Monday, April 19 2010

Efforts to reduce road kill of turtles and snakes, including species at risk, on the Long Point Causeway are having a notable impact according to monitoring studies conducted by the Long Point Causeway Improvement Project (LPCIP) Committee over the past two years.

The annual road kill count of turtles dropped from highs of 202 in 1979 and 190 in 1993 to only 85 in 2009. The studies also noted significant declines in the numbers of amphibians (frogs and toads) and small mammals killed on the 3.6 kilometer-long roadway.

The LPCIP Committee has installed about 4,000 metres of temporary barrier fencing along the Causeway to prevent animals from venturing onto the road. Sixteen artificial nest mounds were also created on the marsh side of the fencing to provide turtles with alternative locations for laying their eggs. As well, the LPCIP Committee has set up an electronic message sign and turtles crossing signs along the Causeway during the spring and summer months to alert drivers to watch for animals on the road.

This work was carried out with financial support totaling $147,000 from Environment Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program and Ontario’s Species at Risk Stewardship Fund.

“Our monitoring work confirms that the annual death toll of wildlife on the Causeway can be reduced by making physical changes to the environment and, equally important, increasing people’s awareness about the road kill problem,” said Brian Craig, chair of the LPCIP Science Committee.

However, Craig noted that the sharp decline in roadkill in 2009 among all animal species, especially amphibians, may have been caused by the cool, wet weather last summer. “For example, we had very few warm, humid evenings in August when hundreds, sometimes thousands, of frogs are usually killed on the road annually.”

In 2009, only 85 amphibians were found dead on the road, compared to 815 in 2008 and more than 7,800 in 1993. “We hope this trend is not an indication of serious declines in the frog populations, but rather a result of changing weather conditions and our mitigation efforts.”

The Long Point Causeway Improvement Project is managed by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from 17 government agencies and local organizations and several individuals well-known in the community. The Committee receives administrative and management support from the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve Foundation, which promotes research, monitoring, education and projects that support the goals of conservation and sustainable use in the Biosphere Reserve.