"Celebrate Washington Island: Niagara Escarpment Gem"

presented
Saturday, June 19, 2010 
Trinity Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall  7:00 p.m.
by
Bob Bultman of the Niagara Escarpment Resource Network

The Niagara Escarpment defines one of the most significant biological landscapes in North America, and many of its unique ecosystems are recognized as globally significant.  Its seven hundred mile long corridor contains diverse habitats such as cliffs, caves, significant wetlands and dunes that are home to some of the greatest concentrations of biological diversity in the mid-continent, including many species of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. 

Washington Island is a precious gem on this “Great Arc” that straddles the Great Lakes, stretching from eastern Wisconsin to the Garden Peninsula and the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan through Lake Huron into Southern Ontario, across Niagara Falls and into western New York State.  Except for a giant waterfall, Washington Island is like a microcosm of many of the unique natural attributes of the Niagara Escarpment and also contains important features of historic, economic, cultural and recreational value. "An appreciation for how amazing the entire corridor is, emphasizes the importance and significance of Washington Island", says Bultman.

In addition to the fragile world-class biology, Washington Island – and the entire Niagara Escarpment corridor - has a unique and fragile drinking water situation.  The dolostone bedrock that forms the Niagara Escarpment is a karst landscape, riddled with fractures, sinkholes and caves that necessitate important land use management considerations. 

"Celebrate Washington Island, Niagara Escarpment Gem" is presented by the Niagara Escarpment Resource Network and sponsored by Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership, Inc. and Washington Island Canoe & Kayak Event. Bob Bultman, Baileys Harbor, runs RestoreDoor EcoLogical Services, specializing in environmental education, natural property management, invasive species control, and biodiversity enhancement.