walpole island heritage centre may 2010 - carolinian canada

Walpole Island Heritage Centre May 2010

At the Heart of the Great Lakes

Bkejwanong: Where the Waters Divide

Bkejwanong’s Ecosystems

OVERVIEW Walpole Island… supports a rich mosaic of natural areas including some of the most biologically diverse areas in Canada.

Coastal waterways

Oak Savannas Wetlands

Carolinian forests

Tallgrass Prairies

Species at Risk on Walpole Island

PLANTS

BIRDS FISH

REPTILES MUSSELS

BUTTERFLIES HISTORIC SPECIES

Greater Prairie Chicken (Extirpated)

American Badger (Endangered)

Massasauga Rattlesnake (Threatened)

OVERVIEW

Tallgrass Prairies

Oak Savannas

Woodlands and Forests

Waterways

Coastal Marshes

Wetlands

Wetland habitat on Walpole Island

Wetland habitat

8,300 hectares

Coastal Marshes

Wetlands

Species at Risk

King Rail (Endangered)

Species at Risk

Least Bittern (Threatened)

Species at Risk

Blanding’s Turtle (Endangered)

Species at Risk

Spotted Turtle (Endangered)

Species at Risk

Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (Threatened)

Species at Risk

Northern Map Turtle (Special Concern)

Species at Risk

Swamp Rose Mallow (Special Concern)

Species at Risk

Kidneyshell mussel (Endangered)

Northern Madtom (Endangered)

Round Hickorynut mussel (Endangered)

Lake Sturgeon

(Endangered)

Wetland Waterfowl

Mallard

Our Waters

Redhead Ducks

Wetland Scenes

Bullfrog

Waterways of Walpole Island

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Loss of Interior Wetland Habitat on Walpole Island

OVERVIEW

Interior Wetland Losses

Pressures and Threats to the Land

Urban Sprawl

Zebra Mussels

Phragmites / Quill Weeds

Unsustainable / Haphazard Development

OVERVIEW

Impacts on Wildlife

Nin.Da.Waab.Jig – Those Who Seek to Find

!! Walpole Island Heritage Centre – Nin.Da.Waab.Jig officially founded in 1989

!! Research arm of First Nation dealing with land claims, environmental protection, and heritage conservation

!! Walpole Island one of the first Native communities in Canada to take leadership role in the field of environment and sustainable development

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Walpole Island Land Trust

ecologically significant habitats and species at risk within the Bkejwanong territory.

The Walpole Island Land Trust was born out of the desire to make sure that our legacy to the future is something that we and they can be proud of. We want the children of the future to be able to say “Wow! They were really thinking of us!” Not, “What were they thinking?!”

The Walpole Island Land Trust is the 1st First Nations land trust incorporated and registered as a charity in Canada.

In 2008, we established the Walpole Island Land Trust to enhance our ability to conserve and protect

HOLISTIC,

COMMUNITY-

BASED

APPROACHES

Holistic approaches that benefit humans & wildlife.

Ecosystem

Conservation

and Recovery

WALPOLE ISLAND

ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY

STRATEGY

prepared by

Dr. Jane M. Bowles

for

Walpole Island

Heritage Centre, Environment

Canada

and

Walpole Island

Recovery Team

Stewardship and

Traditional

Habitat Management

Research and

Building Capacity

Healthy Plants and Animals

Restoration of Language

and Culture

Community Educated,

Aware and Involved Connections

between People

and Ecosystems

Our Niche

WALPOLE

ISLAND

LAND TRUST

PROTECTING

LANDS IN

TRADITIONAL

TERRITORY

Our 1st habitat protection campaign was to acquire and protect an ecologically significant prairie remnant – Pottawatomi Prairie.

Implementing Our Aims and Objects

Special Thanks to Suncor Energy Foundation and Imperial Oil Foundation and the generous private individual donors who helped save this piece of the natural heritage that we all share in common.

Our 1st Protection Project

Restoring a Degraded 171 acre Marsh

Lake St.

Clair

Project Site

Walpole Island

First Nation

St. Clair

River

Working Together to Restore Habitats

To date we have leased the marsh for a 10-year term. Special thanks to our Partners:

WALPOLE

ISLAND

LAND TRUST

PROTECTING

LANDS IN

TRADITIONAL

TERRITORY


We mapped invasive Phragmites within the marsh.

WALPOLE

ISLAND

LAND TRUST

PROTECTING

LANDS IN

TRADITIONAL

TERRITORY


We mapped invasive Phragmites within the marsh.

Invasive Common Reed (Phragmites)

Former Swan Lake Club marsh

WALPOLE

ISLAND

LAND TRUST

PROTECTING

LANDS IN

TRADITIONAL

TERRITORY


We are in need of funds to follow through with plans to:

!!Restore the marsh’s ecological functions and enhance wildlife populations; !!Address invasive species by researching potential uses and/or implementing control measures; !!Train community members to conduct environmental, habitat, and wildlife assessments and surveys; and !!Educate youth and bring them together with Elders and community members to help them to learn about ethical hunting practices, survival techniques, language & stories that relate to their historic relationship with this important natural resource.

PROTECTING

LANDS IN

TRADITIONAL

TERRITORY


Our next habitat protection campaign is underway to protect a oak savanna/prairie remnant – Prairie Dock Prairie

PROTECTING

LANDS IN

TRADITIONAL

TERRITORY

Protecting Rare Species and Habitats

Our next habitat protection campaign is underway to protect a oak savanna/prairie remnant – Prairie Dock Prairie

Is Our Collective

Responsibility


Their Future

walpole island heritage centre may 2010 - carolinian canada

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