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The following announcement was forwarded by Dave Euler
Exploring Central Labrador, presented by Susan. J Meades
Northern Ontario Plant Database
Great Lakes Forestry Centre
1219 Queen Street East
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
10 AM, Room A103
City staff will build the structure at a location near the Marina which has a good view of the river. We will pay for it using money that came to us from the Ontario government for the platform project.
City staff will get all permits, and will insure that all the construction complies with all relevant codes. As well, the city will assume all liability for the platform and its maintenance.
City staff is preparing a cost estimate for the structure and will make that known to us soon. Then we will have a short written agreement and staff will have to get Council approval, which will probably not be a big problem.
I will sign the agreement and the platform will be built probably sometime in June.
If you have any concerns that I should be aware of, please let me know.
Dave Euler, April 19, 2008
Jennifer Audette Johnson’s senior thesis on freshwater mussels in the Eastern Upper Peninsula received the first Sault Naturalists Research Merit Award on Saturday, April 12 at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
“Her project supports the goals of our organization,” said Dr. John Lehman. “It provides important baseline information for future monitoring of fresh-water quality in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. The judges were all impressed with her understanding of the topic and her ability to explain it clearly.”
Jennifer surveyed 82 sites along waterways in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, quantifying the mussel population. Freshwater mussels are among the most imperiled animals worldwide, according to Jennifer’s research synopsis. “We have no clue as to whether they’re endangered in the EUP,” she said. Her work has helped establish a baseline for future studies that can monitor their population status as well as water quality. Populations are affected by pollution, sedimentation, loss of habitat by development along stream banks and by changes in numbers of host fish. Sudden die-offs or gradual reductions in numbers may indicate a water pollution problem.
Mussels are important in the fresh-water environment because they filter and purify the water and are a food source for wildlife such as muskrats, otters and raccoons.
Dr. Ashley Moerke advised Jennifer on her project. Jennifer is from Iron Mountain and plans to attend graduate school in the fall, pursuing an advanced degree in fisheries management or aquatic ecology.
The Sault Naturalists expect to present a $100 award each semester for an outstanding natural resources project by a Lake Superior State University student. The organization’s membership is from Ontario and Michigan. They hold monthly programs and conduct field trips to local areas of natural history interest. Their goal to promote the appreciation, preservation, and conservation of our natural heritage. The club is active in environmental advocacy, stewardship, and education and has participated in planning for national and provincial parks. A web site, soonats.pbwiki.com reports on the club’s meetings, outings and other topics of interest.
MAS CC.doc to download a copy.
An article "The New Homesteaders" by Sault Naturalists member Leslie Askwith has been published in the January issue of Traverse magazine. She describes three families who are "building lives of sustainable simplicity in the Huron Mountains" of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Included is the family of Cynthia Pryor, who was the featured speaker at our October, 2007 meeting.
This isn't new news, I know, but I wanted to remind you that the deadline for comments to the Hiawatha National Forest (HNF) about any part of the sand-clay project environmental assessment, which includes proposals for thinning of many beautiful old trees, is due around. Jan. 3, 2008 (or 30 days from when the notice of the projects' errata being completed appeared in the Evening News.)
The HNF’s sand-clay project environmental assessment includes, as one of its proposals, thinning of 102-year old trees. If you’d like to encourage the Forest Service to preserve these lovely old trees or make comments on any parts of the project, you can submit comments before Dec. 3, 2008, to: comments-eastern-hiawatha-st-ignace@fs.fed.us.
My Club Debuts in ON Nature
My Club replaces the Nature Network News section in ON Nature. This section is for Nature Network groups. This is your space to highlight your activities with a wider audience and receive higher profile.
ON Nature is published quarterly and space for My Club is limited. If you are interested in making a submission please contact Clare Mitchell at clarem@ontarionature.org.
