Friends of the Salmon River

We believe that the Salmon River is precious and loaded with natural riches, and we want to ensure that it will continue to be so in the future.

We are a non-profit organization formed in 2004 made up of volunteers with an elected board of directors. The funding for projects is raised through membership fees, donations, grants, sponsorship and fund raising events. We are people who enjoy the benefits of the ecologically healthy and beautiful watershed of the Salmon River.

Statement of Community Outreach:

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March 21: No-Till Vegetable Gardening – Retire your Rototiller and Cherish your Dirt

Do you want a garden that truly thrives?

Come and learn about “No-Till” on Tuesday, March 21st from 7 to 9 pm at Newburgh Community Hall.

The evening is hosted by the Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council.

Justin Schaude and Molly Touzel of Red School Farmstead along with Andrew Michalski of St. Isidore Farm (both near Yarker) will present this down-to-earth workshop.

Tilling the soil actually results in soil compaction; it disrupts the complex symbiotic relationship that exists between the surface of the soil and the underlying micro-organisms.

“No till” doesn’t mean “No work.” Regular top dressing of an established bed with mulch and compost in layers will enrich the soil matrix and build in resilience without the need of additional fertilizers. Compost and mulch become the gardener’s new allies.

The many advantages of the “no-till” method include saving water, reducing and possibly eliminating the need to weed, retaining carbon in the soil, reducing soil erosion and building up the earthworm population in your garden. All are great reasons to Cherish your Dirt!

February 28: Conserving Land: How To Protect the Land You Love, Forever

Want to know more about how to preserve our precious natural spaces?

Tuesday, February 28 at 7 pm: Join us for an illuminating webinar with our nature conservancies.

Conserving Land: How to protect the land you love, forever

Hosted by Friends of Salmon River together with Friends of Napanee River as part of our Winter Speaker Series.

Please register at https://queensu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ksrsc-AORvWQM9cr64qYYQ and you will receive the Zoom link. There will be phone access, and also the webinar will be recorded.

Habitat protection is essential in Canada’s efforts to put the brakes on biodiversity loss and respond to the climate crisis. Land trusts such as the national Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and the regional Land Conservancy for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (LC-KFLA) work with private landowners and other conservation-minded partners to protect habitats for the benefit of all species and future generations. This joint presentation will outline the diverse ways that willing landowners can make sure their land remains a place for nature, forever. Mark Stabb (NCC) and Vicki Schmolka (LC-KFLA) will discuss the options for land conservation, tax benefits, Ecological Gifts, and how their organizations can help you permanently protect the land that you love!

Bill 23 Presentation to Stone Mills Council

The repercussions of Bill 23 will be monstrous and destructive to our environment.

On January 16, 2023, Friends of Salmon River and Friends of Napanee River made presentations at the Stone Mills Council meeting to show the impacts of the coming changes and to seek collaboration with our council to find a way forward that will provide some protection for our waterways.

Here is a screen recording of that meeting. The FNR presentation runs from minute 4:10 to 17:00, the FSR presentation runs from minute 17:00 to 27:60, and the discussion on the topic runs from minute 27:60 to 57:12.

(Stone Mills Township is here.)

The outcome of the meeting was very positive. Stone Mills Council agreed unanimously to request that staff report on a model for an Environmental Advisory Committee, hopefully composed of community groups, individuals (with relevant experience), councillors, etc. This will allow collaboration on environmental protection.

FSR plans to give similar presentations to our other municipalities.

Bill 23 will effectively remove the power of Conservation Authorities (CAs) to regulate development that negatively impacts wetlands and waterways. It will prohibit CAs from working with municipalities to provide expert review of planning applications, and limit the CAs’ right to appeal land use planning decisions.

Wetlands: our Provincially Significant Wetlands have had strong provincial protection until now. But with Bill 23 – most existing Provincially Significant Wetlands will be at risk of losing that designation, leaving them potentially open to destruction. (99 PSWs stand to be ‘lost’ in the Quinte Region alone.)

Canadian Environmental Law Foundation (CELA) on Bill 23

Ontario Nature on Bill 23

Bill 23 has passed,
“Ontarians will remember this day as one when critical environmental protections were undercut. We will live with, and pay for, the predictable consequences of harming our natural heritage, wetlands and farmland under the pretense of affordable housing. Adding insult to injury, input from the public and conservation authorities into land use planning and decisions that affect their communities has been silenced.”
– Caroline Schultz, Executive Director of Ontario Nature

Bill 23 Could Reverse Decades of Environmental Protection in Ontario

Friends of the Salmon River is astounded and inflamed over the impacts of Bill 23: the Government of Ontario is proposing sweeping changes to the province’s natural heritage and land use planning legislation. If this bill goes through, we have a great deal to lose. The public will lose their right to be notified of upcoming developments and lose their right to appeal decisions about developments.

Bill 23 will effectively remove the power of Conservation Authorities (CAs) to regulate development that negatively impacts wetlands and waterways. It will prohibit CAs from working with municipalities to provide expert review of planning applications, and limit the CAs’ right to appeal land use planning decisions. Without Conservation Authorities, who will protect people and property from natural hazards? This leaves a huge unguarded gap, especially now, in a time of climate crisis.

The Ontario Wetland Evaluation System will be dismantled. Provincially Significant Wetlands now receive a high level of protection, but under Bill 23, they will be at risk of losing that designation, leaving them open to development and destruction. Similarly, our Wetland Complexes may lose their designation.

The potential development of Wetland Complexes leaves the headwaters of the Salmon River – the Kennebec Wetland Complex, the lifeblood of the Salmon watershed – open to disturbances from which it might never recover. Wetlands reduce flooding, provide filtering (i.e., cleaning) and regulate the flow of rivers. Wetlands are an essential part of our landscape, and their losses could do great harm to our water quality, quantity, and many of the precious species that live here.

To help save our precious land and waterways, make your voices heard.

TAKE ACTION

From Ontario Nature: Send a (pre-written) letter to your MPP.

CLICK HERE

Report and Learn about Phragmites Here

Click to watch Invasive Phragmites: How to identify it and what to do about it

Shoreline Planting Program Available!

Quinte Conservation is offering a shoreline planting program on an ongoing basis for landowners in the Quinte region, i.e. – the Salmon, Napanee, and Moira river watersheds.

APPLY TODAY!

The program includes a free (confidential) site visit, the creation of a customized shoreline-planting plan, and Ontario native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. The cost will vary with individual needs, such as site size and number of plants.

The program is subsidized and there is funding help available. Friends of Salmon River can contribute some money for landowners in our watershed who would like assistance with the cost of the program. We are eager to see more restored shorelines to help preserve habitat and prevent erosion (and all the essential services that well vegetated shorelines provide). As well as the creatures living in rivers and lakes, there are so many species that feed and breed/raise young in the shoreline zone.

If you are interested, the first step is to apply directly to Quinte using the link above. But if you know of someone interested who is not online, please have them contact: Maya Navrot, Outreach and Stewardship Coordinator at mnavrot@quinteconservation.ca