NEWS

NATURE CONSERVANCY OF CANADA STAKES A CLAIM please click here for an area map.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is a national land trust with 25,000 members. They have targeted the Carden Plain for protection due to its globally rare alvar communities. Starting with 200 acres donated by the MacDonald bothers twenty years ago, they have purchased the Cameron Ranch (2850 acres), then the adjacent Windmill Ranch (1500 acres), the Prairie Smoke Reserve (675 acres), the Little Blue Stem Alvar Reserve (710 acres) and most recent ely McGee Creek Reserve was donated. All properties adjoin Cameron Ranch summing to over 6000 acres. In 2005 Ric Symmes the regional director presented NCC’s grand ten-year plan for the Carden Plain. As shown on the map, NCC has defined a “project area” of 25,000 acres that includes all the quality alvar and borders Queen Elizabeth II Park (3,000 Sq. Km.) on the Canadian Shield. Their announced goal is, by 2015,to directly protect 12,000 acres, either alone or with partners such as Ontario Parks and Couchiching Conservancy, and indirectly protect the balance by deflecting aggregate development elsewhere. As of 2009 they are halfway there.

Property acquisitions continue into 2010. Wolf Run Alvar Reserve is the latest target. Over 300 acres, it is located north off Alvar Road within the ANSI (Area of Natural or Scientific Interest). Aside from offering excellent alvar, it is also strategically located near Queen Elizabeth II Park, the beginning of a link to the Cameron Ranch properties to the south. The price is about $200,000. Much of that will come from government grants but the Couchiching Conservancy still needs to raise about $80,000 by October 2010. If you want to help, contact the Couchiching Conservancy at (705)326-1620 or e-mail gayle@couchconservancy.ca

INTEGRATED CARDEN CONSERVATION STRATEGY

In 2007 the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Couchiching Conservancy, the Carden Plain IBA and Wildlife Preservation Canada began an initiative to expand the 25,000 acre alvar focused project to include the IBA boundaries into an area of 50.000 acres focused on species at risk as well as alvar. The goal is to develop a program that protects species and alvar within the target area while at the same time creating benefits to local landowners. The initiative is named the Integrated Carden Conservation Strategy (ICCS). Initial public meetings revealed that landowners fear that the designation of their property as environmentally significant will reduce its economic value. They fear if a Loggerhead Shrike is spotted on their land they will lose control. Bird watchers present another landowner irritant sometimes slowing or blocking traffic and occasionally trespassing. Landowners question why bird watchers can’t be directed onto conservation lands and away from private property

Taking advantage of several new sources of funding (Species at Risk and Lake Simcoe Restoration) to address some of these issues. A “Birder’s Code of Conduct” was published in 2008 addressing many birder behavioural concerns. In addition some parking pull-off areas were built on Wylie Road and Prospect Road to facilitate traffic flow. A viewing blind was constructed at Box #10 on Wylie Road to focus attention toward conservation lands. A parking area and a 3.5 km nature trail was built on the Cameron Ranch to provide access while keeping birders and cattle separated.

A grazing seminar was sponsored and well attended. It offered suggestions to improve grazing productivity. Prompted by the seminar, a number of landowners have become partners in property improvement programs such as fencing, water supply and hawthorn thinning partly paid for by government programs accessed by the Couchiching Conservancy. A 200 acre wetland property was purchased on Prospect Road and will be donated along with a sign stating that naturalists are welcome.

The future plan is to work with quarries to develop a detailed landscape-based conservation plan for Carden as a supplement to the municipal Official Plan. ICCS will also create and ongoing Carden Forum to steer future projects such as ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services) whereby landowners are paid to support species at risk. On going funding sources are as yet undefined.

QUARRY COMFLICTS

Resistance to the McCarthy Quarry proposal, which is backed and funded by Moyer Aggregates, from the Trent Talbot River Ratepayers Association (TTRRA), at a cost to them of $300,000, received another set back when the Environmental Review Tribunal rejected their appeal. TTRRA didn’t give up. They appealed their case to the Minister of the Environment who agreed with their petition and ordered the quarry application to be rejected. Since then the Minister has been replaced, hopefully for other reasons, following the 2007 provincial election, and Moyer has reapplied for a license. The City of Kawartha Lakes Council protested to the Ministry of the Environment that the current and potential cluster of quarries in the area could threaten the source water supply to municipal wells and that before any more licenses were approved a “Cumulative Ground Water Impact Analysis” (CIA) was required. The Minister wrote back agreeing and pledging to conduct the CIA and make the results available, Amazingly six months later Moyer was granted a water taking permit (PTTW) without a CIA but subject to public review on the EBR. In December 2009 the PTTW was officially granted in direct contradiction of the Minister;s promise. In the meantime the CIA has begun by the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Operators Association (OSSGA) under the supervision of MOE and TTRRA is appealing the PTTW to the Minister. The CIA is not expected to be completed until May 2011.