(Babara MacKenzie-Wynia, forwarded by Tony Walker on Nov 27, 2007)
Forestry Policy Overhaul Request
Tony Walker sent us the following news release from Ontario Nature and other groups requesting "that forestry policies be overhauled to be more sustainable as reports are showing that current practices are causing habitat loss and predicted bird declines."
TORONTO - Environmental and conservation groups today called for a review under the province's Environmental Bill of Rights of provincial forestry policies that allow for the destruction of over 45,000 migratory bird nests each year, as well as dramatic projected habitat declines, from industrial logging operations. The demand was filed with Ontario's Environmental Commissioner by Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal) and comes on the heels of a report by NAFTA's environmental watchdog that confirmed the widespread destruction of bird nests and highlighted serious deficiencies in Ontario's forest management system. "Although Ontario would prefer to duck this issue, it simply cannot escape the fact that logging companies are destroying tens of thousands of bird nests every year," said Liat Podolsky, a Researcher with Ecojustice. "Protecting wildlife in our public forests needs to be a priority, not an afterthought." The CEC report projected habitat declines for certain migratory birds of up to 35% in Ontario's Crown forests. Under the provincial forest management regime, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) issues licenses to companies if satisfied that logging will be done sustainably and without declines of wildlife on a provincial scale. In practice the MNR does not have the resources to properly monitor the impact of logging on wildlife. "Unfortunately, due to current policy and lack of capacity, the province is very much in the dark about the effects of logging on biodiversity," said Trevor Hesselink of Wildlands League. "It makes sense for logging companies to do the logging but not for the MNR to rely on the same logging companies to do our wildlife protection - these are important responsibilities that cannot be delegated or ignored." Earlier this year the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario published findings about ongoing funding shortfalls at the MNR and the consequent negative impact on its ability to carry out wildlife monitoring. "The problem is the lack of direction from the top," said Jennifer Baker of Ontario Nature. "The government may be saving money by depriving MNR of the funds it needs to protect wildlife, but our wildlife will pay a heavy price, which is a loss for all of us." "We're asking the province to better protect wildlife habitat now so that the birds in our forests will still be abundant and diverse well into the future," said Albert Koehl, a lawyer with Ecojustice. The Application for Review is filed on behalf of a coalition of Canadian conservation groups, including CPAWS Wildlands League, Ontario Nature, Earthroots, ForestEthics, Greenpeace Canada, Nature Canada and Sierra Club of Canada. For further information please contact: Albert Koehl, Staff Lawyer, Ecojustice (416) 533-1231 Liat Podolsky, Researcher, Ecojustice (416) 368-7533 ext 21 Jennifer Baker, Ontario Nature (905) 527-9477 Trevor Hesselink, Wildlands League (416) 707-9841 Sierra Legal is now Ecojustice. For more information, please visit our new website at www.ecojustice.ca
Northern Environmental Framework
Jennifer Baker of Ontario Nature recently e-mailed Tony Walker a copy
of their Northern Environmental Framework, which is contained in a letter that ON intends to send to northern MPPs in early November to highlight the need for environmental protection in Ontario. Jennifer says ON would like to have as much conservation group representation as possible and would appreciate it if our group would sign on. Because she needs an answer by the end of October and our Executive will not meet until November 8, that's not feasible, but the letter raises some important issues that are worth our consideration. To see the letter click on Northern Framework.
JIM MILLER
Remembering our friend, Jim Miller, who died on Aug. 10, 2007.
Jim Miller’s death, in his sleep, in a solo tent at the Agawa Falls, although ideal in concept, was all too soon in time. We will miss his boundless spirit, his many generous contributions to our club as a trip leader, Hub advocate, program speaker, outdoor enthusiast, and above all, his friendship. A good, kind man.
Tony Walker reports (Oct. 8, 2007) that a grove in memory of Jim Miller will be placed at the bottom of Finn Hill, as this location is on city property and very close to Jim's home. Mark Inglis has offered to design the grove at no cost.
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