Portobello Creek National Wildlife Area Management Plan: chapter 4

4 Goals and Objectives

4.1 Vision

The long-term vision for Portobello Creek National Wildlife Area (NWA) is conservation: the protection and management of habitat for the benefit of native wildlife, particularly waterfowl, wetland birds, species at risk, and flora and fauna restricted to this unique floodplain system.

4.2 Goals and Objectives

Portobello Creek NWA was originally selected to be an NWA to preserve important diversity of wetland habitats for waterfowl. The original conservation priorities for the NWA were, and remain, the management of habitats for wetland birds and rare and unique species. The NWA is designated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as a category 1b protected area, being an area retaining its natural character and influence that is protected and managed to preserve its natural condition. Although the NWA has considerable tourism and public education potential, it has no infrastructure to support such activities, and management of expanded visitation could not be conducted given current resource levels. As such, the NWA is not promoted as a tourism destination or for on-site public education. Public visitation is not restricted, and some renewable and traditional uses such as canoeing, hunting and fishing are allowed.

The goals and objectives for the NWA seek to recreate conditions that would occur under natural ecological processes. These are goals to which Environment and Climate Change Canada aspires and, if achieved, would produce tangible benefits over the long term for habitat and wildlife, particularly migratory birds and species at risk.

Specific goals and objectives are as follows.

Goal 1: Conserve a large contiguous block of habitat particularly for migratory birds and species at risk within the Saint John River ecosystem.

1. Objective: Subject to the availability of acquisition funds and willing vendors, complete the acquisition and consolidation of all 4000 ha, originally identified for inclusion within the area proposed as an NWA.

Goal 2: Restore and manage important habitat and ecosystems, particularly for migratory birds and species at risk within the Saint John River ecosystem.

1. Objective: Reforest recently acquired sites that have been cut, through planting and other site management activities.
2. Objective: Restore Butternut populations within the NWA by planting of disease-resistant Butternut (when they become available) in suitable sites.
3. Objective: Restore floodplain wetlands by removing or minimizing interferences to natural hydrology.

Goal 3: Human activities do not negatively impact the habitat and/or wildlife of Portobello Creek NWA.

1. Objective: Manage visitor activities, such as motorboat use, so that waterfowl and waterbirds are able to feed and roost without disturbance from human activities.
2. Objective: Inform visitors about waterfowl and waterbird ecology and conservation so they can become stewards of our natural heritage.
3. Objective: Monitor and mitigate potential impacts of human activities in the vicinity of the NWA.

Goal 4: Unauthorized and prohibited activities, such as the use of off-road vehicles and large-horsepower watercraft, do not negatively impact the habitat and/or wildlife of Portobello Creek NWA.

1. Objective: Document and report the occurrence of illegal activities within Portobello Creek to the Wildlife Enforcement Division and, where evidence is sufficient, seek enforcement action, thereby reducing or eliminating the occurrence of such activities in the NWA.
2. Objective: Inform potential visitors to Portobello Creek NWA of the regulations governing the NWA.

4.3 Evaluation

Annual monitoring will be performed within the limits imposed by the availability of financial and human resources. The management plan will be reviewed 5 years after its initial approval, and reviewed and updated every 10 years thereafter. The evaluation will take the form of an annual review of monitoring data obtained from the monitoring and research projects outlined below. This monitoring will be used to establish priorities for action and to allocate resources.