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Gibboney Lake Draining

We received the following message from Douglas Hope, 705.782.6934, cariboulake@sympatico.ca.

Friday morning (26 June) I noticed that Stobie Creek, which flows from Gibboney Lake, was unusually in spate. On further investigation I found that the beaver dam retaining the marsh had been breached by heavy equipment. This is the the third consecutive year that this has occurred. In a meeting held last year which I attended along with representatives from the M.N.R., the Kensington Conservancy and the Township of Johnson, the significance of the wetland was acknowledged along with the informal resolution that the marsh would no longer be tampered with.

Obviously, to no avail.

I have notified the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (Conservation Officer, Mr. M. Binkley), the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, (Mr. W. Shields, Senior Environmental Officer), the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Mr. J. Schuyler, Fishery Officer) and the Kensington Conservancy (Ms. Tanna Elliott, Executive Director) as well as the Sault Naturalists.

As you are no doubt aware Gibboney Lake is considered a Provincially Significant Wetland.  This is the third consecutive year that such manipulation has occurred with no results forthcoming from former investigations. Last year there was a general public dismay following the drainage, this year there will be a profound outrage. Not only is a very sensitive habitat greatly disrupted at a critical season but the sedimentary plume enters the North Channel of Lake Huron along the Kensington Conservancy shoreline and the increased turbidity so caused can affect municipal water supplies downstream (i.e. Bruce Mines town water requiring increased chlorination).

I trust that this will be of interest to you and remain available should you require more information. This useless and degrading practice must stop.

 

(Forwarded by Tony Walker, July 4, 2009)

 

Lake Simcoe Protection Act Passes

Ontario Nature, as a partner of Campaign Lake Simcoe, is delighted let you know that all provincial parties voted in favour of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act; this rarely happens, and is a reflection of the non-partisan nature of saving Lake Simcoe and of our campaign.

 

Thank you for your continued support to protect this wonderful public resource. Through your dedication and hard work - responding to our Action Alert, calling and visiting your MPP, submitting your comments to the Environmental Registry and attending Discussion Paper Workshops and Information Forums, we have accomplished a milestone in the citizens' fight to save our lake.

 

Now that the Act is behind us, all our focus will be on the detailed Plan, expected to be released within a month for 60 days of public consultation. Until we see the details in the Plan we will not be sure that the lake will be saved. We are optimistic, but not popping the champagne corks just yet! We will keep you posted and let you know of opportunities to provide your comments.

 

Barbara MacKenzie-Wynia, Central and Northern Region Co-ordinator, Ontario Nature

 

Forwarded by Tony Walker, Dec. 11, 2008

  

DNR Confirms Birds Positive with Type E Botulism

The Department of Natural Resources has confirmed that Type E Botulism is responsible for the deaths of ring-billed gulls and double-crested cormorants from Ludington State Park in Mason County in July. Four birds were submitted for examination and all tested positive for the disease, making this the first confirmation of 2008. Biologists believe the likely route of transmission of Type E Botulism in Lake Michigan, as well as in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, probably includes Cladophora algae, invasive mussels (zebra and Quagga) and the invasive round goby.

Property owners along Lake Michigan who come across dead water birds should take precautions, such as making sure pets do not come in contact with wildlife carcasses. It may be necessary to have pets on leashes in areas where fish and bird die-offs are occurring. No Type E botulism illnesses have been associated with swimming along the lakeshore where fish and bird die-offs have occurred. However, pets and humans can become sick if they ingest the botulism toxin by eating a contaminated bird or fish. Important guidelines and precautions for handling and collecting dead shorebirds developed by the Michigan Departments of Community Health, Natural Resources, and Environmental Quality should be followed. The guidelines and precautions can be found online at www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases.

 

Forwarded by Tony Walker

 

Ontario Nature Launches New Green Gift Idea

 

Ontario Nature is teaming with Trees In Trust, a web-based environmental fundraising organization, to encourage people to invest in the future of our native forests. A new online donation system allows donors to buy a piece of the forest as a gift, memorial or carbon offset.