QUARRY COLLABORATION

In September of 2005, the Carden Plain IBA together with Couchiching Conservancy, the Carden Field Naturalists and the Victoria Land and Water Stewardship Council, hosted the Carden Plain Natural Heritage Conference. Among the ninety attendees were naturalist, local landowners and quarry representatives. A wide range of expert speakers expressed why the Carden Plain was special to them. The objective was to kick off a dialogue between the quarry industry, conservation interests and local landowners based on mutual respect and factual inputs. At the end of the conference the audience was asked to recommend future action. The overwhelming consensus was to form a multi stakeholder taskforce to seek a more harmonious future.

In October of 2005 the first taskforce meeting occurred with representatives of two major quarries, Lafarge and Dufferin (Tomlinson joined latter), plus the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (OSSGA), the Couchiching Conservancy, Carden Plain IBA, Nature Conservancy of Canada plus one cattle rancher (later two local landowners were added). On March 25, 2006 The Taskforce hosted Workshop #1 “A Dialogue on the Future of the Carden Plain”. Attendance was by invitation only in order to ensure a broad representation of views. Approximately 65 people attended. The purpose was to identify the key issues of concern to local landowners. Five key issues emerged; security of water supply, quarry operations especially blasting, the Official Planning process and zoning, land valuation resulting from zoning, quarry truck haul routes.

On July 9, 2006, the Taskforce hosted Workshop #2 “Quality and Quantity of Ground Water”. This time invitations were open to anyone interested. Approximately 50 attended. Expert speakers presented material on; Hydrogeology on the Carden Plain, the Role of the Conservation Authority and the Role of Ministry of the Environment. An extensive panel discussion followed guided by questions from the floor.

On November 1, 2006, the Taskforce hosted a bus tour of three local quarries, Lafarge, Dufferin and Miller, to demonstrate the operations process including a blast. Invitations were open to all and about 50 attended. In each case the site manager led the tour and questions were encouraged.

In March 2007, another Workshop was held directed at Official Plan process. The intent was to provide attendees with a factual understanding of what Official Plans are intended to accomplish and how they are created. The timing anticipated that the City of Kawartha Lakes would publish their revised new Official Plan in the spring of 2007. This hasn’t occurred to date but the City did conduct a Haul Route workshop negating any need for the Taskforce to address that subject. Attendance at the Official Plan Workshop was down substantially from earlier events and it was decided to end the workshop program.

Discussions are proceeding with Miller Paving to construct an interpretive sign on their property on Kirfield Road welcome visitors to the Carden Alvar. Both Duffeerin and Miller quarries have contributed gavel and equipment to make the parking areas and laybys mentioned earlier. The OSSGA is trying to lead the industry into a friendlier, less intrusive, code of conduct.

ONTARIO LANDOWNERS ASSOCIATION

The environmental theme is being challenged politically by a significant group of landowners, both local and away, who call themselves alternatively the Rural Revolution or the Ontario Landowners Association (OLA) Theyreject any government planned use of their private land (i.e. zoning) especially if it interferes with what they can do on it and who they can sell it to. They have posted signs throughout the City reading “THIS IS OUR LAND, GOVERNMENT BACK OFF!”. Seven local landowners, on the Carden Plain, went further in the summer of 2006 and posted signs prohibiting birders from looking for birds in their fields from the road. One local landowner even began stopping birders, walking on public roads, telling them to stop bird watching. He ceased this activity after being confronted by the police.

