Decade Award honours Pinery Provincial Park
AUSABLE BAYFIELD CONSERVATION HONOURS ONTARIO PARKS FOR CREATION OF PINERY PROVINCIAL PARK IN 1950s AND CONTINUED STEWARDSHIP – Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) has announced its second Decade Award during ABCA’s 80th anniversary year. The award was presented in a short ceremony on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. The most recent award recognizes Ontario Parks for creation of Pinery Provincial Park in the 1950s and continued stewardship of this important area in the decades that have followed. Accepting the award, at the Old Ausable Channel in the park, are (in photo from left to right) Mark Custers, Superintendent of Pinery Provincial Park and Alistair Mackenzie, Discovery and Resource Management Supervisor at Pinery Provincial Park. They received the award from Ray Chartrand, Chair of the ABCA Board of Directors; Davin Heinbuck, ABCA General Manager and Secretary-Treasurer; Kari Jean, ABCA Aquatic Biologist; and David Marsh, ABCA Vice Chair.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority presents second Decade Award, during ABCA’s 80th anniversary year, to Ontario Parks, for Pinery Provincial Park
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority honours Ontario Parks for establishing and stewarding Pinery Provincial Park; ABCA celebrates 80th anniversary with presentation of award for each decade since its founding in 1946; ABCA presents second Decade Award to recognize Pinery’s founding in 1950s
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) is honouring contributions that have been made in each decade of the conservation’s authority’s 80-year history (1946-2026). ABCA has presented its second Decade Award. The most recent recognition has been awarded to Ontario Parks for its establishment of Pinery Provincial Park in the 1950s and its continued stewardship of the park in the years that have followed.
Ray Chartrand is Chair of the ABCA Board of Directors.
“During ABCA’s 80th anniversary year, we are pleased to present our second Decade Award,” he said. “We are honoured to recognize Ontario Parks for its creation of Pinery Provincial Park in the 1950s and the care and stewardship of this amazing nature area since that time.”
“We are pleased to receive the Decade Award from the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority during its 80th anniversary year,” said Mark Custers, Park Superintendent of Pinery Provincial Park. “Pinery Provincial Park has long been a place where nature, community, and conservation come together. This recognition honours the early work that established the park in 1957 and affirms the importance of continuing to safeguard its unique ecosystems for the people who enjoy it today and those who will discover it tomorrow.”
During the 1950s, Ausable River Conservation Authority began a land acquisition initiative that formed the foundation for the provincial park located along Lake Huron south of Grand Bend. The Province of
Ontario established Pinery Provincial Park in 1957 and has maintained this important natural area since then. Pinery Provincial Park is a tourist destination and important natural ecosystem. The park protects almost half of the Oak Savanna on the planet.
The second Decade Award, for the 1950s decade, was announced and presented at a short ceremony held in the area of the Old Ausable Channel (OAC) on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
ABCA presented its first Decade Award, in March, to member municipalities. The award for the decade of the 1940s recognized the vision and leadership of municipalities, having formed Ausable River Conservation Authority (Ontario’s first conservation authority) in 1946 and their continued partnership since then.
The Decades Award, with the names of the decade winners inscribed on individual plaques, will be displayed at the Ausable Bayfield Conservation office.