| News Release
CAROLINIAN CANADA RECOGNIZES
CONSERVATION EFFORTS AT AUSABLE GORGE
Sunday, July 6th, 2003, 2 p.m.
 Arkona, Ont. -- The
Carolinian Canada Coalition has continued its multi-year Community
Marking Project with the dedication of a plaque that commemorates
the unique natural significance of the Ausable Gorge, near Arkona,
Ontario. At the beginning of the century, Carolinian Canada
entered into a partnership with the Ontario Trillium Foundation to
recognize 39 key sites in the Carolinian Life Zone of Ontario's
southwest. In this event, the coalition has entered into a
partnership with the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority to
erect a 40X30 inch bronze plaque at the Rock Glen Conservation
Area, overlooking the gorge and its abundance of natural beauty
and diverse wildlife. It is near the centre of more than 1300
acres of habitat administered by ABCA. The wording of the plaque
is on an attached release.
In attendance at the dedication
were the Chair of Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority, Bob
Norris; the Constituency assistant for MP Rosemarie Ur, Louise
White; the Deputy-Mayor of Lambton Shores, Carolyn Jamieson; the
Mayor of North Middlesex, Chuck Hall; members of Lambton Wildlife
Inc; the Program Manager of Carolinian Canada, Ric Wellwood and
many residents whose properties are adjacent to the gorge. The
Healthy Watersheds Specialist for ABCA, Erin Dolmage served as
Master of Ceremonies.
The Ausable Gorge begins near the
boundary of Lambton and Middlesex Counties in Southwestern
Ontario.
The Ausable Gorge encompasses 1780
ha (3845 acres) of primarily forested land. It totals
approximately 19 km (12 miles) of river valley northeast of the
Village of Arkona. The 30-metre deep Ausable Gorge was created
over thousands of years as the Ausable River carved through the
Wyoming Moraine (a ridge of material deposited by glacier) and
then the soft limestone bedrock that underlies the area. As the
river cut through the limestone it exposed multitudes of Middle
Devonian fossils. This section of the Ausable Gorge is listed as a
Carolinian Canada Site and a Ministry of Natural Resources Area of
Natural and Scientific Interest due to its large size, relative
natural condition and wide diversity of habitats and landforms.
About Carolinian Canada:
The Carolinian Life Region lies
south and west of an imaginary line running from Grand Bend on
Lake Huron to the mouth of the Rouge River, just east of Toronto.
This region is home to 25% of Canada's population on only 0.25% of
its land area. More endangered and rare species are found here
than in any other part of the country. 73% of the landscape is in
highly productive agriculture and the region is the industrial
heartland of our nation.
In spite of this incredible
pressure on the landscape Carolinian Canada is still home to a
great diversity of wildlife of all kinds, including many species
not found elsewhere in Canada. Since only 2% of the landscape is
formally protected through public ownership it is safe to say that
we owe this natural legacy to the good stewardship of private
landowners. A 1984 study identified the 38 Carolinian Canada Sites
(See Map) and since that time considerable effort and expense has
been dedicated to their conservation by landowners, community
groups and agencies. But there is another story that has not been
told and that is why these sites were still in such good shape by
1984, when so much of the surrounding landscape was not.
While the stories differ from site
to site they tend to have one thing in common: a history of good
stewardship by far-sighted individuals or communities. We are
proposing a marking project that will erect permanent plaques that
will celebrate the natural features of selected sites and the role
that community members have played in their protection. By
honouring the human dimension of past conservation efforts we hope
to promote community responsibility for the future of these
special sites.
About the Carolinian Canada
Coalition:
Carolinian Canada is a coalition of
groups, agencies and individuals working to halt the loss and
achieve a substantial increase in the size and quality of natural
communities characteristic of Carolinian Canada. This diverse
membership is reflected in the composition of the Management
Committee, with membership of more than 40 government and
non-government organizations, including the Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the
Federation of Ontario Naturalists, the Nature Conservancy of
Canada, Conservation Ontario and many others. All of the business
of the Coalition is administered by Lambton Wildlife Incorporated,
a Canadian registered charity based in Sarnia. Lambton Wildlife's
representative on the management Committee serves as the
Treasurer. A Lambton Wildlife issues charitable receipts as
appropriate, produces audited financial statements annually and
submits a Charity Information Return. (BN 11900 4620 RR0001).
The Carolinian Canada Marking
Project:
 Carolinian
Canada sites are the most significant natural areas outside of the
Provincial and Federal Parks systems. In many cases these sites
have only been protected through the stewardship and foresight of
local community members.
The
Marking Project:
- Raises community awareness of
the natural treasures within their midst
- Celebrates the community's role
in conservation
- Acknowledges the natural and
cultural legacy that we have inherited
- Encourages communities to take
responsibility for the future of this legacy.
The text of the plaques highlights
the human role in conservation by telling the local stories.
 The
Carolinian Canada Coalition acknowledges the financial support of
the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Ministry of
Tourism, Culture and Recreation, which receives annually $100
million in government funding generated through Ontario's charity
casino initiative.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation
Authority
71108 Morrison Line, RR#3
Exeter, ON N0M 1S5
519-235-2610
http://www.abca.on.ca
or
info@abca.on.ca
For further information, contact
Michelle Kanter,
Executive Director,
Carolinian Canada,
417 Western Road, London, ON, N6G
1G5
Telephone: (519) 433-7077
Fax: (519) 645-0981
email: Executive Director
|
