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Campaign to save Clear Creek

© Van Waffle

Hardly any old-growth forest remains in Southwestern Ontario. Rarely does the community have a chance to preserve such habitat for the future. Excitement rippled through local field naturalist organizations earlier this year when an opportunity arose.

The fertile soils of this region attracted European settlers three centuries ago. Native habitat has almost entirely given way to one of the most productive agricultural regions in Canada. In fact there is little historical record of what the landscape originally looked like.

It's thought that Southern Ontario once had 1,000 square kilometres of tallgrass prairie. The only remaining tracts are the small plain at Windsor's Ojibway Nature Centre, and a second area at Walpole Island First Nation.

The dominant ecosystem was temperate deciduous forest, some of the important tree species being white oak, Eastern hemlock and American beech. But stands of old growth woodland cover less than three per cent of their original territory.

For more information about the Carolinian forest zone in Southwestern Ontario, read the April 14 article: In danger: Canada's Deep South

There are few remaining tracts like Clear Creek. Its private owners have offered the property for purchase to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). If the organization can raise funds to buy the property by October 2000, it can become a provincial nature reserve. Otherwise it will likely be purchased by a developer. Local governments do not have any legislation which would prevent the destruction of this natural area.

Clear Creek verges on the north shoreline of Lake Erie. In fact, NCC has an option to add 200 adjacent acres of lakeshore to the potential park.

The core area consists of old growth Carolinian forest, ravine ecosystem, and regenerating hawthorn savannah. Large tracts such as this play an important role in conserving biodiversity. Many species do cannot persist along the boundaries of rich ecosystems. Certain birds, for instance, will only nest deep within the interior.

One benefit of this opportunity is it has allowed NCC to launch an effort to raise general awareness of the Carolinian ecosystem, which originally ranged from Windsor, Ontario, to Toronto.

"To really make a difference, we have to counteract the forest fragmentation that marks this part of Canada," says Michelle Kanter, land securement officer for NCC. "By adding more land through purchase and voluntary conservation agreements, this site could be greatly enhanced."

The initial response to NCC's campaign was swift. Within two-and-a-half months, 3,000 individuals gave their signatures, expressing community support necessary to launch a fundraising campaign. This grassroots action included city councils, field ornithologists, autoworker unions and people from as far as Alberta and the United States. The strongest support came from the region of Chatham-Kent or former residents who considered the forest part of their hometown area. An anonymous donor boosted the campaign with $100,000.

The copyright of the article Campaign to save Clear Creek in Living With Nature is owned by Van Waffle. Permission to republish Campaign to save Clear Creek in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.