Habitat Restoration

Towards Sustainability - The United Nations has stated that at a minimum, 12% of any region must remain in its natural state in order for it to be healthy and sustainable. In the Essex Region, currently only 7.5% of our land base consists of natural areas. In striving to achieve a state of sustainability for our region, ERCA partners with public and private landowners to implement large-scale naturalization projects ranging from 1 acre to more than 100 acres.

These can be implemented on private lands owned by individuals or businesses, or on public lands owned by municipalities. The majority of these projects are undertaken in partnership with rural private landowners who wish to convert marginal farmland to a naturalized area or retire and reforest parcels of land.

You can contribute to achieving this target of 12% natural areas cover in Essex County by restoring natural habitat on your property. Just some of the benefits are improved aesthetics, enhanced wildlife habitats and increased property values. The broader health benefits are cleaner water, healthier air, and increased natural areas coverage. Together we can make a difference in the environmental health and sustainability of our entire region!
Grants covering up to 90% of project costs are available (depending on the type and size of your project).

There are five main types of habitat restoration/naturalization projects that ERCA helps landowners to implement:

Conventional Tree Planting

This involves machine planting native seedlings in rows or hand planting native trees and shrubs to naturalize your property. Varying degrees of site preparation and maintenance activities are required until the trees become established. ERCA offers both spring and fall tree sales and planting programs. To qualify, you must own a minimum of 1 acre (see more details under "Forestry" section).

Pit and Mound Forest Restoration

This restoration technique is used to restore swamp forest habitat. Heavy equipment is used to create small 'pits' and 'mounds' in an attempt to mimic the varying moisture conditions of a mature, natural forest floor. Large quantities of native tree nuts, grass and wildflower seeds, and seedlings are then hand planted into the site. Over 200 acres of pit and mound sites have been completed throughout the region since 2004.

Wetland Enhancement and Construction

This involves enhancing an existing wetland or constructing a new feature as part of a larger associated habitat project. This can be as complex and expensive as excavation works to something as simple as establishing appropriate native vegetation. Currently funding is limited and projects will be evaluated for approval by ERCA's Restoration Biologist. These projects do not include isolated, large "backyard" style ponds.

Tallgrass Prairie/Wildflower Meadows

Tallgrass prairie is a wonderful habitat to restore on your property for attracting a wide variety of wildlife (butterflies, bees and a variety of birds to name a few!). One thing to consider with establishing this type of habitat is that it requires on-going and long-term maintenance commitments such as mowing and/or prescribed burning in order to suppress woody vegetation. Unless part of a larger-scale, diverse restoration project, this is not currently funded by ERCA.

Riparian Buffer Zones

A riparian zone is the area adjacent to a stream. This buffer of natural vegetation (both woody and herbaceous), is very important for several reasons. It acts as a filter for pollutants and sediment in run-off, the roots of established vegetation help to stabilize the bank thereby preventing soil erosion and sedimentation issues, overhanging vegetation moderates water temperatures by providing shade, as well as providing and enhancing both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitat. You can restore a riparian buffer by planting native woody and herbaceous vegetation along a watercourse on your property.