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OPPORTUNITIES LOST?
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
I suppose it is a part of human nature, certainly a foolish part, to dwell on lost opportunities, especially those of a personal nature. It may be equally foolish to dwell on any kind of lost opportunity, especially those over which you have no control. There may be some remorse over losses in which you played a part---and it maybe okay to anguish over a loss that is entirely your fault---but keep it brief, life goes on. When an opportunity that will have a profound impact on the environmental, natural and social scheme of things comes along only once---and is lost---well, maybe thatís worth a little reflection.The following reflects on three opportunities to secure or restore significant wetlands along the continentally significant bird migration corridor comprised of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River. I had some personal involvement in two of these---the other came and went prior to my tenure in the conservation field.
The Ford Marsh
I was not personally involved with this opportunity---it was, as they say, before my time. I have heard many comments, all voicing regret and disappointment, about how this extensive wetland property slipped through the fingers of resource agency personnel.
Situated in the north-easterly corner of Lake St. Clair, this property was comprised of 1200 acres of dyked marsh, nearly 1000 acres of shoreline marsh and about 150 acres of cropland. Previously owned by Henry Ford the 2nd, it was put up for sale circa 1975 and purchased by agricultural interests. Large portions of the dyked marsh where quickly converted to crop production. Only 400 of this 1200 acres remain as marsh. The security of this remnant is tenuous, it could be quickly and easily converted to cropland at a moments notice.
The 1000-Acre Wetland
The idea of restoring 1,000 acres of wetlands in western Dover Township in close proximity to the eastern side of Lake St. Clair was hatched and promoted by a visionary member of Ducks Unlimited Canada's Ontario staff. (I hereby regretfully but honestly inform you that I was not that person.) This vision would pursue the re-establishment of wetland habitats on lands that historically had been characterized by natural marshes and flooded swamps. The conversion of most of these original wetlands to agricultural crop production had taken place early in the previous century, though some had been drained as recently as the late 1970's and early 1980's.
Key personnel from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) as well as a few local conservation proponents were the first to get behind this major wetland restoration idea and a small base of local support began to grow. Near the outset, a public meeting was held to test the idea locally. As would be expected, support for the idea ranged from highly enthusiastic to vehemently opposed. One outcome of the public meeting was the formation of a Local Advisory Committee comprised of primary stakeholders and local interests. A second outcome was a Socio-Economic Impact Study. This sizable document was prepared over many months of assessment, evaluation and consultation. Included in this study were the assessment and mapping of potential wetland restoration areas that would have the least impact on existing buildings and roads infrastructure---yet be adjacent to adequate water supplies. It was recognized in the early going that the opportunities to accumulate 1000 acres in close proximity to currently existing wetlands in several locations was a far greater likelihood than locating the entire 1000 acres in one place.
One of the greatest ironies to confound the 1000-acre wetland idea were the opportunities, admittedly just when the initiative was gaining momentum, to acquire 400 – 500 acres of strategically situated land. Acquisition proposals were prepared for two or three of these available properties by DUC-Ontario staff. However, these proposals were given little support at the time due to fears of pre-empting the Impact Study and giving the impression locally that the project was underway before the proper, and agreed upon, project evaluation steps had been completed.
A second irony came in the form of a suggestion by DUC to complete a business plan for the overall project. This came as a bit of a surprise but was nevertheless adopted by the Steering Committee of the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture (EHJV) partners as a request that effectively but the brakes on the momentum that the proposal had been gaining. In hindsight, this now appears to have been a delay and discourage tactic. There are some suspicions that the call for a business plan was a rather well disguised sabotage of the whole proposal. However, in an effort to keep the proposal on track, the business plan, more aptly re-named Implementation Plan, was written by three individuals---one each from the OMNR, CWS and DUC. The completed document can be credited Kevin Loftus---a champion of the proposal from OMNR's Head Office---for significant written contribution and assembly. Getting the Implementation Plan before the EHJV Steering Committee in timely fashion proved to be difficult. When it finally made a meeting agenda, the Committee failed to provide the necessary commitments or support and the initiative foundered. In a third and final irony, as the initiative grew cold on the back burner, an opportunity for another very strategically situated 165 acre property was identified.
-Detroit River (Ruwe)
Together with the adjacent Kanzler marsh, the Ruwe Marsh comprises the most extensive, contiguous wetlands in the Lower Detroit River. Their respective names come from previous long-term owners. The ownership of both has changed in more recent times.
