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COFA_AGM_2002

Feature Article May 29

Feature Article May 29, 2002

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COFAs AGM features varied guest presentersby Will CybulskiOn Tuesday evening, May 21, the Conservationists of Frontenac Addington held their Annual General Meeting at the Barrie Township Hall here, and the event saw a number of interesting presenters with subjects related to what COFA is all about.

Bob Walroth, area supervisor for the MNR, told the audience of about 30 that, despite the jeopardy that had been created by the OPSEU strike, local trout stocking programs had been successfully completed, lake trout excepted. No lakes in the Bancroft district received lake trout stocks this year. Walroth alluded to a number of media articles dedicated to the subject, particularly that this is the edge of the southern range for lakers, there are shorter seasons and slot sizes here, and the species is prone to being wiped out by water-warming changes.

The MNR is committed to assessing the three lakes that have been stocked with walleye fry over the past 3 years by COFA. Walroth suggested COFA should look at where it wants to be down the road, and spoke of an Adopt-A-Lake project.

A lively discussion then took place, centered on the decline in the coming seasons adult moose tags. For Wildlife Management Unit 61, the number of tags has dropped from 75 to 45, and the MNR spokesman attributed that to more efficient hunters who have had increasing success rates. Said Walroth The success numbers go up, so the tag numbers go down. We end up with fewer tags and more hunters, so it is a catch-22 situation. The kill rate is up to well over 50% with adult tags, and more calves are being taken. The recommended harvest is 25% calves, and it now stands at some 60-70 %. Controlled hunts are always a consideration, and there has been some talk on splitting districts. Walroth explained that a moose inventory fly-over hadnt been carried out locally since 1998, so the herd estimates that the MNR are working with are probably conservative. We hope to do a count this winter, he concluded.

Kaladars Andy Anderson spoke of the leaps and bounds with which the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliances mandate has grown. This all started out 12 years ago with people just talking, he said, while displaying the latest Alliance brochure, and today we are looking at over 600 kilometers of multi-use trails. The program recently received a $272,000 O-Star grant, so we will be looking at different ways to promote the trails and develop tourism. If the trails are organized, property owners are brought on board, and there are user-pay agreements, that seems to work best. The trails stay clean, and there are less problems with road vehicles and trail bikes. Anderson stated that input is needed from many user groups, and he finished up his presentation by saying that this is a win-win situation, but it will take quite a while to organize.

John McCance, who is the Managing Director of Brighter Futures of Kingston, and is a mining engineer as well as a recent COFA member, enlightened those in attendance about the conflict that has come up with mining claims being staked on privately-held lands. At one time, McCance was the Chief Geophysicist for Ontario, and he provided some background on previous mining attempts in this area. There was sporadic activity until the 80s, but sustaining that activity was not a practical alternative. Whatever had gone on in this area was pretty carefully put away, said McCance, so there is really no threat seen to the population. There are new rules that reflect a lot more professionalism in the industry today. We (his organization) have a team of 6 or 7 people who work with land owners for best-use practices. There is representation from the fields of real estate, geology, environmentalists and engineering. McCance suggested that the conflict that came out of the Bobs Lake area was just opportunistic and it will not likely hold. The big money today is in gold and diamonds, he said, but as for this area, I see it being in graphite and cranberries.

In a final order of business, COFA adopted its slate of Directors for the upcoming year; those being Wayne Manion for Ardoch, Dave Dacuk for Cloyne/Skootamatta, Ed Giffen representing Coxvale, Denbighs interests handled by Phil Platz, Fred Perry from Fernleigh and Ron Pethick for Flinton, Ken Black on board for Harlowe, Steve Smart taking care of Mazinaw, Mike Bolton in for Northbrook, Charley Young acting on behalf of Plevna and the Kaladar seat remaining vacant.

With the participation of the Government of Canada