LOCAL STEWARDSHIP PROJECTS RECEIVE FUNDING FOR SPECIES AT RISK PROTECTION

For Immediate Release
August 25, 2008

LOCAL STEWARDSHIP PROJECTS RECEIVE FUNDING FOR SPECIES AT RISK PROTECTION
Backgrounder

Twelve volunteer projects in northwestern Ontario will receive more than $722,000 from the provincial Species at Risk Stewardship Fund this year to help protect and recover species at risk.

Anishnabek Ontario Fisheries Resource Centre – $48,290 to support a study and assessment of blackfin and shortjaw ciscoes in Lake Nipigon to gain a better understanding of the abundance, distribution and habitat needs of these species.
Contact: Caroline Deary, 705-472-7888        

Armstrong Wilderness Outfitters Association – $10,000 to support a signage project that aims to increase general public awareness of woodland caribou in the Wabakimi Provincial Park area and their status as a threatened species.
Contact: Paul Boucher, 807-683-5759

Cat Lake and Slate Falls First Nations – $160,000 to support the collection of information about woodland caribou calving habitat that will be helpful in creating a habitat inventory and increasing knowledge related to habitat identification, protection and stewardship.
Contact: Lars Ohman, 807-737-1020

Confederation College – $27,500 to support the development and integration of a species at risk curriculum into Confederation College’s First Nations Natural Resources Youth Employment program, which will encourage the collection of Aboriginal traditional ecological knowledge and other data on species at risk.
Contact: Brian Kurikka, 807-475-6643

Eabametoong & Mishkeegogamang First Nations – $300,000 to support two projects: $200,000 for winter habitat surveys for woodland caribou and $100,000 for collection of information about woodland caribou calving habitat.  Both projects will increase knowledge about habitat identification, protection and stewardship requirements for this at-risk species and contribute to future land use planning initiatives.   
Contact: Ron Hammerstedt, 250-569-7167

Grassy Narrows First Nation – $11,700 to document important community information about woodland caribou and share this information through a woodland caribou awareness kiosk in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park.
Contact: Chief Simon Fobister, 807-925-2201

Ontario Fur Managers Federation – $21,960 to support a pilot project to test methods and recommendations that were developed to avoid incidental capture of wolverines in traps set for other species, and to help trappers avoid wolverine damage to their trap lines.
Contact: Howard Noseworthy, 705-254-3338

Ontario Nature – $44,455 to support a partnership between Ontario Nature and AbitibiBowater Inc. to assess the effects of various silviculture approaches on renewal of woodland caribou habitat.
Contact: Julee Boan, 807-474-2285

Wabakimi Trapper Diary Project – $26,200 to support phase two of a project to collect traditional aboriginal knowledge about woodland caribou habitat and travel patterns throughout Wabakimi Provincial Park.  Trappers from five First Nations will maintain diaries and map sightings of these animals to gain a better understanding of how caribou use and move around the landscape.
Contact: Gary Kwandibens, 807-583-2177

Wawakepin First Nation – $32,000 to compile aboriginal traditional knowledge related to lake sturgeon that would be the starting point on future studies of sturgeon populations and habitat, and eventually contribute to the local management of this species.
Contact: Simon Frogg, 807-737-2662

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada – $40,850 to refine and conduct winter aerial inventories for woodland caribou and other boreal forest species in a large area of northern Ontario. The data will serve as a benchmark for future monitoring and recovery of threatened boreal species.
Contact: Justina C. Ray, 416-850-9038, Ext. 22

ontario.ca/natural-resources-news

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