 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 24, 2005 |
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To view a copy of this newsletter online visit www.ontarionature.org/home/nnnews.html. Ontario Nature grants permission for use of the information below in member group newsletters. Please credit either Ontario Nature or the member group. Feature! Conservation Easements in the Duffins-Rouge Agricultural Preserve ONTARIO NATURE NEWS
CENTRAL ONTARIO NEWS
EASTERN ONTARIO NEWS
SOUTHERN ONTARIO NEWS NORTHERN ONTARIO NEWS NEWS FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS |
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FEATURE: Conservation Easements in the Duffins-Rouge Agricultural Preserve Ontario Nature has been active since April in its concern that the City of Pickering, which has held conservation easements on lands in the Duffins-Rouge Agricultural Preserve (located in Pickering and Markham), unilaterally terminated the easements at the end of February. Pickering did so without the knowledge or consent of the other parties to a 1999 agreement that required Pickering to place easements on these lands in order to prevent urbanization. The other parties were the provincial government, Durham Region, the Green Door Alliance (an Ontario Nature member group) and Ms Sandy Rider (of the Whitevale and District Residents Association). The lands are within the new Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt and Ontario Nature considers Pickering’s actions to be the first challenge to the Greenbelt. We also are very concerned that if Pickering’s actions were left unchallenged, the very sanctity of conservation easements could be jeopardized, because they are supposed to last “in perpetuity,” yet Pickering terminated easements after only six years. Many of our member organizations and land trusts hold conservation easements. In early June, the Green Door Alliance and Sandy Rider challenged Pickering’s actions by taking the matter back to the Ontario Municipal Board, which issued an Order in 1999 that stemmed from the agreement to have easements on the Duffins-Rouge lands. To learn more about this situation, please visit the news section of ontarionature.org and look for our news releases of April 29, May 11 and June 7, 2005. |
ONTARIO NATURE NEWS |
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Ontario Nature’s Linda Pim Appointed to Greenbelt Council Linda Pim, Ontario Nature’s Acting Director of Conservation and Science and Conservation Policy Analyst, was appointed at the beginning of June to the provincial government’s nine-member Greenbelt Council. The Council is a requirement of the Greenbelt Act, under which the Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt Plan was approved in February of this year. The Council’s mandate is to provide advice on the administration of the Greenbelt Plan and will guide the government on such matters as the implementation of the Greenbelt Plan, performance measures to indicate how well the Plan is working, and the 10-year review of the Plan as required by the Greenbelt Act. Linda’s appointment to the Council was made by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing John Gerretsen. To read about the Greenbelt Council, visit the Ministry’s website at www.mah.gov.on.ca |
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Ontario Nature Announces Conservation Award Winners The following conservation awards were presented during Ontario Nature’s Annual Conference on June 4 in North Bay.
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Tell All - ON Nature looking for stories! The Winter 2005/06 issue of ON Nature will commemorate Ontario Nature’s 75th anniversary. We are looking for stories from our members. Do you have a tale to tell us about the organization formerly known as the Federation of Ontario Naturalists? If so, we’d love to hear it. Write to Victoria Foote at victoriaf@ontarionature.org. |
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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 Eastern Region Northern Region |
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New Niagara Escarpment Plan Unveiled On June 9, Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay took the occasion of the 20th anniversary of passage of the Niagara Escarpment Plan (first approved in June 1985) to unveil the new Niagara Escarpment Plan. The new Plan comes as result of the second five-year review of the Plan as required by the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act. While the hearing on the five-year review took place in 2001, it has taken, for reasons unclear to many of us outside government, over three and a half years for a new Niagara Escarpment Plan to be approved by the Ontario Cabinet. The new Plan is quite similar to the 1994 version of the Plan, which tightly restricts development in this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. But the new Plan does have some modest improvements over the 1994 Plan. At press time, groups such as the Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment (of which Ontario Nature is a member group) are still sifting through the new Plan to see how it stacks up. Please visit CONE’s website at www.niagaraescarpment.org and the website of the Niagara Escarpment Commission at www.escarpment.org for details. |
