 c o n s e r v a t i o n u p d a t e s f o r m e m b e r g r o u p s |
| Ontario Nature Network News - June 15, 2006 |
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To view a copy of this newsletter online or to subscribe to receive a copy of the Nature Network News by email visit www.ontarionature.org/resources/nnnews.html. Please pass this newsletter on to other members of your club. Ontario Nature grants permission for use of the information below in member group newsletters. Please credit either Ontario Nature or the member group. Feature! Take Action to Strengthen Ontario's Endangered Species Act NEWS FROM THE NATURE NETWORK
NEWS FROM ONTARIO NATURE
NEWS FROM MEMBER GROUPS Southern Ontario News
Eastern Ontario News
NEWS FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
UPCOMING NATURE NETWORK NEWS DEADLINES |
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Feature: Take Action to Strengthen Ontario's Endangered Species Act The Ontario government is undertaking a review and update of the province’s endangered species legislation to provide for broader protection and recovery of species at risk and their habitats. The public is invited to participate in this review by providing comments on a series of legislative proposals developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). Use the letter template on Ontario Nature’s website to participate in this review. Ontario’s Endangered Species Act is out of date. First passed in 1971, it now provides minimal protection to only 25% of Ontario’s identified endangered species. For the remaining species for which trends are known, 76% are in decline. Strong and effective legislation is needed to provide full coverage for endangered species and their habitats, to require the preparation of recovery plans, and to secure the resources necessary to prevent the last of their kind from slipping over the brink of extinction. On May 9th, the government released a discussion paper outlining potential amendments to the Endangered Species Act. It proposes a number of positive amendments that will strengthen the ESA. However, it also falls short in a number of places. A strong public response will help Ontario Nature make sure that the ESA provides full protection for Ontario’s endangered species. To read the full discussion paper and related documents, please visit: www.ene.gov.on.ca/envregistry/027695ea.htm Make a difference to the future for Endangered Species in Ontario by writing a letter by July 7th! Please write to the Ministry Natural Resources (contact information on Ontario Nature’s website) and express your views about how Ontario’s Endangered Species Act needs to be strengthened. Write your own letter or use the sample letter posted on the Ontario Nature website at www.ontarionature.org/news/template.php3?n_code=329, adapting it to your own views. Please send a copy of your letter or email to Ontario Nature at info@ontarionature.org, or 355 Lesmill Road, Toronto, ON M3B 2W8 or fax us at (416) 444-9866. |
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NEWS FROM THE NATURE NETWORK |
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The Ontario Nature fall regional meetings are coming to your area soon. Please mark the meeting dates in your calendar and encourage representatives from your group to attend! Agendas will be going out one month before the meeting. If you have any questions please contact your Regional Coordinator listed below.
Southern Region Central Region Northern Region Eastern Region |
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Ontario Nature’s 75th Annual Meeting and Greenways & Waterways Conference a Great Success! Over 200 people gathered from June 2-4 for Ontario Nature’s 75th Annual General Meeting & Conference, hosted by the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. The conference was a great opportunity to connect and reflect on the past accomplishments and future opportunities for the protection and restoration of nature in Ontario. Steve Hounsell, Ontario Nature’s Past President, gave a passionate presentation about Ontario Nature’s Greenway vision of a connected system of connected cores and corridors across Ontario. This set the stage for the Greenway panel where representatives from the land use planning, agricultural and conservation sectors gave their views on the Greenway. On Saturday morning Dr. Alan Morgan, Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Waterloo, provided an electrifying look at the impacts of modern society on the Greenways and Waterways of Waterloo region. Conference participants were also treated to a special illustrated presentation by Bill Lishman about pioneering efforts with ultralight aircraft and how the project resulted in a new flock of migrating whooping cranes in eastern North America. Ontario Nature thanks the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists for their dedicated efforts towards planning a fantastic 75th celebration. |
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Doors Open to Ontario Nature Update Ontario Nature is celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2006 with a series of events, including the Greenways & Waterways conference hosted by the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists, a special 75th anniversary edition of ON Nature and Doors Open to Ontario Nature. Doors Open to Ontario Nature features 75 community events that highlight the diversity, strength and commitment of Ontario Nature’s member groups. Ontario Nature would like to thank the groups who are hosting events. It is a great opportunity help celebrate our anniversary as a federation. Let us celebrate together! For information about the events in your area, please visit www.ontarionature.org/events/doors_open.php. |
