Habitat Stewardship in Action at Willenroth Woods and the Brighton Wetlands

 

In 2018 the Nature Conservancy of Canada purchased 213 acres in a rush fundraising campaign to add the Brighton Wetlands to the Willenroth Woods property. There was a lot of local support for this. These lands were owned by St. Mary's Cement and include some of the bay. The lands were sold to a land speculator who made it available to the NCC but with a limited timeline. There is a joint ownership between the NCC and Ducks Unlimited who have similar goals to preserve wetlands.

 

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is a not for profit organization. It started in Ontario in 1962 and is a national organization with 14 million hectres protected in Canada. They have a variety of projects, big and small with a goal to preserve and protect various habitats.

 

Arnold Boes donated the Willenroth Woods property to the NCC in 1998, a site of about 30 hectres (76 acres).

 

The combined properties includes about a kilometer of Lake Ontario shoreline, including significant wetlands, marsh, swamps, some wood lots and meadows (agricultural fields).

 

The NCC is developing a management plan to enhance and protect these lands. They have been assessing what they have in terms of natural habitat and man made (pioneer cemetery, old well, hunting blinds), and invasive species.

 

They have mapped out birds and wildlife spottings, their habitat and have identified invasive species and started to remove some of the invasive species. 

 

The grasslands (agricultural lands) are home to the Bobolink and delayed harvesting of hay allows the bird to complete its nesting period.

 

They have done an intensive inventory of the Phragmites and determined that most are native with a small patch of an invasive species. This is in contract to Presquile Provincial Park where the invasive species have taken over.

 

Another invasive plant found on the site is the Himalayan Balsam with beautiful flowers but no biological value. Also Starry Stonewort that grows in the bay, a grass like macroalgae that grows thick and dense and can be a problem for boaters. They are investigating how to remove this plant.

 

Mute Swans are not native and are a problem with their numbers exploding in recent years. They are large and aggressive and chase out smaller native birds.

 

They are working to restore the grasslands and other plantings.

 

Long term they want to open up the area to visitors, possible trails and observation deck.

 

They continue to monitor the lands and to develop a plan for the restoration and preservation of these lands. There may be future opportunities to expand the land holdings and / or for Rotary to help.