Branch History

The Souris & Area Branch of the PEl Wildlife Federation has been actively involved with all aspects of watershed improvement and management since 1987. With funding assistance from Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP) in partnership with the Employment Development Agency, Eastern Kings Health Authority (Job Creation Program), Human Resources & Development (Summer Career Placement), PEl Jobs for youth Program and the Atlantic Salmon Federation, they are able to continue their efforts in 1996.

At present the group as eight adult workers (EDA) who have been working in the North Lake system and have completed regular inspection and maintenance along the lower 4.0 km of its length which involved repairs/modifications to water flow modifiers, selective removal of in-stream debris, adjustments to existing brush mats, installation of approximately 250 new brush mats and access trail defmition.

There are seven adult workers (JCP) who, beginning in early June, planted 7,000 tree seedlings in the Big Brook, North Lake, Naufrage and Bear River systems. Since then they have been working on the Bear River system and have completed regular inspection and maintenance along the upper 3.0 km of its length which involved selective removal of in-stream debris, adjustments to existing brush mats, installation of approximately 75 new brush mats and access trail definition.

Three students (HRDC/SCP & JFY) are working to complete a fish habitat survey along a 8-10 km length of Big Brook (Fortune River System), from its junction with the Grove Pine system to headwaters.

With coordinated assistance from Souris Wildlife volunteers, 4,000 speckled trout are being reared at the Hay River satellite facility and are scheduled for release into area rivers in the fall of 1996.

The Branch gratefully acknowledges the technical guidance and financial assistance in the amount of $10,000 which has been provided by the new "Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program" to enable us to sponsor this 1996 project and continue with our environmental improvements.

Susan Saville has a huge job keeping track of all the Wildlife Habitat Improvements happening in eastern PEl this summer. She is the liason for the wildlife division of the provincial government and all of the local community groups who are working on watershed and wildlife improvement. Presently, five organizations employ over 26 people through a variety of government programs and are working on a large number of waterways in the area.

-A consistant volunteer group who belong to the Souris and Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation are again putting together delectable delights of the wild. This event promises to be as good as it has ever been. Under the watclifull guidance of Dinner Chairperson Lori MacDonald, volunteers are gathering various culinary delights taken from nature's harvest."Everythings wild but the gravy" quips Mickey Roy MacDonald, Lori's father, who is the President of the local wildlife braneh.

The event at St.Mary's Parish Hall, Souris is scheduled for Sunday, December 15th beginning at 4 p.m. with a "no host" cocktails happy hour. During the happy hour various appetifs such as mussels and smoked morsels ofl'ish will be presented to whet the appetite before sitting down to the heavy stuff. The usual fanfare of wild goose. duck, rabbit. grouse. trout. salmon will be available. It's the non-resident type of game that takes initiative and a little arm twisting to obtain. Items like moose. deer. and buffalo are a little harder to come by. This year local hunter Donnie Birt donated a whole deer he bagged during a fall hunt on the mainland. Every year a certain type of game is presented with no identification to allow patrons to guess what it is. "Ideas are running out because we have gone the whole run of unusual types of game.

This year could be a real surprise !" Raffle items, and excellent limited edition prints will be auctioned off by Ed Cheverie. "Hearing Ed auction is worth the price of the dinner" quoted a volunteer.

The annual awards sponsored by the branch will be presented during this dinner. All proceeds go towards various enchancement projects. Tickets are available on a first-come first-serve basis trom Justin McKinnon. For more information or anyone wishing to donate time and game to this worthwhile endeavour can call Mickie MacDonald or a member of the Souris & Area Branch of The P.E.I. Wildlite Federation.

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