Our Project...
The purpose of this project is to:
1) introduce ATK into conservation management plans to increase the protection for SAR and SAR habitat.
2) form beneficial partnerships between First Nations and industry. Using a blend of ATK and scientific knowledge will enrich conservation practices, as well as welcome more First Nations community members to participate in SAR conservation. Hiring and training Anishinabe to perform Life Sciences Inventories and to help develop Resource Management Strategies will not only increase short-term employment opportunities within First Nations communities, but will allow the employed individuals to develop transferable skills, which can be used on or off of First Nations Reserves.
The project will protect SAR in several ways, including:
1) Increased education will decrease habitat impact and incidental poaching and mortality of SAR (including collision mortality);
2) Incorporating knowledge of sites where SAR are found will allow for future management activities to compensate for habitat needs;
3) Incorporating ATK into conservation management plans will enrich the knowledge base of SAR and their habitat requirements.
Raising awareness of SAR will increase interest in the protection of SAR within the community, thereby creating demand for better stewardship. This could lead to job opportunities (such as the creation of Conservation Officer and Land Use Planner jobs) for members of the community, and would also lead to improved SAR conservation.
In order to better protect SAR from the impacts of recreational and industrial uses of First Nations territories, the ATK project is vital. The ATK project will:
1) Increase knowledge of the presence of SAR through the use of Life Sciences Inventories. Documentation of SAR presence is important to develop land use management strategies;
2) Education of community members is vital for the protection of SAR. Including ATK in the education materials will enhance interest of Anishinabe in SAR, and will improve stewardship between Anishinabe and SAR;
3) Increase employment opportunities for band members in the short term by employing Anishinabe to complete Life Sciences Inventories and develop management plan recommendations. The project will also increase demand for increased conservation of SAR, which may lead to future job creation;
4) Improve provincial and federal estimates of SAR. Many SAR found on First Nations territories have not been recorded in provincial records, therefore the results of Life Sciences Inventories in Batchewana and Garden River First Nations will enhance SAR databases.
The short term results of the project will be:
1) Identifcation of number and relative abundance of SAR on First Nation territories through Life Sciences;
2) To have increased public awareness and interest of SAR;
3) To integrate ATK with SAR needs with resource management strategies;
4) To have developed and improved on existing Fish and Wildlife conservation strategies within reserve territories;
5) To have increased interest for the creation of job opportunities in the Fish and Wildlife and Land Management fields within the communities;
6) To have educated community members in ways to reduce their impacts on SAR and their habitats and in ways they can help conserve SAR.
The long term results of the project are:
1) To have completed Fish and Wildlife and Land Use Management conservation strategies within reserve territories;
2) To have increased job opportunities within the communities;
3) To have reduced impacts on SAR and their habitats through reduced impacts of recreational use of lands.
The ATK project will be addressing the Regional Priorities by increasing protection of wetlands, and aquatic/riparian ecosystems through increased education and the development of sustainable land management practices.
