Long Point is a world-renowned refuge and stopover for migrating birds in fall and spring, and waterfowl viewing is excellent in March and April. In August and September tens of thousands of Monarch Butterflies congregate on Long Point, briefly resting before continuing on their way to their Mexican wintering grounds.

• Download a printable map of the Long Point biosphere

The Core

Core Area: Consists of one or more protected areas, such as a national or provincial park, migratory bird sanctuary or other protected area. The Core Area acts as a reference point on the natural state of the ecosystem(s) that the biosphere reserve represents.

The Core Area of the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve is officially the 3,250 hectare (8,000 acre) Long Point National Wildlife Area, administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada since 1979. The Core lies on the outer half of the Long Point peninsula, which is a fragile sand spit that has formed during the last 4000 years and is still changing to-day. This formation; has provided protection from the prevailing winds and allowed for the formation of the great marshes bordering the Inner Bay, as well as a safe harbour. From pre-settlement time onward the resources of the area have attracted people.

We owe a great debt to the twelve businessmen/sportsmen who, in 1866, purchased from the Crown almost all of the centre and eastern part of the Point with its great marshes. They established the first management plan for the area at a time when it was threatened by market hunters, poachers and a public that paid little attention to sustainable use. After maintaining fine stewardship of the resource for over a century the Long Point Company donated about half of its holdings to the people of Canada, with a provision that the government would continue to protect the area.

Distinctive plant communities in the core support a great diversity of vegetation and wildlife and, together with the Buffer Area, provide one of the best waterfowl staging areas in all of Ontario during migration. Long Point is on a major flyway, especially for song birds. The area is also important in that the northern distributional limits of some southern species and the southern limits of some northern species overlap there. Several of these species are rare or threatened in Canada.

The Buffer

Buffer Area: Surrounding or adjacent to the Core Area, this area is managed in ways that support the conservation objectives of the Core. Examples may include a municipally regulated floodplain, a woodland special management area, or a conservation easement on private land.

The north shore the Buffer Area extends from the outer tip of Turkey Point to the western edge of the Hahn Marsh: its other limits are the 100 year flood line and the 10 metre depth contour of Lake Erie. It includes all of the Inner Bay and all of the Turkey Point marshes.

The diversity of human influence in the Buffer area is significant – boating, construction, cottagers, dredging, fishing, hunting, nature study, swimming, water supply, wildlife habitat etc. contribute to this diversity. Among Canadian Biosphere Reserves management of Long Point is very complicated, as 19 government agencies have administrative responsibilities in it. There are at least 22 government policy and planning documents relating to Long Point and 30 different organized stakeholder groups, local, provincial, and government.

Private landowners of sections of the marsh areas have, in general, demonstrated stewardship of the resources that is in harmony with Biosphere purposes. One of the major objectives of the LPWBRF is to promote public information and education regarding the nature of the Biosphere Reserve program and its significance to the public in general. WE continue to partner with local citizens and organizations on a diversity of sustainable community projects.

The Area Of Cooperation

Area of Cooperation: Usually the largest part of the biosphere reserve, surrounding the Core and Buffer areas, this is where most of the residents live and work, using natural resources in a sustainable manner.

The Southern Norfolk Sand Plains that lie immediately to the north of Long Point are well-known for their rich agricultural lands, tallgrass prairie and oak savanna remnants, wetlands and Carolinian forests. Farmers, woodlot owners and other rural property owners living here take great pride in practicing sound land stewardship practices and value the interaction they have with the biodiversity in this special part of Ontario.

In a geographical sense the Big Creek and Dedrick Creek watersheds are considered part of the Area of Cooperation, since land use there affects the health of the Inner Bay, and associated marshes and wildlife. Such significant Carolinian forest tracts as Backus Woods, the St. Williams Conservation Reserve, Rowanwood Sanctuary, Spooky Hollow, Turkey Point Provincial Park, and three local Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSIs) – Delhi-Big Creek, South Walsingham Sand Ridges and Big Creek Floodplain, influence the Core and Buffer Areas. Arguably, the highest biodiversity of plants and animals anywhere in our country occurs here, including the threatened Cucumber Magnolia, Eastern Fox Snake and Hooded Warbler, and the endangered American Badger.

The guidelines under which we operate are flexible enough to allow for the extension of boundaries and/or the recognition of satellite areas of interest.

