Great Lakes Wetlands Conservation Action Plan 1994-2001

First Progress Report

The Great Lakes Wetlands Conservation Action Plan (GLWCAP) is a cooperative program that involves federal and provincial governments and non–governmental organizations in efforts to establish a comprehensive wetlands conservation program for Great Lakes wetlands. The Action Plan's goal is to create, reclaim, rehabilitate and protect wetland habitat in the lower Great Lakes basin by the year 2001.

The Action Plan has adopted eight strategies for working toward these goals:

Increase public awareness and commitment to the protection wetlands; Develop a wetlands database and an increased understanding of wetland dynamics; Secure Wetlands; Create, reclaim and rehabilitate wetlands; Strengthen legislation, policies, agreements and compliance; Strengthen local planning and commitment to protecting wetlands; Improve coordination and planning among government and non–government organizations; (NGOs); Evaluate the Program.

Specific tasks under each of these strategies have been undertaken by the organizations involved in the development of the Action Plan as well as by other organizations and individuals interested in wetland protection.

The Action Plan is the first of five, five–year plans to be developed under the Strategic Plan for Wetlands of the Great Lakes Basin(1993). GLWCAP is officially endorsed under the Canada–Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.

A Conservation Action Plan for the Great Lakes Basin

For the people and ecosystems of the Great Lakes basin, wetlands play a critical role in ensuring the ecological, economic and social health of the region. Coastal wetlands in particular, are important reservoirs of biodiversity that help protect shoreline areas from storm damage, control and reduce flooding, improve water quality by filtering out sediments and provide opportunities for recreation.

Yet despite their proven value, Great Lakes coastal wetlands continue to be lost at an alarming rate. Drainage for agriculture, encroaching development, hardening of shorelines to protect property, runoff from urban and rural areas, artificial changes in water levels and the spread of exotic species have cut deeply into remaining wetlands. Two–thirds of Great Lakes wetlands are estimated to have been lost or severely degraded and conditions continue to erode the health of many remaining wetlands. The Great Lakes Wetlands Conservation Action Plan (GLWCAP) brings together various government and non–government partners in an effort to conserve and rehabilitate remaining wetlands. The Action Plan complements the goals and objectives of the Federal Wetlands Policy (1991) and the Ontario Wetlands Policy Statement (1992), and is the first five–year plan of action produced under the umbrella of the 25–year Strategic Plan for Wetlands of the Great Lakes Basin.

Launched in 1993, the Strategic Plan involves several public and private agencies working together with individual citizens and landowners. The long-term goal of the plan is to protect the area and function of 30,000 hectares of existing wetlands in the Great Lakes basin by the year 2020.

In July 1994, the federal and provincial environment ministers signed the Canada–Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem (COA), a six–year agreement that sets specific targets and time frames for restoring, protecting and sustaining the basin's ecosystems. GLWCAP is a key delivery mechanism for COA's goal of rehabilitating and protecting 6,000 hectares of wetland habitat by the year 2001. The Action Plan is targeting the most threatened wetland areas in the lower Great Lakes region, between Sarnia and Cornwall (see Map). Demonstration areas include Oshawa Second Marsh, the Long Point Wetland Complex and the Rondeau Bay Marshes.

GLWCAP's milestones are implemented by a team of representatives from Environment Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, the Federation of Ontario Naturalists and The Nature Conservancy of Canada. Other major partners include the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and the Great Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund. The implementation team facilitates, monitors, assesses and reports on progress towards the Action Plan's milestones. Accomplishments include:

• Production of wetland publications, displays and facilitation of workshops.
• Development of a Temperate Wetlands Science Workshop and Training Course.
• Protection of more than 2,915 hectares of wetlands.
• Rehabilitation of more than 1,800 hectares of wetlands underway.
• Conservation–easement legislation.
• Establishment of the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network.

This document is the first in a series of progress reports on the Action Plan. Activities continue to focus on achieving the ambitious targets under each of GLWCAP's strategies.

MAPS:

Wetland Creation, Rehabilitation and Sercurment Projects in the Lower Great Lakes Basin. Click on map to view