers in the area to find ways that we can all support wildlife moving through and around our communities, along the edges of our properties, across our roads, and over and under our bridges.
We’d love to hear from you!
Do you have knowledge or stories to share about the Charleston Lake to Thousand Island region? Fill out our quick survey or reach out to savanah@fabn.ca.
Thank you for being a part of this important work!
How are we using Two-Eyed Seeing and Ethical Space frameworks in this project?
Building on new and existing relationships with local First Nations and Indigenous organizations, this project utilizes an Ethical Space framework to work within Indigenous and western knowledge systems. Using knowledge from conservation experts, local stakeholders and Indigenous knowledge holders, we will identify and map key priority linkages to set management and stewardship objectives for these areas. Using an Ethical Space and Two-Eyed Seeing approach and by working closely with our partners and collaborators, we will ensure that outcomes of this project reflect diverse worldviews, knowledge systems and conservation values – including Indigenous language(s), values and conservation priorities.
To support this framework, all partners – including FABN’s Board of Directors – have been trained in Ethical Space and Two-Eyed Seeing by our partner, Plenty Canada. Project staff are also working on expanding and growing our relationships with First Nation Rightsholders and other Indigenous-led organizations in the FAB Region.
Project Implementation:
Using a series of participatory mapping workshops, the Ecological Corridors project will engage with relevant stakeholders, First Nations and the conservation community within the FAB Region. These workshops will:
- Facilitate the identification of key priority linkages within the FAB Region
- Identify and determine conservation goals and priorities for selected linkages
- Facilitate the mapping of linkages to inform long-term management planning and stewardship of the ecological corridor
Project staff, partners and collaborators will work closely to ground-truth data and create publicly available maps that document and showcase the identified corridor(s) along with determined conservation priorities and values. We hope to share the results of the mapping workshops and fieldwork at upcoming community and partner events this summer and fall!
Want to get involved?
If you are interested in getting involved in this project, please contact our Project Coordinator savanah@fabn.ca for more information about the project and how you can contribute.
The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network acknowledges that the Ecological Corridors Project is supported and made publicly available through generous funding by the Government of Canada / Parks Canada.
Le Réseau de biosphère de l’Arche de Frontenac reconnaît que le projet de corridors écologiques est soutenu et rendu public grâce au généreux financement du gouvernement du Canada et de Parcs Canada.
