By Mark Schadenberg
If you follow the environment and the
sustainability of lakes and rivers in southern Ontario, you certainly
know what UTRCA stands for . . . and what their mandate is in the
ecosystem and the maintaining of various conservation areas.The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (www.upperthames.ca) has a wide ranging task – not just operating three large campsites at Pittock inside Woodstock, Fanshawe on the east end of London, and Wildwood near St. Marys.
The UTRCA, which publishes a monthly newsletter you can subscribe to from its website, is standing in waders currently in creeks and in the shade of tall trees on the banks of these important waterways with many studies (Including soft-shelled turtles and fish populations) and improvement plans. In some cases, the forest needs trees like at the west end of Woodstock where the Authority has greatly assisted in the re-forestation of the Burgess Park / Standard Tube Park lands devastated by the Emerald Ash Borer beetle.
A Trails Master Plan was penned with thoughts from UTRCA, Oxford trails council (www.oxfordcountytrailscouncil.ca), communities, interest groups (Friends Of Pittock and others), Woodstock recreation advisory committee, the Oxford board of health, and Oxford citizens through public meetings.
UTRCA uses the motto 'Inspiring a Healthy Environment'. At times, they can be a stumbling block for developers who want more roads and houses, but the UTRCA governance of the watershed makes them play an important (integral) role in defining or changing anything pertaining to the Thames River. You could use the word 'stewardship' to describe their efforts and their necessity.
More trails is always a good idea as paths through nature help preserve and manage parkland, but also creates a linked transportation system for joggers and bicycles.
The September newsletter of the UTRCA reflects the progress accomplished so far as a trail from Beachville attempts to link through a 'boggy marsh' to Woodstock and the before-mentioned Standard Tube park loops.
There is also a significant restoration
project underway on the south shore of the Thames between Beachville and Woodstock, as was outlined in the September UTRCA newsletter:
Thames River Wetlands Restoration
In 2013, Stewardship Oxford in
partnership with Oxford County,
Ducks Unlimited (DU), Ontario Southland
Railway and the
UTRCA began working on a Thames River
Wetlands - Beachville
Restoration Project.
This property is
owned by the County of
Oxford and located along the south side
of the Thames River
between the village of Beachville and
the city of Woodstock.
The UTRCA’s Brad Hertner assisted
Stewardship Oxford and
the Oxford County Trails Council (OCTC)
in securing $34,000
in funding from Environment Canada’s
EcoAction Community
Funding Program to plant trees to
buffer the wetland project.
Funding was also secured directly from
DU.
The project included six open water
excavations, wood duck
boxes, turtle nesting sites, snake
hibernacula, tree planting
and prairie establishment. The main
wetland restoration work
consisted of re-establishing shallow,
open water wetland pockets
where natural floodplain meander
features had been filled in with
sediment and vegetation. While the
excavation work was rather
subtle in scope, the results in terms
of increased waterfowl activity,
increased habitat diversification
generally and emergence of native
vegetation in the months since work was
completed have been
very impressive.
The project’s first phase recently
received national attention
when it was highlighted in DU Canada’s
Conservator magazine.
The Fall 2014 edition includes
excellent articles about Phil Holst,
a member of Stewardship Oxford and the
unofficial “Project
Manager,” as well as the
collaboration and support of several
people instrumental in making the
wetland project such a success.
The UTRCA’s Brad Glasman assisted
with design elements; John
Enright and forestry colleagues secured
trees for the revegetation
strategy (with more planting scheduled
this fall); and Mark Snowsell
facilitated the permit process, meeting
on site frequently with DU’s
Phil Holst and Jeff Krete as plans were
refined.
The County of Oxford owns the land
where the work was
undertaken. County Council was fully
supportive of the project,
with an eye towards future phases along
the South Thames River
downstream of the first phase on other
County property.
The OCTC is currently working on phase
2 of the Oxford
Thames River Trail. The trail will end
at an interpretive viewing
platform, giving trail users an
excellent view of the wetland project
and information about its value and
function. Phil Holst will be
leading tours of the site this fall.
Contact: Mark Snowsell, Land Use
Regulations Officer, or Brad
Hertner, Community Partnership
Specialist
LINKS:
www.oxfordcountytrailscouncil.ca
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Our Environment – Our Community's
Environment
Mark
Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior
Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal
LePage Triland Realty
757
Dundas St, Woodstock
(519)
537-1553, cell or text
Email:
mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter:
markroyallepage
Facebook:
Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion
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