Natural Features of Long Point

(Source: http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlife/nwa/eng/longpoint/longpoint_htm-e.html)

Beaches, dunes, wetlands and forests
The most striking feature of Long Point is the diversity (variety) of habitat for wild plants and animals. Mainly undisturbed by people, wildlife can thrive in this beautiful place.
The Long Point peninsula is about 40 kilometres in length. It developed over centuries by the erosion of land to the west and the accumulation of sand along the south beach of the sandspit. As a result, the older vegetation communities (groups) are found to the west and north. Younger communities are found to the south and east. It has the distinction of being the second longest fresh water peninsula in the world.

The backbone of the peninsula is the 32-kilometre beach and associated sand dunes. South-westerly winds along this shore carry sand across the point and build ever-changing dunes that can reach heights of 30 metres. Between the dunes (interdunal) are ponds and swales.
Older, terrestrial (land-based) habitats include hardwood maple and oak forests, oak savannas, pine forests, red cedar and ground juniper savannas.

Long Point is also renowned for the large wetland complex on the lee (sheltered from the wind) side of the sandspit. Habitat within the wetland varies depending on the depth of the water, types of substrate (e.g., soil) and age of the wetland area.
Typically, the older wetlands have deeper water and are often dominated by marsh plants such as cattails, rushes and phragmites. Younger wetlands have a wider assortment of plants, many of which are rare in Canada.

Type of wetland
The Long Point wetland complex is considered a provinicially significant wetland, according to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, which means that it meets one or more of the following criteria:

• appearance of endangered or threatened species, listed federally or provincially, or provides habitat for these species;


• 40 to 60 per cent of the area is open water with two or more vegetation classes;


• 4.5 hectares or more in size and having three or more wetland classes, including open water, and;


• the appearance of plant associations of infrequent occurrence.

Plants, birds, bugs, fish, snakes and frogs
The importance of Long Point to biodiversity is paramount. The peaceful marshes, beaches and forests are home to an amazing number of species. Some are common and some are very rare.
Hundreds of thousands of waterfowl migrate through Long Point every spring and autumn. More than 300 different bird species migrate through the peninsula. More than 80 bird species nest on the point. There are more than 60 species of fish and many rare plants, reptiles and amphibians. Of course, many species of insects also prosper in the national wildlife area.
Species at risk include Bald Eagle, Fowler’s Toad, Eastern Spiny Softshell, Blanding’s Turtle, Spotted Turtle, Snapping Turtle, and Eastern Foxsnake

Conservation Designations

In addition to its UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve designation, Long Point is also:

A Ramsar Site: The international Ramsar Convention on Wetlands www.ramsar.org * is a treaty signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. The treaty is intended to conserve wetlands and the resources within them such as wild rice or fish. Long Point was included in Ramsar in 1992.

International Network of Monarch Butterfly Reserves: In 1996, Long Point joined a network of sites in Canada, the United States and Mexico that are protected for Monarch Butterflies. Many thousands of migrating Monarchs feed and rest at Long Point each year in preparation for their long journey across Lake Erie and south to the tropics.

Canadian Designations: Long Point is a provincially significant wetland, according to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. It is also considered a Canadian Important Bird Area.

Site Details

Long Point National Wildlife Area was established in 1978. It is made up of two large properties, Thoroughfare Point (450 hectares) and Long Point (3,200 hectares). Thoroughfare Point is between the Long Point Provincial Park and land owned by the Long Point Company, a private sportsmen club. The Long Point property is located on the eastern half of the sandspit. The Long Point National Wildlife Area was donated to the people of Canada by the Long Point Company.

Many parts of the Long Point National Wildlife Area are set aside to protect the wildlife and their habitats from disturbance, particularly during peak spring and autumn migration.

The Thoroughfare Point property is open to the public from mid-April to mid-September. The area can be reached through Long Point Provincial Park. There are sandy beaches and hundreds of hectares of marsh and ponds available for quiet recreation such as canoeing and fishing. Beach-goers must remain on the beach to prevent damage to the fragile sand dunes. Waterfowl hunting is also permitted along the perimeter of Thoroughfare Point according to regulations.

The Long Point property has a beach on the north side of the peninsula that can be used by the public during the day but is only accessible by boat. Some designated ponds and marshes are open for fishing but only with non-toxic fishing sinkers and jigs.
Approximately half of the peninsula is still privately owned and there is no public access to this private property.

• A conservation function – to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation;
• A development function – to foster economic and human development which is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable;
• A logistic function – to provide support for research, monitoring, education and information exchange related to local, national and global issues of conservation and development.

Biosphere Reserves are not covered by an international convention but must simply meet a set of criteria allowing them to fulfill properly their three functions. Collectively, biosphere reserves form a World Network. Within this network, exchanges of information, experience and personnel are promoted. 