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Woodland Caribou Signature Site – Wilderness Park or Tourist Playground? Getting the people of Ontario interested in what’s happening in remote corners of the province can sometimes be a challenge for Ontario Nature’s conservation staff. Without the benefit of seeing (or canoeing!) firsthand some of Ontario’s best-kept Boreal secrets, many of us can take our vast northern landscapes for granted. Tucked between the extensive road networks that service forestry operations, mines and hydro developments in the northern part of the province, Ontario Nature supporters have helped drive the creation of several large wilderness parks. These areas do many important things: 1) they protect large, intact forest habitats from industrial development; 2) they provide back-country recreation opportunities for the citizens of Ontario; and 3) they serve as ecological reserves where the forces of nature can play themselves out without human interference. As a result, these areas also serve an important research function because they provide “benchmarks” for scientists to better understand how our activities are affecting nature and wildlife on the rest of the landscape. The Woodland Caribou Signature Site represents a portion of approximately 2% of Crown lands dedicated to wilderness parks in Ontario. Located in the far northwest end of the province and bordering the Atikaki and Nopiming Parks of Manitoba, the park historically includes many established fly-in tourism facilities, whose use of motorized services (including floatplanes and motorboats) clash with the backcountry experience expected by the many canoeists who use the park each year. Furthermore, a local group in Red Lake uses an extensive lake system in the park for snowmobiling. As a recreational activity, snowmobiling has many negative implications for the disturbance-sensitive woodland caribou herds that are still found within the park. The current planning process has produced an “Issues and Options” document that will lay the foundation for the future of Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. Ontario Nature has many concerns with the direction proposed in this document. The deadline for public response to the Issues and Options laid out by Ontario Parks and its Advisory Committee is June 24, 2005. Background information and a public survey can be found at the Ontario Parks website at www.ontarioparks.com/english/planning_wood.html. If you can, please take a moment to reflect on what Ontario’s remaining wilderness areas mean to you and even better, let your government know how you feel by sending your feedback before the June deadline. The caribou will thank you for it! |
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Conservation Community Urges Premier To Protect Northern Ontario’s Boreal Forests Ontario Nature and 10 other conservation groups have sent an open letter to Premier McGuity calling for the conservation first planning of Ontario’s northern Boreal region. The letter, sent May 18th, urging the Premier to keep his promise to “institute meaningful, broad-scale land-use planning for Ontario’s Northern Boreal Forest before any new major development . . . [that will] protect the ecological integrity of this natural treasure and help to provide a sustainable future for native people and northern communities”, was endorsed by CPAWS – Wildlands League, World Wildlife Fund, Bird Studies Canada, Mining Watch Canada, Sierra Club of Canada, Earthroots, Environmental Defence, Sierra Legal Defence Fund, CPAWS – Ottawa Valley, and the Canadian Environmental Law Association. New major developments or allocations are proposed or proceeding in Ontario’s northern Boreal forests without coordinated planning among departments, and without considering the requirements of biodiversity conservation or the long-term socio-economic health of communities. These developments include diamond mining, coal-bed methane exploration, hydroelectric development and transmission lines, forestry allocations, ongoing mineral staking, exploration and development, and the roads and infrastructure to service them. Ontario Nature and conservation partners are asking the Premier to declare an immediate moratorium to postpone all new exploration and development approvals in Ontario’s northern Boreal region on public lands north of the 51st parallel (the existing extent of industrially licensed logging) until conservation-focused land use planning is completed that:
The letter asks the Premier to provide an opportunity for the conservation community to meet with him and relevant Ministers to discuss the resolution of this emerging crisis by June 15, 2005. |
