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     When going to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), the studies and papers that will need to cited and presented will have to have the credibility and standard of something like an academic journal.  Knowing this I put a call out for whatever sources people could refer me to, such as studies and papers.   The responses were reworded for the following list in case the word appears odd.  Once a certain study, paper or academic journal was in hand it would have to reviewed in detail in order to explain why is was included in the material enclosed to the OMB.  It has to be put in the context of the issues at that Hearing, to show why it is relative.

     Due to time constraints/lack of energy (after more then 10 years of battling the City's efforts to eliminate the Cawthra Bush environmental Significance, who's planning staff were refusing to even answer questions about the development before the OMB), and the fact, many references were delivered to me too late to be used in the actually OMB hearing (for a lay-person even finding a scientific study is a journey in its self, much less to understand it), I could not even list why certain items were enclosed to the OMB.  A request for more time was made and it was refused.  Being way past burn-out and trying to get people involved in the community to come out to the many meetings before the OMB Hearing, does this.

     Most of the items listed were not reviewed or even found but are listed as they could be useful to someone else.  This list is far from a complete on the subjects noted but does provide a starting point and some understanding in how to search further.

Listing of subsections;

1).     Wording that can be used when searching the Internet;

2).     The benefits to the surrounding human community of a forest;
          [ on a different web-page now ]

3).     The effect of urban development on indicator species;

         A). Birds studies as the indicator species;

         B). Amphibians studies as the indicator species;

4).     Vernal ponds as the indicator habitat and protection measures (mostly
        in the US);

5).     Is it Smart Growth to significantly increase human population densities
        so close to a Forested, Wetlands and/or Environmentally Significant
        areas?

6).     That townhouse subdivisions and their increases hard surfaces which
        are drained into sewers leads to a lowering of the water table;

7).     How to include environmental areas in the communities character;

8).     The affect on forested areas & wildlife habitat in general and how
        urban development and human impacts affect them & are measured;

     In the last 12 years, there have been at least 1,448 articles published on the topics of "fragmentation and birds", 5,483 on "fragmentation and mammals", 491 on "fragmentation and amphibians", 155 on "fragmentation and reptiles", 8,002 on "fragmentation and plants".  Ontario bird studies at least 17 published since 1990.  Ontario mammal studies at least 18 published since 1990.

     The above reflects a very brief search of literature databases; given a few full days, I'd likely find a lot more by using more sophisticated key words.  Additionally, some of the above will be more concerned with "genetic" fragmentation and are less relevant to RIM Park Issues.  Conservatively, I'd estimate there have been about 7,500 articles published on ecological fragmentation effects worldwide since 1990.  If you add "urban" into the mix, you can increase the number of articles by a large factor; ditto for the term "edge effect".  In all cases, the articles note that fragmentation and decline of forest  cover harms nearly every native species.
(above by Stephen D. Murphy, B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D.)

     In my case, finding the right wording and what to ask people for or about was the first hurdle to get over.  In general, material dealing with our concerns about increasing the local population, with no other local parks for the newcomers to use as their recreation area, the Cawthra Bush would be, as City staff have said "pounded into the ground" from over use.  Finding something right on that issue is hard but that is the nature of scientific papers, find as close to the subject as you can and work from there.  Also, many studies on this kind of subject would not likely get the funding they should as it would not support the wild over- development of our farm lands that is going on.

     The titles of the studies and papers listed on this Web-page can help as a guide.  Here is a general list of key words;

    Fragmentation and noise effects - Micro-climate changes - edge effect - Encroachment - Habitat fragmentation - Noise pollution - Effect of construction of roads and like structures - The influence of forest fragmentation and landscape pattern - Human Landscape - Impacts of urbanization on plant and bird communities in forest ecosystems, and Fragmentation Effects on Forest Birds.

    More in keeping with how people use a forest - Visitor impact assessment - Visitor monitoring methods and Carrying Capacity.

Sources are;

"Leisure Sciences",  "Journal of Applied Recreation Research" and "Leisure: The Journal of the Canadian Association for Leisure Studies".  Parks Services would have further documents - The Canadian National Park Service, Parks and Wilderness Society of Canada, Lakehead University School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism and The U.S. National Park Service.
See section 8.

Such as;

Estimating Day use Social Carrying Capacity in Yosemite National Park
by Robert Manning, William Valliere, Benjammin Wang, Steven Lawson and Peter Newman (University of Vermont) - Leisure V.27, 2002-2003, pp. 77 to 102.

     Studies and papers that show or suggest the increasing the human population and urban development around forested & environmentally significant areas generally leads to its decline and loss of its environmental significance.  In most cases that would be the most sensitive of species, such as amphibians or a small threatened species like the Jefferson Salamander.

     Amphibians are considered to be a key indicator of forest ecosystem health due to their interaction with water by way of their porous skins.  However, they are often hard to find, especially mole salamanders like the Jefferson Salamander.  Bird in forests have become the most studied group as can be clearly seen by the number of papers out there, they are a pretty sensitive indicator and as they can easy fly from locations that no longer suites them, react quickly to environmental changes.  They also, have fairly large territories that they can easily and quickly survey.