Biosphere Reserves are designed to meet one of the most challenging issues that the World is facing today: How can we conserve the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms which make up our living “biosphere” and maintain healthy natural systems while, at the same time, meet the material needs and aspirations of an increasing number of people? How can we reconcile conservation of natural resources with their sustainable use? Biosphere reserves have been designed as tools for reconciling and integrating the conflicting interests and pressures that characterize land-use planning today.

The origin of Biosphere Reserves

The origin of Biosphere Reserves goes back to the “Biosphere Conference” organized by UNESCO in 1968, the first intergovernmental conference to seek to reconcile the conservation and use of natural resources, thereby foreshadowing the present-day notion of sustainable development. The aim was to establish terrestrial and coastal areas representing the main ecosystems of the planet in which genetic resources would be protected, and where research on ecosystems as well as monitoring and training work could be carried out for an intergovernmental programme called for by the Conference. This “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB) Programme was officially launched by UNESCO in 1970. One of the MAB projects consisted in establishing a coordinated world network of new protected areas, to be designated as “Biosphere Reserves”, in reference to the programme itself.

In 1995, the International Conference on Biosphere Reserves, held in Seville ( Spain ), confirmed that Biosphere Reserves offer such examples. Biosphere Reserves therefore have a new role to play at the global level. Not only will they be a means for the people who live and work within and around them to attain a balanced relationship with the natural world; they should also explore ways to meet the basic needs of society towards a more sustainable future.

Today, MAB has over 35 years of experience, with over 500 Biosphere Reserves in 102 countries, testing and demonstrating approaches to sustainable development.

How are Biosphere Reserves selected?  

Biosphere reserves cover the great variety of natural areas of the biosphere, going from high mountains to greatly human-impacted plains, from coastal regions and islands to vast inland forests, from the deserts of the tropics to the tundra of the polar regions. To qualify for designation as a biosphere reserve, an area should normally:

• be representative of a major biogeographic region, including a gradation of human intervention in these systems;
• contain landscapes, ecosystems or animal and plant species, or varieties which need to be conserved;
• provide an opportunity to explore and demonstrate approaches to sustainable development within the larger region where they are located;
• be of an appropriate size to serve the three functions of biosphere reserves mentioned above;
• have an appropriate zoning system, with a legally constituted core area or areas, devoted to long-term protection; a clearly identified buffer zone or zones and an outer transition area

Biosphere Reserves

Biosphere Reserves are important ecosystems that are internationally recognized by UNESCO, where communities combine conservation of biodiversity with sustainable development. They are nominated by communities within a shared landscape to demonstrate how people can live and work in better harmony with nature.

Biosphere Reserves are designed to meet one of the most challenging issues that the world is facing today: How can we conserve the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms which make up our living “biosphere” and maintain healthy natural systems while, at the same time, meet the material needs and aspirations of an increasing number of people? How can we reconcile conservation of natural resources with their sustainable use?

Establishing a biosphere reserve obviously poses an enormous challenge, namely to set up an appropriate mechanism, for instance a steering committee, to plan and co-ordinate all the activities that will take place there. This human dimension of biosphere reserves makes them special, since the management essentially becomes a “pact” between the local community and society as a whole. Management of a biosphere reserve needs to be open, evolving and adaptive. Such an approach requires perseverance, patience and imagination. But it will allow the local community to be better placed to respond to external political, economic and social pressures, which would affect the ecological and cultural values of the area.

What does the biosphere reserve do?

Each biosphere reserve is intended to fulfil three basic functions, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing:

• A conservation function – to contribute to the conservation of landscapes,
  ecosystems, species and genetic variation;
• A development function – to foster economic and human development
  which is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable;
• A logistic function – to provide support for research, monitoring,
  education and information exchange related to local, national and
  global issues of conservation and development.

How are Biosphere Reserves organized?

To carry out the complementary activities of nature conservation and use of natural resources, biosphere reserves are organized into three interrelated zones, known as the core area, the buffer zone and the transition area.

It is important to note that biosphere reserves respect existing jurisdictional arrangements, including private property; municipal, provincial and federal lands; and are neutral regarding any land claims or Treaty issues there may be concerning aboriginal rights in the region. Biosphere reserves take a regional approach to encourage cooperative social and economic development.

The core area needs to be legally established and give long-term protection to the landscapes, ecosystems and species it contains. It should be sufficiently large to meet these conservation objectives. As nature is rarely uniform and as historical land-use constraints exist in many parts of the world, there may be several core areas in a single biosphere reserve to ensure a representative coverage of the mosaic of ecological systems. Normally, the core area is not subject to human activity, except research and monitoring and, as the case may be, to traditional extractive uses by local communities.

