Whoa on that wetland definition

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

Some drainage ditches and irrigation ponds created by farmers on their lands fit the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s definition of wetlands. And that could create problems for farmers if those areas get caught up in regulations the Ontario government brings down as part of its wetland conservation efforts.

However, farm groups are fighting to keep those areas that were created for an intended purpose on the farm out of the government’s regulatory grip.

The ministry’s discussion paper, Wetland Conservation in Ontario, defines wetlands as lands that are saturated with water long enough to cause the formation of waterlogged soils and the growth of water-loving or water-tolerant plants.

Many wetlands are permanently flooded. Others flood only periodically, mainly in the spring and fall, the paper says. Wetlands can range in size from very small (about the size of an urban backyard) to areas covering hundreds of square kilometres.

John Kelly, executive vice-president of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, says as part of its submission to the ministry’s consultations the association argued that wetlands created by humans, such as drainage ditches and irrigation ponds, should be exempt from regulations.

“A lot of our members use irrigation and if they have dug ponds, those should not be considered to be wetlands,” he explains. “Part of the challenge comes in the definition of what a wetland is.”

A dug pond intended for irrigation could have bulrushes growing around it and that fits the ministry’s definition of a wetland. Kelly argues those areas should be excluded from regulations “because they’re not intended to be wetlands. They’re intended to be something else.”

Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Don McCabe agrees. It’s very important to understand the difference between a wetland and lands that get, and temporarily stay wet.

McCabe says the wetland conservation principles the ministry is discussing as part of its consultations “do not work for the agricultural sector. We want to see improvements made in their definition” (of a wetland).

Kelly says the ministry also needs to do a very good inventory of the wetlands that exist in Ontario.

“We want to make sure the evaluation of wetlands considers things like seasonality, year-to-year variation in rainfall and those types of things,” he says. “If you have a very wet year and part of your field becomes flooded, it could potentially get some of those species that are deemed as being part of a wetland, but only temporarily.”

The association is “suggesting scientific rigor be used in the evaluation of a wetland,” he adds. In cases of disagreements between what’s considered to be a wetland and what could potentially be one, the association recommends a third-party, neutral, independent ombudsman be appointed to sort them out.

Meanwhile, some farmers are involved in the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program where they get paid to retain and reconstruct natural areas on their properties, such as grasslands and wetlands.

Lynn Bishop, ALUS Canada director of operations, says by email “ALUS sees farmers and their communities playing an essential role in efforts to protect and enhance Ontarian’s wetlands and should be paid accordingly.”

Tillsonburg-area farmer and ALUS participant Bryan Gilvesy agrees. His personal opinion is that farmers are crucial in any efforts to successfully improve the environment and that they should be paid for the ecological services they produce.

The ministry is reviewing Ontario’s wetland conservation framework with an aim to strengthen policies and stop the loss of wetlands. Almost 70 per cent of southern Ontario’s original wetlands have been lost, according to the discussion paper.

The ministry is working to develop a strategic plan for Ontario’s wetlands to identify a provincial vision, goals and objectives for wetlands.

The government also plans to outline a series of actions it will undertake over the next 10 to 15 years to improve wetland conservation across Ontario.

There are four wetland types in Ontario: marsh, swamp, bog and fen. Swamps are most common in Ontario while bogs and fens are rare, except in the north were they are the most common wetland type.

Threats to wetlands include: land conversion, alterations to natural water levels, invasive species, pollution and climate change, the ministry’s consultation document says.

The document also notes wetland conservation is important to ensuring a healthy natural environment that can provide essential ecosystem services, such as flood control, water quality improvement and recreation, the discussion paper says. Wetlands also help “us adapt to climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.” BF