Posted on July 29, 2010.
Port Rowan, July 08, 2010 – The Long Point Causeway Improvement Project (LPCIP) has launched a fundraising campaign to install and maintain heavy-duty barrier fencing to reduce wildlife road mortality along the Long Point Causeway. The work will complement the installation of three ecopassages under the roadway that the LPCIP has proposed for next year.
The LPCIP’s monitoring program over the past two years has shown that barrier fencing is an effective way to reduce road kill of turtles, snakes and frogs along the Causeway. However, it has also found that the low-cost black silt fencing that was initially installed to study this issue simply isn’t durable enough for the weather conditions at Long Point.
“This fundraising effort allows people in the community to make a tangible contribution to protecting the Species at Risk turtles and snakes and other wildlife that are killed on the Causeway,” said Paula Jongerden, chair of the LPCIP steering committee. “Through their donation, they can cast a vote in favor of making long overdue improvements to this natural gateway to the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve.”
The LPCIP is planning to replace about 3,500 metres of the black silt fencing with the much heavier green fencing that it has installed on the east side of the Causeway north of the first marina and at the viewing area parking lot. This fencing meets Ontario Ministry of Transportation specifications and was installed using MTO guidelines. The fencing is expected to last six to 10 years in most areas along the Causeway.
“While this fencing is much more durable and long lasting, it is also considerably more expensive to purchase, install and maintain,” said Jongerden. “So we’re asking people in the community to help us with donations and, in return, receive charitable donation receipt from the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve Foundation and an attractive decal for their vehicle.
A donation of $30 will install two metres of fencing; $60 will install four metres; $90 will install six metres and $120 will install eight metres of fencing. The donated funds will also help to maintain the fencing in years to come.
Individuals wishing to contribute to this effort should make out a cheque to the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve Foundation with the notation “Wildlife fencing”. Please mail it to the LPWBRF, P.O. Box 338, Port Rowan, ON N0E 1M0. Do not mail cash.
Posted on July 8, 2010.
By Renee Berube, CD 98.9 FM, Simcoe, Ontario in July of 2010
The Long Point Causeway Improvement Project is getting set to move on with their next big phase. They’ve secured 400 thousand dollars worth of grants to fund an environmental assessment on three eco-passages, which would allow wildlife and water to pass the underneath the road safely. Project Coordinator, Rick Levick says now they just need Norfolk County on board as the acting body and for staff’s expertise. The County has agreed to take the role because they believe it will be nothing but a benefit to have these passages put in, if the environmental assessment agrees. Levick says the funding will only cover two smaller passageways, but is confident they could raise what’s needed for the third large one, no problem.
Posted on July 8, 2010.
By Daniel Pearce, Simcoe Reformer, July 8, 2010
The first step in a controversial proposal to upgrade the causeway to Long Point is about to begin after municipal officials voted last night to move to the design stage.
Norfolk County will now look at how to run three culverts under the narrow two-lane roadway to create a safe passageway — from the marsh on the west side of the causeway to the inner bay on the east — for both water and reptiles.
As well, an environmental assessment and a hydrological study will be conducted to make sure the project is feasible and won’t cause more harm than good.A couple of people in the council gallery, supporters of the group of environmentalists who are advocating for the change, burst into applause after the vote went through.
Rick Levick, chair of the Long Point Improvement Project Steering Committee, said his group has just been awarded $400,000 in federal and provincial funding for the project and asked the county — which owns the road and must approve of any changes — to move ahead on the upgrades.
His group, Levick said, now has the money to cover the construction of the first two culverts and should be able to raise the rest for a larger third one.
The steering committee formed four years ago to plan upgrades to the causeway, which they say is damaging the environment in the area.
Turtles and snakes are killed in alarming numbers every year trying to cross to and from the inner bay, they say, while the marsh is stagnating because its water no longer flows underneath the causeway into the bay.
Their plans have run into stiff opposition from a group of residents who live on the causeway right from the start. The residents claim the upgrades are unnecessary.
Both groups have made numerous presentations to council over the past two years.
Last night, elected officials welcomed the idea of upgrading the road covering a long narrow sand spit which runs from the mainland to Long Point.
Simcoe Coun. Charlie Luke noted “there are valued points on both sides” of the argument, but added the decision is a “move in the right direction.”
Port Rowan Coun. John Hunt, whose ward includes Long Point, voted in favour of the project.
“If we don’t kickstart it now, it will drag on another year and another year. It’s a baby step, but it’s a step to move it along at no cost to the taxpayer,” he said.
Charlotteville Coun. Jim Oliver said the environmental assessment “gives all of us, proponents and opponents and the county, the chance to see if these two or three things will do what the experts say they will do.”
In the long run, the committee also wants to add a bike path, plant trees along the road, and create lookouts.
A steel culvert with holes at the top to let air and sunlight in is being studied, said Levick, who explained that research shows animals shy away from cold dark tunnels.
Over the past couple of years, the group has added turtle crossing signs to warn motorists and put up temporary fencing to prevent reptiles from climbing out of the marsh and onto the road.
But Tuesday night’s decision by council, Levick said, should result in the first “permanent” changes to the causeway.
