The MarshScape Project

the cardinal gallery exhibit

Wetlands cover about 14% of Canada today. They were once abundant but became increasingly scarce due to land use practices that destroyed vegetation, polluted their water sources, and altered their water flow. Over two thirds of the original wetlands in southern Ontario have vanished, for example. Along the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario, 90 – 95% of the wetlands have been destroyed due to urban development and agricultural production. Fortunately, most of the wetlands in the North survive.

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The Government of Canada has actively sought to protect its most important wetlands under the international RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands. It is a treaty among 170 nations that has selected 2,331 sites worldwide as “significant” for the purposes of conservation and sustainability. Canada has 27 RAMSAR sites covering a total of 13.1 million hectares.

This gallery showcases a crossection of my favorite images captured in Canada’s wetlands from 2010 to the present extending from Newfoundland to Ontario to British Columbia. The survey continues in 2020 and will add new RAMSAR wetlands to the Marsh Scape Project located in Quebéc, Alberta, and NW Territories. Stay tuned.

please CLICK on AN IMAGE TO ENLARGe

the marsh scape project