Voluntary Projects Protect Species At Risk

For Immediate Release
June 26, 2009

Voluntary Projects Protect Species At Risk
McGuinty Government Marks First Anniversary Of Endangered Species Act

NEWS

Georgian Bay and Lake Huron area landowners and organizations are giving a helping hand to 33 local rare and endangered species.

Eleven projects from the Lake Huron shoreline to southern Georgian Bay will receive funding totalling almost $300,000 from Ontario's Species at Risk Stewardship Fund. The projects include:

• Protection for piping plovers at Sauble Beach, led by the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation on behalf of several local partners
• Identifying spawning habitats for Lake Sturgeon on the Nottawasaga River
• Helping recover wood turtle populations on private land
• Holding workshops to raise awareness of species at risk.

Ontario's Endangered Species Act, which came into effect a year ago, makes the province a North American leader in species at risk protection and recovery.

QUOTES

“The piping plover is one of many species that need our attention and assistance. Through the stewardship projects the McGuinty government supports, we are helping to reduce the rate of species decline and protecting Ontario's rich biodiversity.”
– Donna Cansfield, Minister of Natural Resources

QUICK FACTS

• This year, two plover pairs are nesting at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park and three pairs are nesting at Sauble Beach.
• In 2007, a pair of piping plovers nested along the shores of Lake Huron at Sauble Beach, the first successful nest in three decades.
• In early August, the plovers will migrate back to their wintering area in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Ontario is home to more than 30,000 species of plants and animals, of which more than 180 are at risk.

LEARN MORE

• Read about Species at Risk Stewardship Fund projects in the southern Georgian Bay and Lake Huron area.
• Find out what you can do to help protect species at risk and their habitats.
• Learn more about Ontario Parks.
• ontario.ca/speciesatrisk.

For More Information

Ivan Langrish, Ministry of Natural Resources, Minister’s Office, 416-314-2212

Media Desk, Ministry of Natural Resources, Communications Services Branch, 416-314-2106

ontario.ca/natural-resources-news

General Enquiries

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