Suggested Web-sites;

Ducks Unlimited
http://www.ducks.ca/

Environment Canada (Ontario Region) - Canadian Wildlife Service - Wetland Resources
http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlife/wetlands-e.html

Environment Canada - Species at Risk - Jefferson Salamander
http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/search/speciesDetails_e.cfm?SpeciesID=642#limits

Royal Ontario Museum and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources - Ontario's Species at Risk
http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php

Studies or papers that could relate;

Bird disturbance: Improving the quality and utility of disturbance research.
By Hill D, Hockin D, Price D, Tucker G, Morris R, Treweek J.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY 34 (2): 275-288 APR 1997

Land use and avian species diversity along an urban gradient.
By Blair RB.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS 6 (2): 506-519 MAY 1996
Effect of construction of roads and like structures on birds (notes gradual decline takes decades for full ecological impacts to show up).

The influence of forest fragmentation and landscape pattern on American martens.
By Hargis CD, Bissonette JA, Turner DL.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY  36 (1): 157-172 FEB 1999

Separating the noise from the noise: A finding in support of the "Niche Hypothesis," that birds are influenced by human-induced noise in natural habitats.
By Stone E.
ANTHROZOOS 13 (4): 225-231 2000
The best article specifically about birds affected by noise pollution.

Fragmentation Effects on Forest Birds: Relative Influence of Woodland Cover and Configuration on Landscape Occupancy.
By Marc-Andre Villard, M. Kurtis Trzcinski and Gray Merriam.
Conservation Biology, V.13, No.4, Aug. 1999, pages 774 to 783.

Landscape context and fragmentation effects on forest birds in southern Ontario.
By Austen MJW, Francis CM, Burke DM, Bradstreet MSW.
CONDOR  103 (4): 701-714 NOV 2001

Nesting success and nest-site selection by a neotropical migrant in a fragmented landscape.
By Bisson IA, Stutchbury BJM.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY-REVUE CANADIENNE DE ZOOLOGIE  78 (5): 858-863 MAY 2000

Independent effects of forest cover and fragmentation on the distribution of forest breeding birds.
By Trzcinski MK, Fahrig L, Merriam G.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS 9 (2): 586-593 MAY 1999

Habitat use by black rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) in fragmented forests.
By Blouin-Demers G, Weatherhead PJ.
ECOLOGY  82 (10): 2882-2896 OCT 2001
Note that this article blames fragmentation for helping black rat snakes decimate bird and mammal populations.

Birds and butterflies along an urban gradient: Surrogate taxa for assessing biodiversity?
By Blair RB.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS 9 (1): 164-170 FEB 1999

*

There is some 18 pages to this, so only part is noted here.  The issue of urban development around a forested area, having a negative impact birds nesting in the forested area, is the central issue regarding the way the City of Mississauga wants to eliminate the low density around the Cawthra Bush.

INTRODUCTION

     Urban and suburban land use has been identified as the single largest threat to bird populations in the eastern forests of North America (Rich et al. 2003). Urban and suburban expansion results in the outright loss of forests and, in turn, the birds that reside in them. However, habitat does not have to be lost to have major impacts on the resident breeding birds. Numerous studies have shown that certain portions of the bird community - particularly neotropical migrants - decline or disappear when the landscape enclosing their forests fills up with houses (Kluza et al. 2000; Dawson et al. 2001). All of the studies documenting these changes to bird communities beset by surrounding development occurred long after the advent of development. Few, if any, studies within the scientific literature have traced the response of the forest bird community, especially those aspects relating to demographic parameters (nest success, productivity, parasitism, return rates), through the actual course of development, from beginning to end.

     The Canadian Wildlife Service, in partnership with the City of Waterloo, the Environmental Conservation Branch, Environment Canada, and the University of Waterloo, has conducted an ongoing study of nesting Wood Thrushes in and around the City of Waterloo beginning in 1998. One of the study's primary objectives is to assess the impacts of new and ever-increasing levels of urbanization adjacent to a 140-ha forest on  Wood Thrushes within the forest. Another objective is to determine the temporal scale in which negative impacts appear, if they appear at all. A third objective is to identify factors contributing to any changes that do occur.

...

DISCUSSION

     In 2003, for the first time, there are strong and unsettling indications that the Wood Thrush population has "crashed" in the first section of Forested Hills to experience significant levels of adjacent development. From 1998 to 2000, a period that could be considered pre-development, FH1 supported a viable Wood Thrush community that equaled or surpassed the most stringent estimates of our source-sink population model (Fig. 7). Productivity at FH1 in each of these years exceeded that of the control sites. By 2003, the situation was strikingly reversed. FH1 fared worse than the control sites on almost every demographic measure that we recorded. Productivity in FH1 was now so low that the annual recruitment of young into the population could not possibly offset mortality, and the area clearly was a population sink.  By contrast, productivity in the controls from 2001 to 2003 was high, especially in 2003 when it easily exceeded the source-sink threshold. Productivity in FH2 also far exceeded the source-sink threshold in the past three years; in fact, the 2003 productivity level in FH2 is the highest recorded in any area of this study.

