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Close to 9,000 cormorant nests oiled around Manitoulin;
Ouellette
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by Neil Zacharjewicz
MANITOULIN - Jerry Ouellette, the Minister of Natural Resources, is
taking a close look at the cormorant problem around Manitoulin and
Lake Huron.
Mr. Ouellette, who confessed he likes to work "hands-on," said he was
growing frustrated with reading the opinions of local Ministry of
Natural Resources (MNR) staff throughout the province with regard to
the cormorant problem when he was not even being asked how he felt
about the issue. So, he decided to establish a policy to deal with
issues such as this, and is now the spokesperson for the MNR on
issues related to cormorants.
The MNR is presently in the third year of a five year study of the
cormorant population in Lake Huron. The study, he explained, will
look at not only the population, but how to manage the birds, their
feeding and nesting habits, and ways to monitor and control the
population.
"The population has expanded quite heavily in a number of areas," Mr.
Ouellette explained. "We have oiled a number of eggs in (the
Manitoulin) area."
He explained the oiling is all part of the study, to see if oiling
cormorant eggs will have some sort of effect on the cormorant
population in the area. The noted five nesting sites have been
chosen, and between 8,000 to 9,000 nests were affected. He said
Manitoulin was chosen for the egg oiling because the cormorant
population in the area was so high.
"When the eggs hatch, the cormorants use quite a bit of food for the
young ones," he explained.
Other areas around Lake Huron are being looked at for other stages of
the study. He pointed out Presquille Provincial Park is another site
under consideration.
Mr. Ouellette indicated the MNR has received a tremendous amount of
support from local stakeholders in the egg oiling project.
"When the (Ontario Public Service Employees Union) strike was on, I
was concerned the project would not proceed," he explained.
Therefore, he sought out partners to ensure the program would
continue to move forward.
Mr. Ouellette did caution it is important that the Ministry establish
statistical proof that cormorants are negatively affecting the fish
population. He pointed out in other jurisdiction, where action
preceded any statistical data, natural resources officials were taken
to court due to a lack of science.
"We need the information from studies like the egg oiling, before
going ahead to control the populations so we don't go through these
(court) challenges. We want the statistical information before we go
ahead with any control measures," said Mr. Ouellette. "We don't have
enough results concerning cormorants for Ontario."
He said that the ministry will determine the results of this year's
egg oiling program before making final decisions on the future
direction.
"The numbers are blooming so much we may have to look at alternative
control measures," Mr. Ouellette indicated. "We will possibly look at
experimental culling, in other areas. This will be determined after
the egg oiling results are completed, and see if this has had any
affect on minimizing the population of the birds A lot depends on the
results of the egg oiling," he said. Mr. Ouellette explained the egg
oiling program will continue around Manitoulin, and there will be no
experimental cull in 2003.
"Realistically, it would depend on whether the birds come back to the
areas where the egg oiling has taken place. If the numbers are
reduced then it was effective, and if not we will have to look at
other alternatives," Mr. Ouellette said.
The minister stated he hopes to visit the Island soon to meet with
representatives of the United Fish and Game Clubs of Manitoulin
(UFGCM). He said he had originally planned to visit the area
recently, but when the tornado went through Halfway Park, near
Sudbury, it forced him to cancel his visit. However, he said he does
believe it is important to have two-way communication on the issue.
"I enjoy the area, I have a real passion for the area, and I am
willing to talk to anyone, on any issue."
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NEMI recycling
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by Cheryl Waugh
NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN and the ISLANDS (NEMI) ----Once the new
landfill site opens, both dumps and the Little Current recycling
depot will be closed.
In a decision that needed three recorded votes at council last
Wednesday, two of them won on slim 5-4 margins, council elected to
get their new landfill site open as soon as practically possible by
bringing all of the bins they currently own to the new landfill site
and renting a compactor and the extra bins needed to handle the
overload - as the entire municipality begins to use one site.
Council also decided that curbside pickup throughout the municipality
should be revisited in November of 2002.
Those councilors in favour of closing the Little Current depot cited
costs and a lack of bins as their two major reasons for supporting
the idea.
"We don't have enough bins in the municipality to keep both locations
open, not to mention the additional man hours needed for the two
operations," said Councilor Ron Lewis, chair of the Landfill
Operations committee, which recommended the closure to council. "We
don't even know if the staff that we have can operate both locations
without additional help. There are few people who walk to that depot
for recycling. They will have to make arrangements to get their
recyclables to the new landfill site."
Mayor Ken Ferguson, who was part of the committee meeting that made
the closure recommendation to council, said he thought at that time
he could support the decision to close the Little Current depot, but
at council he could no longer support the recommendation. "The new
landfill site has the potential to tear our municipality apart if we
don't strive to take care of each other's needs," he said. "If we
remove the recycling bins from the public works yard, it will create
hard feelings in Ward 2, and perhaps in other areas as well."
However, Councilor Marcel Gauthier explained that the Landfill
Operations Committee conducted a survey and found that there just
weren't enough people who walked to the depot to warrant keeping it
open. "We can't just leave one or two bins there for people who walk
- what's to keep everyone from using it? We'll have overflow and the
place will be a mess. We also can't leave it unsupervised. We'd need
a whole bunch of bins in Little Current and a whole bunch of bins at
the landfill site - we'll need double the bins. This way, everything
will be the same throughout the municipality with everyone using the
new landfill site."
There's no reason why the Little Current depot couldn't be kept open
on a part-time basis, said Councilor Bill Koehler. "We don't need it
open four days a week, perhaps only one or two days, but I'd like to
see it remain open."
