Protection of Ojibway Prairie Complex
- by: Elena Pintilie
- recipient: Eddie Francis, Mayor, City of Windsor
Windsor-Essex County is one of the most ecologically important regions of Canada. Although small in size, it has a great richness of plant and animal species that are found nowhere else in the country. Unfortunately, it also is one of the most threatened. Originally a forest covered expanse dotted with grasslands, less than 4% of the County currently remains as forest. Most of Ontario’s endangered species live within the landscape of which Windsor-Essex County is a part.
Some extremely important and rare natural areas remain. For example, Windsor-Essex is fortunate to contain the 322 hectare Ojibway Prairie Complex. It is one of the best examples of tall grass prairie and oak savannah in Ontario and contains 500 types of plants (69 of which are species at risk), and several endangered and threatened animal species, including eastern massasauga rattlesnake, eastern fox snake, yellow-breasted chat, red-headed woodpecker, and gray fox. Four species of butterfly found at Ojibway are considered rare or very rare in Ontario.
Now this rare and fragile prairie is threatened. The City of Windsor is proposing a truck route through part of the Ojibway Prairie Complex. This four lane highway would bisect the Spring Garden Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) portion of the Ojibway Prairie Complex and would have a devastatingly negative impact on its natural features and ecological functions, including an important natural corridor for animal movement.
At the recent Ontario Nature Annual General Meeting, delegates representing our 140 member organizations and 18,000 members passed a resolution declaring:
the entire Spring Garden Area of Natural and Scientific Interest and Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve are inappropriate for a truck route and are off limits to those planning the route to a second international crossing.
A strong public response will help Ontario Nature make sure that the City of Windsor reconsiders this transportation option and provides full protection for the Ojibway Prairie Complex.
Make a difference to the future for Ojibway Prairie by taking action by August 30th!
Dear Mayor Francis:
Re: Protection of Ojibway Prairie Complex
As you know, the City of Windsor is proposing a truck route through part of the Ojibway Prairie Complex, the last large natural area within Windsor-Essex County. The Ojibway Prairie Complex is one of the best remaining examples of tall grass prairie and oak savannah in Ontario and contains several endangered and threatened species.
The proposed truck route is a four-lane highway within the Spring Garden Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) portion of the Ojibway Prairie Complex and would have a devastatingly negative impact on its natural features and ecological functions, including an important natural corridor for animal movement.
The Spring Garden ANSI Environmental Evaluation Report undertaken by the City of Windsor with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) in 1996 recommends that “the Spring Garden ANSI should be retained, wherever possible, in its natural state”, and that “no road should cross through the Spring Garden”. The City of Windsor’s Official Plan calls for a “community park/woodland/prairie” with “development constraints along the natural area periphery”. The portion of the Spring Garden where the truck route is proposed was to remain “natural area”.
A provincial mandate to acquire the private lands within the Spring Garden ANSI led to the City’s imposition of a “green levy” on Windsor property taxpayers to collect the funds needed for acquisition. Portions of the Spring Garden ANSI have already been expropriated from private owners, and with funding provided by federal and provincial conservation agencies and conservation authorities.
The Detroit River International Crossing Partnership (made up of transportation authorities from Ontario, Michigan, Canada and the United States) has recognized the significance of the Spring Garden ANSI and has chosen to study an alternate route.
I urge you to ensure that the entire Ojibway Prairie Complex is conserved and that the previous acquisition and protection measures are not wasted. Lands set aside for conservation using taxpayer dollars cannot later be used for infrastructure.
Thank you.
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