Press Release/Communiqué
Tommy
Thompson Park/Leslie Street Spit Joins International
Network of Important Bird Areas
June
10, 2000
For Immediate Release
Toronto,
ON— The
Tommy Thompson Park/Leslie Street Spit received international
recognition today as a globally significant Important
Bird Area (IBA), joining BirdLife International's
global network of IBA sites. The site dedication is
part of the Tommy Thompson Park Bird Festival, which
takes place on Saturday June 10 and Sunday June 11.
The Tommy
Thompson Park/Leslie Street Spit hosts an incredible
diversity of migratory songbirds, as well as extremely
important numbers of two colonial waterbirds Black-crowned
Night Herons and Ring-billed Gulls. "This is
one of the world's most significant areas for Ring-billed
Gulls, providing habitat for about 6% of the species'
worldwide breeding population and as much as 30% of
Canada's Black-crowned Night Herons, noted Suzanne
Ryan, President of the Canadian Nature Federation.
"We are pleased to be able to recognize the important
work being done by so many fantastic community organizations
and interested individuals to conserve this national
treasure.
"By
identifying sites of national importance to Canadian
bird populations, the Canadian Nature Federation,
through the Important Bird Areas Community Action
Fund program, is engaging communities to implement
the priorities it has identified to protect birds
and their habitats for the new millennium, said the
Honourable Herb Gray, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
responsible for the Government of Canada's millennium
initiative.
This program
is part of Natural Legacy 2000, which the Government
of Canada is supporting with a contribution of $10
million nationally through the Canada Millennium Partnership
Program (CMPP), which funds up to one third of eligible
costs of projects that meet its criteria. Out of this
amount, the Canadian Nature Federation, which is responsible
for the IBA program, receives $1,250,000.
The Tommy
Thompson Park Birding Festival is bringing together
people of all walks of life to appreciate this unique
birding oasis in the heart of Toronto. "The Birding
Festival is an exciting time for us, providing a forum
to celebrate the large number of migratory bird species
that make the Tommy Thompson Park/Leslie Street Spit
their home at various times of the year, noted Tamara
Chipperfield. "While we have always known and
appreciated the uniqueness of this area, we are honoured
by the dedication of the Tommy Thompson Park/Leslie
Street Spit as part of an international network of
Important Bird Areas.
Ted Cheskey,
Important Bird Areas Community Conservation Planners
for the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, is working
with local communities to develop conservation plans
for a number of Important Bird Areas throughout Ontario,
including the Tommy Thompson Park/Leslie Street Spit.
The Important Bird Areas Program is being delivered
in Canada by the Canadian Nature Federation and Bird
Studies Canada, and in Ontario by the Federation of
Ontario Naturalists. These three organizations will
continue to work with the surrounding communities
to develop appropriate action strategies to ensure
that bird populations remain healthy into the next
millenium. Please visit our Important Bird Area site
at www.ibacanada.com.
For more
information on Natural Legacy 2000 or on the Government
of Canada's Millennium Partnership Program, visit
the Canada and the Millennium Web site at www.millennium.gc.ca or call 1-800-O-Canada.
For more
information, please contact:
Tamara
Chipperfield, Toronto & Region Conservation Authority
(416) 661-6600 ext. 5248
Gregor Beck, Federation of Ontario Naturalists (416)
444-8419 ext. 237
Christie Chute, Canadian Nature Federation (613) 562-8208
ext. 245
Marcel Gaumond, Millennium Bureau of Canada (613)
943-3239