The Ruwe property is comprised of dyked and managed marshland plus an equally large area that is predominately open to the Detroit River. The dyked marshland is being well maintained and managed by its current owner. The area open to the river has evolved into a very important waterfowl resting and staging as it is protected by a feature known as the finger dyke---a finger like remnant of a large dyke that, many decades ago, contained virtually the entire property and associated wetlands. Not only do thousands of ducks, most notably canvasbacks, use the area below the finger dyke during their bi-annual migrations, it also serves as significant spawning and nursery habitat for several of the fish species that live in the Detroit River. The finger dyke calms the shallow waters to its lee or downstream side, preventing water currents and seasonal ice floes from scouring the river bottom. This has resulted in the growth of extensive aquatic vegetation beds useful to both waterfowl and fish.
For a short time there was some idle speculation that the Ruwe marsh might be left to Ducks Unlimited. The property was, however, put on the open market and a prospective buyer soon emerged. In an effort to ensure the long-term existence and function of the Ruwe wetlands, negotiations to convince the prospective buyer to enter into a Conservation Easement were pursued by Ducks Unlimited Canada. When these failed, several conservation organizations and agencies combined resources in attempt to buy the property. It turned out to be too little and too late.
The current owner of the Ruwe wetlands has a very strong conservation ethic coupled with a special interest and appreciation for wetlands and their inhabitants. Thus, the Ruwe wetland, certainly the dyked portion, is secure for the time being. The fish and wildlife benefits of that portion of the property directly associated with the Detroit River are not as certain as the finger dyke is at serious risk of further erosion and eventual loss as a habitat protection feature. Topographic mapping based on 1972 aerial photography shows the finger dyke as being more extensive, and offering greater protection, than it is at present. Fluctuating water levels on the Great Lakes and their connective waterways over the past three decades have shortened the finger by approximately 300 meters and weakened the structural integrity of the dyke that remains. During the last high water period, the finger dyke was overtopped in several places. Armour stone erosion protection was placed on damaged and high-risk sections. This saved the dyke and with the advent of lower water levels the finger dyke continues to play its important habitat protection role. Should water levels again increase, as they most surely will given the recorded cycles of the Great Lakes, the finger dyke will again be at a high and immediate risk of being lost. The practical solution is a complete layer of erosion protection over the full length of the exposed face to an adequate, uniform elevation. Extending, with adequate erosion protection, the finger to where it was in 1970 would not only ensure the continued existence of valuable open-water fish, waterfowl and wildlife habitat, it would likely expand the total extent of this same habitat. This extension would also greatly reduce the risk of the adjacent and downstream dyked and managed marshes from being damaged or lost.
In Summation
As far as I have been able to determine, the Ford Marsh was lost through indecision and procrastination. Although a concerted effort was made to acquire the Ruwe wetland, the financial commitment did not go quite far enough. And even though the current owner is eager to work with resource agencies to ensure the long-term integrity and function of the finger dyke, there seems to be little impetus in this regard.
The 1000-acre wetland fell by the wayside due to a lack of dedicated commitment and desire---and an inability to make large-scale, long-term decisions. The Pidgeon Marshes project, carried out when the 1000-acre wetland idea was in its formative stage, is a prominent example of how 130 acres of high quality wetland can be secured and restored quickly and efficiently when vision and commitment are front and centre at the partnership table. It is too bad that the right stuff wasnít there for the 1000-acre proposal. Even if this lofty goal were never reached, just 600 or 800 acres of new and restored wetland would have been a major conservation success story.
Opportunities come and go. Sometimes you get a second chance. Quite often you donít. When an opportunity is obviously a one-time chance, you have to make the decisions, take the risks, and have the right stuff necessary to put the resources together to make the most of it.
I was born on the Bruce Peninsula on July 20, 1951 and raised on a farm just south of the village of Lionís Head, which is located about halfway up the peninsula on the Georgian Bay shoreline. I graduated from Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology in Barrie in 1973 as a Resources Engineering Technologist. I was hired by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) in April of 1975 as the first DUC employee in Ontario. Throughout almost 29 years I was involved with the implementation of more than 500 wetland projects and project complexes in southwestern and south central Ontario. Some of these habitat projects included important waterfowl and migratory bird habitat along the eastern shoreline of Lake St. Clair. Just three weeks short of completing 29 years with DUC, I accepted an early retirement opportunity effective March 31, 2004.
