Manitoulin Streams was presented the Mary Pickford Trophy at the 82nd annual OFAH conference in Mississauga on Saturday March 20th, 2010. The Mary Pickford Trophy is one the OFAH's highest honours. The award recognizes the most outstanding conservation achievements by an Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) club. The OFAH has over 100, 000 members and is the producer of Ontario Out Of Doors Magazine as well as Angler and Hunter Television.

The award was presented by OFAH President Rob Hare. Mr. Hare was quoted as saying "This award recognizes spirit, determination and the deep caring nature of OFAH conservationists in Ontario. Conservation work takes volunteers, donations and most importantly dedication."

Mr. Hare then went on to list Manitoulin Streams accomplishments for 2009 which included work on four rehabilitation sites, stocking 5000 brook trout eggs, planting 16,000 trees, invertebrate sampling and electro-shocking surveys on 8 sites. In addition to this Manitoulin Streams partnered with two post secondary schools, seven community groups, eight provincial government programs, three federal government programs, four municipalities and 53 businesses. Honourable mentions went to Syndenham Sportsman Association and the Grenville Fish and Game Club.

"Members clubs show their dedication to conservation and are the backbone of this organization." stated Mr. Hare.  "What the judges were impressed with most is the amount of volunteer hours put in by such relatively small club. This relatively new OFAH club has rehabilitated 23 major sites overall. Received the bi-national State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) "2008 Success Story of the Year" award presented by the U.S. and Canadian Consul Generals for their work on the Great Lakes."

"That's just outstanding, it takes all kinds of work and my hats off to them." said Mr.Hare

The trophy was presented to Seija Deschenes Manitoulin Streams Project Coordinator and Ted Williamson Manitoulin Streams Vice Chair. Ted was quoted as saying that "Manitoulin Streams is very humbled by this award. We started off as a grass-roots organization and produced on the ground results, but there is still much more to do." Seija Deschene thanked Manitoulin Streams funders, partners and volunteers and stated "We would like to especially thank the landowners and the agricultural community for supporting our organization. They are the stewards of the land."

A special thank you goes out to Zone D of the OFAH for their nomination for the Mary Pickford Trophy
and their sponsorship of Manitoulin Streams at the OFAH conference. Manitoulin Streams would also 
like to recognize Mr. Bob Florean Manitoulin Stewardship Coordinator for all of his hard work over the past
10 years through the Ministry of Natural Resources Ontario Stewardship Program.

Manitoulin Streams was recognized because we are on the leading edge for this type of aquatic rehabilitation. Our work is recognized in Canada and the U.S. as a model for this type of rehabilitation work. It sets the stage for other initiatives that will help to improve the Great Lakes, restore fisheries and protect our water quality. These other initiatives include the Eastern Georgian Bay and North Channel Re-Vitalization Initiative which proposes to use Manitoulin Streams as a model. These efforts will not only improve the areas aquatic environment but will produce more quality sport fish over the long term. This will draw people from near and far to come and experience the naturally reproduced fishery that is resulting from these efforts and from which longer term and sustainable economic opportunities will come from.

Additional Links 

The Manitoulin Expositor 

OFAH Media Release