We would like your input into new Conservation Lands Strategy
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) would like to receive your input for a proposed new Conservation Lands Strategy. You are invited to provide your input through a survey. Responses are received until December 7, 2023.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority is updating the plans that guide the stewardship, restoration, and visitor use of its conservation areas and other ABCA properties.
A new Conservation Lands Strategy will update documents that are about 20 years old. We want to hear from people who visit the properties about features and facilities they use and what is needed to improve their experience. A link to the survey is on the abca.ca website on the public consultation page. The deadline to complete the survey is December 7.
ABCA owns 3,616 hectares of land throughout its 2,400-square-kilometre watershed area. We acquired the properties for environmental purposes such as flood control, conservation and restoration. The properties provide food, water and shelter for a vast array of plants and animals, including several species at risk.
There are 30 kilometres of trails owned and/or managed by ABCA. Conservation areas have trails, pavilions, privies, boardwalks and bridges. Management areas and tracts are mostly forested and do not have facilities or formal trail systems. To learn more about ABCA properties, visit the Parks and Recreation web page on the abca.ca website.
Education and recreation are important secondary benefits on ABCA’s conservation lands.
“Thousands of people visit our properties,” said Nathan Schoelier, ABCA Stewardship and Lands Manager. “These areas improve physical and mental well-being,” he said.
Property uses include hiking, nature appreciation, bird watching, fishing, canoeing and kayaking. Thousands of school children visit the properties each year through ABCA’s conservation education programs. Some teachers use the areas independently.
Hunting is permitted on some properties, in compliance with provincial and federal regulations, for people who have the appropriate hunting permits and who purchase the appropriate ABCA hunting permits to hunt on designated lands.
There was a huge increase in the number of visitors, to ABCA properties, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of visitors has returned to pre-pandemic levels but use of these areas remains strong and provides valuable green spaces for recreation and nature appreciation.
The presence and increase of invasive species and forest pests are among the environmental issues and challenges facing conservation lands. Flooding and weather variability, as the climate continues to change, are also environmental issues and challenges.
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Employment Opportunity – General Manager and Secretary-Treasurer
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) has an employment opportunity for General Manager/Secretary-Treasurer.
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority is a dynamic, collaborative, and progressive organization, which efficiently and effectively delivers services, programs, and projects for its 12 member municipalities and the general public using a team approach.
ABCA prides itself in working cooperatively with many levels of government – departments and ministries, non-government organizations, community groups and individuals to effect positive environmental changes.
Internally, the ABCA has a very positive work culture and a productive work environment.
The Chair and Board of Directors of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority are looking for a confident, experienced, progressive individual with a positive leadership style who can successfully lead the ABCA in the coming years of exciting and effective conservation initiatives.
Learn more:
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Employment Opportunity – Water and Planning Supervisor
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) has an employment opportunity for a Water and Planning Supervisor.
This is an excellent career opportunity to learn and use a wide range of skills in a conservation authority that is active and dynamic. In 1946 the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) was the first conservation authority formed in Ontario and, since then, it has continued to be a respected leader in watershed management.
ABCA is seeking a qualified individual to fill the position of Water and Planning Supervisor. This is a full-time, senior-level position within the Water and Planning department of the ABCA. The successful candidate will enjoy working in an environment where staff work together toward a common goal and where staff are appreciated for their talents and contributions.
The successful candidate will enjoy working at the ABCA’s administrative centre office located at the Morrison Dam Conservation Area and South Huron Trail system.
Learn more:
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Donate to trails, conservation with easy-to-use quick response (QR) codes
Ausable Bayfield Conservation installs new quick response (QR) code signs on trails to make it easier for people to donate to local trails, conservation
New signs make it easier for trail users to donate to support local trails, conservation areas, and conservation programs.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA), on behalf of Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation (ABCF), has installed the new signs, with quick response (QR) codes, at local conservation areas and trails.
Dave Frayne is ABCF Chair. He said public support of trails and conservation areas is extremely important to be able to maintain these areas of habitat, nature and recreation.
“We rely on local donations for trails, conservation areas and other local conservation programs,” he said. “We hope people who use conservation areas and trails in the watershed will use the link on the signs to donate to a trail, conservation area or another conservation program of their choice.”
The ABCF Chair says quick response or QR codes are easy to use for people with smart phones.