"The impact of closing that recycling depot will be significant to
Ward 2 residents," added Councilor Al MacNevin. "I believe the depot
is required until we change the system to include curbside pick-up of
recycling."
The decision to close the Little Current depot won out in a 5-4 to
vote, with Councilors Lewis, Gauthier, Kathleen Bowerman, Ann
McGregor, and Carl Ziegler voting to close it, while Councilors
MacNevin, Koehler, Jim Stringer and Mayor Ferguson voted against
closing it.
In a rather bizarre bit of administration, it took two recorded votes
for council to decide to revisit municipal wide curbside pickup in
November 2002. Councilor Lewis, as chair of the Landfill Operations
committee, asked the two committee members who had originally moved
the motion at committee to change the date from November 2002 to June
2003, which the mover and seconder did.
However, during the ensuing discussion of the now changed motion,
other council members felt that waiting until June 2003 to revisit
curbside pickup was too late, and a motion to amend the date from
June 2003 back to November 2002 was made.
Councilor MacNevin said he was disappointed with the recommendation
of June 2003 to revisit curbside pickup since it would mean Ward 2
residents wouldn't see recycling pickup for at least another year,
perhaps longer since municipal elections are also next year."The cost
of pickup of recyclables, at least in Ward 2, wouldn't be high
because we already have waste pickup. Waiting another year is not
going to make our citizens very happy," he said. He also noted that
$60,000 has been set aside in the 2002 budget to go towards the
curbside pickup of recyclables in Ward 2.
Councilor Lewis said his main concern was the cost of not only the
new landfill site but also the cost of closing the two dumps. He said
there are no actual figures for the operating costs of the new
landfill site, and wanted the landfill to run a while before the town
took on more costs in municipal curbside pickup. "We have to walk
before we can run," said Councilor Lewis.
"We're only revisiting," said Councilor Gauthier, "not implementing."
The amendment to move the date to revisit curbside pickup back to
November 2002 from June 2003 passed 5-4 in a recorded vote, with
Councilors Gauthier, MacNevin, McGregor, Stringer and Mayor Ferguson
voting for the motion, while Councilors Bowerman, Koehler, Lewis and
Ziegler voted against it.
The original motion to revisit curbside pickup then came back to the
table, also passing, but in a 6-3 recorded vote. The only change in
the voting pattern was by Councilor Lewis, who voted in favour of
revisiting curbside pickup throughout the municipality in November of
2002.
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Lights to deter criminals spoil night sky
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CENTRAL MANITOULIN---Lights installed at the Providence Bay docks
this year are causing some people anguish, as the light pollution
dampens their view of the stars.
The lights were installed after a number of boats had been broken
into in the area, according to deputy-clerk Ruth Frawley, in the hope
the lights will deter criminals and vandals from frequenting the dock
area.
An anonymous letter was received by the Expositor in which the writer
expressed dismay at the brightness of the dock light, which the
author describes as many times brighter than the lighthouse at the
mouth of the bay.
The writer's family recently purchased "a good quality telescope",
prior to their annual summer pilgrimage to the Island, and they had
hoped to take a good look at an unspoiled natural sky.
It was not to be.
"The light shining across the bay is so bright, you can read the
words on a pop can on a moonless night," the writer complained. "It
feels just like walking under streetlights in Southern Ontario."
The writer asked why it was necessary to have such a bright light at
the docks, and why they have to remain on all night.
While the lights do act as a beacon for late arriving charter boats,
they serve the secondary purpose of deterring crime in the area, and
that is the reason for both the intensity of the light and for their
staying on all night.
"How disappointing that light pollution has reached our beloved
Manitoulin," said the letter. "We might as well be sitting in our
back yard in Cambridge."
The writer noted that the entire ambiance of a country respite from
the bright city lights has been spoiled for cottagers along the bay,
and traditional night-time activities such as a stroll along the
water, campfires, hot dogs and marshmallows are never to be the same,
let alone attempting to use the family's shiny new telescope.
The Manitoulin Island Dark Skies initiative is currently working on
making Manitoulin a dark sky preserve, to limit the impact of light
pollution on the Island's night skies.
"We would be very happy to work with the community to find another
solution to the problem," said Manitoulin Dark Skies Association
Communication Officer, Mark Oldfield.
Mr. Oldfield likens the common use of lights to placing an unshaded
lightbulb in the middle of one's living room. Not only is it very
ugly, but it is almost counterproductive.
"We are not very well attuned to the question of light pollution," he
said. "It really is a very new field and many outdoor lights are very
crass."
In this instance, the interests of deterring loss of property to
theft appears to have outweighed the drive to keep the pristine
unspoiled nature of the country sky, a clear case of a few
unscrupulous criminals ruining the enjoyment of others for years.
But there is some hope on the horizon.
"Most of these things can be worked out with a little creativity,"
said Mr. Oldfield. His group will be giving a talk on a similar
problem on White's Point Road.
"They have just recently had three street lights installed, they
fought for them for years apparently, because of the safety issue of
kids parking down there. Now they find that their beautiful night
skies are being ruined," said Mr. Oldfield.
Letters to the Editor must be signed in order to be placed on the
Expositor's editorial page, as the paper's editorial policy does not
allow anonymous submissions. This letter was chosen to be
investigated as it deals with a topical subject and asked legitimate
questions which undoubtedly others have on their minds.
Unfortunately not all of the answers to the writer's questions are
likely to satisfy, and so the writers may well remain, as the letter
was signed, 'Disgusted Cottagers.'
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