Wildlife Habitat
Habitat
is another word for the natural environment, the places where life forms live
and grow. The habitat of the St. Clair River consists of the waterway itself,
shoreline beaches and wetlands, tributaries, and surrounding marshes, meadows,
grasslands, and forests. These habitats are the home of:
• Songbirds and waterfowl
• Fish and mussels
• Mammals, including humans
• Trees, shrubs, plants,
grasses, and herbs
• Insects, bees, butterflies,
and other pollinators
• Amphibians and reptiles
• Phytoplankton and zooplankton
The Issue
All creatures have value. So do their homes. Therefore, loss
of habitat is one of the 14 Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) identified
by the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
of 1978, amended 1987. In 1991, the St. Clair River Binational Public Advisory
Council (BPAC) listed “physical habitat loss” as one of nine impairments to
beneficial use of the St. Clair River. BPAC’s St. Clair River Stage 1
Remedial Action Plan stated, “Habitat loss is one of the most serious of the
use impairments because it is the most difficult to reverse.” That report also
stated that loss of habitat affects four other beneficial use impairments:
• Degradation of fish and
wildlife populations,
• Restrictions on fish and
wildlife consumption,
• Bird or animal deformities
or reproductive problems, and
• Degradation of benthos.
Pigeon Corsini
Marsh, 128 acres of farmland reclaimed as marsh in 2001 through the efforts of
the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture partners.
Condition of Concern
At that same time, BPAC recognized that, while evidence of
habitat loss was apparent, further study was needed to determine the degree of
impact on wildlife and to guide rehabilitation strategies. Losses related to
chemical impacts would also require further study, although those issues could
improve when desired water quality standards were achieved.
Evidence
of Concern
Documents dating from 1873 to 1973 indicated that as much as
72 percent of the wetlands along the St. Clair River were lost due to
industrial, agricultural, residential, recreational, and urban development. Most
of this loss occurred downstream in the area of the St. Clair River Delta. In
addition, extensive construction of bulkheads along the riverbanks and filling
of lowland areas had significantly altered shallow water areas and resulted in
loss of fish spawning, rearing, and feeding areas. Waterfowl and wildlife
habitat were similarly affected. Studies showed that use of the area by some
duck species decreased by 79 percent between 1968 and 1982.
Goals and Strategies
BPAC’s goal in regard to habitat is “no net loss of habitat needed by fish to
maintain reproductive capacity and the restoration of (degraded) habitats
wherever possible.” This goal is based on documents developed jointly by the
Michigan Department of natural Resources
(MDNR) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR).
Remedial Measures
In 1995, BPAC published
the St. Clair River Stage 2 Recommended Plan, which announced that a
Sediment and Habitat Task Team had developed a Habitat Work Plan.
Recommendations for remedial measures included establishment of baseline
information that would show historic and current wetland information in
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) format, all land use information including
zoning status, restoration techniques, and regulations. From that data, BPAC
would develop specific long-term goals that would protect, enhance, and restore
habitat.
BPAC also recognized the need to focus on contiguous unfragmented habitat,
diverse habitats and communities, and plant and animal species that are native
to the area.
Accomplishments
Since the St. Clair River Stage 2 Recommended Plan was
published in 1995, BPAC has worked with a number of agencies and citizen
organizations to initiate or complete remedial measures at several locations.
Success stories are listed in the St. Clair River Remedial Action Plan 2000
Progress Report, which identifies endeavors by government, nonprofit
organizations, schools and school groups, corporations, and individuals. Some of
these success stories include:
1. Centre By The Bay
experimental wetlands and educational facilities
2. BP St. Clair Terminal
wetland creation
3. Talfourd Creek wetland
creation
4. Stag Island prairie
restoration
5. Pine River Nature Center
purchase and enhancement
6. St. Clair Flats Wildlife
Area wetland acquisition and restoration
7. Indian Trail park habitat
protection
8. Fair Haven tall grass
prairie restoration
9. Bickford Oak Woods wetlands
restoration and enhancement
10. Darcy McKeough Floodway
habitat restoration and enhancement
11. MacDonald Park wetland and
prairie restoration
12. Algonac State Park
lakeplain prairie restoration
13. St. Johns Marsh Wildlife
Area biodiversity and prairie restoration
14. Dickinson Island habitat
identification for rare and endangered species
15. Harsens Island proposed
waterfowl nesting and brood rearing
16. Peers Wetland (adjacent to
Otter Creek) dike stabilization and reconstruction of a wetland water control
mechanism
17. Chenal Ecarte marsh habitat
18. Pigeon Corsini Marsh
aquatic habitat restoration
Restoration Projects in the St. Clair River AOC
In all habitat rehabilitation
projects, an evaluation of impacts on water levels in the St. Clair River and
related water bodies must be conducted and approved at both the Canadian and
U.S. federal level.
Current Conditions
State policy
in Michigan places emphasis on wetland protection and acquisition. The Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources is exploring funding mechanisms for habitat
restoration. Landowner programs are being implemented. And BPAC’s endeavors
continue to focus on habitat protection, rehabilitation, and enhancement as well
as public education and communication.