The core areas chosen for the Georgian Bay Littoral Biosphere Reserve are: Georgian Bay Islands National Park, French River Provincial Park, Killbear Provincial Park and Massasauga Provincial Park, the O’Donnell Point Provincial Nature Reserve and the Limestone Islands Provincial Nature Reserve. Together they make up 52,508 hectares.

A buffer zone (or zones) which is clearly delineated and which surrounds or is contiguous to the core area. Activities are organized here so that they do not hinder the conservation objectives of the core area but rather help to protect it, hence the idea of “buffering”. It can be an area for experimental research, for example to discover ways to manage natural vegetation, croplands, forests, fisheries, to enhance high quality production while conserving natural processes and biodiversity, including soil resources, to the maximum extent possible. In a similar manner, experiments can be carried out in the buffer zone to explore how to rehabilitate degraded areas. It may accommodate education, training, tourism and recreation facilities. In buffer zones, emphasis is on sustainable use of the natural resources for the benefit of local communities.

Buffer areas for the Georgian Bay Littoral are all provincial Conservation Reserves and include: Cognashene Lake and Point, Crane Lake Forest, Franklin Island White Pine Forest, McRae Lake, Moreau Bay, Shawanaga Island White Pine Forest, parts of the Moon River and Gibson River. Together these buffer zones make up 39,594 hectares.

An outer transition area, or area of co-operation extending outwards, which may contain a variety of agricultural activities, human settlements and other uses. It is here that the local communities, conservation agencies, scientists, community groups, private enterprises and other stakeholders must agree to work together to manage and sustainably develop the area’s resources for the benefit of the people who live there. Given the role that biosphere reserves should play in promoting the sustainable management of the natural resources of the region in which they lie, the transition area is of great economic and social significance for regional development.

The transition area for the Georgian Bay Littoral Biosphere Reserve are the remaining lands and water shown on the map. Within the biosphere reserve there are Crown Lands, municipal lands, First Nations Reserves, private property and enhanced management areas designated by the Great Lakes Heritage Coast initiative in 1999.
   

Why do we need Biosphere Reserves?

To conserve biological diversity. Human pressures on land and water resources are drastically reducing the diversity of genes, plant and animal species, ecosystems and landscapes of the planet. This threatens human welfare, since this biodiversity is the potential source of foods, fibers, medicines, and raw material for industry and building. It constitutes an irreplaceable wealth for research, education and recreation for the whole of humankind. The core areas and buffer zones of biosphere reserves serve as repositories to safeguard samples of the biodiversity of the world’s major biogeographical regions, and as reference and study sites to help improve our knowledge on biodiversity.

To maintain healthy ecosystems. Biosphere reserves, which may represent large areas of land and water, contribute significantly to the maintenance of the life support systems which serve to avoid soil erosion, maintain soil fertility, regulate river flow, recharge aquifers, recycle nutrients, and absorb air and water pollutants.

To learn about natural systems and how they are changing. Research may be conducted on the structure and dynamics of the minimally disturbed natural systems of the core areas of biosphere reserves, and compared with the functioning of human-affected landscapes in the buffer and transition areas. Such studies, when carried out over the long term, show how these systems may be changing over time. Setting up similar long-term monitoring plots, and harmonizing methods and measurements allows comparison of results regionally and worldwide. The information thus obtained allows us to better understand global environmental changes.

To learn about traditional forms of land-use. People in many parts of the world have devised, over a long period of time, ingenious land-use practices which do not deplete the natural resources and which can provide valuable knowledge for modern production systems. Biosphere reserves are areas where such peoples can maintain their traditions, as well as improving their economic well-being through the use of culturally and environmentally appropriate technologies.

To share knowledge on how to manage natural resources in a sustainable way. Research to find land-use practices that improve human well-being, without degrading the environment, is a central purpose of biosphere reserves. The lessons are learned at the local level through on-the-spot training and demonstrations. They can then be applied in the transition area and in the region beyond. Government officials, national and foreign scientists, visitors, as well as local community leaders, all benefit from this experience. The biosphere reserve serves to share knowledge and skills at the local, national and international levels.

To co-operate in solving natural resources problems. A major obstacle to reconciling environment with development is the division of our institutions. Biosphere reserves provide places where conflicts of interest can be debated by all the stakeholders concerned: local officials, landowners, nature conservation associations, government leaders, scientists, local farmers, fishermen, private enterprises, etc. – all must work together to find appropriate co-ordination mechanisms to plan and manage the biosphere reserve. Biosphere reserves therefore provide opportunities for open discussion, information sharing and conflict resolution which could be applied in other development issues.

For more information about world biosphere reserves visit the United Nation’s web site.