Newsletter 19

Since the beginning of August, the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Coalition on Sustainability has been working with the Souris and Area of Branch PEI Wildlife Federation and has developed a system for monitoring coastal zones. This is the first project of its kind for our group and the Coalition is very proud to be a mentor in this process. The Coastal Erosion Monitoring Project is a good start for our group to collect data and make beach profiles. The two sites selected are, one at the cliffs at East Point and the other is in the Little Harbour Beach area.
With climate change, coastal storms have become more frequent and stronger. They have a huge impact on coastal areas. This erosion problem is now a problem that can't be ignored. These types of projects will help to better understand the dynamics of these sectors of the Island.

Nadine LaPlante from Southern Gulf Coalition

In November, a power point presentation will be developed by the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Coalition of Sustainability. They will consult and partner with provincial literacy programs in order to ensure that the content is understandable to the general public. It is hoped that it will motivates local environmental groups to take action toward this problem. Educational materials will also be developed to share with members of the public, in particular, land owners who are often uninformed on proper erosion protection measures.

The Souris & Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation in conjunction with the Basin Head Advisory Council will be developing a watershed management plan for Basin Head. There will be an open meeting to members of the public who have an interest in this project in November, at the Eastern Kings Rec. Centre. Souris Wildlife Branch would love to see as much involvement in this project as possible from the members of the community. Flyers will be sent out prior to the meeting giving dates and times. Attendance to these publics meetings is strongly urged.
Watershed management plans are becoming essential in all watersheds and as they assist greatly in attaining additional funds from various sources.

CAMP Program

the past two summers the staffs of Souris Wildlife Branch has worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) by assisting with CAMP (Community Aquatic Monitoring Program).

This program is another tool that helps to evaluate the health of an estuary. The health of Souris River has been evaluated over the past two years. There are six locations: Adjacent to CTMA Ferry Terminal, east of Souris Causeway, near the homes of : Paul Gallant, Joe Carter, Tim Campbell and Paul Deveau. These sites are evaluated using the method of beach seining. Samples of the aquatic life are recorded by species and population. The variations of species and populations are indicators of the health of the estuary.

Souris Wildlife staff beach seining

In addition to the species evaluation a comprehensive water sampling is a key component to CAMP. Water temperature, salinity, and oxygen levels are all recorded.
The following is a complete listing of all species that were recorded in 2008 on Souris River: Black Spotted Stickleback (707), Three Spined Stickleback (619), Four Spined Stickleback (30), Nine Spined Stickleback (5), Mummichog (3023), Atlantic Silverside (4553) Flounder (53) Shrimp Species (12145), Crab Species (668) and other species (68). This gives a total of 21866 counted which indicates that Souris River has one of the healthiest estuaries on PEI.

The following picture describes the management area of PEI that the Souris Wildlife Branch attempts to manage. This geographical area represents approximately 12% of PEI and is presently the largest management area on PEI.
Our crews have spent time in the following watersheds in this management area: East Lake, North Lake, Campbell's Creek, Priest Pond, Cross River, Hay River, Naufrage, Cow River, Souris River, Rollo Bay Creek, Fortune River and Black Pond.

As the picture depicts, our crew are varied in age with lots of experience and youthful enthusiasm. Our organization is very pleased with efforts put forth by these fine individuals during this past summer.

Back row left to right: Fred Cheverie,
Barry Wilson, Luke Robichaud, Robbie
Outhouse,Anthony MacDonald, Arthur
Campbell.
Front row left to right:
Michael Jackyln, Tim Brothers, Jeff
MacLellan, Calvin MacIntyre and
Mitchell LesPerance.
Missing from photo:
Chad Mooney, Allan McCormack
and Waldron Leard.

The Souris and Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation had an exhibit booth at the 2009 Dundas Plowing Match. The booth was manned by a group of volunteers from the Souris & Area Branch with Waldron Leard being the leader.
Many visits were made to the booth and an exhibit of stuffed wildlife specimens were available plus photos of the the 2009 Wildlife Photo contest were presented on a technical computer frame. A similiar presentation is planned for the Souris Exhibition.

Archived picture of the late
Robert Dixon measuring the
“Big Tree”

Within the Eastern Kings forest, there is a survivor. An American Elm stands tall, defying every stress and strain that was thrown at her over centuries. Well over 500 years old, this tree was alive and standing tall before the first European explorers, led by Jacques Cartier, sighted the shore at Campbell's Cove. Known locally as the "Big Tree", she is not a big by global standards. A Redwood or a Sequoia would make this tree look quite small. By P.E.I. standards, this ancestor of many, stands out. Her limbs appear to envelop all that surrounds her as a mother or grandmother would cuddle a small child. Well anchored she survived the "night of the 100 barns" and hurricanes such as Juan. She lived through bitterly cold temperatures and avoided destruction from lightning strikes.
This tree was charred but came though the 1727 forest fire that raged in the area. She did not disintegrate into ashes to heat a pioneer home or to cook a meal. The tree has not experienced an axe to build a house or barn. She did not fall to be milled for the 19th century ship-building industry. Man's attention, thankfully, has been to conserve. She is a vital part of the eco system on the land she stands. Broken limbs and branches decay on the forest floor. They regenerate and fertilize the forest as whole. Insects bore into the bark. They provide food for wildlife such as the woodpecker family. The tree is a home, shelter and even a nursery for the animals of the forest – squirrels, foxes, snowshoe hares and raccoons. The odd coyote probably has trotted by. This tree possibly had a bear rub its backside on the trunk or a lynx survey its surroundings from a limb on high.

