Two of Toronto’s most treasured corridors of natural habitat – the Don and Humber river valleys – are on their way to being permanently protected under the province’s greenbelt plan.

“I’m hoping it will be done by the end of the year,” said Councillor Paula Fletcher, who chairs the city’s parks and environment committee.

Fletcher joined Mayor David Miller and Jim Bradley, the minister of municipal affairs and housing, along the bank of the lower Don River on Friday to make the announcement.

Much of the land along the Don and Humber is already protected from development by decades-old bylaws and more recent ravine protection bylaws. What is key about greenbelt status is that the designation can’t be changed at the whim of future city governments.

“There are many layers of protection. This one is permanent,” said Fletcher. “City council can always change their plans. With the greenbelt, it’s protected permanently. Only the lieutenant governor can change the designation.”

The Humber and Don rivers stretch about 90 kilometres, from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario.

The greenbelt, created by provincial legislation in 2005, stretches across 728,000 hectares of protected farmland, forests and wetlands. It encompasses the Niagara Escarpment, the Oak Ridges Moraine and Rouge River Park.