Small Wetlands Making A Big Comeback In Southern Ontario

Small wetlands support water management and shelter wildlife

DUC is collaborating with farmers and farm landowners to create newly restored small wetlands on retired agricultural fields in upper and lower watersheds south of London, Ont. Private farm landowners Scott and Linda Dunn worked with DUC and community partners Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, ALUS Elgin and Elgin Stewardship Council to create a small wetland at their family farm near the shores of Lake Erie.

“The new wetland name, Lake Antonuk, comes from Linda’s parents who grew tobacco and cash crops here for more than 50 years,” said Scott Dunn. “Our plan to change our property to a more natural area happened after we watched many landowners remove trees and fill in or tile wetlands on their property. It only made sense to add a pond to support wildlife and help with the watershed.”

The Dunn’s new wetland is among the first to be completed by DUC and its partners this spring, and will be joined in 2021 by nearly 2,500 acres (1,000 hectares) of restored natural infrastructure in the watersheds of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and their connecting waterways through the Wetlands Conservation Partner Program, which targets the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie drainage basins in 2021.

Thanks to this commitment, DUC is achieving unprecedented capacity for wetland restoration which is being fulfilled through longstanding partnerships with municipalities, stewardship volunteers and conservation authorities. Local relationships help to identify and implement high-value conservation opportunities and generate local economic activity. Today, Jeff Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, was joined by Lynette Mader, DUC’s manager of provincial operations in Ontario, and conservation partners to showcase a completed small wetland project at the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority offices.