...

     What then, if not intense predation pressures, has emptied FH1 of many of its Wood Thrushes?  One possibility is that Wood Thrushes, for whatever reason(s), have an aversion to residential landscapes and may simply avoid woodlots with a profusion of nearby houses. Several years ago, we speculated that older birds would exhibit a deep attachment to their established territories, compelling them to return regardless of the changes that occurred in the surrounding landscape. However, losses to the original population through natural attrition would not be compensated for by the arrival of new immigrants who would opt instead for less urbanized environs.

...

LITERATURE CITED

Effects of urbanization on the distribution of area-sensitive forest birds in Prince Georges County, Maryland.
By Dawson, D. K., C. S. Robbins and L. J. Darr. 2001.
In: Therres, G. D., ed. Conservation of biological diversity: a key to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and beyond: conference proceedings. Annapolis: Maryland Department of Natural Resources; 207-213.

Reproductive success of migratory birds in habitat sources and sinks.
By Donovan, T. M., F. R. Thompson, J. Faaborg, and J. R. Probst. 1995.
Conservation Biology 9:1380-1395.

Impacts of cowbird parastism on Wood Thrushes and other neotropical migrants in suburban Maryland forests.
By Dowell, B.A., J.E. Fallon, C.S. Robbins, D.K. Dawson, and F.W. Fallon. 1998.  Pages 244-254 in S.I. Rothstein and S.K. Robinson, eds. Parasitic birds and their hosts: studies in coevolution. Oxford University Press, NY.

Nesting success of Neotropical migrant songbirds in a highly fragmented landscape.
By Friesen, L. E., M .D. Cadman, and R .J. MacKay. 1999.
Conservation Biology 13: 338-346.

Extent of double-brooding and seasonal movement of nesting females in a northern population of Wood Thrushes.
By Friesen, L. E., V. E. Wyatt, M. D. Cadman, R. J. MacKay, E. D. Cheskey, M. Allen, and D. Ramsay. 2000.
Wilson Bulletin 112: 505-509.

Nest-site selection and nesting success of Wood Thrushes.
By Hoover, J.P. and M.C. Barittingham. 1998.
Wilson Bulletin 110: 375-383.

Housing developments in rural New England: effects on forest birds.
By Kluza, D. A, C. R. Griffin, and R. M. DeGraaf. 2000.
Animal Conservation 3: 15-26.

Breeding bird density in woodlots: effects of depth and buildings at the edges.
By Mancke, R. G. and T. A. Gavin. 2000.
Ecological Applications 10: 598-611.

Suggestions for calculating nest success.
By Mayfield, H. 1975.
Wilson Bulletin 87: 456-466.

Partners in Flight North American Landbird Conservation Plan.
By Rich, T.R., Cj. Beardmore, H. Berlanga, P.J. Blancher, M.S.W. Bradstreet, G.S. Butcher, D. Demarest, E.H. Dunn, W.C. Hunter, E.Inigo-Elias, J.A. Kennedy, and A. Martell. 2003.
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY..

Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina).
By Roth, R. R., M. S. Johnson, and T. J. Underwood. 1996.
In: Poole, A and F. Gill, eds.  The birds of North America, no. 246. Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists  Union.

Generalized procedures for testing hypothesis about survival or recovery rates.
By Sauer, J.R. and B.K. Williams. 1989.
Journal of Wildlife Management 53:137-142.

Wood thrush population sinks and implications for the scale of regional conservation strategies.
By Trine, C. L. 1998.
Conservation Biology 12: 576-585.

*

     The following is to show that there is evidence to support that changes in the environment affect migratory bird population dynamics, such as nesting or event visiting a forest.  This study does talk about effects to a larger forest, in our case the low density surrounding neighbourhood with its deep lots, supports a larger then normal number of trees and shrubs per-lot then found in many suburban neighbourhoods.  The vegetation around the Cawthra Bush would be habitat.  That the City zoning for townhouses (for 30 per-acre), and the plan put forward, for 30 townhouses and five free standing houses would significantly reduce the habitat potential that would exist if there was only one home per-lot, in keeping with the character of the surrounding community.  The City has zoning the whole area around the Cawthra Bush for the same kind of habitat elimination and in the "Wood Thrush nesting study in forested hills in the City of Waterloo".  Urban development around a forest is harmful to its wildlife.

Environmental assessment guideline for forest habitat of migratory birds
By Robert Milko, Biodiversity Protection Branch
Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service 1998
http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/eval/forest/index_e.cfm

Environmental effects [ a subsection ]
http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/eval/forest/effect_e.cfm

1. General considerations
2. Specific considerations
3. Additional considerations for forest management plans
4. Cumulative effects
5. Mitigation
6. Residual effects
7. Monitoring
8. Methods

...

