John Lusby Marsh National Wildlife Area Management Plan, 2016: document information

Document information

Acknowledgements

This management plan was developed by Colin M. MacKinnon of the Canadian Wildlife Service, Atlantic Region of Environment and Climate Change Canada. Thanks to Canadian Wildlife Service employees who were involved in the development or review of the document: Kevin Davidson, Al Hanson and Andrew Kennedy.

Copies of this plan are available at the following addresses:

Environment and Climate Change Canada
Public Inquiries Centre
7th Floor, Fontaine Building
200 Sacré-Coeur Boulevard
Gatineau QC K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-997-2800
Toll Free: 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only)
Email: ec.enviroinfo.ec@canada.ca Environment and Climate Change Canada
Canadian Wildlife Service
Atlantic Region
17 Waterfowl Lane
Sackville NB E4L 1G6
Environment and Climate Change Canada Protected Areas Website

How to cite this document

Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2016. John Lusby Marsh National Wildlife Area Management Plan. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Atlantic Region, [40 pp.]

Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials in this publication, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission from Environment and Climate Change Canada's copyright administrator. To obtain permission to reproduce Government of Canada materials for commercial purposes, apply for Crown Copyright Clearance by contacting:

Environment and Climate Change Canada
Public Inquiries Centre
7th Floor, Fontaine Building
200 Sacré-Coeur Boulevard
Gatineau QC K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-997-2800
Toll Free: 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only)
Email: ec.enviroinfo.ec@canada.ca

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About Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Protected Areas and Management Plans

What are Environment and Climate Change Canada Protected Areas?

Environment and Climate Change Canada establishes marine and terrestrial National Wildlife Areas for the purposes of conservation, research and interpretation. National Wildlife Areas are established to protect migratory birds, species at risk, and other wildlife and their habitats. National Wildlife Areas are established under the authority of the Canada Wildlife Act and are, first and foremost, places for wildlife. Migratory Bird Sanctuaries are established under the authority of the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 and provide a refuge for migratory birds in the marine and terrestrial environment.

What is the size of the Environment and Climate Change Canada Protected Areas network?

The current Protected Areas Network consists of 54 National Wildlife Areas and 92 Migratory Bird Sanctuaries comprising close to 12 million ha across Canada.

What is a Management Plan?

A management plan provides the framework in which management decisions are made. They are intended to be used by Environment and Climate Change Canada staff to guide decision making, notably with respect to permitting. Management is undertaken in order to maintain the ecological integrity of the protected area and to maintain the attributes for which the protected area was established. Environment and Climate Change Canada prepares a management plan for each protected area in consultation with First Nations, the public and other stakeholders.

A management plan specifies activities that are allowed and identifies other activities that may be undertaken under the authority of a permit. It may also describe the necessary improvements needed in the habitat, and specify where and when these improvements should be made. A management plan identifies Aboriginal rights and allowable practices specified under land claims agreements. Further, measures carried out for the conservation of wildlife must not be inconsistent with any law respecting wildlife in the province in which the protected area is situated.

What is Protected Area Management?

Management includes monitoring wildlife, maintaining and improving wildlife habitat, periodic inspections of facilities, enforcement of regulations, as well as the maintenance of facilities and infrastructure. Research is also an important activity in protected areas; hence, Environment and Climate Change Canada staff carries out or coordinates research in some sites.

The series

All of the National Wildlife Areas are to have a management plan. All of these management plans will be initially reviewed 5 years after the approval of the first plan, and every 10 years thereafter.

To learn more

To learn more about Environment and Climate Change Canada’s protected areas, please visit our website at Protected Areas or contact the Canadian Wildlife Service in Ottawa.

John Lusby Marsh National Wildlife Area

The 600 ha John Lusby Marsh National Wildlife Area (NWA) is the largest continuous salt marsh in the Bay of Fundy. With the majority of salt marsh habitat in the Bay of Fundy lost to infilling and coastal development or dyked for agriculture, John Lusby Marsh NWA represents close to 10% of the total area of salt marsh in the Bay of Fundy. This triangular-shaped NWA is located 1 km southwest of Amherst, Nova Scotia. It is bounded to the west by Cumberland Basin, to the northeast by the La Planche Marsh, and to the southeast by the Amherst Point Ridge, an elongated peninsula of uplands. The upland parcels bordering on John Lusby Marsh NWA consist predominantly of woodlands, rural dwellings and small farms that border the marshes.

The John Lusby Marsh NWA was, until recently, very important as one of the principal early-spring staging areas for migrant North Atlantic Population of Canada Geese in the Atlantic Region, with over 5000 birds recorded in the mid-1900s (Watson 1965; Barkhouse 1985; Barrow 1985). During the period 1990-2010, the number of Canada Geese using the NWA has dwindled considerably, although the regional breeding population of "Giant" Canada Geese has markedly increased. It is believed that the migrant Canada Geese have altered their traditional migratory pathways in favour of stopping grounds on Prince Edward Island where more farmlands and more abundant food sources can be found. However, the NWA holds significant value to other waterfowl and shorebird species. A diversity of duck species use the area for spring and fall staging. Shorebirds congregate on the marsh from late July until September during their fall migration.

This area was dyked, ditched and drained for over two centuries until a series of storms in the late 1930s and early 1940s destroyed much of this infrastructure and repairs were not considered economical. Much of the land was abandoned, no longer used as farmland, and quickly reverted back to its original salt marsh habitat. As such, this wetland is a significant source of nutrients to the adjacent aquatic system as the turbid waters of the macro-tidal Cumberland Basin limit phytoplankton production.

The importance of this area to wildlife, together with the nearby Chignecto NWA and wetlands on the Chignecto Isthmus, led to the site’s being proposed for protection as an NWA in 1966.

John Lusby Marsh NWA was established to protect the wetland habitat within the John Lusby Marsh NWA through protected area designation. Biological and geological processes will be allowed to develop through natural means within the salt marsh.

John Lusby Marsh NWA was established to provide secure protection for the largest remaining tract of salt marsh in the Bay of Fundy. This goal is in accordance with the document A Wildlife Policy for Canada. This policy states that the goal for an NWA is:

At the international level, John Lusby Marsh NWA is classified under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature criteria for protected areas as a Category IV protected area. The protected area is managed mainly for conservation of habitat and species. The primary focus of this site is to ensure the maintenance of native species, their habitats and biotic communities. Active management may not be required for the sustainability of John Lusby Marsh NWA.

The site is not promoted as a tourism destination or for on-site public education. Public visitation, although not promoted, is not restricted. Traditional activities such as wildlife viewing, hunting and trapping are allowed and are subject to applicable federal and provincial regulations.

For greater certainty, nothing in this management plan shall be construed to abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for existing Aboriginal or treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada by the recognition and affirmation of those rights in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.