In the spring and early summer of 2007 tensions between OLA and birders appeared to have abated. Most of the anti-birder signs were not reposted and no confrontations with birders were reported. This calm was deceiving. In September the OLA hosted a rally on a member’s property on the east side of Wylie Road opposite box #10. They announced that they intended to clear all the hawthorn trees from 13,000 acres to prevent Loggerhead Shrikes from nesting. About 70 people attended the rally most of whom came from outside of Carden. There were numerous speeches and loud cheers before the rally broke for lunch. In all, about 100 hawthorn trees were cut down in a 100-acre site. While the threats proved empty, the rally did attract a good deal of local publicity and sparked the initiative to create an Integrated Carden Conservation Strategy mentioned above.

BLUE BIRD BOX RESULTS

From Herb Furniss, IBA Steering Committee.
2009 got off to a good start when 44 Blue Bird pairs nested, a considerable increase from 2008.What followed was the coolest and wettest summer on record. 29 fledges died of starvation as insect populations collapsed Despite this set back 180 eventually fledged compared to a similar number in 2008 .

LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE RESULTS

18 pairs of wild Shrikes nested in Carden in 2009 including two near Fenelon Falls, a first., up from 16 in 2008, 12 in 2007and just 7 in 2006. They produced 52 fledges compared to 75 in 2008, 51 in 2007 and 25 in 2006. 4 birds originated from the captive breeding program and returned after migration. Two mated successfully. One senior member is three years old., Shrikes are returning to territories long ago abandoned. The birds were seen in Pembroke, Gray-Bruce, Smith Falls and Napanee. Wildlife Preservation Canada, who manage the Shrike recovery have initiated an “adopt-a-site” program whereby local volunteers are assigned a potential, but historically unused, nesting site to monitor through spring in case a pair of shrike or other species of interest decide to nest there. The behaviour of nesting Shrikes was also more closely monitored in 2009 and should yield important more detailed territory habitat requirements. This information will be available when Environment Canada officially identifies potential Shrike habitat to be protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) in 2010. The banding of wild fledges will recommence in 2010 after a two year hiatus

The captive breeding program remains productive with 94 juvenile Shrikes released into the wild and 7 retained for breeding in 2010 compared to 102 fledges released in 2008, 94 in 2007 and 100 in 2006. For the first time49 Shrikes were released with geolocators. These devices measure and record light levels. The data can later be analyzed to map where the bird has traveled over the winter. The only catch is that the bird has to return and be recaptured so the data can be retrieved. This technique has been successfully pioneered by Bridget Stutchbury (Silence if the Song Birds) using Purple Martins. Bridget Stucthbury was a consultant on the Shrike project. The findings could reveal where they go for the winter, how they get there and how they return.

Funding the captive breeding program has stabilized through an significant increase in sponsors both public and pribvatedespite a short term crisis in 2007 when Environment Canada reduced their support.
Thanks primarily to Boisset Winery, makers of French Rabbit Wine, The program remains viable www.wildlifepreservation.ca

NATURE GUIDES TO THE CARDEN PLAIN

This fold out map and guide was first produced in 2005 and proved to be very popular It was repeated in 2007. Copies are still available from the Couchiching Conservancy office (705)326-1620 or picked-up at the City Service Center in Kirkfield. Copies can also be downloaded from two websites of interest www.theCardenProject.com and www.ofo.ca/CardenAlvar. A new edition is planned for 2010.

CARDEN NATURE FESTIVAL JUNE 4, 5 and 6, 2010

June 2007 saw the launch of the inaugural Carden Nature Festival as a celebration of the natural wonders of the Carden Plain, a smorgasbord of biodiversity in southern Ontario, close to the GTA, and formed by a distinctive geological history. In 2009, the third year, 280 people attended, compared to 270 in 2008, plus 80 attendees at the Ontario Nature AGM, and 200 in 2007 Attendees came from from all across the province with about half from the GTA and another third from Simcoe County. Market research has revealed the Festival contributed $60,000 to the local economy.in 2009 Comments from participants were extremely positive

CARDEN NATURE FESTIVAL
FRIDAY JUNE 4, SATURDAY JUNE 5, SUNDAY JUNE 6, 2009
www.CardenGuide.com/Festival to browse and register
(or call 705-326-1620 for a free brochure)

COME ONE COME ALL
TO THE CARDEN NATURE FESTIVAL

EXPERIENCE A SMORGASBORD OF ENVIRONMENTAL DELIGHTS

CONVENIENT Less than 2 hours from Toronto and 30 minutes from Orillia

AFFORDABLE 1/10th the cost of an exotic eco-vacation weekend