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An Environmental Folio has been prepared for the Long Point area which summarizes a substantial amount of information to be accessible to the local people. The Folio gives people the information that they need to understand and make better decisions about environment and development in the Long Point area.
Much information is often available for places like Long Point but it is often scattered in scientific publications and other reports. The information also is often written in ways not understandable to the people. The Folio is an attempt to help deal with this information challenge in a part of Ontario that is provincially, nationally and internationally recognized for its wetlands, dunes, waterfowl and other wildlife as well as for its long history of fishing, hunting, and other recreational activities. Hopefully the Folio will serve as a model for other areas.
Information collection was facilitated by a series of meetings with government agencies and citizen groups as well as public presentations, open houses and consultations with professionals in universities and public agencies. The sources of data are widespread and cross traditional academic, agency and interest group lines. Understanding what we know is as important as understanding what we do not know. Gaps in knowledge must be identified to dispel misunderstandings and allow funding and effort to focus on needed research.
The Folio project is seen as a kind of scientific and civic forum for promoting greater understanding and more informed and effective decision making for the unique Long Point Biosphere Reserve and surrounding area. The Folio is prepared in such a way that information can be added as time makes this desirable. The Folio consists of 16 brief chapters as noted below.
Chapter 1. An Environmental Folio for the Long Point Biosphere Reserve and Area (Nelson et al.)
Chapter 2. Evolution of the Long Point Area: Geology, Glaciation, Climate, Hydrology, and Current Processes (Ron Stenson)
Chapter 3. Human History of the Long Point Area (Susan Dakin and Andy Skibicki)
Chapter 4. Historical Economies of the Long Point Area (Steve Wilcox)
Chapter 5. Local Economies of the Long Point Area (Steve Wilcox)
Chapter 6. Fisheries of Lake Erie and Long Point Area (Brian Craig) Chapter 7. Forests of the Long Point Area (Karen Beazley and J.G. Nelson)
Chapter 8. Birds of the Long Point Area (Ted Cheskey)
Chapter 9. Waterfowl and Long Point’s Inner Bay (Kerrie Wilcox and Richard Knapton)
Chapter 10. Mammals of the Long Point Area (Kerrie Wilcox)
Chapter 11. Herpetofauna of Ontario, with Special Emphasis on Long Point and the North Shore of Lake Erie (Anthony Zammit)
Chapter 12. Land Cover Change in the Long Point Area (Patrick Lawrence, Karen Beazley and Chi Ling Yeung)
Chapter 13. Water Quality of Long Point Bay: Issues and Areas of Concern for Planning and Management (Anne Marie Downey, Silvia Radovich and Patrick Lawrence)
Chapter 14. Shoreline Flooding and Erosion Hazards in the Long Point Area (Patrick Lawrence and J.G. Nelson)
Chapter 15. Climate Change and Long Point Bay: a Preliminary Analysis (Tamara Staples)
Chapter 16. Land Management in the Long Point Area (Andrew Skibicki)
More information can be obtained from the Heritage Resource Centre, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1. Phone (519) 885-1211 (2072). Thanks are offered to the people who helped with the Folio. We are grateful to organizations which gave financial support: the Royal Canadian Geographic Society; the Long Point Foundation; the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve Foundation; the Donner Foundation’; and the Laidlaw Foundation.
This work, nearing completion, is designed partly for educational purposes but more for use by all levels ofgovernment, by professionals and by other individuals concerned with planning and management of the L.P. area However, the report contains a wealth of information valuable to the average citizen who would simply like to learn more about this amazing area, so significant that it has been designated by UNESCO as one of the six Biosphere Reserves in Canada. This publication will have, in addition to an introductory chapter setting forth the concept and evolution of the project, 14 chapters, dealing with the following topics: Long Point and the Great Lakes: an Earth Sciences Perspective; Human History; Historical Economies; Recent Economies; Fisheries of Lake Erie and Long Point; Forested Areas; Birds; Staging Waterfowl; The Herpetofauna of Ontario; Analysis of Land Cover Change; Water Quality; Shoreline Flooding and Erosion Hazards; Climatic Change; and Institutional and Land Tenure History. To reach the present stage of development of the Folio, HRC, in cooperation with LPWBRF, sought to identify key issues and topics by holding 3 public open houses, holding workshops and consulting informed individuals of the area. Eighteen background reports were circulated to the Board of Directors of LPWBRF, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the L.P. Region Conservation Authority and various individuals. This resulted in the many changes that are to appear in the 15 chapters of the final work. Perusal of this list of topics will show how far the University has cast its net in assembling data from the distant past to the present, with emphasis on the significance of past changes. Many maps and graphs are provided to help readers grasp the magnitude of the changes. The University is still looking for pictures to illustrate different aspects of Long Points natural or cultural features, history or character. Anyone with significant material of this nature should contact Keri Wilcox, HRC, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont. N2L 3G1 (phone 519-888-4555) or send material to her. This ambitious Folio project, begun in 1992, has been supported by the Royal Canadian Geographic Society (major donor), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Laidlaw Foundation, the Long Point Foundation for Conservation and LPWBRF.
