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Jim Richards, Naturalist, Wildlife Photographer, GM Executive
"I'm proud of what we've all accomplished ... of the many people who have contributed time and effort and
money, who really care."
During the mid-1960s, the City of Oshawa proposed to dredge a wetland area
called "Second Marsh" in order to turn it into a deep sea port.
At the time, Jim Richards was a naturalist and wildlife photographer.
"I thought it was a good idea to create a new harbour, but
not at the expense of the marsh," Jim remembers. Along
with a few other like-minded people, he protested the plan. Rather
than sacrificing a 123 hectare coastal wetland located
in the southeast corner of Oshawa, they pointed out that the harbour
should be built out in the lake. They did not win the day.
In 1970, the City handed the marsh over to the Federal Department
of Transport under the care of the Harbour Commission to begin
the building of the harbour infrastructure. At that point, virtually
everyone who had opposed the destruction of the wetland gave up.
Everyone except Jim, that is.
"Maybe I was just being naive," he says. "I thought
the marsh too important. I thought it meant too much to wildlife,
too much to people." And so began his personal crusade.
In those days it wasn't easy being an environmentalist. Getting
his message out was tough. There were "political battles."
He was called "a long-haired, hippie weirdo." In fact,
the friction was so deep that Jim even received death threats
and had to have police escorts when making public presentations.
Finally, an alternative newspaper arrived in town and took up
the environmentalists' point of view. That's when the tide began to turn.
As Executive Director of the Second Marsh Defence Association,
Jim built tremendous community support for the preservation of
the wetland. So much support that, in 1984, the decision was overturned.
Unfortunately, while the marsh was under the care of the Harbour
Commission, a local contractor was hired to flood the marsh. The
objective was to form thick ice in order to support heavy equipment
for surveys. But during the following spring melt, the thick
ice moved out of the marsh, taking vegetation with it. At the
same time, land use changes in the watershed were also having
a dramatic impact on the marsh. The water in the marsh went from
a dept of seven feet to a depth of one foot due to the introduction
of sediment that couldn't reach Lake Ontario. As a result,
Jim explains, "the marsh lost vegetation, most fish species
were gone, along with a third of the bird species and over
half the breeders. All in all, the marsh was a pretty sorry replica
of what it used to be."
Jim is pretty blunt about this devastation. "It cost less than
$1,000. to mess up the marsh. So far, we've spent millions trying to
restore it."
Jim now heads the Friends of Second Marsh and is part of a community
partnership that has been successfully restoring the wetland area.
Environment Canada has provided $1.3 million dollars to help
fund the restoration project and, of equal importance, the Friends
have raised an additional $2 million from the public.
"Considering that pushing mud around is not a very sexy project,"
Jim states, "I'm proud of what we've all accomplished ... of the many
people who have contributed time and effort and money, who really care."
Now, after a decade of effort and care, Second Marsh boasts more than 360
plant species, 265 species of birds and numerous species of mammals,
amphibians, reptiles and fish. A Nature Interpretation and Visitor Centre
is being planned. The Centre will provide hands-on education and learning
programs for schools and youth groups, as well as the general public.
Today, Jim is the General Motors manager who oversees the McLaughlin Bay
Wildlife Reserve. He describes his job as "looking after GM's
backyard which has been set aside as a wildlife area." The Reserve is
just one way that General Motors has shown that it cares a great deal about
the environment, and that it too, is a Partner in Success. Needless to say,
Jim loves his job!
Jim Richards is proof that there can be modern David and Goliath stories ...
that courage and commitment can and do make a difference ... that one man's
vision can become an entire community's gain.
Ontario Region Success Stories
Great Lakes Success Stories
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