4. Cumulative effects

CEAA specifically requires an environmental assessment to consider the cumulative environmental effects of a project.  These are effects that are likely to result from the project in combination with other projects or activities that have been or will be carried out. (CEAA ss.16(1)(a))  The cumulative removal of forest habitat for projects or from logging will result in cumulative effects on migratory birds.  In many situations, migratory bird populations in forest habitats have already been affected. Some species have threshold population levels below which reproductive capacity and immigration are not able to overcome stresses from adverse environmental effects.  Cumulative fragmentation of forest habitat and increased edge effect in developed landscapes can result in significant nest predation, parasitism, and decreased reproductive success.  Additionally, the effects of previous or other activities in the landscape should be considered when determining the cumulative effects on forest habitat of migratory birds.

There is particular concern when large expanses of the landscape are  logged or slated to be logged (e.g., boreal forest).  Cumulatively, the result is a net reduction in overall forest habitat, and the potential exists for significant reductions in bird populations or for eventual losses of whole bird communities associated with that type of habitat.

Selected references;

Forest practices code of British Columbia: biodiversity guidebook.
By the Government of British Columbia. 1995.
B.C. Environment and B.C. Ministry of Forests. 99 pp.

Sustainable forests: a Canadian commitment.
By the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. 1992.
National Forest Strategy, Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, Hull, Quebec.  51 pp.

Canadian Standards Association.  1996. A sustainable forest management system: guidance document.  CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z808-96.  Etobicoke, Ontario.  49 pp.

Canadian landbird monitoring strategy.
By Environment Canada. 1994. Migratory Bird Populations Division, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa.

Migratory birds environmental assessment guideline.
By Milko, R.  1998a.
Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa.

Wetlands environmental assessment guideline.
By Milko, R.  1998b.
Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa.

Relationship between stand age, stand structure, and biodiversity in aspen mixed wood forests in Alberta.
By Stelfox, J.B. (editor). 1995.
Alberta Environmental Centre (Vegreville), Vegreville,  Alberta, and Canadian Forest Service (Project No. 0001A), Edmonton, Alberta. 308 pp.

Forest management guidelines to protect native biodiversity in the Fundy National Forest.
By Woodley, S., and G. Forbes (editors). 1997.
Greater Fundy Ecosystem Research Group,  New Brunswick Co-operative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of New Brunswick.  Fredericton, New Brunswick.  35 pp.

Suggested Web-sites & persons to contact;

The Natural Heritage Planning for Amphibians and their Habitats.
With reference to populations on the south slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine.
By Natalie J. Helferty, Ecologist.
Section 6 - Interpretation of Results: Identifying Problems.
Section 7 - Fixing the Problems.
At;  http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/moraine/pdf/amphibian_natural_history_ombfinal.pdf

*

The Metropolitan Conservation Alliance was suggested.  They are in the business of helping communities find value in conservation.  Their director, Dr. Michael Klemens, a herpetologist, has published on the detrimental effects of development/land conversion on the genetic integrity of Jefferson salamanders.

*

Hyla Ecological out of Massachusetts has done some research on mole salamanders and forests in urban landscapes.

The Pond, the Forest, and the City: Spotted Salamander Ecology and Conservation in a Human-Dominated Landscape
by Bryan Windmiller, Ph.D.
The link to download the paper http://www.hyla-ecological.com/publications.html

*

A good place to try would be - the Niagara Escarpment Commission, Ontario's Niagara Escarpment (ONE) Monitoring Program, 232 Guelph St., Georgetown, Ont. L7G 4B1. The following link may contain useful papers.  You would have to search the left hand corner "Sessions" to view all the titles of papers.
http://www.escarpment.org/leading_edge/LE01/webpages/papers.htm

Suggested Web-sites;

At The Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/types/vernal.html

http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/wetlands/right02.htm

At Massachusetts Wildlife
http://www.state.ma.us/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhvernalcert.htm

     The City of Mississauga by way of its zoning is calling for the elimination of the low density community surrounding the Cawthra Bush.  To end an environmental success story.  The community that has acted as a buffer from urban development in the rest of the City, protecting one of the few Old-Growth forest in a City with a THREATEN species.  Both the developer and City calls it intensification and smart growth but they are in the minority.

     What we are saying is that the existing low density is a key element in the success of the Cawthra Bush's survival as an urban Old-Growth ecosystem.  Back yards so big people do not need parks and townhouses they want to build will have backyards so small it forces people to the Cawthra Bush for recreation area.  Those deep & wide lots have keep the area low density for almost 100 years and the Cawthra Bush is a very significant small forest because of it.

*

Stephen D. Murphy, B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D., writes.

In terms of smart growth, the tendency is to increase human density but there is indeed the question as to where this increase should be.  Normally we recommend increased densities away from existing environmentally sensitive areas and into areas already filled with roads or perhaps re-using "greyfields" (abandoned commercial buildings, especially big-box stores).