A QR code is similar to a bar code at a store. The code is an image made up of black and white squares and the image can be read by a machine. A smart phone can read the information and provide the user with a convenient link to a website address.
People can click on the camera function of their phone, point the phone to the sign as if taking a photo, and then a link should come up to an Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation donation page. People can visit that page and then make a donation, to the Foundation, to a program of their choice.
The new signs give people one more convenient way to donate, he said. There are other ways to donate as well. People may choose to donate by phone (at 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610), in person, by mail, donate through the website, or by e-Transfer using the email address donations@abca.ca (donors should specify, in the e-Transfer message box, what the donation is going towards).
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation is a community organization and corporation formed in 1974 to support conservation programs in the Ausable Bayfield watershed area. The Conservation Foundation has its own Board of Directors and is distinct from the conservation authority but shares, with its sister organization, the values of protecting water, soil, and habitat for all living things. The Conservation Foundation has a mission to foster financial partnerships supporting watersheds and a vision of active community partnerships sustaining healthy watersheds. ABCF’s mandate is to raise funds, provide funds to needed community conservation programs, foster partnerships, and acquire and maintain conservation lands.
The link on the QR code signs takes people to a PayPal donation page. On that page, people can select where they would like their donation to go. For instance, they could choose to support South Huron Trail, or a different local trail or conservation area. They could choose to support another conservation program such as tree planting; Commemorative Woods; habitat for turtles through and other wildlife through wetlands; educating the next generation of land and water stewards through conservation education; Rock Glen Conservation Area and Arkona Lions Museum and Information Centre; or they could support a new pedestrian walkway at Bayfield River Flats. They could also select all programs or a conservation program of their choice.
There are signs at several conservation areas and trails throughout the Ausable Bayfield watershed area.
People can enjoy conservation areas and trails throughout the watershed, according to the ABCF Chair.
“That is thanks to all the generous donors who have made these areas possible,” he said.
Watch for more information on these signs coming soon. Follow us on social media to learn more.
To learn more about nature appreciation and recreation opportunities, please visit the Ausable Bayfield Conservation parks and recreation web page.
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ABCA Board to meet to approve budget
Public notice is hereby given, pursuant to the Approval of Apportionment under subsections 25(1) and 27(1) of the Conservation Authorities Act and Amounts owing under subsection 27.2(2) of the Conservation Authorities Act.
Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority Administration Centre, 71108 Morrison Line, R.R.#3, Exeter, Ontario N0M 1S5
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Water Wise events strive to make water testing easier for private well owners
Service clubs, residents, local public health and source water protection promote well water sampling at events
When water sampling of private wells is made easier, more people will do it. That’s the idea behind the ‘Water Wise’ events happening in some villages, hamlets and shoreline communities in the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Region.
Community members are distributing water sample bottles directly to residents’ doors, giving bottles to neighbours, providing local pickup locations or having the sampling bottles available at meetings and/or well water sampling events.
When residents drop off their water samples at the ‘Water Wise’ events, their water samples are kept chilled overnight and delivered to Huron Perth Public Health the next morning for delivery to the lab in London. It’s very convenient, according to event organizers. People attending the events also learn how to protect their private wells and maintain their septic systems.
“Working with a local group to champion the ‘Water Wise’ water sampling events is key,” said Matt Pearson, Chair of the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Source Protection Committee.
“I would like to thank all of the people and groups who are helping to make these events possible and encouraging people to sample their well water as one of the first actions in protecting private sources of water.”
The first event was held along the Lake Huron shoreline in August. It was hosted by Beth Ross and John Thompson.
At the Goderich Lions Club meeting in September members who were well owners were encouraged to take home sample bottles for themselves and their neighbours to be returned the following meeting. The Dublin Lions Club held a ‘Water Wise’ sampling event on October 17, 2023 and the Monkton Lions hosted one on October 25, 2023.
A Water Wise well sampling video about the first ‘Water Wise’ event is on the Ausable Bayfield Conservation YouTube channel. To learn more, visit the local drinking water source protection best practices web page.
#BestPractices #WellWise #WaterWise #TestProtectMaintain
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Workshop for rural landowners takes place in Thedford on November 28
Rural landowners can attend a workshop in Thedford to learn about grants and conservation projects that may enhance their properties.
The Workshop for Rural Landowners takes place on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Thomas Hall, Legacy Recreation Centre, at 16 Allen Street, Thedford, Ontario.
