The province is considering more than 600 applications to remove land from the official Greenbelt, prompting worries from environmentalists that parts of the protected area might be opened for development.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs said in an emailed statement that any changes to the Greenbelt would be “minor.” The government has received these “site-specific requests” over the past 10 years, and is now assessing them as part of an ongoing review of the Greenbelt Plan, which was created in 2005.

Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence, said he’s been told several times that the province has no intention of compromising the 1.8-million acre Greenbelt area, which was established to protect wild areas and farmland against the encroachment of suburban sprawl. Even so, he said, removing any land from the Greenbelt could legitimize calls for development in the protected corridor around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

“The whole point of creating the Greenbelt was not allowing incursions into it,” Gray said.

“Every inch you give, you then are asked to give a mile. That’s the risk.”

Earlier this year, a task force chaired by former Toronto mayor David Crombie made recommendations to the province on how to update conservancy and land-protection programs, including the Greenbelt. Municipal Affairs, which oversees these policies, responded in May by calling to add to the Greenbelt land within 21 urban river valleys and wetlands, along with other changes to the conservation plan. The province also proposed to remove four areas from the Greenbelt: four tracts of land near Grimsby that were already subject to development plans when they were included in the Greenbelt in 2005.

The review is now in its final “consultation phase.” Public feedback on the proposed changes can be made until Oct. 31.

Conrad Spezowka, the ministry spokesperson, said the land removal applications are being addressed through proposed land use policy changes, such as the suggestion to allow greater flexibility for what can be built on already existing farms on the Greenbelt. He added that the ministry is gathering “detailed technical information” from municipalities, landowners and conservation groups to help decide whether any changes are appropriate.

Examples of changes to the Greenbelt map include places where a bend in a river to be protected is outside the existing boundary, and where the borderline runs through a building or bisects a property.

Spezowka said there will be public consultation if the ministry decides an application has merit.

David Donnelly, an environmental lawyer in Toronto, said he believes the glut of applications is simply a sign that developers are trying to rezone tracts of Greenbelt land in hopes that they become available during the review process. He added, however, that he doesn’t think the government will sign off on many of the removal applications.

“There’s no indication that I’m aware that the government is seriously considering these applications,” he said.

“I’m convinced this is a non-starter.”