ERCA celebrates 50th anniversary

By Fred Groves

On July 18, 1973, the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) was founded and its task at the time was “the Authority has jurisdiction over the watersheds of all the streams within the County of Essex flowing into St. Clair, Detroit River and Lake Erie.”

Last Sunday afternoon at the John R. Park Homestead, the jewel in ERCA’s crown, 50 years of protection, education and partnership was celebrated.

“What incredible progress it’s made in monitoring our watershed,” said ERCA CAO Tim Byrne who has been with the organization for over 40 years.

Robert Pulleybank, Reeve of Sandwich South Township was the first chairman of the ERCA and many of his family members were part of the large group of attendees for the 50th Anniversary Celebration.

In 1973, there was just three per cent tree coverage in Essex County, which has nearly tripled to the current 8.5 per cent.

“It’s almost impossible to imagine how far we’ve come in 50 years,” said present chair Jim Morrison.

Representatives of past staff and board members as well as municipal, provincial and federal government had a lot to celebrate on Sunday.

“We understand what it (ERCA) means to the future for our children and our grandchildren,” said Essex County Warden Hilda MacDonald.

“Over the past 50 years we’ve been honoured to form alliances with senior government,” said Byrne.

Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczk, a former ERCA chair, said that in his short stint, he saw how a remarkable organization works.

“I raise a toast of maple syrup to the 50 years that has been and the 50 years that will be,” said Kusmierczk.

In 1973, ERCA planted 32,000 trees and that number has escalated to about 100,000 per year now. In 2023, the local authority will plant its seven millionth tree.

ERCA was the second last authority to form in the province and Morrison said it had a lot of catching up to do. It certainly has and it has also seen its share of setbacks, including in 1995 when government funding was cut by 70 percent but still, the existing level of services were maintained.

Today, ERCA offers many great places to visit such as the John R. Park Homestead which became a museum in 1978, and Amherstburg’s Holiday Beach Conservation Authority. It offers educational programs, tree planting, landowner grants and flood forecasting.

One of the highlights of the 50th year was at the annual general meeting when Caldwell First Nation Chief Mary Duckworth presented a One Dish-One Spoon wampum to ERCA leadership representing shared stewardship of the land.