News Release

Federal-Provincial Enforcement Partnership on Great Lakes Piping Plovers

WASAGA BEACH, Ont. -- June 30, 2011 -- Environment Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources are teaming up this spring and summer to protect returning Piping Plover, an endangered species of bird, on Ontario’s Wasaga, Sauble and Oliphant beaches.

To provide beach-goers with information about the birds and to ensure their habitat remains undisturbed, Environment Canada’s enforcement officers, together with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources park wardens and conservation officers, will be patrolling the fenced off areas where Piping Plovers are nesting and raising their young.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario Parks) invited Environment Canada to join in protecting the endangered Piping Plover at Wasaga Beach throughout the nesting and fledgling seasons. The Government of Canada is proud to support the provincial and municipal governments who, together with local volunteers, have overseen the successful nesting of Piping Plovers every year since 2007.

For the fourth consecutive year, Piping Plovers have returned to Great Lakes beaches to nest and raise their young. The Piping Plover is listed as a species at risk in Canada and is a regulated species under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act. Plovers are part of the Great Lakes breeding population and their continued migration to, and successful nesting and fledgling on, Great Lakes beaches are significant, since until recently they were absent for over 30 years.

Recovery techniques aimed at maintaining or increasing plover numbers include conservation measures such as signs, patrols, and enclosures to keep predators out, captive releases, the relocation of eggs, surveys, and public education by non‑government organizations. If you live near or visit a beach where Piping Plovers nest, you can help the plover by not disturbing adults, their nests, or broods, as well as by asking other people to do the same. For more information about the Piping Plovers, visit: http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/or http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/.

From left to right: Environment Canada Enforcement Officer, visitor to Wasaga Beach, and Ministry of Natural Resources Park Warden, in front of Piping Plover enclosure on Wasaga Beach, June 2011.

From left to right: Environment Canada Enforcement Officer, visitor to Wasaga
© Environment Canada, 2011