Basically, the general answer is that increased urbanization tends to fragment habitats - cuts them into pieces that are too small to support within-habitat regeneration, hinders between habitat migration critical to maintain genetic diversity in most species (and the resultant ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling) and leaves them vulnerable to outside influences of weather, exacerbated by people.  It is along the "edges" of habitat that problems begin because the abrupt changes between a forest edge and surrounding habitat tend to create rapid differences in temperature, light, and humidity.  Most native species are not adapted to this; most invasives are.  The result is the invasives replace the natives and, generally, the invasives tend to decrease the species diversity in the habitat as the invasives outcompete natives, reduce native species' reproduction, and generally create local (micro) climate conditions more suited to invasives.

Encroachment and use of remaining fragments by people further exacerbates all this.

*
     Focus should be on the long-term implications of allowing such high density, as it sets a precedent in the area.  Smartgrowth should be "smart", not just "growth".  However, in Mississauga we a ruled by the Queen of sprawl who effectually shuts the public out of the planning process.  The purpose of SmartGrowth is to ensure environmental considerations and community needs are met, with emphasis on community involvement in decision-making as a priority, not just allowing high intensity redevelopment everywhere.

    The City of Toronto moraine website has material on urbanizing influences, Natural Heritage Systems in Urbanizing Settings.  http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/moraine/reports.htm

The above has material that will give you good argument against the "Smart Growth" argument though and using 'precautionary principle', which is a UN agreed upon principle.
 

Studies or papers that could relate;

Long-term changes in indigenous vegetation preserved in urban areas.
By Florgard C.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING  52 (2-3): 101-116 DEC 25 2000

Response time of wetland biodiversity to road construction on adjacent lands.
By Findlay CS, Bourdages J.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY  14 (1): 86-94 FEB 2000

Sustaining the unsustainable? Golf in urban Singapore.
By Neo H.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY 8 (3): 191-202 SEP 2001
Golf course studies (usually in an urban context)

     The removal of the natural drainage into the watertable and replacing it with more impervious surface cover, i.e. pavement, is harmful not just to the ecosystem but to humans in the long term.

     Recent studies suggest building to no more than 10% impervious surface cover (i.e. rooftops and pavement) over the land in order to retain high quality function within watersheds and a naturally occurring drainage pattern via groundwater flow.  should refer to the City of Toronto's Wet Weather Flow report, which documents the costs of repairing the damager to the City's rivers.  In the long term.  Using the Toronto report to validate what Mississauga needs to face up to.  It will cost Toronto billions to clean up their rivers.  The plan Toronto has is long term and has some good suggestions on what Mississauga needs to avoid doing in order to ensure it doesn't run into the same problems in future.
http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/wes/techservices/involved/wws/wwfmmp/planning.htm

 Another document of potential interest, "Impacts of Imperious Cover on Aquatic Systems" by Center for Watershed Protection, 2003, which can be ordered from the Centre for Watershed Protection Website at  www.cwp.org

The removal of trees and soil is also significant.  http://www.whc.org/documents/SOHR-Urban.pdf

     As the City own Official plan called for the protection of the "character of a community" and the City say townhouses should replace single family homes, the idea of somehow including the Cawthra Bush in "character of a community", was worth a try (after all it is a fact).  However, it is turned out to like the many scientific papers, touched on it but not directly addressed it.

     It was noted to me that the community has to get involved, as if I didn't know that.  To attend council meetings, sign petitions and include local businesses that rely on the health of the forest - eg bird-watchers, cottagers, hikers, photographers, etc.  http://kn.fcm.ca/ev.php

     Park services deal with the over use of natural areas and much can be found at the beginning in the Internet search section regarding - Visitor impact assessment - Visitor monitoring methods and Carrying Capacity.  Try the Canadian National Park Service, Parks and Wilderness Society of Canada and Provincial Parks.

    Example - Tourism hurts Banff ecosystem, Study says, Toronto Star, Oct. 8/96.    BANFF, Alta. (CP) - Tourism is causing environmental havoc at Banff and the Rocky Mountain park needs rapid protection, a new study warns.  Banff National Park the oldest and most famous of Canada's federal parks, needs immediate protection from the 5 million tourists that visit each year, Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps said.  "If we don't get our act together. this park may not exist in 50 years," said Copps, in releasing the report she commissioned as heritage minister 27 months ago.

    The US forest services site on Urban forestry in the southern U.S.  Go to the publications page and then the bottom of the list to USDA Forest Service Publications.  Looks like some interesting resources, particularly one on Community Forestry and Urban Growth.
http://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/pubs/pubsp.asp
 

Suggested Web-sites;

THE RETURN OF THE FOREST: URBANIZATION AND REFORESTATION IN THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
http://es.epa.gov/ncer/fellow/progress/98/stroudel00.html

Friends of the Farewell - unites residents of Clarington with an interest in environmental issues.
http://www.fof-clarington.com/

LandOwner Resource Centre
Index to Extension Notes - very good way to learn about key forest features, wildlife, etc.
http://www.lrconline.com/Extension_Notes_English/

The Crown Lands Network - Stop the Giveaway of our Forest -  New Brunswick.
http://www.forestsfornb.org
&
http://www.forestsfornb.org/presentations.htm

Conservation Council of New Brunswick  - Low impact forestry
http://www.lowimpactforestry.com

