Port Rowan, Feb.27, 2012 — The Long Point Causeway Improvement Project (LPCIP) has received a $10,000 donation from Shell Canada’s FuelingChange environmental program to support its plans to install three ecopassages on the Causeway.
The ecopassages are specially-designed culverts that will allow turtles, snakes, frogs and small mammals to pass safely underway the roadway, which is rated as one of the worst for reptile road mortality in North America. One of the passages will also restore a waterway between the Big Creek Marsh and Long Point Bay that was filled in 60 year ago. The restored channel will improve water flow between the marsh and bay and open up more fish spawning habitat within the marsh.
“We are grateful that Shell Canada recognized the Causeway Project as a worthwhile environmental initiative that deserved its support,” said Paula Jongerden, chair of the LPCIP Steering Committee.
The LPCIP was one of 54 projects approved by Shell Canada to compete for about $1 million in funding in the first phase of its FuelingChange program. Grants of $100,000, $50,000 and $25,000 were awarded to 14 organizations based on votes received from the public. The remaining 40 competing organizations received grants of $10,000.
“Although we didn’t receive enough votes to win the $100,000 grant we had applied for, we were very pleased with support we received from people in Norfolk,” said Jongerden, who noted that the LPCIP was competing against projects supported by large urban communities and national environmental organizations.
The Causeway Project is currently working with Norfolk County to complete an environmental assessment for the ecopassages that will allow for construction later this year.
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The Long Point Causeway Improvement Project is managed by Steering Committee comprised of representatives from 16 government agencies and local organizations and several individuals well-known in the community. The LPCIP receives financial and administrative support from the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve Foundation, which promotes research, monitoring, education and projects that support the goals of conservation and sustainable use in the Biosphere Reserve.
For more information, please contact:
Rick Levick, LPCIP Coordinator: rick@longpointcauseway.com or 416-723-2910