The workshop provides information on erosion control structures, best management practices, wetlands and tree planting.
There are light snacks and refreshments provided.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation and St. Clair Conservation are co-hosting the event.
To find out more, please contact Brooklyn Rau at brau@abca.ca.
Learn more:
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Connect community with nature through your donation to new pedestrian walkway at Bayfield River Flats
Community support for new pedestrian walkway can help to fully realize the dream at Bayfield River Flats, according to Bayfield River Valley Trail Association
Trail association preparing a fundraising campaign to ask public for help to create new walkway to connect community with nature at Bayfield River Flats, a property preserved by Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy
A new pedestrian walkway can complete the dream of Bayfield and area people to ‘connect the community with nature’ at Bayfield River Flats, according to Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy (HTLTC) and Bayfield River Valley Trail Association (BRVTA).
It will cost more than $50,000 to complete the walkway and the organizations say public support is needed to make the walkway a reality.
The project team plans to hold a fundraising campaign between November 15 and December 15, 2023.
Fundraising activities include a ‘Walkway to the Finish Line’ evening. The event is at the Bayfield Town Hall on Wednesday, December 13, 2023 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Bayfield River Flats is owned by HTLTC and the land trust protects it permanently as a habitat for wildlife.
“The Flats is a natural gem only a short walk from Bayfield’s Main Street,” said HTLTC Chair Max Morden. “Home to eagles and ospreys and species at risk, it’s a place where people can both appreciate and preserve nature.”
Volunteers from the Trail Association manage the property at no cost to the public.
The land trust’s Chair encourages local people to watch for announcements about the fundraising campaign and for details on the December 13 evening in support of the project. Updates, and opportunities to donate, are posted on the Bayfield River Flats web page.
Roger Lewington is Past Chair of HTLTC. He thanks the trail association for leading the fundraising initiative to make the walkway possible. The new walkway will connect to an existing under-the-bridge walkway at the Bayfield River Flats site. This new feature will make it safer and easier for people to reach and enjoy this special riverbank nature area.
“The trail association and the community had a dream to buy and preserve the Bayfield River Flats,” Lewington said. “The creation of the new pedestrian walkway will safely link people and nature and it will make it possible to fully realize the dream for this site.”
Bayfield River Valley Trail Association led a fundraising campaign, in 2017, to purchase the Bayfield River Flats site. Community support was overwhelming, with donations of more than $70,000 to buy the property. The trail association manages the property and donated it to the land trust so the property will be preserved permanently.
The project team is excited to announce the proposed walkway has received the permissions required to make it happen and now the team will turn its attention to mobilizing the public support needed to make it reality.
Visit the Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy website and the Bayfield River Valley Trail Association website to learn more.
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Local students learned how to monitor water quality on World Water Monitoring Day for EarthEcho Water Challenge
Conservation educationstaff from Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) taught local students, at Huron Centennial School in Brucefield, about monitoring water on World Water Monitoring Day as part of the World Water Monitoring Challenge (EarthEcho Water Challenge).
This world-wide initiative takes place between March 22 (World Water Day) and December of each year.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation's Conservation Education Coordinator Cassie Greidanus was at Huron Centennial School in Brucefield on World Water Monitoring Day. She worked with eight classes and taught close to 200 students.
Inside the classroom, the students learned what a watershed is and the different pollutants that can have a negative impact on water resources. They learned about the potential for a range of human activities to impair water quality and how people can reduce those impacts.
The students learned about indicators of a healthy creek. Those indicators include levels of oxygen, temperature and sediment. They also found out what we can learn from the presence or absence of aquatic species in our local watercourses.
The students had a chance to do their own monitoring, by using YSI ProQuatro Multiparameter Meter technology and interpreting the data they collected.
The students did their own research, using dip nets to find our what lives in our local water bodies. The students found lots of minnows, crayfish, bloodworms, leeches, water boatmen, water striders, and more.
"Students were extremely engaged and so were the teachers," Cassie said.
Staff at Ausable Bayfield Conservation say it’s important for local youths to learn about water resources in their local watershed community and about the importance of monitoring water quality and protecting it. The lesson they are providing to students meets Ontario Curriculum educational expectations for science and geography. The students also learn about careers in conservation.
The staff say that “monitoring matters.”