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NEWS FROM ONTARIO NATURE |
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Update on Ministry of Natural Resources’ (MNR) Natural Spaces Program The Ministry of Natural Resources’ (MNR) Natural Spaces program, established in the summer of 2005, is providing landowners and conservation groups across southern Ontario with encouragement to steward and protect our rich and diverse natural heritage through voluntary activities. To read more about Natural Spaces, please visit www.naturalspaces.mnr.gov.on.ca. Ontario Nature holds a seat on the Natural Spaces Leadership Alliance, a multi-stakeholder group that advises MNR. Two projects currently underway with input from the Alliance are: (1) Rural Landowner Stewardship Project: Natural Spaces, in cooperation with the University of Guelph and Huron County, is developing a rural landowner stewardship workbook, to be accompanied by community workshops, that will bring together the wide variety of existing information about stewarding rural properties for natural heritage protection. The workbook (and action plan that a landowner creates from it) will be a companion to the Environmental Farm Plan workbook, but intended primarily for non-farm rural landowners. The workbook is being written now, with pilot workshops to take place in fall 2005, after which both project components will be finalized. (2) Natural Heritage System: MNR will be designing and delineating on maps a Natural Heritage System (NHS) for southern Ontario south and east of the Canadian Shield (eco-regions 6E and 7E). The purposes of the NHS are to assist in prioritizing lands for voluntary stewardship activities and conservation, and to provide municipalities with the information they will need to bring their Official Plans into conformity with the 2005 Provincial Policy Statement under the Planning Act. Key to the NHS is the importance of connectivity of natural features on the landscape. There are excellent opportunities for Ontario Nature’s Greenway work to inform the NHS and vice versa, and we are working with MNR in that regard. A discussion paper on the approach that MNR will be taking on the Natural Heritage System will be placed on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry in late June or soon thereafter. You can check for it by typing in “Natural Spaces” at www.ene.gov.on.ca/samples/search/Ebrquery_REG.htm. |
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Volunteer for Nature This Year! Ontario Nature and the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Volunteer for Nature (VfN) program is an up-close, outdoor volunteer experience that provides Ontarians with unique opportunities to take an active role in biodiversity protection across the province. This year, you can be part of a stewardship team monitoring the vegetation of globally rare habitats on Pelee Island, paddle your way through Wye Marsh and learn about invasive species control, or design and create new pathways and a footbridge at Ontario Nature’s Altberg Wildlife Sanctuary Nature Reserve. Take a hands-on approach to preserving Ontario's natural heritage, and join us this summer. Visit www.ontarionature.org/action to view the full 2006 VfN Event Calendar and details. For more information about the Volunteer for Nature Program please contact Erica Thompson, VfN Manager, at erica.thompson@natureconservancy.ca or (416) 670-7790. |
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Full Environmental Assessment Called for Suffield National Wildlife Area You might recall that last November Ontario Nature sent out an action alert about threats to the Suffield National Wildlife Area. Well, this effort paid off! Recently, the federal government announced a full independent review panel to assess the environmental impacts of the proposed drilling. This is the highest level of assessment and the best outcome we could have received. Environment Minister Rona Ambrose announced Monday that an independent review panel will be called to assess the environmental impact of drilling in Suffield National Wildlife Area (SNWA). An independent review panel is the most rigorous assessment option the Minister could choose. It allows people to present evidence in support of protecting the Suffield NWA from development. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has announced that funding will be available to the public to participate in the environmental assessment process. It has not yet been announced who will sit on the review panel. Just two years after the Government of Canada established a protected area along the eastern edge of the Canadian Forces Base at Suffield, Alberta, the proposed drilling project threatens to destroy one of the last remaining large intact pieces of unploughed prairie grasslands in Canada. EnCana Corporation has applied for a permit to drill 1,275 gas wells inside SNWA, an area half the size of Prince Edward Island located northwest of Medicine Hat. The area was designated a protected area in 2003 as a refuge for species at risk and their habitat. The permit, if granted, would double the number of wells already in the 458 km2 wildlife area, and allow for an additional 220 km of pipeline to be added to existing infrastructure. Increased vehicular traffic would cause significant disruption to previously undisturbed grasslands, sand hills, river breaks and wetlands. To date, no permit has ever been granted to launch new large-scale drilling operations inside a national wildlife area. In addition to the 14 nationally endangered species, SNWA is home to 78 species of animals and plants listed in the Status of Alberta Wildlife 2000 as "at risk" or otherwise "sensitive" because of their declining abundance. |
