Times-Advocate, 1988-11-30, Page 5Authority reviews c
CLINTON - The main business
at Friday's full meeting of the Ausa-
ble Bayfield Conservation Authority
dealt with a Re%iew of the Conser-
vation Authority programs through-
out Ontario. •
Authority directors accepted thc
interministerial report produced 'by
Minister of Natural Resources Vin-
cent Kerrio with an amendment.
The amendment pointed out authori-
ty disagreement with nine of the 32
recommendations. •
Before general manager Tom
Prout reviewed each clause. of the re-
port, chairman Don Lithgow said,
11. this report was implemented as
received it would result in major
changes to the structure and rote of
conservation authorities as w e cur-
rently know thein."
He continued, "While change is -
necessary for. the growth of conser-
vation authorities, too much change
' could be detrimental to the grass
roots of soil and water conservation
in Ontario."
servation -recommendations
The ohjections..of the local a
thong were also supported at a re-
cent .un eting of the Southwest re-
gion wh'ch includes 11 authorities.
. Two of the recommendations re-
jected are related. One suggested the
number of Conservation Authori-
ties in southern Ontario should be
reduced Iron) 35 to approximately
1K through amalgamation. -
1 he other,was related. to member-
ship and called for the number of di-
rectors to he changed- from 937 to
approximately 337. . .
Begining January .1 of 1989, the
number 01 directors on the Ausablc
Bayfield Authority will be reduced
from 35 to IS..
The province has.already suggest-
ed the local authority should be
amalgamated with the St: Clair Au-
thority and .the number of total re-.
sprc sentatives would be 12.
The All's response to amalgama—
tion and further reduction in direc-
tors is that it would provide little
effective local contact and would
not suitably represent the %ttst num
r of municipalities within the jur-
Si.•ition of Conservation Authori-
ties l ntario.
To this om Prout added, ' c
matter of pro Oat representatives
should also be a . essed. Given the
request by the cola ee that mu-
nicipalrepresentation be uced by
two-thirds, it would seem .1 h ra-
vincial. reduction in the same r
would be in order, thus result in one
provincial appointee."
Ontario authorities also oppose
the suggestion that supplementary
grants should be eliminated and reg-
ular grants of 40;50 and 70 percent
be provided for all programs of con -
.servation authorities and that the ap-
plicable grant rate for each authority
would be a function of the total as- -
sesstnent and population in its wa-
tershed(s).
It is the position of the authori-
ties that a flat rate capital .grant
across an entire authority is equally
inequitable since the-. ability of
•
. smaller municipalities to pay com-
pared to larger areas varies consider-
ably.
It is agreed by the Southwest
Chapter that individual land owners
should -pay equitably across the var-
rauthorities for services provid-
ed th any Private -Lands As-
sistance Pr. - iris •
A recommendation that CA's not
be responsible for water taking per-
ils was also objected to.
sed on the authorities' existing
water nagement responsibilities,
'the major' f authorities feel that
knowledge of t . Icgree of surface
water removed from the system is
an integral part of total watershed
management and would be best im-
plemented by the authorities.
At present, a number of authori-
ties have •the existing flow -data
base and provide the information to
the -.Ministry of the Environment
whn their offices are processing
applications.
Honoured for 20 years - John TinP y, Ivan Hem, Doug Gilpin and Ted Check Review - Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority General Manag-
Jones receive awards for 20 years of service -with the Ausable Bayfield er Tom Prout, Chairman Don Lithgow, and Vice Chairman Fred Lewis go
Conservation Authority. . over the recent Conservation -Authority's review.
•
Get 10 year awards - John Tinney presents plaques for 10 years of service with the Ausable Bayfield Conserva-
tion Authority to Ervin Sillery, Gordon Johnson, Joe Gibson, Cecil Desjardine, Fred Lewis -and Allan Roder.
Awards for 15 years-lvanHearn and Wilson Hodgins present 15 year Ausatile Bayfield Conservation Authority
service awards to Gary Thompson, Don Lithgow, Ralph MacGregor and Bill Thiirllwall.
