The Souris River Watershed Management Plan was presented to the public on Dec. 13/2006 at Souris Ski Club. It was subject to a few minor changes and fully endorsed by the community. This is the first watershed management plan on PEI to be fully endorsed by the community. Limited copies have been made available at Souris Access PEI and Souris Public Library. Those that have internet access can view it at Souris Watershed Plan. The Canada – PEI National Water Program that funded this venture has expired as of Jan.31/2007. Applications to various funding sources have been completed and we are presently awaiting funds to implement this plan. We are very confident that this plan will assist us greatly in receiving the necessary funding. We have received requests to make presentations at various meetings and symposiums in various locations on PEI and within the Maritimes. This is a total credit to the participants that gave the time and effort in developing the Souris Watershed Management Plan.

Agri-Environmental Agrologist Erica is the eldest daughter of Kevin and Nancy MacIsaac of Bear River, and she currently resides in Little Pond. Erica graduated from UPEI in 2005 with a BSC, and has successfully completed her first year of the BED program at UPEI. She has taken a yearlong leave of absence from the BED program so she could accept the position of agri-environmental agrologist for the Souris Watershed area, as her contract does not expire until March 31, 2008. Her position mainly involves working with farmers in the Souris Watershed area to incorporate beneficial management practices. This involves practices from both the Green Cover and EG&S programs including Environmental Farm Plans, nutrient management demonstrations, alternate watercourse structures, etc. Erica is very excited about her new job as it involves two of the things she loves: farming, and the great outdoors. Erica grew up on a farm and has grown to enjoy the occupation, and she is outdoors any chance she can get! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact her at (902) 583-2180 or (902) 940-3229.

Family Fishing Day

President Paul Campbell joined the Shane MacIsaac and Family for a photo at the 2006 Family Fishing day. The Souris & Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation will be hosting their Annual "Family Fishing Day" at Rollo Bay Pond on Sunday May 27th with the rain date June 3/2007. The Souris Branch is exceptionally pleased to have UPSE (Union of Public Sector Employees) as our official sponsor. The pond will be stocked, and a free barbeque will be offered. Take your kids, grandparents or whoever to come out and experience the fishing, laughter and hot dogs. The event will begin at 12:00pm and end at 4:00pm and volunteers from the Souris & Area Branch and UPSE will be on hand. No licenses will be required. For farther information contact Fred Cheverie at 687-3436 or Paul Campbell at 687-4326.

Illegal Dumping - Gowan Brae (East Branch)

It becomes disheartening to clean a stream for fish passage and return later to find some careless person has dumped their garbage alongside and in the stream. In the picture, we found an oil stove deposited in Souris River with a chesterfield, chairs and kids toys nearby. Depending on the materials dumped and other circumstances, maximum fines can reach $10,000. Unfortunately, the property owner can be held responsible even when they didn't do the activity, which usually leads to conflict among neighbours. We have a wonderful system of getting rid of most of our garbage with our green/black bins. We also have our recycling blue bag system. Our Dingwells Mills Depot accepts our appliances for free and other products at a reasonable fee. We are paying for this system within our taxes so it makes sense to use it. It is everyone's duty to play their part in making our Island free of litter and debris.

Ecological Goods And Services (EG&S)

The Souris & Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation recently received confirmation from the Hon. Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister For The Canadian Wheat Board that they have received $354,000 to jointly coordinate with the Trout River Environmental Committee an agricultural pilot project. This project will result in financial incentives that will cover costs for agricultural producers within the Souris and Founds River watersheds that undertake enhanced environment protection activities. Details of this program will be released when the contribution agreement is signed.

Congratulations

We are exceptionally pleased to have two farms in the Souris River Watershed recognized provincially with awards relating to outstanding environmental practices.

Townshend Potato Company, a family farm operated by Peter and Lynn Townshend, is the 2007 winner of the Gilbert R. Clements Award for Excellence in Environmental Farm Planning. This award is given annually to a farm enterprise, which is economically viable, environmentally sound and socially responsible in the production of high quality food from a sustainable system. Pictured above is Peter and Lynn accepting the award from MLA Fred McCardle.

Lily Pond Farms of Bear River has received a 2007 Soil Conservationist of the Year Award, which was presented to Blair and Kevin MacIsaac by MLA Wayne Collins. This award is judged by directors from the PEI Soil and Crop Association, and given annually to farms that initiate practices that conserve or protect our soil and water resources.

To view the citations of both of these awards visit our Good News page. Souris & Area Branch and the Souris River Watershed Management Committee congratulate both farms for their outstanding achievements.

Souris & Area Branch - President Paul Campbell's Comments

We are looking forward to another season of enhancing many of our pristine rivers. We hope to clean North Lake, Priest Pond, Cross River and do maintenance on Souris, Naufrage and Fortune Rivers. These rivers have historical salmon runs and will receive first priority.We are exceptionally pleased to have Waldron Leard developing our website which will have it's official launch in the fall. We are developing a Digital Photo Contest ! with prizes, which is open to all ages. Start taking photos of wildlife and nature now with specifics to be unveiled through posters, media, school presentations and on our website. All photos must be taken within the SRHS district with a location and date for reference. We are waiting for many of our projects to be approved and work will begin as soon as we get the necessary dollars. Have a great summer and do your part in taking care of our environment.

Souris River Management Committee - Chairman Paul Deveau

It is great to have the development of the Souris River Watershed Plan behind us and it now time to move to the next step which is implementation. Our Coordinator Fred Cheverie has been busy over the winter months developing projects and filling out application forms to acquire the necessary funds to ensure that we can begin to implement our immediate strategies. Our applications should be received more favourably with the development of our plan. We expect to see much more water testing done in our streams in the Souris River Watershed to develop new data on nitrate levels and other chemicals. Have a great summer.

Coordinators Comments - Fred Cheverie

In recent weeks the report on the Public Consultations on Managing Land and Water on a Watershed Basis That was prepared by The Environmental Advisory Council was released. It gave a reflection of the many public presentations made to this Council last winter. Forty-three recommendations were put forward and an additional $750,000 was announced for implementation. We have some very serious environmental problems that are presenting themselves not only to our Island but also to our planet. It is imperative that everyone educates themselves on these issues.