Protecting Species at Risk: Ontario's Legislative Challenges

1. Bruce Peninsula’s Species at Risk

2. Legislation to protect species at risk • Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 is a single, official, scientifically sound, national classification of wildlife species at risk • Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) established in 2002 to legally protect wildlife at risk • Under SARA, the government of Canada takes COSEWIC's designations into consideration when establishing the legal list of wildlife species at risk • Ontario established an Endangered Species Act in 2007

3. Threats to Endangered Species Legislation Ontario Regulation 176/13, which came into force under the ESA on July 1, 2013, could be a tremendous blow to species protection. The new regulatory changes harm species by allowing major industries — including forestry, energy transmission, housing, oil and gas pipelines, mineral exploration and mine development, transit, wastewater management companies — to avoid strict standards intended to protect at-risk species and their habitats. EcoJustice, Wildlands League and Ontario Nature are suing the Ontario government because they believe the new Regulation undermines ESA and abandons protection of the 155 species at risk

4. Lakeside Daisy • Threatened Provincially and Nationally • Lakeside Daisy lives on alvars, a special habitat that is threatened by quarry development. Cottage development is an additional threat to populations on private land. • A distinctive species that are specialized for living on shallow soil overlaying limestone bedrock.

5. Dwarf Lake Iris • Special Concern Provincially and Nationally • Lakeshore development, such as cottages and roads, pollute or destroy the habitat. • Dwarf Lake Iris is small and seldom grows taller than 10 cm in cedar swamps and swales in clearings in forested sand-dunes

6. Hill’s Thistle • Threatened Provincially and Nationally • The development of shoreline for cottages and roads has decreased the habitat for Hill’s Thistle and other alvar plants. The limestone and dolostone that forms the alvars where Hill’s Thistle grows is sought after by aggregate companies, and resource extraction reduces the habitat. Alvar areas also tend to be popular for recreation, and trampling is a problem at some sites. • is a native thistle that grows in a variety of open sites, including prairies and woodland alvars. Alvars -- a special habitat type that, in North America, is largely restricted to the Great Lakes region -- are limestone plains where the rock underlies shallow soil.

7. Hill’s Pondweed • Special Concern Provincially and Nationally • Hill's Pondweed was not discovered in Ontario until 1951 so it is not clear whether historic declines have occurred. The main threats are water diversion, drainage and pollution. • It grows in clear, cold ponds and slow- moving streams where the water is alkaline and it flowers in summer and the small fruits are eaten by ducks.

8. Tuberous Indian Plantain • Special Concern Provincially and Nationally • the species has disappeared from areas in the Bruce Peninsula. The main threats to the species in Ontario are the mowing of wet meadows for hay, trampling by livestock along riverbanks, and wetland drainage for cottage development. • The species prefers wet, sandy areas along river banks and wetlands near Lake Huron.

9. Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid • Endangered Provincially and Nationally • Growing in tamarack swamps in the Bruce Peninsula, some of this habitat has been converted to farmland and the suppression of fire, which is essential for keeping suitable areas open for the plant and also stimulates flowering, has contributed to declines. • It is an impressive flowering plant that grows in swamps and wet tall grass prairie. It produces large flowers (up to 3 cm wide) that are white and have the characteristic "lip," which serves as a landing platform for pollinating insects.

10. Shortjaw Cisco (Chub) • Threatened Provincially and Nationally • The dramatic decline of this species in the Great Lakes was due to over-fishing. Competition and predation from introduced rainbow smelt alewife and sea lamprey may have also contributed to declines. It is considered extirpated from lakes Michigan, Erie and Huron • It lives in deep waters of lakes where it can grow to a length of up to 35 centimetres and attain a weight of up to one kilogram

11. Queen Snake • Endangered Provincially and Nationally • Historical records show that it has disappeared or declined at a number of sites in southwestern Ontario in the last 100 years. The main threat to the Queen Snake is habitat loss as waterways are drained, disturbed or polluted. Crayfish, their main food, are sensitive to acidification and heavy metals. Thus, as waterways have become polluted and crayfish have died out, the Queen snake has declined. • This snake is aquatic, living in clear, smaller rivers where there is good rock cover. It feeds almost exclusively on crayfish, especially freshly-moulted individuals that are softer and easier to swallow. Adults are slender and grow to approximately 60 cm, though some grow as long as 90 cm.

