Local project gets funding to help species at risk

Nipssing MPP Monique Smith
News Release

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The Spanish River Adult Lake Sturgeon Assessment stewardship project in Nipissing will receive more than $20,000 from the Species at Risk Stewardship Fund this year to help protect and recover species at risk.

As a result, Anishinabek/Ontario Fisheries Resource Centre (A/OFRC) will be able to assess the Spanish River’s spawning of lake sturgeon population for a second consecutive year. Detailed habitat information will also be recorded. An A/OFRC biologist will be assisted by an intern and one community member from Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, in implementing this study. Life history information will be collected from all captured fish and the results presented in a technical report. The setting of recovery targets and recovery potential modelling, both require these relevant data.

This year, Ontario is granting more than $4 million to 118 projects to protect species at risk and their habitat through the Species at Risk Stewardship Fund; supporting greater public involvement in a variety of species at risk protection and recovery activities.

The following individuals and groups are eligible to apply for grants for projects that contribute to the protection and recovery of Ontario’s species at risk: landowners and farmers, non-government organizations, Aboriginal communities/organizations, academic institutions, conservation authorities, Ontario Stewardship Councils, municipal and local governments, individual businesses and industry organizations.

‪“We all have a responsibility for the province's species at risk,” said Monique Smith, MPP for Nipissing. “It is very important to protect species at risk to ensure they will be a part of our future environment.”‬ ‪

"On behalf of the Anishinabek/Ontario Fisheries Resource Centre, I am very pleased to be receiving financial support through the Species at Risk Stewardship Fund to assist our efforts in rehabilitating the lake sturgeon in Ontario. Lake sturgeon have always been an important cultural and subsistence fish species for many First Nations in Ontario, but largely ignored by the scientific community. The designation of this fish as a "species at risk" has prompted some much needed research, which we are happy to be a part of," said Ed Desson, General Manager of Anishinabek/Ontario Fisheries Resource Centre.

QUICK FACTS

• During its first three years, the Species at Risk Stewardship fund has supported more than 300 projects across the province.
• Ontario is home to more than 30,000 species of plants and animals.
• More than 180 species are at risk in Ontario.
• Ontario’s Endangered Species Act makes the province a North American leader in species at risk protection and recovery.

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