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eastern region (ontario)

VoLUMe 29, nUMBer 3, 2008

Conservation partners in Middlesex and Huron counties shared plans for a three-year wetlands protection and enhancement project enabled by a $225,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Over the next three years, funding will be used to protect and enhance wetlands within Middlesex and Huron counties, focusing in the Ausable River watershed through the Healthy Headwaters Initiative.

“We all have a responsibility to protect these special lands so they can continue to be a gathering place for aquatic wildlife and a healthy environment for plants,” said MPP Maria Van Bommel at a media event to launch the program. “This grant supports local efforts for wetland protection.”

The Middlesex Stewardship Council, Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation, Huron Stewardship Council and Ducks Unlimited Canada will work together on this project to provide an opportunity for landowners to protect, restore and enhance wetlands. The grant will help to restore wetlands, create public awareness and engage local community members to become volunteers.

“The generous commitment of the Ontario Trillium Foundation will allow this initiative to support the great work of landowners to enhance and protect wetlands that are so vital to our well-being,” said Cale Selby, stewardship co-ordinator, Middlesex Stewardship Council. “These wetlands will not only improve the quality and quantity of water eventually flowing into our Great Lakes, but will

provide valuable wildlife habitat as well.”Angela Baitz, program co-ordinator for

the initiative, said, “Thanks to the funding commitment, staff working on the project will be able to provide technical and financial support to landowners to create and enhance wetlands in flood plain and riparian areas.”

Projects will include the enhancement of flood plain habitat; creation of wetlands through small impoundments (areas created by restricting water flowing out of shallow, low-lying areas); livestock exclusion fencing; excavated wetlands (removal of earth to create a water retention area); and the creation of conservation buffers (small areas of permanent vegetation, designed to control pollutants and manage other environmental concerns). The project will have a positive impact in these counties, which have lost the majority of their wetland habitat to other types of land use. S

DUC helps Ontario counties plan for wetlands

(left to right) Joe Hogan, Grant Review Team, Huron-Bruce-Perth-Grey, Ontario Trillium Foundation; Cale Selby, Middlesex Stewardship Council co-ordinator; Angela Baitz, co-ordinator, Healthy Headwaters Wetlands Initiative; Ian Koetsier, vice-chair, Huron Stewardship Council; Maria Van Bommel, MPP, Lambton-Kent-Middlesex; and Don Fairbairn, chair, Middlesex Stewardship Council.

TThe Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has contributed $500,000 toward DUC’s wetland stewardship efforts in Ontario. The funding will be matched by DUC to fuel a $1 million wetland extension program over two years.

The funding was awarded under the auspices of the Healthy Wetlands…Healthy Communities partnership that saw an investment of $2 million in the upgrade of public wetland interpretive sites and the restoration of small wetlands on private lands over the course of three years. This program wrapped up in 2007 with the completion of upgrades to 13 wetland interpretive sites and the restoration of 26 small wetlands on private lands.

The new round of funding will be directed toward working with private landowners who are interested in nature and wildlife to help them care for, maintain and in some cases, restore the wetlands on their property. DUC will work with and through local conservation organizations within DUC’s priority habitat areas to engage landowners in the appreciation and conservation of these valuable habitats.

Local partnerships with landowner contact programs aren’t new to DUC. Doug van Hemessen was a steering committee member in DUC’s Headwaters Healthy Wetlands program in Wellington, Grey and Dufferin counties when he was a co-ordinator for the Wetland Habitat Fund. Now working for Ontario Stewardship as

the Stewardship Co-ordinator for Victoria County (City of Kawartha Lakes), van Hemessen once again finds himself part of a DUC collaborative effort.

“In 2007, DUC and Otonabee Region Conservation Authority were successful in their application for an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to hire a project co-ordinator to deliver a wetland extension program in the greater Kawarthas area in partnership with Lakeland Alliance, Kawartha Conservation and local stewardship councils,” says van Hemessen. The grant was for one year and wraps up in August.

“The Healthy Wetlands…Healthy Communities funding will allow this partnership program to continue for up to two more years and augments our landowner communication efforts with some financial assistance for enhancements to wetland habitat.”

The funding will also allow DUC and Quinte Conservation to cost-share a watershed stewardship co-ordinator. The co-ordinator will split her time between some specific responsibilities related to source water protection and will also engage landowners in wetland conservation projects.

