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July Ontario 2000 Ministry u/lhc En\ii!n'.ir,i:niprnQrair,'; <inJinitUniv:^ Lake Ontario comes back: partnership brings environmental progress Lake Ontario has been the scene of long- the provincial, federal and municipal gov- term partnership work by governments, ernments. Tfie erivirGnrnsntol industry and local groups to restore and pro- • The numerous species, including green qualityofLsKc tect environmental quality. Scientific studies frogs. Midland painted turtles, wood Ontario is baingpro- show that the work is paying off. ducks, muskrats, green herons, great blue In a time of rapid economic growth, the lecietj ihrough collab- herons and kingfishers, attracted to the environmental quality of Lake Ontario has orstion batwiHingov- newly-created habitat at Toronto's Tommy ernmsnts sncithepri- continued to improve and is better today Thompson Park. than it has been in decades. vate Hectorin a long- The improvement is the result of collabo- • Sightings of 64 species of birds breeding term, international ration by the Province of Ontario, the gov- at Oshawa Second (Vlarsh, including the iakewidemanage- ernments of Canada and the United States, yellow billed cuckoo, northern harrier and meni plan im wellas Industries and communities in activities that American bittern — species that had not individualrsinedic!I range from increased pollution control been seen at the marsh for years. action plans. through Iakewide management plans • Recovery of the hard-hit Hamilton (LaMPs) to the cleanup of individual areas of concern under remedial action plans (RAPs). Harbour to the point that aquatic life is regenerating and, in some areas, the har- Markers of progress bour IS safe to swim in Positive markers include the recovery of 200 hectares of Recent indicators of progress in Lake wetland in the harbour and an increase in Ontario's comeback include: the number of Tish species from four to • The reappearance of species of fish such 16. And, after an absence of 50 years, as lake sturgeon, lake herring and deep- wild celery is growing again in the Cootes water sculpin - the sculpin were once so Paradise part of the harbour. scarce they were feared to be extinct in • Removal by the Ontario Ministry of the Lake Ontario Environment. Environment Canada and • The increase, since the 1980s, of bald other partners of 10,500 cubic metres of eagle nesting territories in the Lake contaminated sediments from the Welland Ontario basin at a rate of about 20 per River, which flows to the Niagara River cent a year. leading to Lake Ontario. • A decline in bacterial contamination from • Dramatic improvement in water quality in the highs of the 1960s and 1970s, with the Niagara River, Lake Ontarios largest beaches are staying open longer in the tnbutary, as a result of sustained pollution summer, as a result of Improved sewage cleanup and prevention efforts by four treatment and other cleanup action by partner governments, Ontario, Canada, Ministry of the Environment 1 - i In Brief the United States and New York State. Note: Scientific analyses of water quality, studies Further information is available in of contaminant levels in fish and shellfish Environment Canada's ThirdReport of and tests of nver sediments confirm the Progress Under the Canada-Ontario Agreement improvements, which include declines of Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem 50 per cent or more overall in critical pol- 7997-7999at the Web site lutants and more than 98 per cent on the http;//www.cciw.ca/green-lane/coa/third- Canadian side. progress-report/intro.html. An increase in populations of birds that nest in colonies, as revealed in a recent For more information: Lake Ontano-wide census by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of the Environment Canadian Wildlife Service and the New Public Information Centre York State Department of Environmental (416) 325-4000 or Conservation. toll-free 1-800-565-4923 Internet: http://www.ene.gov.on.ca Steep declines in the volume of phospho- rus and sediment entering Lake Ontario tributaries. This includes the elimination, since 1994, of 9,600 kilograms of phos- phorus and 6,000 kilograms of sediment that had been entering the Bay of Quinte watershed. This feat has been achieved through a major upgrading of sewage plants at Belleville, Quinte West (Trenton and Frankford), Pnnce Edward (Picton), and Warkworth as well as by other remedial actions in the watershed. Ministry of the Environment CQueensPiinlsf(orOntano.2000 RIBS: 3986E 07 - 2000