Tway National Wildlife Area Management Plan, 2016: document information

Acknowledgements

This management plan was developed by Barbara Bleho, Renny W. Grilz and Darcy Henderson of the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment and Climate Change Canada. Thanks to Canadian Wildlife Service employees who were involved in the development or review of the document: Allison Henderson and Michael Fitzsimmons. Special thanks to these individuals for their contributions to the early drafts. The Canadian Wildlife Service also wishes to thank the organizations who agreed to review this document: Ducks Unlimited Canada (Brad Uhrich).

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
Prairies and Northern Region
9250 - 49th Street NW
Edmonton AB TB6 1K5
Environment and Climate Change Canada Protected Areas website

How to cite this document:

Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2016. Tway National Wildlife Area Management Plan. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Prairie Northern Region, [47 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:

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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 more than 12 million hectares 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 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, 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.

Tway National Wildlife Area

Tway National Wildlife Area (NWA) was established in 1978 to facilitate operation of the Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) Tway Lakes Project by securing and improving 96 ha of protected wetlands and uplands for the benefit of waterfowl and other water birds. The DUC Tway Lakes Project was initiated in 1968 after it was noted that the lack of water level control in the Tway wetland complex had a negative effect on waterfowl productivity and that the lack of suitable upland nesting cover had resulted in the under-use of the wetlands for brood rearing. The establishment of Tway NWA secured adjacent upland habitat to meet the objectives of the project. Tway NWA supports high production of waterfowl, shorebirds and associated wetland species, and is particularly noted for the production of diving ducks.

Canada's Prairie Ecozone is among the most modified ecozones in Canada and provides some of the most important habitats for North American migratory waterfowl. Over half of North America's waterfowl and many other water birds breed on the Canadian Prairies and in adjacent states. Over the last 100 years, the majority of natural waterfowl habitat has been drastically altered by agriculture, with many wetlands drained and uplands plowed to produce annual crops. Droughts that cause small wetland basins to dry up exacerbate the negative consequences of land use change on waterfowl habitat. Waterfowl conservation efforts under way at Tway NWA strive to increase the availability of both reliable water and perennial nesting cover. Water levels in the wetland basins are manipulated by DUC staff using a connecting system of artificial ditches and dams along the Carrot River. This water supply from the river helps to maintain water levels and emergent vegetation in the marshes during seasonal or multi-year periods of drought that would otherwise leave the basins dry. The control structures used to manage water levels at Tway NWA have served their useful life and need to be rebuilt or decommissioned.

Habitats at Tway NWA include one managed wetland basin and a portion of a second, which occupy approximately 50% of the property, and a surrounding matrix of planted grasslands, small remnant Fescue grasslands and patches of Aspen forest. In 1971, approximately 20% of the 245-hectare property was agricultural land under cultivation for annual crops. In the 1980s and 1990s, Environment Canada planted the cropland to non-native perennial grass seed mixes to provide a greater area and variety of nesting cover for waterfowl. In the absence of disturbance, much of the remaining native grassland and wetland edges have become invaded by alien invasive species.

Tway NWA supports nearly 140 species of birds, including a significant concentration of breeding and staging migratory water birds such as diving ducks, Canada Geese, Lesser Snow Geese and White-fronted Geese.

Tway NWA was acquired principally because it is an example of high-quality prairie wetlands with upland habitat diversity and high waterfowl productivity potential and is located in an area that has been considerably modified by human activity and continues to be threatened by habitat loss and degradation. In the future, Tway NWA will continue to provide significant breeding habitat for migratory water birds through active management of the upland and wetland habitats. Public access for hunting and wildlife viewing on foot is permitted at Tway NWA.

For greater certainty, nothing in this management plan shall be construed so as 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.

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Date modified:: 2017-07-20

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