Conservation Priorities -- News and Success Stories
Gaining Momentum

Thanks to presentations at several conferences, including the FON Southern Ontario Woodlands Conference and the Society of Canadian Ornithologists annual meeting, awareness of the priority-setting framework is spreading.  Municipalities such as Halton, Middlesex and the City of London are using the lists of priority species to inform decision making and to assist with the identification of natural heritage features.   Similarly, forestry companies, mineral aggregate operations, and private landowners are using the report as a tool to enhance land management.  Perhaps the most successful application of the southern Ontario Conservation Priorities project has been its adoption by the Grand River Conservation Authority as described below.

Priority species of the Grand River basin
In the fall of 1998, the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) hosted a natural heritage symposium, the goal of which was to foster awareness of conservation initiatives in southwestern Ontario and to promote collaboration among participants. At this symposium, Bird Studies Canada (BSC) presented an early prototype of a priority-setting system for identifying bird species of conservation concern. As the system evolved, the GRCA and BSC decided to join forces in a project that would identify significant species within the Grand River basin and make recommendations for conserving avian biodiversity in the watershed. The project has been a great success, with the GRCA using the significant species lists and related materials as input to their Watershed Forest Plan, which is currently in progress. For full project details, a report is available for viewing and printing.

Download the main report (471 K PDF File) and the technical appendices (527 K PDF) or take a quick look at the Grand River basin's list of priority species. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required for viewing the report.

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