Earthworms help
GUELPH - i.f you have good soil,
you have earthworms. Fanners and
gardeners have always known that
earthworms can improve soil tex-
ture, but .the. results of University
of Guelph study on radioactive fall-
out offer additional scientific evi-
. dence about the role earthworms
play in maintaining soil quality. -
Prof. Richard Protz of Guelph's
department of•land resource science.
says that under optimal conditions,
earthworms could completely ingest
and turn over the top 15 centimetres
(six inches) or a plowed field every
three years. In doing so, they help
. stabilize the soil structure with fe-
17.
NA. Festive
vtA Chelsea
Times-Advocate, November 30, 1988
Page 5
Trails for wheelchairs John Tinney and Charles Corbett of the Ausable
Bayfield Conservation Authority Foundation are shown with Nancy Glen-
dinning as -they announce Wheelchair accessibility nature trails at Rock
Glen Conservation Area.
Talk Conservation - Chatting at Friday's meeting of the Ausable Bayfield
Conservation Authority are directors Cecil Desjardine, Grant Sterling and
Ervin Sillery. .
Tasty Nu Bread baked fresh
cal material rich in silt and clay and 01
�.': Bul7S,_,._r„p 4448.01..69.
distribute -stir - ra1Tcr Soft
throughout
throughout the depth of the soil. Dinner
To help determine the extent of
earthworm activity, Protz has stud- Rolls doz. $1.09
icd the depth distribution of the ra- cfilt Raisin, Sesame and Nut
dioactivc clement Cesium 137 in og(Health)
soil. The presence of Cesium 117 ..Cookies doz. $1.69
is rclatcd to the fall -out from above- vm
ground nuclear testing. Such testing
was halted in the late 1960s, giving
scientists the opportunity to con-
duct distribution research .without
.having their results altered by in-
creasing amounts of thc element.
esium 137 fail -out from the Cher-
nobyl disaster is not expected to
reach southern Ontario.
Protz will present his findings
later this month at the annual meet-
ing of the American Society of Soil
Scientists in Anaheim, Calif„ dur-
ing a special- symposium designed
to review and clarify the effects of
earthworms on soil and agriculture.
"Wc arc not totally aware of the
potential of earthworms in main-.
taining healthy soil," he says. "The
contributions of all fauna, fungi and
microbes need more study."
Protz says the optimal conditions
for earthworm activity -- basically,
an entire frost -free year -- would
never be found in Canada. None-
theless. his studies of earthworm
influence on soil quality in south-
ern Ontario have convinced him
that the activity of the creatures is
significant enough to make marked
improvements in soil conditions.
• He is developing a faunal activi-
ty model that will further quantify -
the importance 'of earthworms and
their effects on :coil. A better un-
derstanding of biological activity is
an important part of the province's
effort to reduce farmer dependency
on agri-chemicals, he says.
white or brown sliced 24 oz. loaf
At Authority meeting - Keith Westlake of Zurich and Doug Gilpin Of Thed- Host Authority meeting - John beeves of Clinon welcomes Harry Klun-
ford talk over conservation issues at Friday's meeting of the Ausable gel and Ivan Hem to Friday's meeting of the Ausable Bayfield Conserve -
Bayfield Conservation Authority. tion Authority at the Clinton hall.
qg Danish
ctg Pastry 2/890
GIK Cheese gift baskets, fancy
cheese trays, specialty crackers,
• chocolates, jams, jellies and
"..! more.
�.� We have a wide
Specials In effect
Thurs., Fri., Sat.
while supplies last
Old
iva
efie`dddar--------ft-' $3 '9; Tat
Monterey
Jack _ Ib. $3.69 3143
Deluxe Christmas cake, light and
dark, fancy cookies, bulk Christ -310 candies, snacks, popping
corn, glaced cherries, peel, pine -50, raisins and baking ingre-
dients, etc., etc..
ast
y u
Bakery & C• heese House n
variety of
r Delicious Donuts 1
"Traditional quality" . t
since 1929
Exeter 235-0332iq'
S.
46. Please join us
'7%‘,W -11P. for our
4Open House!
You are cordially invited to attend our
Christmas Open House. Preview our entire
selection of .exclusive Hallmark gift items
and receive a' FREE.Holiday Planner!
Please join us on
Thursday, December 1., 1988
9 a.m.- 9 p.m.
10% off
10% off
Boxed Cards
Christmas Wrap
10% Off ChristrnasY Pa'rtyare
Free Draws
reeting Card World
401 Main St. Exeter, Ont.
235-1019