Nelson Aggregate Gets Government Approval for Species at Risk Stewardship Proposal
Nelson promotes the habitat for imperiled & threatened wildlife. Nelson Aggregate Co. announces that it has received approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources for an important species at risk stewardship proposal. (Sep,2007)
Nelson Aggregate Gets Government Approval for Species at Risk Stewardship Proposal
BURLINGTON - September 27, 2007 - Nelson Aggregate Co. announced today that it has received approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources for an important species at risk stewardship proposal. The project will promote habitat for the Eastern Ratsnake which is a threatened species in Ontario and nationally.
Submitted in association with Savanta Inc, the project is among 80 recently approved by the Ministry for funding assistance from the Species at Risk Stewardship Fund introduced last March.
Entitled the “Oriskany Sandstone Management Plan and Model Safe Harbour Agreement” the project will be undertaken at the Nelson Oneida Quarry in the Region of Haldimand. The Nelson Oneida Quarry is the largest owner of the Oriskany sandstone outcrop, habitat to the threatened Eastern Ratsnake, the largest snake in Canada. The quarry is also habitat to a number of Carolinian plant species and the imperiled Small-footed Bat, the smallest bat in Ontario.
Norm Elmhirst, president of Nelson Aggregate said, “We believe that the private sector has a responsibility to assist in the recovery of some of Ontario’s most unique plants and animals and we hope that this and other similar projects will further that cause.”
Background Information:
In March 2007, the Ontario government announced an $18-million, four-year Species at Risk Stewardship Fund to encourage and support public stewardship activities. The fund backed up the government’s commitment to a stewardship-first approach in the recently passed Endangered Species Act, 2007.
To be eligible for funding, a proposal must aim to achieve one or more of the following:
Improve the status of species at risk and their habitats through stewardship and recovery activities
Encourage involvement in stewardship activities through outreach, education or youth employment
Increase stewardship-related knowledge and skills of interested landowners or groups
Support the securement of species at risk habitat by working with willing landowners.
The stewardship fund was open to individuals and groups across the province including landowners, farmers, Aboriginal peoples, education or research institutions, conservation organizations, industries, municipalities, stewardship councils and others who undertook eligible protection and recovery activities. Further information about the Species at Risk Stewardship initiative is available on the Ministry of Natural Resources web site at www.mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/speciesatrisk.
