The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) is capping off a year that included more than the usual amount of property upgrade projects.
Stone dust trail upgrades at Lorne C. Henderson Conservation Area in Petrolia were recently completed in late November, through the Ontario’s Southwest Tourism Relief Fund, delivered by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
"Also with that funding, we've upgraded 59 of our transient campsites to have gravel paths to back a trailer into so that during the spring, we don't have to cancel reservations when we get into more wet site conditions," said Manager of Conservation Areas Greg Wilcox.
As part of a different project, funded through the Ontario Trillium Foundation, stone dust trail upgrades were completed at Wawanosh Conservation Area in Sarnia and Strathroy Conservation Area. Boardwalk upgrades were also completed at Strathroy Conservation Area, Coldstream Conservation Area, and at Clark Wright Conservation Area in Strathroy-Caradoc.
"There's still some signage improvements to install by spring so we have some updated trail mapping and trail signs to complete," said Wilcox.
The signs are part of the Trillium funding granted with the project upgrades listed above.
Wilcox agreed 2022 was "a little more intensive for property upgrades" for conservation authorities.
"We were very fortunate to receive a number of different grants to do property upgrades so it was definitely more in 2022 than past seasons," he said. "This was a year where we just were fortunate to have a number of successful applications … There's always lots of work to be done, it's just a matter of finding the resources to do the projects."
As for what's to come in 2023, Wilcox said most grant applications for large-scale projects haven't been submitted yet or soon will be.
However, the SCRCA has received approval for one project so far, to complete trail upgrades at Peers Wetland Conservation Area, just outside of Wallaceburg.