Despite being the senior of all P.E.I. senior citizens, her internal pump continues to function perfectly. It looks to be a long way for ground water to reach the leaves sprouting and reaching for the sky – perhaps to heaven.

This tree was described with eloquence and reverence in a homily during a funeral service. The "big tree" is appreciated - and even loved. She is safe-guarded carefully by the owners of the privately owned property. Their stewardship includes allowing her space to thrive and by keeping the area pristine. She is not a tourist attraction, nor should she be. It doesn't matter if she is the oldest, tallest or the biggest tree. It matters that she is there and she is continually treasured and cared for. Not only should she capture our imagination with thoughts of the past, but she is an example that what can be achieved by each and every one of us. She had clean water, nutrients, shelter and care from her fellow creatures. This is a tree that should cause us to think. What matters is that she continues to stand, to be an example that reaches high.

For several years there have been sightings in Eastern Kings of this elusive animal. Shying away from human contact, they appear to be of no harm to humans. A surprising and and up close and personal encounter on September 10th at McVane's Dam Bothwell showed the majesty and power of this animal.
Sightings have also been reported in Bayfield, East Baltic, East Lake, New Harmony, Elmira North Lake, Priest Pond, and Pat Robertson's yard in Kingsboro. Sightings have also being recorded in Western PEI at North Cape, Montrose and Tignish areas.

Waldron Leard had one appear with what he believes to be a cormorant in its mouth about 30 feet from him. The cat dropped the bird, snarled, then took the bird and ran off quickly. Waldron struggled to ready his camera for a photo but did not have time.

Waldron describes the cat as greyish but perhaps more brownish and it had what looked like spots. The ears stood straight and were darker in colour.

It had whiskers and whiskey -coloured eyes. One ear looked like it was chewed/scarred/whatever because it didn't look whole, which would be an indentifying feature. Waldron describes the cat to be about 2 feet high and about 3-3 feet in length. He saw a tail maybe as long as his thumb.

This animal appears to be a part of the area's ecosystem. While there are sightings, it is very difficult to photograph these cats. If you are lucky, the Souris and Area Branch is eager to have photographs sent for display on our website. Please describe fully the location with the photo as well as the date. Paw prints also would be interesting. For interest, please report sightings and any stories you have to Waldron Leard.

I have received numerous inquires in recent weeks regarding the possibility of the Souris Area Branch hosting a Gun Safety Course. Our Branch is willing to be the host but individuals must register and pay at Access PEI. If a large number of applicants register from the eastern area of PEI in the next few weeks than a course will be conducted in this area.

It was pleasurable to see the special on CBC Compass and hear the interviews on CBC Radio on the release of approximately 4-5000 Atlantic Salmon in Souris River. It promoted a very positive image to the Eastern Kings Area and especially to the Souris & Area Branch.

Nothing succesful usually happens without planning and money. Congratulations to the staff the Souris & Area Branch as well as the support of the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Fund.

Most of these salmon were larger than we expected so most will leave the Souris River as “smolts” next spring and not return until the fall of 2011 or the following year.

The Souris & Area Branch are extremely fortunate to have the expertise of Dr. Daryl Guignon (UPEI) and Todd Dupuis (Regional Director of the Atlantic Salmon Federation) who generously donated their time and advice in making this project happen.

I would like to everyone to grab their digital cameras and get out and take advantage of our wonderful fall colours and enter your photos in our 2009 Photo Contest.

Waldron informs me that we are well ahead of last year's pace with photo entries.

You could make this a family outing as the categories include activity for elementary and high school students as well as adults.

Hurricane Bill and Tropical storm Danny have passed and left various amounts of water in numerous districts in Eastern Kings. It seemed to vary from about 60-100 ml of water in the hardest hit areas within each storm. Most rivers showed some signs of redness with Black Pond and upper Fortune area appeared to be the worst with severe washouts of roads. The climate change that we are encountering over the past few years indicates that we tend to get higher amounts of rainfall in shorter periods of time.

Credit has to be given to area farmers for choosing to go with larger grassed headlands at the ends of their potato drills and basically offering larger grassed buffer zones to prevent soil from entering streams. Many potato farmers also choose to use “dammer diker” attachments to their cultivators that cut divots between drills that catch water and slows the run-off.

It takes these types of stewardship efforts to enable our streams to run as clear as possible.

All pictures appearing on this site or its associated flickr account are the property of the photographers and the Souris & Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation.
They may not be copied without permission of the photographer and the Souris & Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation.