Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News is the newsletter of the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund, published five times per year. The News is intended to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas among citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes Basin.
Volume 14, Number 3 • Summer 2006
Lake Huron
Basin Update - Ontario Side
Friends of Sauble Beach
By Geoff Peach, Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation
Sauble Beach,on the eastern shores of Lake Huron,at the base of the
Bruce Peninsula, is a headland-bay dune system that extends about
ten kilometers between its headlands. A recent popular magazine
characterized the beach as one of Canada’s top ten beaches. It’s a
marvelous beach, backed by sand dunes and rare vegetation.
Local residents were becoming concerned in recent years about the
deterioration of the dunes because of the high demands and stress
placed on this ecosystem from the thousands of beachgoers that
arrive each summer. This group of citizens formed a stewardship
group called “Friends of Sauble Beach” (FSB). FSB have been very
active in the pursuit of dune conservation, including petitioning the
Town of South Bruce Peninsula Council, preparing funding proposals
for management planning projects and hiring summer staff to assist
in data collection.The remarkable enthusiasm of FSB made the town
council highly receptive to learning about dune systems and they
have been keen to share that knowledge amongst the broader
community.
The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation was hired in 2003
by the FSB to develop a long-term management strategy aimed at
conserving the dunes. The Centre’s approach included conducting a
preliminary ecological survey of the dune system, which inventoried
the physical and biological components of the dunes, as well as
noting the human impacts to their form and function. With the
information from this survey, management approaches were
identified. Equally important, this information helped to communicate
the characteristics and importance of the dunes to residents,
municipal staff and decision makers. Education was a fundamental
component of the management planning exercise, and was perhaps
more important to the success of the dune conservation initiative
than any of the interventions that would be implemented in the
dunes at Sauble Beach.
Communicating basic coastal geomorphology and plant sciences
principles to the public was considered important to the objective of
modifying attitudes and behaviour towards the dune system. It was
the belief that people are more inclined to accept a stewardship role
if they understand why a change is important. Science provided a
useful tool in helping people to understand natural systems at
Sauble Beach, how these systems can be altered through
uncontrolled human interaction, and why it is important to protect
the dune system.
The management plan, completed in 2004, provided FSB with
management priorities, and practical methods for conserving
Sauble’s dunes. FSB took that document and petitioned the town
council to become involved in the conservation process, since the
beach was considered to be under municipal jurisdiction for
management purposes.The town council, of course,wanted to know
how much implementing the conservation plan was going to cost, so
they commissioned the development of a costing study, which would
be prepared by the Coastal Centre and a local consultant.
Within six months of having the management plan, FSB had
managed to cobble together nearly $100,000 in funding, including
grants from federal, provincial and municipal sources.
The past several months have seen the installation of boardwalks,
placement of conservations signs, and development of public
educational material. FSB have been active in developing a field
guide,and other public awareness literature. But perhaps one of their
most inspiring achievements has been in working with the local
elementary school to involve students in developing a dune brochure
called “Everything Kids Should Know about Dunes” created by the
Grade 3-4 class at Amabel Sauble Community School. Written and
illustrated by the students, it’s a persuasive education piece that has
value in educating both kids and adults.
FSB continues to champion the cause of dune conservation at Sauble
Beach with impressive accomplishments. They have become local
grassroots leaders in dune conservation in Ontario. FSB set a good
example for any grassroots organization wishing to make a positive
change in conserving our coastal heritage, and making it happen.
For more information:
Geoff Peach, Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation
P.O. Box 178, Blyth, Ontario N0M 1H0
PH: (519) 523-4478 • Email: geoff.peach@lakehuron.on.ca
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