On June 19, 2024 we released our 2023-24 Annual Report and our workplan called 'Pathway to Delisting'. Our annual report highlights our accomplishments and the accomplishments of our partners over the 2023-24 year and our workplan provides an overview of our plans to address the remaining beneficial uses in the Detroit River. Click the links below to learn more!

Annual report
Workplan

Fishing Day Success!

Over 80 people joined us and Just Fishin' Friends on July 6 to fish the Detroit River. The event was designed to provide fishing equipment and expertise so that the community could fish and learn to fish the Detroit River. Participants also learned about the Detroit River Remedial Action Plan and how to safely consume fish from the Detroit River.


A few years ago, the DRCC put together a resource regarding fishing and learning to fish in the Detroit River. Check it out by clicking the button below.

Learn to fish the river

2024 Fish Consumption Guidelines now available!

The Guide to Eating Ontario Fish provides easy-to-use information to help the general population and sensitive populations (for example, children under 15 years old and anyone who is pregnant or may become pregnant) choose fish caught from Ontario lakes and rivers to eat, while minimizing exposure to toxins.


The Province collects fish for contaminant analysis through the Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program. They assess measured contaminant levels to determine how many fish meals a person can safely eat per month for the type, size and location where the fish was caught. The type and amount of Ontario fish that are safe to eat (called “consumption advice” or advisories) are generally based on guidelines provided by Health Canada. The Detroit River is divided into two locations in the Guide - the upper Detroit River and lower Detroit River.

Read the guide

An ecosystem approach

A new report outlining the ecosystem approach and its application to the Great Lakes and elsewhere has been released. An ecosystem approach is a framework for collaborative research, governance, and management that focuses on protecting ecosystem health with resilience (i.e., the capacity to respond to disturbance or perturbation by resisting damage and subsequently recovering) and fostering resource conservation and sustainable use.

In celebration of this 50th anniversary of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the “United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration” (2021-2030), the Healthy Headwaters Lab of the University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management Society, and many partners: convened a 2022 international conference on the ecosystem approach that included six synthesis working groups, arranged 16 public workshops throughout the Great Lakes basin to get stakeholder feedback on ways and means of advancing an ecosystem approach in the 21st century, and performed a follow-up participant survey and literature review. Collectively, these four project elements provided an opportunity to learn from past and current experiences with ecosystem approaches and look to the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead to improve efforts in implementing ecosystem-based management across the Great Lakes and beyond, and to reap its many social, economic, and environmental benefits.

Read the report

Upcoming Local Events

Save the date for these great local events! Contact the organizers for more information.

Wetlands Wildlife Walk

Jul 13, 2024, 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Essex, 915 County Rd 50 E, Essex, ON N0R 1G0, Canada


This Nature Lover's Walk will take place at 11am and be repeated at 3pm. Enjoy a guided tour of Fox Creek with hands-on activities! Participation is included with your seasonal pass or daily admission by donation.

ADM & Friends Watershed Cleanup - Pike Creek

July 17, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Canoe Launch at Urban Surf Co , 55 E Pike Creek Rd, Windsor, ON N8N 3S1, Canada


On Wednesday July 17, 2024, the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) and ADM Agri-Industries will work with community volunteers to remove accumulated debris and litter along a portion of the Pike Creek and Hiram Walker green spaces along E Pike Creek Rd. Such a special thank you to ADM Cares for sponsoring the cleanup project and providing the support to accomplish this great work in the watershed.


ERCA staff will be parked at 55 E Pike Creek Rd (Urban Surf Co Parking Lot) conducting onsite registration beginning at 6pm. Parking is available at the Urban Surf Co Parking lot - please visit https://maps.app.goo.gl/pDYyPTcbfiQx8GgZ8 for directions to the parking and cleanup meeting location. Learn more and register.

Sciensational Ssssnakes

August 3 - 5, 11 am to 4 pm, Visitor Centre, Point Pelee National Park, 1118 Point Pelee Dr, Leamington, ON N8H 3V4


Are you curious about the secret lives of reptiles? Interested in where they live or what they eat? Point Pelee National Park is pleased to welcome Sciensational Sssnakes!! which provides hands-on education about reptiles and amphibians to audiences of all ages. Their presentation will include information about the animals, their ecology and conservation issues as well as a session in which participants are able to interact, touch and hold the animals. The team will be on hand with a variety of reptiles, some of which can be found in Point Pelee National Park. Learn more.

Self Guided Dark Night Sky

August 9 - 11, 11 am to 4 pm, Point Pelee National Park, 1118 Point Pelee Dr, Leamington, ON N8H 3V4


Explore the park after dark and experience the dark skies of Point Pelee National Park. You will have the opportunity to stay late and experience the park at night. Hosted by RASC - please check at the entrance kiosk for the location of programming in the park. The park will stay open all night August 9 and August 10 for the Perseid Meteor Shower (Open at 6 a.m. August 9, close at 10 p.m. August 11). For more information please contact pelee.info@pc.gc.ca.

If you have an upcoming local event that you want The Current readers to know about please send us an email at postmaster@detroitriver.ca

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

The Detroit River and Great Lakes in the news. Here are some links to articles that may pique your interest. Click the link to read on.  

Have Something to Share?

 

We're always looking for fun and dynamic content to include in our monthly newsletters! If you'd like to share a personal story about the Detroit River, promote an upcoming event, or recognize a local environmental hero in our monthly newsletter, please email: postmaster@detroitriver.ca

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The Detroit River Canadian Cleanup is a partnership between government, industry, academics, as well as environmental and community organizations that work together to improve the Detroit River ecosystem through a Remedial Action Plan. Our goal is to remove the Detroit River from the list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern.