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Writen by Gina Pannunzio for The Egret – Volume 35 Issue 3

Each year, World Rivers Day celebrates river systems across the globe. This special day highlights the importance of rivers and aims to increase public awareness of the challenges rivers face. The hope is that this increased awareness will improve the stewardship of rivers. Globally, rivers share boundaries with numerous jurisdictions, and World Rivers Day highlights the shared goal of strengthening regional and international networks who steward these resources.

The Detroit River (DR) is one of the busiest waterways in the world and is used for a variety of economic and recreational purposes. The river and its shoreline provide important habitat for birds and fish, with the river and its watershed estimated to support over 65 different fish species. It is designated as an American Heritage River and a Canadian Heritage River, and is the only river in North America to have this dual designation.

The Detroit River has been used intensively for international shipping, industrial and agricultural development, recreation, and drinking water for decades. This has led to environmental degradation and as a result, the Detroit River was listed as an Area of Concern (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1987. The Detroit River Remedial Action Plan (RAP) was established to develop and implement actions to clean up the river. Under the RAP, 14 Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) were created to measure progress towards the cleanup. A Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) is a condition that interferes with the ability of humans to use the aquatic environment and for the aquatic environment to support aquatic life. These 14 BUIs must be considered not impaired before the Detroit River can be removed from the list of AOCs. To date, 7 of the 14 BUIs are listed as not impaired.

The Detroit River Canadian Cleanup (DRCC) and the Friends of the Detroit River (FDR) implement separate Remedial Action Plans (RAP) for Canada and the United States. Through community-based partnership between the government (federal, provincial/state, municipal), local industries, researchers, environmental organizations, and citizens working together, the goal is to protect, restore, and enhance the Detroit River ecosystem.

To cleanup the river, both Canada and the United States have conducted sediment cleanup and remediation, habitat restoration, municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, infrastructure upgrades, non-point source pollution management in the Detroit River, as well as a suite of ongoing studies, investigations, monitoring, research, education and outreach about the Detroit River. To learn more about the Canadian projects, check out the Detroit River Cleanup Story Map: www.detroitriver.ca/storymap.

A large amount of progress has been made to make the Detroit River cleaner so that the river can continue to be enjoyed for generations to come… and more exciting work is planned! Over the coming year, we plan to implement two large-scale habitat projects (one wetland restoration and one fish habitat enhancement project) to help us further improve habitat for fish and wildlife on the river. To celebrate the progress made in cleaning up the Detroit River, join the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup and the Essex Region Conservation Authority to celebrate World Rivers Day! Come find our tent in the Healthy Community Hub at the Open Streets Festival on September 22, 2019. Say hello and share your love for the Detroit River!

Written by Gina Pannunzio for The Egret – Volume 35 – Issue 3

Each year National Forest Week (NFW) is celebrated across Canada by many individuals and diverse governmental and non-governmental organizations. During NFW, Canadians are invited to learn more about Canada’s forest heritage and to raise awareness about this valuable and renewable resource. Forests are fundamental to our economy, culture, traditions and history – and to our future. Communities, families and individuals depend on forests for their livelihood and way of life (Canadian Institute of Forestry).

Healthy forest systems are essential for healthy communities. Forests provide many ecological services such as filtering pollutants from the air, filter storm water, prevent erosion, mitigate drought, provide shade, are habitat for wildlife, aid in pollination dispersal, provide aesthetic, recreation and amenity benefits and of course more. Many of us who grew up in Windsor-Essex, know a Carolinian forest well. We can connect our place in the region to the wooded areas we spent time in and the species we admire and are drawn to. Unfortunately these forested ecosystems face challenges such as land conversion, development, mismanagement, invasive species and more.

The initial forest loss in the Windsor-Essex region was dramatic, as a result of European settlement, and incentives given to clear land for agriculture. Habitat fragmentation is very obvious when driving down country roads, or looking at our area from satellite images. In the 2018 Watershed Report Card published by the Essex Region Conservation Authority, forest conditions for the region’s watersheds ranked as a D or an F. These low scores were due to more stringent measurement standards, not because of a loss of forest habitat. These measurements are set across the province, and it is difficult to achieve a higher score on this scale within Windsor-Essex’s highly agriculturally based landscape. Through landscape wide restoration efforts, the initial forest cover measured in 1973 was less than 4%. Today, Windsor-Essex sits around 6% forest cover which includes terrestrial and wooded swamps swamp woodlots, approximately 9,918ha.

It is true, our region fared much worse in forest cover in the past. Through natural succession, active restoration and the application of environmental policies prohibiting or prescribing no negative impacts from development within significant natural areas has been very effective in increasing natural coverage within our region. There is certainly a long way to go to have a fully functional, robust, well-connected natural heritage system. One tool that is used by the Essex Region Conservation Authority is the Essex Region Natural Heritage System Strategy or ERNHSS that is a draft blueprint of what we would like to see across the landscape. Restoration targets within ERNHSS focus on habitat consolidation, connectivity and buffering as well as reducing edge effects on existing forests, and increasing interior woodland habitat.

