Wildlife Team members and community partners in the Lake Huron to Lake Erie corridor gathered in April to celebrate the achievements of the 19 Wildlife at Work and Corporate Lands for Learning programs in the region that were certified or recertified this year.
Photo (c) Brett Groves
“We know that connectivity—not fragmentation—is needed for functional ecosystems, but sometimes organizations, volunteers and landowners need more connectivity to make sure the things we do in the landscape all fit into an overarching goal of connected ecosystems,” said speaker Dan Lebedyk, Conservation Biologist with Essex Regional Conservation Authority, in congratulating the programs. “Everybody tends to focus on their own property, but in fact those efforts have benefits to the wider ecosystem. They’re a piece of the puzzle we’re putting together across the landscape.”
The Habitat Celebration was the 3rd such regional event organized by WHC’s Huron to Erie Waterways for Wildlife Project. This year the event included an afternoon of learning, including expert presentations on propagating native plants, building partnerships in the community, educating about pollinators, and controlling phragmites. Phragmites is an invasive plant that is overwhelming wetlands across the Great Lakes region and elsewhere. After the presentations, participants toured research plots developed under the oversight of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to test the use of herbicides in aquatic habitat. Herbicide application is the only known control for phragmites in areas where water levels cannot be managed, but at this time no herbicide is approved in Ontario for aquatic use.
The 2011 Celebration was hosted by BASF’s Wyandotte, Michigan, site at their Fighting Island meeting facility in the Canadian waters of the Detroit River. ITC Transmission Company and DTE Energy were major sponsors, with additional support from BP/Dome Petroleum, Consumers Energy, Environmental Consulting and Technology, Ontario Power Generation, and Waste Management’s Canadian and U.S. operations.
