Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area Management Plan: chapter 4

4 Goals and objectives

4.1 Vision

The long-term vision for Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area (NWA) is conservation. The NWA is a nationally-significant staging area for migratory birds and waterfowl, and is an international Monarch Butterfly Reserve. Where it does not compromise wildlife management goals; Environment and Climate Change Canada intends to manage the site in a way that allows and encourages public access for the purposes of research, conservation and interpretation in order to foster public understanding and participation in the conservation of this exceptional site.

It is also Environment and Climate Change Canada’s vision that the existing leases providing exclusive access to leased lots for land-based activities to support commercial fishing operations for only the leaseholders who are active, licenced commercial fishers will be renewed at current market standards.

4.2 Goals and objectives

Goal 1: Sustain habitats for the benefit of native migratory species and resident flora and fauna, including species at risk.

Sub-goal 1.1: Maintain and improve upland stopover and breeding habitat for migratory birds and wildlife.

Objectives:

1. Important areas of upland habitat, including woodlands, grasslands, shoreline beaches and cliffs for resident and migrant birds at risk are identified through survey and research.
2. Appropriate action is taken, based on survey and research results (see Section 5.4) in order to manage and protect important upland breeding and stopover habitat for migratory birds, especially species at risk.

Sub-goal 1.2: Maintain grassland habitats in order to retain, and increase where appropriate, dependent resident wildlife and migratory populations, and significant species (e.g., species at risk or those of regional significance).

Objectives:

1. An area of at least 50 ha is identified and actively maintained as grasslands.
2. Within this area, the current diversity of grassland species is maintained or increased, perennial shrub and tree cover remains less than 25%, and grassland communities are dominated by native grass species (e.g., Poverty Grass (Danthonia spicata), Tufted Hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa), Little Bluestem (Schizachryium scoparia)).
3. The extent of available habitat for resident and migrant open-country birds at risk is identified, and maintained or increased in area through active management.

Sub-goal 1.3: Maintain and improve the quality of Great Lakes riparian and inland wetland habitats to sustain use by migratory and resident populations of wildlife, including species at risk.

Objectives:

1. The current extent of wetland habitat, especially for wetland species at risk, is identified, and its areas are maintained or increased.
2. Potential sources of pollution, excess sedimentation or erosion, or invasive species have been eliminated or are being actively managed.

Goal 2: Reduce the impacts of invasive species and feral animals on native biodiversity.

Sub-goal 2.1: Reduce the extent and percent cover of invasive alien plant species.

Objectives:

1. Every five years, map the distribution and percent cover of invasive alien plants to determine areas of concern.
2. Initiate control programs where cover by invasive plant species exceeds 10% of a plant community, and continue control to maintain cover at or below 10%.

Sub-goal 2.2.: Eradicate feral domestic animals within the NWA.

Objective:

1. Continue to monitor the impacts of overabundant wildlife and feral and domestic animals on diversity of native flora and fauna. Maintain management of overabundant wildlife populations, if required, over the long term.

Goal 3: Manage human uses of the NWA to meet current standards and ensure conservation objectives are met.

Sub-goal 3.1: Manage remaining leases (2) at Long Point Harbour to ensure compliance with all federal laws, policies and lease provisions and over time restore affected lands and waters.

Objectives:

1. The activities of seasonal users of the harbour follow federal laws, policies and lease provisions.
2. Restore lands and shoreline areas with terminated leases, so that no anthropogenic structures (including boats, waste materials, etc.) remain.
3. All harbour maintenance activities follow relevant standards.

Sub-goal 3.2: Promote opportunities for responsible public access and use to enhance Canadians’ connection to nature, while managing and monitoring visitor (staff, researchers, the public and partners) activities in the NWA, to ensure a safe environment and to reduce the ecological impacts of human use on the NWA.

Objectives:

1. Coordinate with Federal Wildlife Enforcement personnel for compliance and promotion with respect to Wildlife Area Regulations and the Species at Risk Act, and reduce the number of incidents of prohibited activities within the NWA to no more than five per year.
2. Plan and implement Connecting Canadians to Nature infrastructure (trails, signage, and interpretive displays) in order to increase public support, participation in the conservation of the site, and compliance with regulations and site restrictions.
3. Increase the number of annual visitors from 1,000 (estimate for 2014) to 5,000 by the end of 2020.
4. Legacy issues are resolved in coordination with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Contaminated Sites Program and Department of National Defence’s Unexploded Explosive Ordnance program.

Goal 4: Increase habitat connectivity in the vicinity of the Prince Edward Point NWA, and support regional landscape-level conservation efforts and partnerships.

Sub-goal 4.1: Consolidate and, where possible, expand the protected area land base to increase connectivity of habitats and migration corridors.

Objectives:

1. Lands adjacent to the NWA are identified, prioritized and protected through acquisition or other means.
2. Ensure Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service (ECCC-CWS) capacity to maintain relationships with government, non-government organizations, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation, and stakeholders, to participate in community and stakeholder meetings and coordinate with partners on shared issues and management approaches.

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.