Last year, DUC engaged Nottawasaga Conservation Authority and two local stewardship councils in a conversation about a similar program. All the parties agreed to collaborate on wetland stewardship but no

funding was available at that time to get a collaborative program up and running.

“This new round of Healthy Wetlands…Healthy Communities funding is great news,” says John Osmok, stewardship co-ordinator for South Simcoe and Dufferin counties, who has partnered with Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority on other programs and looks forward to bringing in DUC to assist with wetland extension programs for landowners.

Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority and Middlesex Stewardship Council are already well ahead of the game. For the past three years, DUC conservation specialist Darrell Randell has been working with stewardship councils and their co-ordinators in southwestern Ontario to impart DUC’s technical knowledge of wetland restoration along with funding for projects from another Ontario Trillium Foundation grant that wrapped up last year. This year, Middlesex Stewardship Council joined forces with Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority, and they were successful in their application for a Trillium Foundation grant to restore wetlands on their own. Now, these organizations are leading wetland conservation in their communities..

While wetland conservation partnerships are already well underway across the province, a media event will be held to officially launch the two-year program in late July. S

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources supports DUC’s landowner extension efforts

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e a s t e r n r e g i o n ( o n t a r i o )

Gil Henderson, a landowner with property near the town of St. George in Brant County, has worked for over 30 years to conserve wetland and upland habitats. Even before that, he worked to reclaim a former golf course and to restore wetlands on his own. Then, with support from Ontario Eastern Habitat Joint Venture (OEHJV) partners like Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), Henderson restored or enhanced over 30 wetlands on his property. Not content to stop there, he also influenced his neighbours to work with OEHJV partners to secure many wetlands throughout the area.

For his lifetime commitment to conservation, Henderson was awarded the North American Waterfowl Management Plan’s National Great Blue Heron Award by the Minister of Natural Resources at the Ontario Volunteer Convention in May.

“Property owners who conserve and restore natural areas on their land make a vital contribution to our province,” said Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield. “Gil Henderson’s remarkable dedication and generosity will benefit our environment and our society for generations to come.”

Henderson has implemented numerous Best Management Practices throughout his world-class polled Hereford operation,

and Onondaga Farms is used as a demonstration site to educate other landowners and conservation professionals. In 2002, Henderson and his late wife, Molly, donated the farm to the Tim Horton’s Children’s Foundation.

“As a director of DUC, Gil has strongly and actively supported land conservation and securement programs in Ontario, working with many important partners such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada,” said Jamie Fortune, DUC Director of Regional Operations.

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan is implemented through unique partnerships consisting of organizations and individuals committed to the conservation of wetland habitats and their associated wildlife. The success of the plan is directly related to the contributions of dedicated

people like Gil Henderson. The National Great Blue Heron Award recognizes participants whose activities conducted at the national, regional or local level over a long period of time have resulted in substantial benefits to waterfowl and other wetland-associated migratory bird populations of North America. S

DUC supporter receives prestigious award

The federal government’s Natural Areas Conservation Program, administered by Nature Conservancy Canada, enabled Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) to help the Bruce Trail Association (BTA) purchase a piece of property that was important to its trail system.

The BTA has had a long-standing interest in the Glassford property because it provides an alternative route for their renowned hiking trail. They approached the landowner with an offer to purchase which was accepted and then contacted DUC to help finance the purchase. DUC saw an opportunity to protect the significant wetland and grassland habitats on the property, and was pleased to be a partner in the acquisition of this 116.3-hectare (287.5-acre) property.

The Bruce Peninsula is an important autumn and spring stopover area for migrating waterfowl and because it’s near Manitoulin Island and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, waterfowl are afforded an abundance of secluded refuelling and resting opportunities as they

make their way to breeding or wintering grounds. The extensive system of shallow lakes, large inland marshes and sheltered coastal bays bordering Lake Huron and Georgian Bay are exploited by both dabbling and diving ducks, as well as Canada geese. In addition to its staging value, this region also supports some of the highest waterfowl pair densities in the province (12 to 25 pairs per square mile) and provides quality habitat for locally breeding and moulting waterfowl.