Nature Conservancy of Canada - Atlantic Region, Nature Trust of NB.
http://www.nbenrenb.elements.nb.ca/egroups/findgroups/memlist_new.htm

Enviro-Access - An index by Environmental and Industrial Associations that operate in Canada.
http://www.enviroaccess.ca/eng/assoc_www.html

Micromedia ProQuest - Canadian Environmental Directory Associations and Organizations, Governmental Regulators and Purchasing Groups, Product and Service Companies, Special Libraries, and more, or so they say.
http://www.mmltd.com/Directories/Environment.htm

Or try;

New Brunswick Environmental Network
167 Creek Rd, Waterford, NB, E4E 4L7
http://www.web.ca/nben
e-zine: http://www.elements.nb.ca

*

Canadian Parks and Recreation Association
404-2197 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON    K1H 7X3
http://www.cpra.ca Together for Healthy Communities

*

The former Federation of Ontario Naturalists, now Ontario Nature?
Maybe they deal more with the sub-urban impacts on forests.

*

John C. Maerz, Ph.D.
Ecology and Management of Invasive Plants Program
Department of Natural Resources
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY  14853-3001
Department web page:  http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/people/ra/profiles/maerz.html
Personal web page: http://www.invasiveplants.net/jcm3.htm

*

World Wildlife Fund Canada.
You may want to start by checking our website at  http://www.wwf.ca.
You may want to read WWF's The Nature Audit.
Please follow this link for more information;
http://www.wwf.ca/AboutWWF/WhatWeDo/TheNatureAudit/TheNatureAudit.asp?page=0.1&
IGNOREcart=

This report undertook a regional assessment of species and habitat trends in Canada, examined current pressures on our ecosystem, and assessed Canada's response to current conservation needs in light of its international and domestic commitments to conserve biodiversity.

*

Other useful items are found in the Environment Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service web-site.  http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/

How to create a sustainable forest management (SFM) plan
http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/eval/index_e.cfm
Something the City did not do or even meaningfully carry out what they did do.

How to create a sustainable forest management (SFM) plan
- (from Canadian Standards Association 1996)

A plan based on a long-term (see Clause 3.1) forecast shall be prepared for each Defined Forest Area (DFA) and revised at least every 10 years.  The plan for each DFA shall include:

a) a summary of the results of activities for the previous planning period;

b) a statement of values, goals, and indicators;

c) a statement of management strategy;

d) a statement of management objectives for each indicator.  Statements shall be  quantified and have a predefined acceptable level of variance.  A schedule for their achievement shall be provided, including benchmarks that can be audited;

e) current quantitative information for each indicator;

f) a description of the assumptions and analytic methods used for forecasting;

g) a description of the forest management activities to be undertaken;

h) an implementation schedule of sustainable forest management activities;

i) a monitoring procedure; and

j) a demonstration of the links between short-term operational plans and the SFM Plan

*

Also - Wetlands environmental assessment guideline
http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/eval/wetl/index_e.cfm

*

Stephen D. Murphy, B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Also - Co-Director for Research, Cruickston Charitable Research Reserve (CCRR)
Department of Environment and Resource Studies
Environmental Studies Building 1 - Room 209
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo ON N2L 3G1 Canada
Personal home page: http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/ers/faculty/smurphy.html
ERS home page (links to all programs):
http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/ers/index.html
CCRR Home Page: http://cruickston.com/

 He has done work for Wildlife Habitat Canada's publication on urbanization effect on wildlife - see their website at   http://www.whc.org.  Go to status reports and see the ones on urban habitats.

     In the past he wrote to us (below), about the effects of opening the forest canopy, a method that the City foresters were using as a part of their forest management.

 "In eastern Ontario forests, increased fragmentation has caused edge effects to increase in severity. This means that the micro-climate around the forest edge is altered and the interior of the forest also is subjected to environmental conditions that normally would be associated with edge habitat.  These edge effects tend to self perpetuate because they allow invasive species to colonize sites, out-compete species that prefer shady, moist, and wind-free habitats, and thereby kill off regeneration of tree seedlings or understorey herbs (for example). This frees up more habitat suitable for the invasives and they advance further into the forest.  Simultaneously, the changes in micro-climate and habitat structure indirectly affect organisms such as insects that pollinate plants. My study focused on a beetle that pollinated sharp-lobed hepatica. The larvae of this beetle cannot survive in a dry, sunny area and die when edge effects alter the micro-climate. When this happens, the hepaticas lose their sole pollinator and resort to selfing (inbreeding) that eventually can cause severe mutations and eliminate local populations. The problem ran be serious as hepatica is not as vulnerable as other species that are not as proficient or adapted to selfing or clonal replication; this means other species may be in greater peril. This concept holds for most organisms, especially plants and animals (as opposed to protozoans, for example)."

His selected references;

Disturbance versus edge effects in sugar-maple-beech forest fragments.
By Palik, B. J., and P. G. Murphy. 1990.
Forest Ecology and Management 32: 187-202.

