Amendment to the John E. Pearce Provincial Park Management Plan

John E. Pearce Provincial Park:

John E. Pearce Provincial Park is a 67.9 hectare nature reserve class park that was established in 1957. The park is located on the shores of Lake Erie in Wallacetown, 40 kilometres southwest of the City of London. The purpose of John E. Pearce Provincial Park is to:

• protect the park’s natural heritage features and cultural heritage values
• provide ecologically sustainable recreational opportunities

Specifically, the park protects:

• diverse ecological communities including upland and lowland deciduous forests, meadows with marsh inclusions, and open bluffs along the Lake Erie shoreline
• several provincially rare and species at risk populations of plants, birds, bats, and reptiles
• significant cultural heritage values, including Indigenous history and the Backus-Page house, a museum run by the Tyrconnell Heritage Society that provides information about agriculture and early life in the area

Proposed changes to the John E. Pearce Provincial Park Management Plan

We are proposing to amend the John E. Pearce Provincial Park Management Plan to ensure that it reflects the current park status and remains relevant and effective for managing the park into the future.

Proposed amendments to the management plan include:

• Purpose Statement update
• Vision Statement addition
• Zoning amendments:
  • addition of a 3rd zone (Historical Zone) to highlight significant cultural heritage features of the park, including the Backus-Page House.
  • update to Nature Reserve Zone description
  • changes to Access Zone total area
  • updated mapping to reflect proposed zoning
• 7.1.2 Wildlife: proposed policy to support species enhancement or reintroduction and management of hyperabundant wildlife
• 7.13 Vegetation: proposed policy to update vegetation management practices as well as insect and disease management practices.
• 7.1.4 Tree removal: proposed policy that calls for cut hazard trees and standing snags to be left on site (to support ecological integrity) where it is safe and feasible to do so.
• 7.1.9 Land management: proposed policy that states that disposition of lands will generally not be allowed unless consistent with the park’s purpose, vision, objectives or operations.
• 7.1.10 Water management: proposed policy regarding water treatment, vault privies and septic system
• 7.1.11 Shoreline bluffs and landform management: proposed general management direction for landforms regarding the maintenance of natural processes and function
• 7.1.12 Collecting: proposed policy to prohibit unauthorized removal of natural heritage items, cultural heritage items or artifacts
• 7.1.13 Science and research: proposed policy to enable the use of temporary facilities during research and monitoring activities
• 7.2.1 Hunting, trapping, fishing, harvesting and agriculture: policies on hunting, trapping, fishing and harvesting have not been changed. They have been grouped in one section and policy has been added regarding small-scale agriculture practices being permitted for the purpose of education and interpretive programming.
• 7.2.2 Motorized vehicles: proposed clarification provided on use of motorized vehicles within the park
• 7.2.3 Hiking, picnicking, and bird watching: proposed policy regarding trail maintenance and monitoring and enabling the closure / re-routing of trails, if necessary.
• 7.2.4 Horseback riding: proposed policy to clarify that horseback riding is not a permitted activity in Nature Reserve class parks
• 7.3.1 Development: proposed policy regarding infrastructure maintenance and stating that construction of new infrastructure will be confined to the access and historical zones
• 7.3.4 Interpretive facilities: proposed policy to permit the construction of cultural heritage interpretative facilities in the historical and access zone
• 7.3.6 Special events: proposed policy that describes the special events that may be permitted on site
• 8.0 Implementation priorities: an implementation priorities table has been added to summarize priorities for the park

John E Pearce Provincial Park Management Plan administrative updates

In March 2023, we made administrative updates to the 1994 John E. Pearce Provincial Park Management Plan to bring it up to current Ontario Parks management plan standards. The maps were updated (regional context, local setting and existing development and zoning). New sections that reflect current Ontario Parks policy (not park-specific) were added and some sections of the 1994 management plan were moved, reorganized or re-numbered.

Public consultation

We are interested in any comments the public may have. This is the only opportunity for the public to comment on this proposed amendment to the John E. Pearce Provincial Park Management Plan. All comments received will be considered before finalizing the amendment to the management plan.