FYI.

Dan Victor, Seattle, WA <dvictor at u.washington.edu>
Tweeters = http://weber.u.washington.edu/~dvictor/

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 20:13:11 -0400
From: Donald Davis <Donald_Davis at stubbs.woodsworth.utoronto.ca>
To: andy at zoo.utoronto.ca, ac219 at freenet.toronto.on.ca, 3510 at compuserve.com,
pqk141a at prodigy.com, gallang at basf-corp.com, birdlife at ECNET.ec,
marvadel at SNAD.NCSL.NIST.GOV, wncarols at vax2.winona.msus.edu,
obol at gaia.ucs.orst.edu, mistnet%stlawu.BITNET at vm1.nodak.edu,
jhailman at macc.wisc.edu, dvictor at u.washington.edu,
saunderN at oep.psb.bls.gov, cWilliamson at PimaCC.Pima.edu
Subject: Help Preserve Presqu'ile Park

Presqu'ile Provincial Park is located about 150 miles west of Toronto, Ontario
on the north shore of Lake Ontario, near Brighton, Ontario, and directly
opposite Rochester, New York.

This peninsula - actually a tombolo - justs out into Lake Ontario. Being so
strategically located, it remains one of Eastern Canada's greatest
birdwatching sites. To date, over 313 species have been identified in the
park. There is extreme biodiversity in terms of habitat, flora, and fauna.
Hence Presqu'ile has the third highest number of nesting species in the entire
province. Gull and High Bluff Island are one of the largest colonial waterbird
nesting sites on the Great Lakes. To see greater numbers of migrating
shorebirds, one would have to travel to James Bay (in the psirng, on one
occasion, 10,000 shorebirds landed before a storm. In this huge flock were
three purple sandpipers!).

After a lengthy process of lobbying the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources,
the parks management plan will finally be finished. It began in 1979, but was
never completed.
Such a plan would preserve and protect for future generations what has been
described as one of Ontario's most significant endangered spaces.

I would appreciate your support in the form of a letter. Perhaps you are
familiar with Presqu'ile, or can appreciate how significant this proposed
Ramsar site is. For example, with the recent arrival of zebra mussels,
thousands more waterfowl are seen around the park (winter counts often
exceeded 22,000 individuals!).

Even Dr. Roger Tory Peterson is on record as stating that Presqu'ile must be
protected from any deterioration. Please refer to Clive Goodwin's newly
revised book, "A BIRDFINDING GUIDE FOR ONTARIO".

Up to and including August 17/95, letters can be sent to :
donald_davis at stubbs.woodsworth.utoronto.ca,internet

After that date, they must be mailed to: Donald Davis, 3815 Bathurst St., Apt.
#2, Downsview, Ontario M3H 3N1

Letters may be sent to the goverment of Ontario, with a copy to this writer:

Hon. Chris Hodgson, Minister of Natural Resources, Room 6301, Whitney Block,
99 Wellesley St. W., Toronto, Ontario M7A 1W3

I look forward to hearing from you.



Donald A. Davis

Life Member
Federation of Ontario Naturalists

Member
Board of Directors
The Friends of Presqu'ile Park