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| A Georgian Bay coastal wetland |
Wetlands are an important part of the eastern Georgian Bay coastline. They define its character. They are also a habitat at risk from increasing shoreline and road development.
To find out which eastern Georgian Bay wetlands need protection most immediately, Ministry of Natural Resources biologists will be evaluating and ranking six of the big bay’s most significant coastal wetlands.
Fish sampling and habitat mapping data from existing wetland evaluations will help Ministry biologists to narrow the choice of many wetlands to six. Next, they will turn to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES), a science-based system that assesses wetland functions, their values to society, and their significance for land use planning.
Biologists will need the help of IKONOS, high resolution satellite imagery which technicians use to map different types of aquatic vegetation and habitat features and to determine the boundaries of the priority wetlands.
After that comes the legwork. Biologists will head into the field to confirm wetland boundaries, document the plant communities and the occurrences of species at risk in each wetland, and to classify their major features.
The new data will be added to the Ministry’s Natural Resources Values Information System (NRVIS), which becomes a resource for local governments. Municipalities will receive maps, evaluations and scores for each wetland to help them make wise land-use planning decisions.
The data collected will also help the Ministry suggest properties for rehabilitation and acquisition by conservation organizations such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada and other members of the Ontario Eastern Habitat Joint Venture partnership.
Click here to view a map of the project area
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Background about Eastern Georgian Bay’s Coastal Wetlands:
• Georgian Bay’s eastern coast is a 5,300-kilometre-long expanse of coastal rock barrens, island archipelagoes and high quality wetlands that, according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, “provide important habitat for colonial nesting waterbirds and have one of the highest densities of globally and nationally rare species and [plant] communities in Ontario.”
• The wetlands provide important cover for marsh birds such as the American bittern and Virginia rail; stopover and resting areas for migrating waterfowl and hawks; and nesting areas for colonial waterbirds such as the great egret, great black-backed gull and Caspian tern.
• The coastal wetlands also nurture and shelter many at-risk snake and turtle species— the eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, Blanding’s turtle—and Ontario’s only lizard, the five-lined skink. They also are vital spawning and nursery habitats for Georgian Bay fish species that depend on wetlands, such as the longnose gar and muskellunge.
Project Partners:
- Georgian Bay Association
- Georgian Bay Land Trust
- Local landowners
- The Nature Conservancy of Canada
For more information, contact:
- Ron Black, Wildlife Biologist, Ministry of Natural Resources, Parry Sound (705) 773-4225
- Andy McKee, Lake Huron COA Basin Coordinator, Upper Great Lakes Management Unit – Lake Huron, Owen Sound (519) 371-5449