South Nation

News release posted on behalf of the Office of Guy Lauzon, Member of Parliament 

FINCH - Member of Parliament Guy Lauzon, on behalf of the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, highlighted today the Government of Canada’s investment in two South Nation Conservation projects. Through the second and third round funding streams of the Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program (RFCPP), the SNC will receive up to $50,000 to support the conservation of fish habitat in their watershed.

The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change has approved the locally developed Raisin-South Nation Source Protection Plan. Required under Ontario’s Clean Water Act, the Plan sets out policies to keep contaminants out of surface water and underground sources that supply municipal drinking water systems in the area. The Clean Water Act is one of the province’s responses to the Walkerton tragedy, and is part of Ontario’s strategy to safeguard drinking water from source to tap.

There are some real keeners out there!

Three avid adventurers have found all 20 geocaches concealed within the 4,200 square-km South Nation Conservation watershed as part of a program to encourage residents to explore their region.

Another 12 people have found 15 caches. Since the program was first announced Sept. 12, the hidden treasures have been found a total of 465 times.

Called the Watershed Geo-Passport, it was officially launched Oct. 25 during a gathering at the Findlay Creek Boardwalk attended by about 50 people.

 A three-year partnership with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will allow South Nation Conservation (SNC) to expand programs that restore and create habitat for plants and animals in woodlands, grasslands and wetlands.

"SNC is pleased to be working with OPG, to support conservation initiatives in the communities in which we operate" said Karen Paquette, SNC Project Lead.

It’s live! The Raisin-South Nation Source Protection website has been re-designed and re-launched in both official languages this week. The website is user-friendly and contains helpful links for Municipalities, property owners, and businesses that live and work in the drinking water protection areas.

South Nation Conservation continues to focus on making life easier for what has become a rare regional fish species, the American Eel.

In September, three temporary eel ladders were installed on SNC water control structures at Crysler, Chesterville and Russell. Made of wood, plastic and metal, the ramps designed to facilitate eel migration will be removed at the end of October; the plan is to reinstall them in June.

South Nation Conservation in partnership with the South Nation Branch of Delta Waterfowl is proud to celebrate the annual Youth Hunt within the South Nation River Watershed, will full registration for the 7^th consecutive year!

Have you ever considered becoming a “citizen scientist”?

South Nation Conservation is always looking for volunteers to help out with its Stream Watch Program which includes monitoring watercourses, tree planting, wildlife habitat enhancement, and invasive species removal.

The program has been funded by a Royal Bank of Canada Blue Water Grant in the amount of $78,650.

“It’s a great way for interested volunteers to become citizen scientists active in a variety of projects,” said SNC Fish and Wildlife Technician Philip Duncan.

This article was featured in Trailwise, the Weekly E-Bulletin of the Ontario Trails Council (OTC) – the provincial trails association in Ontario. Week of September 18, 2014.

SNC would like to thank the OTC for featuring this article and to the Seaway Valley Arabian Horse Association for co-authoring the article.

Continuously improving, South Nation Conservation staff has implemented a new tool that allows them to provide early-warning to residents of the 4,200 square-km jurisdiction.

The short version of the program name is easy to remember: WISKI. The acronym stands for Water Information System Kisters.

Kisters is the name of the software company offering the program in question to companies and organizations around the world. In the case of flood forecasting, the emphasis is on speed in capturing relevant data.