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Ontario Nature Announces New Board of Directors Ontario Nature elected a new Board of Directors at its 75th Annual General Meeting on June 2, 2006. The Board members, who are all volunteers, have a strong interest in Ontario’s natural heritage and are committed to working for the protection and conservation of nature in Ontario. Rosemary Speirs, the incoming President, is a Pickering resident who wrote nationally syndicated political columns for The Toronto Star, both at Queen's Park and in Ottawa, and was a feature writer for both The Star and The Globe and Mail on public issues including environmental policy. Rosemary sits on the advisory council to the Altona Forest Stewardship Council, and is a life member of the Pickering Field Naturalists. She is an amateur naturalist, with a lifelong interest in wildlife, and in environmental issues, since childhood when she was a junior naturalist with the Toronto Field Naturalists Club. She chairs a high-profile national advocacy group for the election of more women and is the recipient of the 2004 Governor-General's award in Commemoration of the Person’s Case for advancing the cause of Canadian women. Rosemary is the 2006 Woman of Distinction for Civic Engagement – a prestigious award granted by the YWCA of Greater Toronto. Chandra Sharma has taken on the role of Vice President after serving on Ontario Nature’s Board as a Director at Large for two years. Chandra is an Environmental Planner currently working as a Watershed Specialist within the Watershed Management Division of Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). She has a Master of Environmental Studies (MES) from the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University, Toronto and is a registered member of the OPPI (Ontario Professional Planners Institute) and CIP (Canadian Institute of Planners). Chandra has been instrumental in developing the unique Multicultural Environmental Stewardship Program that won the Canadian Institute of Planners Planning Excellence Award. Don McMurtry, a Waterloo resident, joined the Ontario Nature Board as a Director at Large. Don has worked in sales and marketing in the computer and communications field since 1988. Previously, Don was involved in undergraduate research in database development for a professor of physical chemistry at RPI. In 1993, he joined Research In Motion and became VP Sales in 1997. Dr. Freeman Boyd, an Owen Sound resident and Past President of the Owen Sound Field Naturalists, joined the Ontario Nature Board as a Director at Large. A farmer for 24 years, Freeman has recently completed a Ph.D. in agricultural ethics and teaches Philosophy of the Environment at the University of Guelph. He is a member of the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) and the Public Input Advisory Committee (PIAC). Ontario Nature’s Board of Directors comprises four executive officers, eight directors-at-large representing the membership, and eight directors representing Ontario Nature’s 140 member groups. Ontario Nature’s represented regions are Carolinian West, Carolinian East, Great Lakes West, Lake Ontario North, Huronia, Ontario East and Northern. |
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Ontario Nature Announces Youth Contest Award Winners Ontario Nature’s first youth essay challenge was a success. With over 150 entries from across the province the judges had a wonderful time reading through the essays, poems and creative stories that were submitted. Ontario Nature recognized Rachel, Sara, and Kenny at its Conservation Awards Banquet during the Greenway & Waterways Conference, on June 3, 2006 in Waterloo. First place essay written by Rachel from St. Jacobs, entitled, “I Wonder”, was moving and thought provoking, reflecting on the idea that nature could some day just be a long lost memory. Such inspired work demonstrates the need to take action now to protect our environment for the benefit of future generations. Sara from Elmira, was the 2nd place winner also wrote a touching plea for us all to listen to the voice of the wild and urging us to take a new approach to dealing with nature. Her call to deal with our environment through a peaceful connection and friendship with our natural world sends a strong and persuasive message. Kenny from Vankleek Hill wrote a wonderful essay demonstrating the relationship between a healthy environment and farming. He wrote of his experiences on the family Ayrshire Dairy farm and how much the success of the farm depends on interactions with nature and the environment. The winning essays and some of our runners up are available online at www.ontarionature.org/events/challenge.html. |
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Ontario Nature Announces Conservation Award Winners The following conservation awards were presented during Ontario Nature’s Annual Conference on June 3, 2006 in Waterloo.