BPAC continues to work with
appropriate government and citizen groups to:
• Ensure public access to the
St. Clair River.
• Strengthen wetland protection
regulations, including restrictions on personal watercraft in sensitive areas.
• Reduce ship wakes and surges
and minimize shoreline and benthic habitat damage attributable to winter
shipping.
• Control shoreline erosion and
integrate shoreline protection measures into development projects.
• Seek private candidate sites
for habitat protection and enhancement and seek conservation easements along the
shore and inland.
• Maximize fish access to
wetland spawning areas.
• Develop compatible mapping
databases between Canada and the U.S.
• Encourage maintenance or
restoration of natural riparian vegetation.
• Explore opportunities for
joint projects among all agencies within the St. Clair River Area of Concern.
• Consider all native species
in habitat protection, including invertebrates, plants, and insects.
• Prevent the introduction of
invasive species.
• Develop a long-term habitat
management plan for both Michigan and Ontario.
Future
Endeavors
In the past, industries and individuals – as well as
governments – made decisions that led to habitat destruction. Detrimental
practices included dumping garbage and waste into wetlands and waterways,
filling lowlands for agriculture and development, and building dikes to hold
back the river. Those practices seemed practical at the time because people
either didn’t understand or chose to ignore potential adverse impacts. With
greater awareness, however, people and governments are choosing other courses of
action. Ongoing programs initiated by individuals, corporations, and
governments within the St. Clair River Area of Concern include:
• Land Stewardship Program,
initiated by the Natural Heritage League for protection of Carolinian Forest
areas in southwestern Ontario.
• Community Fisheries and
Wildlife Program to provide money, expertise, equipment, and materials for
habitat rehabilitation, population monitoring, stocking, and environmental
education programs.
• Ontario Stewardship Program,
an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources program, that comprises the efforts of
community stewardship councils and volunteer groups to ensure that good ideas
can be translated into great projects.
• St. Clair/Sydenham River
Regional Habitat Management Plan, a multi-year fish and wildlife habitat
creation and enhancement strategy designed to increase populations and expand
upon internationally significant existing habitat.
• Waterways for Wildlife
Project, which works to coordinate wildlife habitat enhancement, restoration,
and protection on private lands.
Some of the groups responsible for these, and other programs,
include:
• The Rural Lambton Stewardship
Network (RLSN) which has worked with the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority
to solicit participation from private landowners, corporations, and industrial
companies in habitat enhancement endeavors. RLSN’s many projects include
conversion of leaking septic systems to newer bio-filter systems, planting
native trees in priority areas, fencing streams to prevent livestock use,
enhancing wetlands, promoting conservation tillage agricultural practices,
testing soils, benthic monitoring of tributary streams, and converting road and
drain sides to natural corridors by planting native prairie species.
• Friends of the St. Clair
River in St. Clair County, which administered a grant from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency to help private landowners install four
experimental wetland septic systems as well as streambank erosion control, pond
improvement, dike stabilization, and wetland water control projects.
• The St. Clair County Water
Quality Board, which is comprised of county agencies, civic leaders, and
citizens to address beach closings and other water quality problems, including
soil erosion on county drains and at road crossings.
• The St. Clair County Health
Department and the Drain Commissioner’s Office, which have obtained U.S. federal
funds to initiate a stormwater management program, including development of
watershed plans.
•
The Mill Creek Coalition, a citizen volunteer organization, which received
funding to establish a macroinvertebrate biological monitoring program data on
macroinvertebrate life in Mill Creek and, then, publish its findings.
•
Ducks Unlimited Canada, which offers technical and financial assistance to
landowners who want to create ponds and wetlands.
Habitat
Regulations
Both Ontario and Michigan have numerous regulatory programs
for wildlife habitat protection. The Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909
between Canada and the U.S. restricts activities relating to water levels, flow,
and quality in one country that may cause harm to the other country.
Habitat
regulations in Canada and Ontario are:
• Fisheries Act (Can)
• Public Lands Act (Ont)
• Species at Risk Act (Can)
• Ontario Wetland Policy (Ont)
• Provincial Shorelands
Management Policy (Can)
• Federal Policy on Wetland
Conservation (Can)
• Navigable Waters Protection
Act (Can)
• Beds of Navigable Waters Act
(Can)
• Conservation Authorities Act
(Ont)
• Lakes and Rivers Improvement
Act (Ont)
• Ontario Water Resources Act (Ont)
• Drainage Act (Ont)
• Conservation Land Act (Ont)
• Planning Act (Ont)
Habitat regulations in the United States and Michigan are:
• Section 404, Clean Water Act
(U.S.)
• Goemaere-Anderson Wetland
Protection Act (MI)
• Inland Lakes and Streams Act
(MI)
• Great Lakes Submerged Lands
Act (MI)
• Shoreline Protection and
Management Act (MI)
• Water Quality Standards for
Wetlands (MI)
• Michigan’s Comprehensive
Wetland Conservation Plan (MI)
• Habitat Acquisition Programs
(MI)
• Endangered Species Act (U.S.) |
