7.0 Wetland Dynamics on the Long Point Bay

7.6 Potential management actions to conserve Long Point Bay and its associated wetlands

Anticipated future land use trends in the Long Point region include an increase in the number of cottages and marinas, and concomitant decreases in wetland area. However, with good management policy and educational programs, cottagers and recreation based activities need not directly conflict with the sustainability of Long Point's wetlands. Without appropriate directives and a holistic management agreement, incremental wetland loss will continue through infilling, dredging and reclamation. We need to take notice of the extensive and expensive marsh management techniques that have had to be employed throughout western Lake Erie due to substantial loss of wetlands. There are definite, but as yet unknown, limits to the amount of wetland loss and degradation that Long Point can sustain without suffering irreversible damage. Therefore, rather than responding to crisis, we must learn from experience and adopt an anticipatory approach for Long Point. Cooperative education programs that stress the ecological function and role of Long Point as an international waterfowl staging area, and its importance for other forms of wildlife and the local economy, are essential. Municipal and provincial authorities must be fully aware of the importance of wetland preservation and take suitable site-specific measures where necessary. Only community commitment will preserve what remains of this finite resource and prevent a situation that requires extensive wetland rehabilitation in the future. As it stands, Long Point is a model for the compatibility of wetlands and people.

Bayly (1980) suggested that it is imperative that priority wetlands such as Long Point be maintained, by law, as inviolate entities. However, as a substantial portion of Long Point's wetlands are held in private ownership, this strategy is probably inappropriate. Consequently, the best way to ensure the long-term continued existence of these privately owned wetlands is through conservation agreements with landowners (Bob Clay, personal communication).