By DANIEL PEARCE, SIMCOE TIMES-REFORMER Rick Levick stood at the side of the Long Point causeway with four newly-planted trees sticking up in the air a few metres behind him on the edge of the marsh. “This is the first of the forest,” Levick exclaimed shortly before an official ceremony on Monday afternoon in which the mayor patted the final shovelfuls of dirt around a tree. The sycamore, elm, and tulip trees that went into the ground on the south end of the causeway marked the start of a campaign that will see hundreds more planted before the end of[…]

Port Rowan, ON — Road mortality of turtles and snakes on the Long Point Causeway, considered one of the deadliest stretches of road for wildlife in North America, has been reduced by 56% over the past three years. This success can be credited to the installation of barrier fencing by the Long Point Causeway Improvement Project Committee and their effective campaign to increase awareness for animal safety on this 3.6 kilometer roadway. In each of the past three summers, the LPCIP conducted weekly monitoring of road kill along the Causeway, recording the species, sex, approximate age and location of each[…]

By MONTE SONNENBERG, SIMCOE REFORMER The public will soon be invited to make formal submissions on a plan to make the Long Point causeway more friendly to local wildlife. Norfolk County and the Long Point Causeway Improvement Steering Committee have tapped the Orangeville engineering firm S. Burnett & Associates to conduct an environmental assessment on a proposal to install three culverts. These “ecopassages” would allow snakes, turtles and other wildlife to travel between the Big Creek Marsh and Long Point Bay without risking death on the causeway. The culverts would also reestablish water flows and fish traffic between the bodies[…]

From “Port Rowan Good News” community newspaper — December 2010 Norfolk County has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for engineering and environmental services for three wildlife culverts, or ecopassages, to be constructed under the Causeway at Long Point. The closing date for tenders is November 30. The project will be awarded on December 21, 2010 with the final report due to Council on June 14, 2011. It’s the first step in addressing problems related to the Causeway, from wildlife mortality to siltation in the Inner Bay to public safety. After the Causeway Improvement Committee received confirmation of nearly $400,000[…]

From “Port Rowan Good News” community newspaper — December 2010 Over ten thousand feet of heavy tarp was installed on both sides of the Causeway, with another 750 feet secured around the Canadian Wildlife Service building, in an effort to reduce wildlife mortality on the heavily travelled road. “It’s heavy” commented one worker from her truck, “like trampoline or ginseng tarp.” Project superintendent Steve Armstrong is “very happy” with the progress of the crew. Steve has been clearing a trench-like path beside the road for Jim Cook and John Armstrong to install “about a thousand” stakes. A second crew secured[…]

Posted by Ashley DeGroote, CD 98.9, November 28, 2010 The Long Point Causeway will be getting thousands of new trees and shrubs thanks to nearly $10 thousand in funding from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. Nearly one thousand new Carolinian trees and 15 hundred native shrubs will be planted along the road. Chair of the Steering Committee, Paula Jongerden says these will be the first new trees and shrubs to be planted along the Causeway in many, many years.

Simcoe Reformer, Nov. 27, 2010. Thousands of Carolinian trees and native shrubs will be planted along the Long Point Causeway next year. TD Friends of the Environment Foundation has donated $9,965 to purchase almost 1,000 Carolinian trees and more than 1,500 native shrubs. The Long Point Causeway Improvement Project, in corporation with the county’s forestry department, will be carrying out the planting. “These will be the first new trees and shrubs to be planted along the Causeway in many, many years,” said Paul Jongerden, chair of the project’s steering committee. “While we’re committed to preserving the existing trees, it’s essential[…]