New grant encourages landowners to grow grassland

A conservation authority in eastern Ontario says it is still looking to partner with landowners and farmers to convert land to grasslands, in order to help protect the endangered ecosystems.

The Raisin Region Conservation Authority (RRCA) launched a new round of funding this summer to provide up to 100 per cent of project costs to increase grasslands in its area, which includes the City of Cornwall and parts of North and South Stormont and North and South Glengarry. 

The deadline for the program passed in September, but the RRCA says it accepts expressions of interest in grassland projects at any time of the year.

Tall grasslands are Ontario's most threatened type of ecosystem.

"It's an important ecosystem that provides habitat for a number of different species," said Brendan Jacobs, the authority's stewardship specialist.

Jacobs said grasslands help with erosion in areas where trees can't grow, such as along riverbanks, and they help filter water and air.

"They hold the soil together; they draw those nutrients deep in. They're able to bring up other nutrients that other vegetation will need to grow, and they're basically, really good at holding those soils together."

Working to maintain

Landowner Dino Intrevado has worked with the RRCA to convert some of his 65 hectares, originally used to raise horses, into grassland. 

"We're going to keep the balance here and [we're] hoping that other people will follow because the planet is unbalanced and it's gonna take a long time to put it back together," he said.

In the few years since getting involved he's already noticed a difference.

"There's more species like you see it here; we even see it back at our place with the bird feeders, like there's different birds," Intrevado said.

The conservation authority works with landowners and farmers to enhance or create grassland habitat on their land.

"It doesn't have to be hundreds and hundreds of acres, they can be five acres, it can be 10 acres," Jacobs said, adding grassland projects can help farmers in particular by finding new uses for unproductive land, or growing hay for animals or sale.

The authority then assists them in managing the land and conserving the species living there, using techniques like mowing hay after nesting times.

The conversation authority says since 2012 it has increased the amount of grasslands in its area through several programs. It has seen success with 70 land owners, leading to projects on more than 280 hectares of land.