Private land stewardship can show that better techniques exist to sustain land resources, at the same time benefiting wetlands and other wildlife habitats. The PEI Department of Environment has also reorganized with a primary focus on watershed management, recognizing the impact that users, such as the agricultural community, have on the quality of the Province's water resources.

This project is based on approved North American Wetlands Conservation Act Projects # 2004.3 and 2005.1 submitted to the North American Wetland Conservation Council to be delivered in fiscal year 2005. The PEI Wetland Stewardship Program is an on-going Eastern Habitat Joint Venture Program that has successfully conserved and protected over 6,000 hectares of upland and wetland since 1991. This has been accomplished through the excellent cooperation of wetland conservation organizations and agricultural groups working to conserve wetlands and achieve sustainable agriculture.

The following program areas description states specifically our objectives and how they will be achieved.

1. Agricultural Stewardship
Provincial agriculture departments are very effective in delivering agriculture programs but have no experience in developing biodiversity or habitat programs that are an important component of the APF. Through this proposal, NAWMP partners will take the first steps in cooperatively developing and delivering Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs), designed to incorporate biodiversity and habitat programs into farm management practices, to the farm community. These BMPs will directly support the APF through enhanced biodiversity while also contributing to APF priorities of improved air, soil and water quality. This initiative will be linked with the Environmental Farm Plan and will re-enforce the concept that sustainable farming includes both economics and the environment. The agricultural program will be supported by existing funding through the provincial Sustainable Resource Conservation Program and will be protected by agreements signed between the landowner and the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

2. Agricultural Wetlands
The Small Marsh Program will continue with the enhancement of small wetlands, including abandoned borrow pits and existing beaver dams, and construction of wetlands, where feasible, to aid in reducing excessive amounts of nutrients being exported from the farm to natural wetlands and watercourses. Up to 35 small wetlands will be enhanced under this program and up to 50 sites are expected to be assessed and prioritized. These projects will be cost shared with the landowner and protected by agreements signed between the landowner and Ducks Unlimited Canada.

3. Purple Loosestrife Control
Monitoring and control of purple Loosestrife will continue by monitoring established populations of predatory beetles (Galerucella spp.) and the continued transfer of individuals from these populations to new stands of Loosestrife. Very encouraging results were observed in 2004. An inventory of locations where the plant occurs will continue to be updated and where practical, alternate means of control including removal of small outbreaks of plants will be employed.

This project has a focus on inland and coastal areas across the Prince Edward Island Key Program Area, located within the Bird Conservation Area (BCR) 14.

The final report for the project is now available (pdf - 6.5Mb)