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Gateway to Nature Conference a Huge Success! Over 200 people gathered from June 3-5 for Ontario Nature’s 74th Annual General Meeting & Conference, hosted by the Nipissing Naturalists Club in North Bay. Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO), provided an engaging talk on the work of the Environmental Commissioner’s office and some of the findings produced in the 2003-2004 annual report. Examples of significant issues the ECO office is following include the loss of significant woodlands and the threats invasive species pose to biodiversity. The event featured a range of interesting and informative presentations ranging from the Breeding Bird Atlas, to northern protected areas, to birds in the boreal forest, to caribou and wolverines. Hap Wilson, the Saturday banquet speaker, entertained the group with a slide show canoe tour of northeastern Ontario. The Regional Coordinators presented on the past, present and future of the Nature Network – Ontario Nature’s Network of over 135 member groups – and discussed the need for communicating its importance and strength. The talk was highlighted by short presentations by representatives of three groups from the Nature Network. Cliff Bennett from the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists Club discussed an innovative education program that supports the programs of existing groups such as schools, Scouts and Guides. Frank Pope from the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club discussed the 126-year history of the club, as well as some of its ongoing projects, such as maintaining the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. Jim Johnston from the Friends of Algoma East talked about the group’s high productivity in completing projects despite its small size. Examples of projects the group undertakes include working with MNR to develop a Bear Wise program for Elliot Lake and putting up nest boxes. |
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Volunteer for Nature Power 692 trees and plants in the ground already! Thanks to a group of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers, a very successful restoration trip took place at the Cawthra Mulock Nature Reserve. The participants on the Volunteer for Nature trip planted upwards of 600 native wildflowers and tended to 50 newly planted trees. Earlier in May, an equally skilled group of VfN volunteers built a 20-foot bridge at Willoughby Nature Reserve near Caledon. The bridge was the last of a series needed to complete a loop trail on the property. More Volunteer for Nature trips are planned on Ontario Nature’s beautiful system of nature reserves this summer. Join us for boardwalk building at Petrel Point in July and enjoy a special talk by Ethan Meleg of Bruce Peninsula National Park! Check out www.ontarionature.org/action/index.html for more details. |
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CENTRAL ONTARIO NEWS |
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Report Trumpeter Swan Sightings! Gathering information about Trumpeter swans is vital to the success of the program. The Trumpeter Swan Reintroduction Program needs your help! We rely on calls from members of the community to report swan sightings. It is especially important in the spring when pairs of swans are establishing their nesting territories, and in the summer when cygnets have hatched. Many swans have plastic yellow wing tags and metal leg bands, both of which are marked with numbers. These numbers help us to track and monitor the swans throughout the year, and to gather information about migration, nesting and production of young. Trumpeter swans are large, white birds with black legs, feet and bills. Cygnets (young swans) hatch in June and are grey in colour with pinkish bills and feet. If you see a Trumpeter Swan, please note the following information: number of birds, tag and/or band numbers whenever possible, date and exact location of sighting. Please report this information to the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre at (705) 526-7809 or by email at swans@wyemarsh.com. Cygnets! Thank-you - Ontario Nature Volunteers! |
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On August 5th the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre will be hosting a group of Volunteer for Nature (VfN) volunteers. Volunteers will receive detailed orientation and training about native, non-native and invasive species around the Wye Marsh and surrounding area. They will learn of the Purple Loosestrife Study Area at Wye Marsh, and how their efforts are connected to the efforts of other organizations combating purple loosestrife. Project Purple Week is a good Ontario example of an invasive species control program designed to generate awareness about the threats of purple loosestrife. This program is organized by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and will be registered as an official O.F.A.H. event as well! To participate in this fun and interesting opportunity, contact Ontario Nature’s VfN program by phone at (416) 444-8419 ext. 222 or by email at vfn@ontarionature.org. |
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Naturalized Gardens, Bird Sightings and More!
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Web Design Workshop for Nature Groups On Saturday, May 28 Ontario Nature held a free web design workshop for member groups and interested conservation groups at the Cawthra Mulock Nature Centre in Newmarket. Twenty-one participants, representing ten member groups and three non-member groups, took part in the half-day workshop. Sharon David, a research technician at Queen’s University with extensive experience in website design, was the instructor for the course. Topics covered included an introduction to basic HTML, graphics, page design and critique of sites, a tour of Ontario Nature’s website and site maintenance. Sharon also distributed a CD and information package on course materials. Participants found the workshop extremely helpful and informative. Stay tuned for other workshops in the future.