 

Global warming, our carbon footprint and personal environmental responsibility have dominated the news lately. This approach to forest conservation makes the most of online public awareness campaigns and fundraising and top-of-mind environmental concerns. "The Trees in Trust website makes it easy for people to adopt an acre of woodland, either as a gift or for themselves," says Mark Carabetta, conservation science manager of Ontario Nature. "Ontario Nature's partnership with Trees in Trust will allow more people to support the protection and stewardship of woodlands in Ontario.�

 

In exchange for an online donation (made at www.treesintrust.com), Trees In Trust provides a mapped piece of forest and a dedication certificate instantly via the web. Your dedication is then placed against a specific plot of land and held in your name in perpetuity. Ontario Nature uses the funds to steward the land and acquire additional parcels of land of similar quality.

 

So far, Trees In Trust has partnerships with conservation organizations in three provinces including Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Ontario, and aims to expand by partnering with land trusts in every province. "I spent 30 dollars on a piece of woodland for my son's birthday," says Frank MacEachern of Charlottetown. "Once he saw where it was on a map, he was really intrigued."

 

Three of Ontario Nature�s reserves are now on the Trees in Trust site: Altberg Wildlife Sanctuary Nature Reserve in Kawartha Lakes, Kinghurst Forest Nature Reserve south of Owen Sound and Cawthra Mulock Nature Reserve in York Region. This efficient fundraising system allows conservation organizations like Ontario Nature to acquire more endangered forest and to concentrate on conservation and protection rather than spending time handling payments, producing maps and printing certificates. Charitable tax receipts are issued for dedications of 1/6 acre and above.

 

Ontario Nature, through a mutually supportive base of federated clubs and individual members, protects and restores nature in Ontario and connects individuals and communities to nature through research, education, public awareness and conservation action. The organization seeks to bring about change to legislation, policies and practices and work with partners and institutions to protect Ontario's natural ecosystems and biodiversity.

 

For more information, please visit the Trees In Trust website at www.treesintrust.com or contact:

 

Andrew Lush

andrew@treesintrust.com

902-388-1919

Founder, Trees In Trust

 

or

 

Mark Carabetta

Conservation Science Manager, Ontario Nature

416-444-8419

markc@ontarionature.org

 

Forwarded by Tony Walker 8/7/08

 

 

ENVIRONMENT CANADA: ECOACTION COMMUNITY FUNDING PROGRAM AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGES FUND (EDF)

 

EcoAction Community Funding Program

Funding is available through the EcoAction Community Funding Program for projects that address Environment Canada’s

priority issues of Clean Air and Climate Change, Clean Water, and Nature. At this time, funding priority may be given to eligible projects that address Clean Air and Climate Change issues. Species at Risk and Invasive Alien Species projects are evaluated and supported by Environment Canada's Habitat Stewardship Program and/or Invasive Alien Species Partnership Program.

The upcoming EcoAction deadline will be in the Fall 2008.  Stay tuned for more details or visit our website http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/community/ecoaction/.

We highly encourage groups to contact us to discuss the eligibility of a project idea and/or submit a draft application for review, consideration, and recommendations.

For further information about EcoAction or to submit a draft for review, please visit our website http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/community/ecoaction/ or contact our office by phone at (416) 739-4734, toll free at 1-800-661-7785 or by email at ecoaction.on@ec.gc.ca

 

Environmental Damages Fund (EDF)

Environment Canada administers the EDF which provides courts with an opportunity to direct awards from environmental penalties and settlements to repair actual harm done to the environment.

Funding through the EDF is available for projects that address one or more of EDF's priority areas of Restoration; Environmental Quality Improvement, Research and Development; and Education and Awareness.  Organizations eligible for funding include non-profit (e.g. community-based environmental groups), Aboriginal communities and organizations, universities, provinces, territories, and municipalities.  Visit the EDF website for further information about the fund, eligibility criteria and application guidelines at www.ec.gc.ca/edf-fde. 

What funding is available? Funding levels are dependent on the amount of funds available in the EDF, as well as the location for which the funds apply (i.e. in what province and in what community or geographic area).  Check out what funds are available in your area by visiting our website at www.ec.gc.ca/edf-fde.For more information on developing and submitting a funding application, please refer to the EDF application guidelines, available at the following website www.ec.gc.ca/edf-fde.  Additional inquiries can be directed to the Community Programs Office by phone at (416) 739-4734, toll free at 1-800-661-7785 or by email at edf-fde.on@ec.gc.ca.