Photographs of the winners are available online at www.ontarionature.org/home/awards.html. |
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NEWS FROM MEMBER GROUPS |
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SOUTHERN ONTARIO NEWS |
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Unanimous Final Vote at Waterloo Regional Council on May 10th Protects Thousands of Acres of Rural Waterloo Lands from Development On Wednesday May 10th, the Waterloo Regional Council voted unanimously to approve the Environmentally Sensitive Landscape (ESL) Policy Proposal that will protect two large tracts of some of the most threatened and significant remaining natural areas in our region from urban development. The Laurel Creek Headwaters ESL which includes parts of the Waterloo Moraine in Waterloo, Wilmot, Woolwich, and Wellesley and the Blair-Bechtel-Cruickston ESL including areas around the Speed and Grand Rivers in Cambridge and North Dumfries knit together provincially significant wetlands, forests and rural lands as designated greenspace to protect criticalgroundwater aquifers and dozens of rare, endangered andsignificant species found in our region amongst these rolling hills and shorelines. Residential subdivisions and other forms of intensive urban development will be prohibited, new stewardship programs developed, and the ESL Plan will help to preserve the character of our region by ensuring our farms and rural natural areas can continue to thrive without the threat of being paved over. Utilizing many of the SMART Growth Principles and the Alternative Development Standards advocated by the David Suzuki Foundation, a new landscape-based planning model has been pioneered by the Region of Waterloo for the ESL’s that recognizes connectivity and how these unique natural areas function at an ecological level. It is hoped the ESL’s may be able to provide a foundation and model for the Ontario Nature Greenway Strategy that hopes to establish vast province-wide protected areas. The ESL’s balance and respect the needs of the farms and rural properties in these areas of Waterloo region and there has been an extensive process of planning, public consultation, Council presentations, and input from hundreds of people across our region. People throughout Waterloo region should congratulate their elected officials and planning staff at all levels for this visionary initiative that is integrated with the Regional Growth Management Strategy and the Provincial Places to Grow Act. Together, these initiatives will protect our critical natural and ground water recharge areas while helping to focus the development of our cities and towns in a sustainable, transit-friendly manner and reduce traditional limitless urban sprawl. For further information or if you have any questions please contact Kevin Thomason, Sunfish Lake Association at (519) 888-0519 or sunfishlake@mac.com. |
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Wild for the Arts at MacGregor Point Wild for the Arts is a festival that celebrates nature as a source of inspiration for all things creative. The Friends of MacGregor Point Park will be offering a full schedule of events and activities amid the autumn beauty of MacGregor Point Provincial Park. Hikes and workshops will explore nature photography, story writing, visual arts and more! Bring the whole family and take part in scavenger hunts, the kids creativity corner, peruse our juried exhibition of artistic creations, meet talented local artists on the 'Campground Studio Tour' art show and sale, and enjoy our featured performers on Friday and Saturday evening. Join us on September 15-16 for this fun weekend and prepare to be inspired by nature! Contact the Friends of MacGregor Point Park (519) 389-6931 or fompp@bmts.com or check the website www.friendsofmacgregor.org. |
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EASTERN ONTARIO NEWS |
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Amherst Island Nature Reserve Receives Stewardship Funding The Kingston Field Naturalists continues efforts to steward its 200-acre nature reserve on Amherst Island in Lake Ontario. Projects underway for 2006 include an expansion of the purple martin nesting platforms from two to six, improvements to the solar-powered cattle watering system and repairing boundary fencing. Purple martins have nested for nearly 20 years in two wooden boxes at the south end of the reserve. Club members replaced these weather-beaten boxes with new ones in 2005. With the addition of four aluminum boxes in the middle and north of the property, martins will now be able to expand and colonize those parts of the reserve and the habitat found there. On May 28, 2006 martins were found to be using boxes at both the original site and at the northern site, making this project a success! This nature reserve protects several habitat types, including grassland, wetland with mud flats, isolated gravel bars, rocky shoreline and Great Lakes coastal marsh. Over 200 species of birds are documented for the site, which is part of a globally significant important bird area. The grassland on the reserve is maintained through cattle grazing, which also provides a rental income to help with nature reserve expenses. Cattle must be fenced out of the lake and wetlands. Water is provided to them from a well which is pumped by solar power. The watering system on this remote site needs monitoring and must be made as reliable as possible. Improvements to this system will include a concrete water storage trough and an alarm system that will notify the club by cell phone of system failure. The club recently received generous funding and support for these projects and would like to thank the organizations and businesses participating in the improvement efforts. The Kingston Field Naturalists gratefully acknowledges the $700 of funding for the bird boxes received from TD-Canada Trust Friends of the Environment Foundation and the $3,000 of funding for the water system improvements received from the Community Foundation of Greater Kingston. Further support in terms of materials is anticipated or has been received from Renewable Energy of Plum Hollow, Anchor Concrete and the Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council. |