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Natural Heritage Conference on the Future of the Carden Alvar The Couchiching Conservancy will host a one-day conference on the “Future of the Carden Alvar Natural Heritage” on September 21. The conference will feature speakers from a variety of organizations, focusing on topics such as the ecology of alvar habitats, the decline of grassland birds, ecotourism potential and reconciling aggregate demand with natural heritage protection. Come learn more about alvars and how you can help to protect them! For more information contact the Couchiching Conservancy by phone at (705) 326-1620. |
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EASTERN ONTARIO NEWS |
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Ontario Nature Welcomes New Regional Director Ontario Nature is pleased to welcome Cliff Bennett as the new Eastern Ontario Regional Director. Cliff is a retired elementary teacher for children with learning disabilities. He has five grown children and lives in the Municipality of Mississippi Mills, where he manages his forested property under the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program (MFTIP). In addition to his teaching qualifications, he holds a B.A. in economics and history. Cliff is a founding and current member of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists, where he developed a programme for sponsorship of environmental education projects for schools and youth groups, a programme of day canoe trips and day hiking trips. An avid paddler, he is a former champion sprint racing canoeist and served many years as a coach and executive member of the Carleton Place Canoe Club. He also has 25 years’ volunteer experience with Scouts Canada. His hobbies include gardening, painting, stamp collecting, birding, travel, politics and he is an avid curler and lawn bowler. As a means of celebrating the millennium, Cliff circumnavigated the globe in 1999/2000 on a Greek passenger boat, setting foot on all seven continents. Currently, Cliff is a columnist for local weekly newspapers, writing on birds for the past thirty years. |
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Lac Deschênes Important Bird Area Awareness Partnership Ontario Nature, in partnership with the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club, Innis Point Bird Observatory, the Canadian Museum of Nature and the National Capitol Region Wildlife Festival, held free public presentations and bus tours to the Lac Deschênes Important Bird Area (IBA) and Innis Point Banding Station in May. A large section of the Ottawa River between Ottawa and Shirley’s Bay is recognized as an IBA for its large numbers of migrating waterfowl. This well-attended project, with over 85 participants, raised awareness of the IBA and the conservation efforts of Innis Point Bird Observatory. Funding was provided by Nature Canada’s IBA Community Action Fund. |
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Macnamara Club had busy June The Macnamara Field Naturalists had several field trips planned for June. On June 5th a Morning on the Mississippi was planned. We put in our canoes on the Mississippi River near the Pakenham bridge and looked for orioles, green herons and even a red headed woodpecker. On June 11th a walk through the Fitzroy Provincial Park was planned to look for the plant life and especially the ferns and perhaps the Lady's Slipper. On June 18th we had a guided walk through the Stewartville Swamp reserve with Eleanor Thomson, who has been surveying the plant life. |
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SOUTHERN ONTARIO NEWS |
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Roll out the Barrels! The past few months have gone by very quickly for our organization. We completed another series of the Naturalized Landscape Course, teaching our own six-week course to over 75 people. We also convened our second annual Naturalized Landscape Conference on April 2. This one-day event managed to attract over 100 people, many from across southwestern Ontario. We are already looking forward to next year’s conference, when our event will be part of the “Doors Open to Nature” initiative, to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of Ontario Nature. More recently, we have conducted a number of activities that helped put us in a springtime mood. We had our series of springtime nature walks, which were well attended despite the cool temperatures. We also conducted our own specialized workshop, Feng Shui: Inside & Out. This informative three-hour event was very much enjoyed by its participants. Presently, we are conducting home visits to help our members with their landscaping questions. Currently, we are very pleased with our latest development, our own rain barrels. This unique rain barrel made its public debut during Earth Week. Its development was made possible through a grant from the Shell Environmental Fund, with assistance from Point Pelee National Park. Affectionately called the ‘Carolinian Cascade’, the barrel’s name is a clear reference to the habitat and other environmental issues that our group promotes. There were a number of reasons behind the development and distribution of these barrels. Beyond the need for water conservation, we were