Despite the statistics, there is still hope. During National Forest Week there are quite a few things people can do to engage in the conversation about Windsor-Essex’s forests, get involved in upcoming events and obviously go for a walk in the woods. There are numerous public places that are great for walking and checking out mature Carolinian favourites such as trails at Point Pelee National Park, Kopegaron Woods, McAuliffe Woods, Devonwood and Maidstone Conservation Areas and any within the greater Ojibway Prairie Complex.

It is critically important to continue implementing and participating in tree planting, restoration and water quality improvement projects in the region. These efforts help to reconnect remnant forests by reducing habitat fragmentation, establishing corridors that provide habitat and safety for traveling wildlife, buffer plantings for tributaries that intersect forests, planting new trees on recently established or existing trails, backyard tree planting efforts, school yard greening programs, stormwater management green space plantings and more. In a recently published report, The Economic Value of Tree Planting in Southern Ontario report from Forests Ontario identified the total number of trees planted in Southern Ontario between 2008 and 2018 is 24,431,852 or 15 thousand hectares. These trees account for an estimated $82.7 million annual ecosystem service benefits.

Check out the events section of this month’s Egret for upcoming tree/forest related opportunities! There will continue to be opportunities as long as people in the region express their interests and concerns for the future of Windsor-Essex forests.

Resources

Canadian Institute of Forestry (2019). National Forest Week. https://www.cif-ifc.org/national-forest-week/

Essex Region Conservation Authority (2013). Essex Region Natural Heritage Systems Strategy. https://essexregionconservation.ca/resources/reports/essex-region-natural-heritage-systems-strategy/

Essex Region Conservation Authority (2018). Watershed Report Card. https://essexregionconservation.ca/watershed-health/water-quality/

Forests Ontario (2019). The Economic Value of Tree Planting in Southern Ontario. https://www.forestsontario.ca/planting/resources/the-economic-value-of-tree-planting-in-southern-ontario/

The Jr. Egrets Return With a Popular Christmas Bird Count for Kids

Written by Jessica Middleton for The Egret – Issue 35 – Number 1

After a 21 year rest, the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club for kids, known as the Jr. Egrets, is back in action. The new Jr. Nat’s committee consists of Kory Renaud, Andy Paul, Jeremy Bensette, Sarah Renaud, Jessica Middleton and Gina Pannunzio. Our goal is to inspire and support a community of young field naturalists by providing opportunities for kids to connect with nature and each other. For our first event, we wanted something that would be relatively easy to set up and would attract a big and broad audience. We decided that a Christmas Bird Count for Kids at the Ojibway Nature Centre would be a perfect fit!

The Christmas Bird Count for Kids is inspired by the traditional Christmas Bird Count (CBC) and has been growing in popularity since its inception in California in 2007. The CBC4Kids is similar to the original CBC, but more kid friendly, lasting only half a day and often accompanied by some fun team names and hot chocolate. In 2010, Bird Studies Canada partnered with the founders and held Canada’s first CBC4Kids in Port Rowan, Ontario.

On the morning of January 12th 2019, 12 children and 17 adults gathered at Ojibway Nature Centre to embark on our birding adventure. After a brief introduction, Kory gave an interactive skill-building workshop that included how to use binoculars, what to look and listen for, and some practice spotting camouflaged owls. We then took to the trails with binoculars (many of which were lent by Ojibway Nature Centre), laminated field guides of the most common winter birds of Windsor-Essex, touques and mittens.

Our birding experts (Kory and Jeremy) and professional educator (Andy) led the group around the park to find as many birds as possible. One of the highlights was a sighting of a Red-tailed Hawk perched near the trail. Other exciting finds were several cute tufted titmice and a bush full of sparrows (“Eighty-three House Sparrows!” exclaimed one particularly enthusiastic kid). The group was also treated to hand-feeding chickadees and nuthatches, and some hot chocolate and cookies back at the Nature Centre. In total the group counted 148 individuals of 17 different bird species (full results below).

After the success of this event, we are eager to keep the momentum going. Plans are already in the works for a spring herp hike and an activity at the Earth Day celebrations at Malden Park. Jr. Naturalist membership comes with a family membership to the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club. If you know of any kids that might be interested in joining please let us know!

CBC4Kids Count Results

Tufted Titmouse, White-throated Sparrow, Blue Jay, Red-tailed Hawk and Downy Woodpecker taken at the CBC for Kids. Photos by Jeremy Bensette.

Tufted Titmouse (6), Black-capped Chickadee (7), American Tree Sparrow (1), Starlings (2), Mourning Dove (2), House Sparrow (83), White-breasted Nuthatch (10), White-throated Sparrow (1), Red-tailed Hawk (1), Gull sp (1), Red-bellied Woodpecker (2), Downy Woodpecker (5), Hairy Woodpecker (1), Blue Jay (2), American Goldfinch (8), Dark-eyed Junco (7), Northern Cardinal (1), Potential new Jr. Egrets (12)

Note: The cartoon egret at the top of the page is a character named “J.E.” from the original Junior Egret team, drawn by Anne Barbour.

Click here to read the Windsor Star article published about January’s CBC for Kids.

Thanks for reading, and we look forward to this event becoming an annual tradition!