DUC has long been active in the Bruce Peninsula region and was most recently involved in the acquisition of the Shallow Lake wetland in partnership with the Sydenham Conservation Foundation. The BTA, which manages an 800-km hiking trail system that follows the edge of the Niagara Escarpment from Queenston to Tobermory, has to date purchased 658.4 ha (1,627 acres) of land along the Bruce Peninsula, primarily in partnership with the Ontario Heritage Trust. S

DUC and Bruce Trail Association protect important staging habitat

Gil Henderson (centre) accepts the National Great Blue Heron Award from DUC President Neil Downey and Ontario Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield.

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Through a partnership of local conservation organizations, 15 duck nest boxes were installed at the Windy Ridge Conservation Area, located between Lindsay and Omemee. The nest boxes will provide habitat for cavity-nesting ducks, such as wood ducks, that need large, old trees with holes in them to nest. Funding from the Large Woodlands Association covered the cost of the nest boxes. Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Jenn Lavigne, a graduate of Sir Sandford Fleming College, arranged for stu-dents from the Fish and Wildlife program to maintain the nest boxes under the super-vision of Kawartha Lakes Conservation Authority. DUC staff trained the students in the installation and maintenance of the nest boxes. S

The Ontario Volunteer Convention was held the first weekend of May at the Nottawasaga Resort near Alliston. The rainy weather that weekend didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of over 250 attendees comprised of enthusiastic volunteers and their families.

The program included a special presentation from Ontario Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield, as well as a Marsh Adventure that was indeed adventurous, retriever tri-

als and a Greenwing event. The festivities culminated in a gala banquet with master of ceremonies duties per-formed by CFL player Jude St. John and a live auction brilliantly led by Canadian hockey icon turned comedian, Dennis Hull.

The convention was organized and run by a committee of volunteers led by convention chair Tim Dwyer.

“These things are a tremen-dous amount of work but we’re

really pleased with the turnout and the enthusiasm of the participants,” says Dwyer. “The reward comes when the committee sees what a great time everyone is having.”

Ontario provincial chair, Gary Down, presided over the opening ceremonies during which he welcomed the minister as well as DUC president Neil Downey and officiated over the awards presentations to volunteer chapters. Down’s professional background came in handy when at one point during the presentations, his microphone stopped working and without missing a beat he announced he was going to use his school principal’s voice. Sure enough, he didn’t need a microphone at all!

Ontario event leadership team manager Steve Stinkowji was really pleased with the enthusiasm and leadership of the volunteers and his team of fundraising staff. “These folks put a tremendous amount of effort into this event and I really want them to know how much it is appreciated.” S

eastern region (ontario)

The Flyway newsletter is published by Ducks Unlimited CanadaOak Hammock Marsh Conservation CentreP.O. Box 1160, Stonewall, ManitobaR0C 2Z0 tel (204)467-3000 fax (204)467-9028toll-free 1(800)665-DUCK

Please direct your inquiries to the following:Eastern Region Atlantic: Kelly MacDonald Quebec: Bernard Filion Ontario: Lynette MaderWestern Region Prairie-Western Boreal: Marci Dube British Columbia: Wendy Fister

Flyway production staffDirector of Communications and Marketing:Madeleine ArbezEditor: Duncan MorrisonAssistant: Deb MenardArt Director: Tye GreggGraphic Designers: Lindsay Pikta-Marie, Aquila Samson, Jeope Wolfe

© Ducks Unlimited Canada, 2008 Printed in Canada on 100% recycled paper including 100% post-consumer fibres

ontario area ContactsDirector of Regional Operations Eastern Canada, Jamie Fortune (613) 565-2525

Manager of Provincial Operations for Ontario (613) 389-0418

Conservation Programs (705) 721-4444

Outreach ProgramsLynette Mader (705) 721-4444

Education Program Coordinator Stephanie Walker (705) 721-4444

Government RelationsJulie Cayley (705) 721-4444

Development Melanie Wojick (705) 721-4444

Provincial Manager of Event & Volunteer ProgramsSteve Stinkowji (705) 544-8437

Event & Volunteer Customer Service(613) 389-0418 (866) 389-0418

publication agreement #40064849

Sir Sandford Fleming students help install and maintain wood duck nest boxes

DUC Ontario Volunteer Convention attracts over 250 volunteers and Greenwings

DUC President Neil Downey was happy to pose for a photo with "The Pink Ladies" (a.k.a. Laura, Melanie, Sarah and Sherry Fortune)