also concerned about the amount of used barrels that were resulting from our region’s food processing industry and other businesses. We were concerned about fallout from West Nile Virus and the fact that many people felt reluctant to use rain barrels for fear they would spread the disease. We were concerned about a recent switch to chlorinated water for many Essex County residents, which had been reported to be harmful to wetland wildlife. More recently, news that local water rates would be increasing made it clear to us that something needed to be done. The ‘Carolinian Cascades’ are made from re-used food grade barrels that offer high volume storage of 43 gallons or 190 litres. The barrels can also be connected in series to double or even triple their water holding capacity. They are outfitted with quality parts in a design that make mosquito infestation practically impossible. We offer them in four colours; forest-green, almond, sky-blue and ivory. These are available to all residents of Windsor and Essex County for $80, which is significantly less than other comparable rain barrels on the market today. Anyone who would like more information about the rain barrels is encouraged to visit the store section of our web site at www.naturalizedhabitat.org. Those wishing to inquire about ordering a rain barrel of their own can call us at (519) 259-2407. |
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Looking to get away from it all this summer? There are still opportunities for nature lovers to spend family time at Cabot Head this summer. Between spring and fall migration monitoring (June 15 – August 13) the Cottage and Grebe Lodge are available to Stewards. In return for a little work on the site and being a presence there, Stewards can occupy either of the buildings for a week. Accommodation costs are only $350 a week (less than half the price of a rental cottage). Most of the weeks are filled but there are some vacancies. If you are interested check our website www.bpbo.ca for more details and contact: Ron Baker at (519) 795-7652 or by email at ronbakerbpbo@sympatico.ca. |
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NORTHERN ONTARIO NEWS |
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The Mashkinonje Curve The Friends of Mashkinonje are very proud and happy to share a major accomplishment with you. We have completed our first work of art: it is the Mashkinonje Curve boardwalk. It all started eight years ago, when some local people wanted to have trails in a non-operational provincial park. The Sudbury East Board of Trade agreed to take the project on and established a Steering Committee made up of councilors, planning board, educators, funding partners, local businesses and residents. The process commenced with Ontario Parks. An extensive life science survey was conducted within the park. At the same time the Ontario Living Legacy identified the Loudon Peatland, as a provincially significant wetland and added the Peatland to Mashkinonje. This Mashkinonje Addition was in the first group of Ontario Living Legacy properties to be regulated and ultimately, the first to have an Ontario Parks management plan in place. In the year 2000, the Friends of Mashkinonje was incorporated. The Friends worked side by side with Ontario Parks and the Steering Committee until they became the main group involved with Mashkinonje. The Sudbury East Board of Trade lost momentum. Ontario Parks and major funding partners wanted a lead organization to carry the project forward. This was fine with the Friends because a lead organization would have the infrastructure to do the paper work and reporting returns and the Friends could concentrate on the fun things. The Municipality of French River has stepped up to the table in May 2005, to be the lead organization for the development of Mashkinonje. To back track a little, before anything can be developed in a provincial park there has to be three public consultations: a Terms of Reference, a Preliminary Management Plan and an Approved Management Plan. After that, archaeological and an environmental assessments have to be completed. We conducted archaeological digs, which uncovered many artifacts in one of the access zones (parking lot). It was a fun experience but we had to designate another parking lot, which isn’t easy in an area of bedrock ridges and wetlands. The environmental assessment was approved for our first boardwalk. There are many interesting and beautiful areas within Mashkinonje but my favorite is the Loudon Peatland. The Peatland is housed within a rock bowl type structure with a lag (creek or my version of a “moat around the castle”) then comes the marsh, fen and the bog islands. There are also three exterior concentric rock rings around the Peatland, separated by lowlands and lake. I became fascinated with the Peatland, when going in with Dr. Peter Beckett, a wetlands biologist from Laurentian University. His enthusiasm was contagious. Dr. Beckett told me, you have to go into the Peatland once a week to know everything that grows in there. That was after finding a Rose Pogonia Orchid. The Friends first priority was to build a boardwalk across a wetland within two of the concentric rock rings, to give us access to the Peatland. The Friends received the go ahead