0
Thank you for your inquiry.
The Fort Erie Conservation Club is located in the Stevensville Conservation Area. We meet on the first Tuesday of the month for our general meetings and the fourth Tuesday for executives. Both meetings are at 7:30 pm. Our next guest speaker will be Jane Hanlon of "St Catharines Climate Action Now (CAN)" on May 6th 2008.
Like most volunteer organizations we are currently floundering finding it hard to maintain a quorum. It doesn't help that our old standbys are in fact old but they have managed to keep the doors open. Maintaining our programs requires new hands on members now. Some find this situation intimidating as do I. I couldn't possibly run this organization but even if it destined to close I'm planning on squeezing every good thing I can out of it until its gone.
Our programs include the usual tree plantings, kids fishing derby, pheasant release/habitat projects and we rear walleye in a pond to be released in a regional stocking project. The social aspect has kept the club alive this long with 3rd Tuesdays going to hosting dinners which in turn raises funds for lunch for volunteers every Thursday.
Thursday mornings see about a dozen regulars coming together to cut grass in the conservation area for the NPCA. Some call us groundskeepers but its actually fun to ride around the park doing a little wildlife viewing while raising funds. There is a payback from the NPCA as a landscaping company would cost quite a bit. We also use this time to spread bird seed at designated feeding stations in the Park.
Also on Thursdays, some volunteers retreat to the air conditioned shop in the basement to make a variety of bird houses and bat boxes which are in turn brought to the public for a donation to cover the cost of materials. We host schools on Tuesdays and Thursdays when requested as they do regular nature walks in the park and occasionally use our club house for a lesson out of the inclement weather.
Besides the hands on programs, we like other like organization serve as a contact between the general Public and Government agencies such as the Ministry of Natural Resources. This is where I believe most hunters and anglers who don't get involved with a club are missing the boat. We are quite often asked for opinions about fishing regulations. I've personally seen my suggestions come to fruitation and that's a great reward but I don't know it all and many voices would ensure the best decisions are made.
Our club house also serves as a fund raiser as we rent it out. We have a 149 person capacity and have a complete kitchen and bar. It looks allot like a log cabin inside and out with plenty of taxidermy to look at. We quite often donate this hall for a good cause such as a partnership meeting with the Niagara Woodlot Association this November to deal with issues surrounding the Mid Peninsula Corridor.
Unlike the local sporting club we cater to a wider range of nature and environment issues. Hunting has become secondary but I am working to re establish our support for conservation through hunting. Providing wildlife counts and fighting no fire zones allows hunters to contribute to animal management while benefiting through harvest. No one appreciates nature more than those who spend hours in a tree stand observing and learning from it. We still make comments to our MP's and MPP's about local issues on a variety of outdoor issues. Through the club I have sent letters to elected officials to protect local wetlands and even issues in other towns such as the "fishing by permit only" in Niagara on the Lake.
It is my hope that all nature loving people be sportsman or birders, join the club and get active if even only in one aspect. There is no commitment to help if you join. If every hunter, angler and nature lover joined their local club and chose one event a year to give their time, we would all be thriving again and nature would be the biggest beneficiary. Our children and of coarse ourselves would all be rewarded with not only a healthier environment and lifestyle, but with knowledge and satisfaction that can't be bought with any amount of money.
Hope this helps answer any questions. If you want more detail on any of our programs, feel free to contact me 905-994-7684 or the club 905-382-2260 or drop in at 2555 Ott Rd in Stevensville (part of Greater Fort Erie) on Thursday Morning. Call before you come if you like or check the website which isn't updated often enough here http://home.cogeco.ca/~fecc/ Membership questions can be directed to Bob Charron at 905-382-3695.
The guys will be electrofishing with the MNR on the Grand River for the next couple of weeks. We'd love to have more members to send to help with this. Here's a youtube video of JWL and Bones having fun fishing for walleye out of season. Of coarse they helped tag the fish before releasing them!
Dan