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Cliff Bennett wins award for excellence in environmental conservation The Eastern Regional Director for Ontario Nature, Cliff Bennett, recently accepted a 2006 National Capital Region Wildlife Festival Award for Excellence in Environmental Conservation. These awards are an excellent way to reward and raise awareness of local conservation efforts. The 2006 group award was presented to the Friends of the Jock River, and the youth awards went to Carleton Place High School and teacher Andy Kerr Wilson. The awards were presented April 19th at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa, and have been given annually since 1997 (see www.ncrwildlifefestival.org). Cliff’s award in the individual category recognized his “sustained commitment to protection of the environment and for tirelessly working over many decades to help people enjoy, understand and respect the natural world.” Cliff is a founding member of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN). As expert canoeist and naturalist, Cliff leads many educational outings, imparting his love of nature to others. Cliff has also written about birds for many years, and while he is known locally for his Lanark Era column “Speaking of Birds,” he is also active behind the scenes organizing MVFN’s Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas work and other bird counts, and leading bird call and other workshops. When cutbacks reduced environmental education in the schools, Cliff initiated MVFN’s highly praised Environmental Education program. Cliff has also helped establish and support local “voices” for the environment. Partly due to Cliffs’ efforts, Lanark County, in Eastern Ontario, is home to two Environmental Advisory Committees. Cliff was also a founding member of the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy, helped achieve the establishment of a Lanark County Municipal Trails Corporation, and was a key proponent of environmental inclusions in the Town of Mississippi Mills Community Official Plan as member of the Steering Committee. Our congratulations and sincere thanks go to Cliff! |
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The Macnamara Field Naturalists were delighted receive a $40,000 Trillium Foundation Grant to renew our club by recruiting new members and volunteers, and to enhance and expand our natural history conservation and education programs. One of the first uses of the monies was to create a banner to promote the club. The banner is colourful and free standing, and highlights the club's purpose and activities. It includes attention catching photographs of plants and animals as well as of sites where the club has been involved in preserving habitat. Planning has begun of a major expansion of the Macnamara Nature Trail, an interpretive walking trail through Arnprior's Nopiming Game Preserve. Club members were part of the organizing and presentation of the Fourth Annual Renfrew County Natural History Day (May 13th). It was a great success with the best ever attendance - 125 in total, including 30 children. There was an excellent children's program led by Tracey Moore from Ontario Nature which included identifying tiny larva in pond water. There were presentations on bats with two live brown bats in attendance, as well as ones on trout in our area and on species at risk. Our president, Michael Runtz, gave a slide show of the birds in Renfrew County. Awards were presented honoring three Ottawa Valley nature columnists, Ken Hooles (Pembroke), Jim Ferguson (Renfrew), and Michael Runtz (Arnprior) Our regular programming continues. We held a field trip and as well as a formal presentation by Ryan Zimmerling on birds of the boreal forest. Mark Stabb guided an outing though Gillies Grove, a local old growth forest. Jeff Mills led a walk though the hills of Mount Pakenham to admire the spring wildflowers and woodland birds. Our June meeting will be led by Murray Borer and will examine the historic waterway of the Bonnchere River and the successful attempts to preserve and enhance it. Upcoming field trips will include joining with the Pembroke Area Field Naturalists and Chris Michener in a butterfly count and an outing with Michael Runtz to the unique habitats of White Lake Fen and Stewartville Swamp. |
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NEWS FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS |
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Leading Edge: Conference on Biosphere Reserves, Conservation and Sustainability, October 4-6, 2006 From October 4 – 6, 2006, the Niagara Escarpment Commission will host the 7th Leading Edge conference in Burlington. This conference series attracts top-notch speakers from Ontario, Canada and around the world to share their insights on conservation science, environmental monitoring, biosphere research and sustainability. Full conference information can be found at www.escarpment.org/leadingedge2006.htm. |
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Earth: A Graphic Look at the State of the World Earth: A Graphic Look at the State of the World summarizes the conditions of the world's ecology and humanity and how they interact and affect each other. Viewable online at: www.theglobaleducationproject.org this 27" x 36" full colour wall poster, visually and factually stunning, presents an unparalleled collection of over 100 charts, 15 maps, and explanatory text. Rigorously referenced and linked to reliable, impartial sources, it is an extraordinarily holistic and integrated overview, connecting a maze of apparently disparate issues including: wealth distribution and climate change, oil supply and food production, global warming and global fisheries, toxics and soil degradation, population and biodiversity. Charts and graphics, maps, text and data sources from the poster are accessible, as well as ordering information, on the accompanying website: www.theglobaleducationproject.org. |
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UPCOMING NATURE NETWORK NEWS DEADLINES |
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Next Issue of Nature Network News The next issue of the Nature Network News will be sent on August 15, 2006. Submissions will be accepted until August 1, 2006. Please send articles to jenniferb@ontarionature.org. Ontario Nature publishes the Ontario Nature Network News every other month with contributions from its staff and member groups. |