in December of 2004, to commence work within the park. Ontario Parks surveyed the access zone; GPS’d the trail to the Peatland and provided us with Facility Development Plan (rules for construction). We were ready to spend all the money we had accumulated over four years to build the boardwalk By the time everything fell into place, we had to move quickly in order to build the boardwalk while we had enough ice to hold an excavator. Working in the winter on ice minimizes any environmental damage. The piles are 6 inch rough cut hemlock that were driven in place by an excavator. The crossers and decking are 2”X10” rough cut hemlock. For strength over a longer distance, we used latest approved pressure treated lumber for the stringers and hand rails. Our boardwalk is 290’ long and was designed by Harley Lang, a Friend of Mashkinonje. The cost was approximately $10,000, $1,000 for the excavator and the rest for materials. The Friends of Mashkinonje and Dr. Josef Hamr’s Cambrian College class completed the labor of love. The Friends applied for and received a $5,000 grant from the Sudbury East-West Nipissing Economic Partners. Now the Friends of Mashkinonje are off again to create a legacy for all those nature lovers, who want to come and enjoy. If you wish to keep track of what we are up to or join the Friends, you can visit our website www.nipissing.com/mashkinonje. |
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NEWS FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS |
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RBG Scientists Net New Fish Species Habitat restoration work in Cootes Paradise and Hamilton Harbour has spawned a flood of exciting new fish sightings at the Cootes Paradise Fishway, where Royal Botanical Gardens’ (RBG) Project Paradise staff have found several rare and endangered species moving from Hamilton Harbour into Cootes Paradise. Among the fish seen were three Bigmouth Buffalo. This large fish looks vaguely like a carp, but filters the water column for food, rather than rooting through the mud. It has only been seen in Ontario at five sites since 1977, and is listed on the Endangered Species List as a Species of Special Concern. While Bigmouth Buffalo have been found at the Fishway before, RBG Natural Lands Steward Carl Rothfels states that, “we worried that they might have become locally extinct, as there were none recorded last year.” The Hamilton population is the most northerly in Canada. Within days, two Greater Redhorse were found in one basket during a fish lift. This is a first for the Fishway, and is, in fact, a new species for the western end of Lake Ontario. This species is provincially rare, and RBG staff are optimistic that they may be seen more frequently in future, as both a male and female were found. Not to be outdone, a Golden Redhorse appeared soon after. While this species was found at the Fishway during the first year of operation in 1997, it wasn’t documented photographically. RBG staff were able to snap some photos and so now hold the first documented record of this fish for the Canadian drainage of Lake Ontario. Another Fishway first was added last week when a large female Walleye passed through. These game fish were historically abundant in the Harbour, but have all but disappeared since the 1960s. This was followed by a Trout-perch, another species not seen for several years. The Cootes Paradise Fishway is operated with the support of the federal Great Lakes Sustainability Fund, and is a key component of RBG’s Project Paradise habitat restoration project. It is specially designed to keep carp from entering Cootes Paradise Marsh, where they have been responsible for past degradation of the area. Other species are allowed to pass through. “Fish run into local creeks and rivers to spawn throughout the spring,” says RBG Aquatic Ecologist Tys Theysmeyer, “and the Fishway provides a unique opportunity for us to monitor populations. We are able to measure and record a variety of data on each individual species and this has been a phenomenal year so far.” Members of the public interested in seeing these scientists at work can visit the Fishway along the Waterfront Trail, 700m from Princess Point. Fish lifts are held Monday to Friday at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weather permitting. See rbg.ca for details on the Fishway and Project Paradise. |
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Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas: Meet the Challenge in 2005! The Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas project is entering the last of five field seasons! During this last season all members of the birding community are encouraged to focus on the atlas, make every record count and ensure the project reaches its coverage goals province-wide! Atlassing is fun and especially rewarding during the final year. Atlas Update
For more information on the project, or to join in on bashes, contact the Atlas office at 1 866-900-7100 or atlas@uoguelph.ca. |
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Next Issue of Nature Network News The next issue of the Nature Network News will be sent on August 15th, 2005. Submissions will be accepted until August 1st, 2005. 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. |