Micro-enviroriment variation within and among forest edge sites in the eastern United States.
By Matlack, G. R. 1993.
Biological Conservation 66: 185-194.

Sociological edge effects: Spatial distribution of human impact in suburban forest fragments.
By Matlack, G. R. 1993.
Environmental Management 17: 829-839.

Forest fragmentation and alien plant invasion of central Indiana old-growth forests.
By Brothers, T. S., and A. Spingam. 1992.
Conservation Biology 6: 91 -100.

Predicting the impacts of edge effects in fragmented habitats.
By  Laurence, W. F., and E. Yensen. 1991.
Biological Conservation 55: 77-92.

The effects of forest fragmentation on woodland tree biotas in southern Ontario.
By Weaver, M., and M. Kellman. 1981.
Journal of Biogeography 8: 199-210.

Edge effects and conservation of biotic diversity.
By Harris, L. D. 1988.
Conservation Biology 2: 330-332,

Changes in wildlife communities near edges.
By Yalmer, R. H. 1988.
Conservation Biology 2: 333-339.

Edge versus age effects in the development of a beech-maple forest.
By Whitney, G. G., and J. R. Runkle. 1981.
Oikos 37: 377-381.

Estimating habitat isolation in landscape planning.
By Knappen, J. P., M. Scheffer, and B. Hanns. 1992.
Landscape and Urban Planning 23: 1-16.

Connectivity is a vital element of landscape structure.
By Taylor, P. D., L. Fahrig, K. Henein, and G. Merriam. 1993.
Oikos 68: 571-573.

A case study of woodland continuity and change in the American midwest.
By VIhitney, G. G., and W, J. Someriot. 1985.
Biological Conservation 31: 265-287.

The natural heritage of southern Ontario's settled landscapes. A review of conservation and restoration ecology for land-use and landscape planning.
By Riley, J. L., and P. Mohr. 1994.
Technical Report TR-00 I (Southern Region, Aurora, Science and Technology Transfer), Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Information Centre, Toronto, Ontario 78 pp.

Vegetation dynamics of the forest edge - trends in space and successional time.
By Matlack, G. R. 1994.
Journal of Ecology 82: 113-123.

Edge-effects in-fragmented forests: implications for conservation.
By Murcia, C. 1995.
Trends In Ecology and Evolution 10: 58-62.

Agroecosystem health: Is plant diversity a useful indicator?
By Murphy, S. D., and C. J. Swanton. 1995.
Agroecosystem Health Project, Miscellaneous Publications.  Discussion Paper #16. 25 pp.

Pollen limitation in a northern population of Hepatica acutiloba.
By Murphy, S. D., and L. Vasseur. 1995.
Canadian Journal of Botany 73:1234-1241.

Integrity standards for Natural Heritage Areas in Ontario.
By Poser, S. F., W. J. Crins, and T. J. Beechey. 1993.
Ontario Ministry of  Natural Resources, Huntsville, ON. 144 pp.

Distribution and status of the vascular plants of central region.
By Riley, J.L. (ed.). 1989.
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, OMNR, Parks and Recreational Areas Section, Central Region, Richmond Hill (Toronto ON) 110 pp.

Other studies or papers that could relate;

Predation rate on artificial nests increases with human housing density in suburban habitats.
By Thorington KK, Bowman R.
ECOGRAPHY 26 (2): 188-196 APR 2003

Effects of residential development on forest dwelling neotropical migrant songbirds
By Friesen LE, Eagles PFJ, MacKay RJ.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 9 (6): 1408-1414 DEC 1995
This is a Canadian study - done in Waterloo.

Landscape context and fragmentation effects on forest birds in southern Ontario
By Austen MJW, Francis CM, Burke DM, Bradstreet MSW.
CONDOR 103 (4): 701-714 NOV 2001

Housing developments in rural New England: effects on forest birds
By Kluza DA, Griffin CR, DeGraaf RM.
ANIMAL CONSERVATION  3: 15-26 Part 1 FEB 2000

Impacts of urbanization on plant and bird communities in forest ecosystems.
By Friesen L.
FORESTRY CHRONICLE 74 (6): 855-860 NOV-DEC 1998

Ecospatial outcomes of neoliberal planning: habitat management in Auckland Region, New Zealand. By
Coombes BL.
ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING B-PLANNING & DESIGN 30 (2): 201-218 MAR 2003
The title is arcane but it basically means that market force dominated planning wrecks any hopes of conserving ecosystems.