Quoting from the 2023 Ausable Bayfield Watershed Report Card, monitoring is important because “ … it provides baseline data for current conditions that allows us to detect changes in environmental conditions.” These changes may be gradual or ‘chronic’ and take place over many years from many sources. They can also be sudden or ‘acute’ – such as a spill or contamination.
“Monitoring indicator species, such as benthic invertebrates and mussels, can tell a longer-term story of ecosystem health,” according to the Watershed Report Card. Monitoring can also identify new threats such as invasive species or other concerns, such as poor drinking water. “Without monitoring, these threats could go undetected and have implications for human and ecosystem health,” according to the Report Card. “Monitoring helps to evaluate progress towards our goals,” the report says. “This helps us to determine the effectiveness of our actions, and how best to proceed in the future.”
To learn more about local work to sample water and monitor presence or absence of aquatic species in local watercourses, and to monitor water quality for the long term, visit the Ausable Bayfield Conservation environmental monitoring web page. You are also invited to find out about groundwater and surface water quality in the Watershed Report Cards.
You are also invited to contact Healthy Watersheds staff at Ausable Bayfield Conservation by email or phone. Their contact information is listed on the staff contact page of the abca.ca website.
#MonitoringMatters #MonitorWater #WorldWaterMonitoringDay @EarthEcho
PHOTO INFORMATION: In photo, a staff member from Ausable Bayfield Conservation, takes water samples in Lake Huron to sample and test water quality as part of their long-term monitoring of watershed resources such as water quality. This water sampling program is possible thanks to community partnerships.
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Video provides private well owners with tips to protect their water
Whether you have a drilled, shallow or shared well, a new video offers “practical and easy-to-implement” ideas to protect your well water.
The Your Well, Your Responsibility video is hosted by Doug Hocking, property owner representative on the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Drinking Water Source Protection Committee (SPC).
The new Your Well, Your Responsibility video includes the idea of creating a protection zone, around your private well, of at least 15 metres. (Municipal wells have a 100-metre wellhead protection area around them).
Well owners are encouraged to look at anything in that area that could contaminate their water if located too close to the well. This could include animal waste, composters, faulty septic systems, or brush piles – among others. The video also discusses “simple and economical” ideas for containing fuel, chemicals or paint so that they don’t accidentally spill and leak into the ground. There is information on water sampling and testing, where to get well records, and well and septic system maintenance.
Owners of private wells are responsible for protecting their drinking water source to keep their families, friends, guests, and neighbours safe. Unlike residents on municipal water services, where water is tested and monitored daily, private well owners are responsible for ensuring their own drinking water quality.
The Your Well, Your Responsibility video is available on the Ausable Bayfield Conservation YouTube channel and on the videos web page of the local source protection region website.
To learn more, visit the local drinking water source protection best practices web page.
#BestPractices #WaterWise #TestProtectMaintain
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WinterFest is Holiday Monday February 19, 2024
Family Day WinterFest South Huron committee selects Rob Ross as new Chair
New Chair looks forward to working with community to bring back popular Family Day WinterFest South Huron on Family Day Holiday Monday, February 19, 2024
The Family Day WinterFest South Huron organizing committee has named a new Chair for the 2023 one-day family winter festival. The new Chair is Rob Ross.
“I am extremely excited to be the new Chair of WinterFest,” he said. “I look forward to continuing the tradition of WinterFest, and I am thrilled to work with all of our local service clubs, not-for-profits and volunteers to make this year’s Winterfest the best one yet.”
Rob is Manager of the Exeter BIA. He thanked the previous event Co-Chairs, Dave Frayne and Jeff Musser, for their years of work organizing this annual one-day celebration of family and activity.
The Friends of the South Huron Trail is organizing a free family snowshoeing event as part of WinterFest.
If you are a business wanting to be a WinterFest sponsor, or a community group or organization wanting to hold an event as part of WinterFest, you are invited to contact the new Chair at info@ExeterBIA.com
An organizing meeting will be scheduled for later this year for local organizations to share their plans for the Family Day holiday.
Family Day WinterFest South Huron first took place as a multi-partner event in 2011 and it has attracted visitors to this watershed and has encouraged local people to stay close to home and enjoy the amenities in this part of Ontario.
Family Day in Ontario is the holiday Monday which takes place, in 2024, on February 19.
To learn more visit familydaywinterfest.ca
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