LOCAL STEWARDSHIP PROJECTS RECEIVE FUNDING FOR SPECIES AT RISK PROTECTION

For Immediate Release
July 23, 2008

LOCAL STEWARDSHIP PROJECTS RECEIVE FUNDING FOR SPECIES AT RISK PROTECTION
Backgrounder

Ten volunteer projects in south central Ontario will receive more than $260,000 from the provincial Species at Risk Stewardship Fund this year to help protect and recover species at risk.

Bancroft Area Stewardship Council – $10,500 to support the rerouting of an existing multi-use recreational trail to protect sensitive species at risk habitat.

Contact: Dennis LeFeuvre, 613-332-4084

Christopher Evans – $30,620 to support field studies and research for a status report on the Hine’s Emerald, a globally rare dragonfly that was discovered in the Minesing Wetlands in Simcoe County in 2007.

Contact: Christopher Evans, 705-727-7791

Couchiching Conservancy – $110,446 to support two projects:

• a partnership conservation strategy that coordinates land securement, stewardship and recovery actions on the Carden Alvar, protecting habitat for at least 15 species at risk.
• collection of data by naturalists and landowners to be published in an atlas about the habitats, identification and conservation needs of species at risk near the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, from Georgian Bay to Balsam Lake.

Contact: Brian Hobbs, 905-336-1158 ext 255

Friends of Awenda Park – $11,322 to determine the status of up to 15 dragonfly species in Awenda Provincial Park and promote stewardship activities for these species through outreach and education programs.
Contact: Tim Tully, 705-549-2231, Ext. 25

Friends of Wye Marsh – $12,000 to support species at risk inventories for the Wye Marsh Provincial Wildlife Area that will provide the necessary information to ensure habitats are protected and taken into consideration in any future land use planning.
Contact: Adrian Philphot, 705-526-7809

Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve – $40,945 to support a series of species at risk workshops for residents in the Muskoka-Parry Sound area that will encourage conservation and stewardship activities such as habitat enhancement.
Contact: Brian O’Donoghue, 705-789-9098

Haliburton Highlands Trust – $18,030 to support on-the-ground verification and inventory of species at risk habitats, and a media marketing campaign to mobilize landowner and community support for species and habitat protection and recovery efforts.
Contact: Sheila Ziman, 705-754-2532

Kids for Turtles – $11,300 to support the collection of vital species at risk information for the management of the Swift Rapids Road public land area and related community outreach activities.
Contact: Bob Bowles, 705-325-3149

Muskoka Wildlife Centre – $17,900 to support a travelling species-at-risk display that will visit 50 schools across southwestern Ontario teaching 15,000 students about the barn owl, American badger and eastern fox snake and the importance of good stewardship.
Contact: Dale Glenow, 705-689-0222

For More Information

Media Enquiries

Jason Travers, Fish and Wildlife Branch, 705-755-1754

ontario.ca/natural-resources-news

General Enquiries

Natural Resources Information Centre
1-800-667-1940
TTY 1-866-686-6072 (Hearing Impaired)