(Forwarded by Tony Walker)

 

New Endangered Species Act Clinging to Life

Ontario Nature News Release, May 15, 2008: New act to be gutted by exemptions for industry.

For an updated (July 3, '08) Ontario Nature news release on this issue, click on ExemptionsRelease FINAL.pdf. Toronto -  At 2:30 this afternoon the McGuinty government took a giant leap backwards in the protection of Ontario’s biodiversity by exempting the logging industry (which impacts 45% of the province) from Ontario’s new Endangered Species Act, days before it celebrated its first anniversary as legislation.

 “This exemption makes the new Endangered Species Act dead on arrival,” said Gillian McEachern of ForestEthics. “Exempting the logging industry from the new act is one of the fastest and most effective ways to wipe out Ontario’s threatened woodland caribou.”

 

The proposal posted today on the government’s Environmental Bill of Rights Registry contradicts the intent of the Endangered Species Act, which was passed last May.

 

“We hailed Ontario’s new Endangered Species Act as a gold standard when it was passed last May. We never imagined government would give a blanket exemption to industry off the bat,” said Anne Bell of Ontario Nature.

 

The Endangered Species Act is set to come into force in a few weeks, on July 1st. At the time of its development last year, the Act provided flexibility measures to deal with legitimate needs for some facilities, including existing hydro dams and aggregate pits. However, today’s move by government gives a year long blanket exemption to the industry with the largest impact on ecosystems in the province - the forestry industry.

 

"The government has royally screwed things up in this first major test of one of its signature pieces of legislation,” said Rick Smith of Environmental Defence. “Though we are assured by the government that this exemption for the logging industry is temporary and will not be renewed, the process here has been horrendous and will lead to real environmental harm."

 

“This Act was supposed to set a new direction for the protection and recovery of endangered species. Allowing business as usual logging to continue isn’t a change of direction; it will take us straight down the path to species extinction,” said Rachel Plotkin of the David Suzuki Foundation.

 

The new Act was designed to provide protection for Ontario’s approximately 200 endangered species and their habitats. Unless it is effectively implemented, however, the future is bleak for Ontario’s species at risk. For those plants and animals for which trends are known, over 75% are either already gone from Ontario or are on their way to disappearing.

 

“Exempting logging will butcher the law and sign the death warrant for some of Ontario’s endangered species,” said lawyer Justin Duncan with Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund). “Ontarians should be outraged.”

 

The public has 30 days to comment on the proposal. After that, the government will decide whether or not to approve the exemptions. SOS highly encourages the public to voice their concern on these exemptions through the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry which is available online at: http://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTAzMjYz&statusId=MTU0Mjg3&language=en.
 
‘This is not a birthday worth celebrating,” Janet Sumner, Executive Director, CPAWS Wildlands League commented, “this is the day the logging industry was placed above the law and species were pushed to extinction.”

 

For more information, please contact:

Gillian McEachern, ForestEthics, (416) 938-6032

Rick Smith, Environmental Defence, (416) 670-9521

Caroline Shultz, Ontario Nature, (416) 768-9795

Janet Sumner, CPAWS Wildlands League, (416) 971-9453, ext. 39

Justin Duncan, Ecojustice, (416) 368-7533 ext. 22

Rachel Plotkin, David Suzuki Foundation, (613) 796-7999

About Save Ontario's Species: S.O.S. is a collaboration among CPAWS Wildlands League, the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Environmental Defence, ForestEthics and Ontario Nature.

Forwarded by Tony Walker

 

This isn't new news, I know, but I wanted to remind you that the deadline for comments to the Hiawatha National Forest (HNF) about any part of the sand-clay project environmental assessment, which includes proposals for thinning of many beautiful old trees, is due around. Jan. 3, 2008 (or 30 days from when the notice of the projects' errata being completed appeared in the Evening News.)

The HNF’s sand-clay project environmental assessment includes, as one of its proposals, thinning of 102-year old trees. If you’d like to encourage the Forest Service to preserve these lovely old trees or make comments on any parts of the project, you can submit comments before Dec. 3, 2008, to: comments-eastern-hiawatha-st-ignace@fs.fed.us.