SOCIOLOGICAL EDGE EFFECTS - SPATIAL-DISTRIBUTION OF HUMAN IMPACT IN SUBURBAN FOREST FRAGMENTS
By Matlack GR.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 17 (6): 829-835 NOV-DEC 1993

Distribution pattern of the flora in a peri-urban forest: an effect of the city-forest ecotone.
By Godefroid S, Koedam N.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING 65 (4): 169-185 NOV 15 2003

Review of ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities.
By Trombulak SC, Frissell CA.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 14 (1): 18-30 FEB 2000

Ecological consequences of habitat fragmentation: Implications for landscape architecture and planning.
By Collinge SK.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING   36 (1): 59-77 OCT 1996

Measuring urban habitat fragmentation: an example from the Black Country, UK.
By Young CH, Jarvis PJ.
LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 16 (7): 643-658 OCT 2001

Conservation and management of forest patches and corridors in suburban landscapes.
By Pirnat J.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING 52 (2-3): 135-143 DEC 25 2000

Red-listed forest bird species in an urban environment - assessment of green space corridors.
By Mortberg U, Wallentinus HG.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING 50 (4): 215-226 AUG 30 2000

Urban ecological systems: Linking terrestrial ecological, physical, and socioeconomic components of metropolitan areas.
By Pickett STA, Cadenasso ML, Grove JM, Nilon CH, Pouyat RV, Zipperer WC, Costanza R. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY AND SYSTEMATICS 32: 127-157 2001

The application of ecological principles to urban and urbanizing landscapes.
By Zipperer WC, Wu JG, Pouyat RV, Pickett STA.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS  10 (3): 685-688 JUN 2000

Adopting a modern ecological view of the metropolitan landscape: the case of a greenspace system for the New York City region.
By  Flores A, Pickett STA, Zipperer WC, Pouyat RV, Pirani R.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING   39 (4): 295-308 JAN 1998

ENVIRONMENTAL-EFFECTS OF FOREST SOIL-INVERTEBRATE AND FUNGAL DENSITIES IN OAK STANDS ALONG AN URBAN-RURAL LAND-USE GRADIENT.
by POUYAT RV, PARMELEE RW, CARREIRO MM.
PEDOBIOLOGIA  38 (5): 385-399 SEP 1994
This one says that urbanization is terrible for soil and its organisms and its ecological function in nutrient cycling.

Urban ecology in Ontario, Canada: Moving beyond the limits of city and ideology.
By Murphy, SD, LRG Martin. 2001.
Environments 29:67-83.

Natural regeneration of trees in urban woodlands.
By Lehvavirta S, Rita H.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE 13 (1): 57-66 FEB 2002.

LONG-TERM HUMAN DISTURBANCE OF AN URBAN PARK FOREST, NEW-YORK-CITY
By LOEB RE.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 49 (3-4): 293-309 JUN 1992

Importance of backyard habitat in a comprehensive biodiversity conservation strategy: A connectivity analysis of urban green spaces.
By Rudd H, Vala J, Schaefer V.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY 10 (2): 368-375 JUN 2002

Urban plant ecology patterns and processes: a case study of the flora of the City of Plymouth, Devon, UK.
By Kent M, Stevens RA, Zhang L.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY 26 (6): 1281-1298 NOV 1999

Long-term changes in indigenous vegetation preserved in urban areas
Florgard C LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING 52 (2-3): 101-116 DEC 25 2000

Conservation and management of forest patches and corridors in suburban landscapes.
By Pirnat J.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING 52 (2-3): 135-143 DEC 25 2000

The potential role of natural colonisation as a design tool for urban forestry - a pilot study.
Millard A.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING  52 (2-3): 173-179 DEC 25 2000

Urban land resources and urban planting - case studies from Denmark.
By Attwell K.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING  52 (2-3): 145-163 DEC 25 2000

Urban forest landscapes in the UK - progressing the social agenda.
By Coles RW, Bussey SC.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING  52 (2-3): 181-188 DEC 25 2000

Importance of biological monitoring being used by development proposals in the landscape.
By Mocik M, Kalivodova E, Zaliberova M.
EKOLOGIA-BRATISLAVA  20: 256-263 Suppl. 3 2001

Using long-term monitoring to understand how adjacent land development affects natural areas:  An example from Saguaro National Park, Arizona (USA)
By Briggs MK, Howe J, Harris L, Halvorson W.
NATURAL AREAS JOURNAL 16 (4):  354-361 OCT 1996

The Status of Wildlife Habitats in Canada's Urban Landscapes
ISBN 0-921553-37-4,  2001-7.
By Wildlife Habitat Canada - WWW.whc.org.

How Much Habitat is Enough?
Great Lakes Fact Sheet 1998.
ISBN 0-662-27125-4
By Environment Canada.
Dealing with Wetlands and Forest Buffers.

A Framework for Conceptualizing Human Effects on Landscapes and Its Relevance to Management and Research Models.
By S. McIntyre and Richard Hobbs.
Conservation Biology, V.13, No.6, Dec. 1999, pp. 1282.

Conservation Where People Live and Work.
By James R. Miller and Richard J. Hobbs.
Conservation Biology, V.16, No.2, Apr. 2002, pp. 330.

Biological Consequences of Ecosystem Fragmentation: A Review.
By Denis A. Saunders, Richard J. Hobbs and Chris R. Margules.
Conservation Biology, V.5, No.1, Mar. 2001, pp. 330.

Why we should do something.  Fragmented, isolated woodlots fail to meet the needs of most species - including humans.
By Andy Kenney and Helena Rusak.
Seasons (Federation of Ontario Naturalists), Spring 2001, page 42.

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