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RONDEAU COTTAGES
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Recently, the subject of cottage leases in Rondeau Provincial Park has been in the news. It is a somewhat controversial subject as there are certainly valid reasons to have the cottages removed as well as the economic reason for keeping them (under certain circumstances).
As a naturalist, I would like to see the leases terminated and a program to remove the buildings put in place. There are many reasons.
Originally the leases were to terminate sometime in the 1990’s, but that was extended to 2017. Under the park management plan, cottages were to be removed beginning in that year. However, it now appears that the government will cater, to some degree, to the cottage owner once again, but under strict circumstances. Details can be seen in the MNR Environmental Registry at:
http://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displ...language=en
It has most cottage residents up in arms, as they will eventually have to give up their place. It is understandable as many have been there for generations, and if I was in their position I would probably feel the same way.
Cottages in Rondeau are a privilege. About half are owned by Americans, so why is that? I do not know the answer, but cottages are like a luxury.
Times and attitudes have changed and it is time to start an aggressive program of removal of most of the buildings in the park. Granted, it will be costly to do so, but the natural environment must come first in this day and age. The buildings, especially on the east side along Lakeshore Road are impeding the natural succession of plants.
Just last week there was a Letter to the Editor in the Chatham Daily News defending the existence of cottages. One passage caught my attention. In a nutshell, the writer said that there is no evidence that the cottages harm the natural environment. This is blatantly false! The fact that they are there has a significant effect on the natural world whether you realize it or not.
The park has an array of significant vegetation communities from beach dune to oak savanna to Carolinian forest to marshland. There is natural succession from one of these communities to the next. The buildings (along Lakeshore Road) form an unnatural barrier for this succession and human activity around them alters the natural process. The human footprint is significant.
Rondeau has some of the greatest biodiversity in Ontario represented by a number of rare and endangered species. Perhaps the number of endangered species is a direct result of human activity, but we must protect what little is left. Parks such as Rondeau help “clean the air” and make this world a better place. The natural aspect would be enhanced if the buildings were absent.
As a regular visitor to the park almost every weekend (for birdwatching and hiking the trails), I see various activities that indicate some cottage owners have little regard about Rondeau being a natural environment park. There are pets running wild—especially cats. (Not all are feral!!) Leaves and other yard waste are “cleaned up” and dumped in the woods across the road. Non-native plants are planted or left to grow. Lawn mowers and other power equipment are used too often. And, this past weekend an annoyingly very noisy leaf blower was constantly running. Talk about lazy! These are some of the things that need to be addressed if the cottages are allowed (for another lease extension) to stay. Granted, there are some owners that care by keeping a more naturalized landscape.
Simply put, there is no biological rationale to keep the cottages in Rondeau Park. Rondeau is a natural environment park, and contains several Endangered Species that must be given all possible assistance for survival. Eventual removal of the cottages will help in this process.
Point Pelee National Park has done well in the past in removing all cottages (except two that are for staff) and other administrative buildings. There were even hotels and farms in the park and these no longer exist. It would be nice to see things in Rondeau take a similar direction and create a more natural setting.
There is no doubt that cottages will be in Rondeau for a long time yet, but strict rules such as those outlined in the proposed policy have to enforced, and the leaseholders will have to abide.
