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Port Franks Forested Dunes Important Bird Area is a continuous stretch of unique forest habitat along the southern coast of Lake Huron, from Kettle Point to Grand Bend. It is an exceptional area biologically, with globally rare and threatened habitats. Two species of nationally rare and threatened birds, Hooded Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher, breed in the IBA along with an amazing diversity of woodland species, many of which are regionally and provincially significant.
The IBA contains a mix of public and private lands, with a considerable amount of forest formally protected in Pinery Provincial Park, the Lambton County Heritage Forest, and a number of smaller tracts. Two large tracts of land under the jurisdiction of the Kettle-Stoney Point First Nations are also part of the continuous forest habitat.
Threats to the IBA include:
- housing development
- recreational overuse
- dune erosion
- over-browsing from deer
- diversion of water and canalization
The Action Plan component of this conservation plan includes the following vision and goals. Objectives and strategies supporting the goals are presented in Chapter 11.
Vision
The Port Franks Forested Dunes IBA will promote, conserve and enhance continuous natural forest cover from Kettle Point to Grand Bend to support viable populations of forest birds and habitat for migrant birds.
Goals
- maintain and enhance breeding populations of IBA forest species of concern, specifically, Hooded Warbler, Acadian Flycatcher, Cerulean Warbler, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Tufted Titmouse.
- reduce human-related factors associated with reproductive failure and mortality among forest birds generally and specifically among the IBA species.
- provide stakeholders and public in the IBA with information and learning opportunities to support the habitat needs of IBA species through stewardship and management.
- liase with local First Nations about the IBA.
- develop public awareness and support of IBA and IBA values including the importance of the area as a migration corridor for waterbirds, waterfowl and landbirds.
- encourage and support monitoring of and research on forest birds, particularly species identified within this Plan, and on migratory birds,
- promote economic and social benefits associated with the forested landscape.
Introduction
Our flight from
Pearson International
Airport in Toronto
to O’Hara Airport
in Chicago followed
a trajectory over
southern Ontario
to Lake Huron just
north of Sarnia.
"I thought
there was forest
in Canada . . .
what did you do
to the forest?"asked
my travel companion
from Norway. I pointed
out the grim fact
that most of the
land passing below
us was stripped
of forest decades
previous, a few
isolated green blobs
in the agro-urban
patchwork being
all that remained.
While I was saying
this, a broad band
of continuous forest
along the coast
of Lake Huron came
into view.
"What's that?"she
asked. "That,"I
replied, "is
one of the greatest
natural treasures
left in southern
Ontario." "Can
we go there?"*
This Conservation plan will take you there, into a stretch of woodland with some of the best examples of oak savanna in North America. Home to innumerable unusual and specialised life forms, the area known as the Port Franks Forested Dunes Important Bird Area is of high significance to birds. Many deep forest birds, absent from most of southern Ontario, arrive in these forests in April and May, after wintering in Latin America or the southern United States. These forest interior species are largely the focus of this conservation plan. The area addressed includes the band of contiguous forest and shoreline from just south of Kettle Point on the Lake Huron shoreline, to Grand Bend, several kilometres to the north. Some of this land is in private ownership, some in public ownership and some belongs to the Kettle-Stoney Point First Nation. It is hoped that this plan will assist those living in this area in their management and stewardship decisions, so that the high significance of the area for wildlife endures.
This conservation
plan is intended
to be a "work
in progress".
Sections of the
Plan describing
the site, its birds,
and the institutional
arrangements are
presented in Chapters
3 to 7. Chapter
8 is about the stakeholder
activity in the
area, while Chapters
9 and 10 explore
opportunities within
the Important Bird
Area (IBA) for conservation
as well as threats
to the IBA species.
Chapter 11 elaborates
the conservation
action plan, presenting
the vision, goals,
objectives, and
strategies. The
Steering Committee
adopted the following
Vision for the IBA.
The Port Franks Forested Dunes IBA will promote, conserve, and enhance continuous natural forest cover from Kettle Point to Grand Bend to support viable populations of forest birds and habitat for migrant birds.
¹ Edward Cheskey
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