12. Eastern Massassauga Rattlesnake • Threatened Provincially and Nationally • Historically, the Massassauga inhabited most of southern Ontario, and declined there as habitat was transformed to farmland and urban areas. Habitat loss and fragmentation as roads are built through their existing range are the main threats today. Human persecution, while still a factor, has likely decreased as public awareness improves. • It is Ontario's only venomous snake (another venomous species, the Timber Rattlesnake is no longer present in Ontario). The Massasauga lives in a range of open habitats, where it hunts for small mammals and birds. • The Massasauga Rattlesnake is listed as threatened under Ontario's Endangered Species Act, 2007. The Act protects the species from harmful activities such as capture, harassment, collection, possession, buying and selling, or any other actions that may cause harm to the species. The Massasauga Rattlesnake is also protected under Ontario's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.

13. Eastern Milksnake • Special Concern Provincially and Nationally • Historically, human persecution has been a threat. Because it is often around farm buildings, it does get killed by vehicles. Its aggressive behaviour and proclivity to inhabit buildings makes it more prone to being killed by humans. • This species is not venomous and captures small mammals, especially mice, and small ground-nesting birds with its teeth, then subduing them by constriction. It lives in a wide range of habitats, especially old fields and farm buildings where rodents are common. It is more likely to be encountered at night when it is hunting, since during the day it is secretive and usually hides under objects. If surprised or threatened, it will take an aggressive posture: It raises its head in the air, vibrates its tail and may attempt to bite. It has sometimes been mistaken for a rattlesnake, as the vibrating tail can make a buzzing sound in dry leaves.

14. Eastern Ribbonsnake • Threatened Provincially and Nationally • The Eastern Ribbon Snake is at the northern limit for the species and may never have been common or widespread here. There is little historical data in Ontario on abundance trends, but it is likely that the reduction of wetland habitat through urban and agricultural development resulted in a decrease in abundance in Ontario. • It is usually found close to water, especially in marshes where it hunts for frogs and small fish. A good swimmer, it will occasionally dive in shallow water. At the onset of cold weather, individuals congregate in burrows or rock crevices to hibernate together in what is termed a "hibernaculum."

15. Loggerhead Shrike • Endangered Provincially and Nationally • Sometimes called the "butcher bird", this raptorial (predatory) song bird has the unusual habit of impaling its prey, mostly insects, but occasionally small birds or mice, on twigs or thorns. Loggerhead Shrikes hunt from perches in open country, and prefer a combination of pasture or other grassland with scattered low trees and shrubs. • Intensive farming practices, natural plant succession, reforestation and development have all reduced the amount of habitat available for the Loggerhead Shrike. Unwary young shrikes also have the unfortunate tendency to forage for dead insects on roads, where they may be killed by vehicles. Predation by cats and dogs may be an additional threat, especially in areas close to human habitation. • The Loggerhead Shrike is listed in regulation under Ontario's Endangered Species Act, 2007, which protects the species and its habitat. The Natural Heritage component of the Provincial Policy Statement under the Planning Act provides for the protection of significant habitat of endangered species. The federal Migratory Birds Convention Act also protects this bird.

16. Golden Winged Warbler • Threatened Provincially and Nationally • It is a small songbird of the new world wood-warbler family. Their preferred breeding habitat is areas of early successional vegetation, found primarily on field edges, hydro or utility right-of-ways, or recently logged areas. On their wintering grounds, they are found within open woodlands at high elevations of 1,500-3,000 metres in Central America and northern South America. • A decrease of early successional scrub habitat within its breeding range in eastern North America poses a strong threat to populations of the Golden-winged Warbler.

17. Least Bittern • Threatened Provincially and Nationally • The main threat to Least Bitterns is draining of wetlands for conversion to farmland and urban development. Bitterns generally require large, quiet marshes and as marshes decrease in size and human recreation increases, the population declines in an area. • The Least Bittern is more likely heard than seen, as it "coo"s softly from deep in a cattail marsh. This species is the smallest of the North American herons and is distinguished by large chestnut patches on its' wings.

18. Red-headed Woodpecker • Special Concern Provincially, Threatened Nationally • The Red-headed Woodpecker population has declined by more than 60%in Ontario in the last 20 years because of habitat loss due to forestry and agricultural practices, and competition from European Starling for nest sites. In some areas, birds get killed on the roads when they are foraging for insects. The removal of dead trees is in which it nests is also believed to be a significant factor in its decline. • This medium-size bird (20cm) lives in open woodland and woodland edges, especially in oak savannahs and riparian forest, which can often be found in parks, golf courses and cemetaries. These habitats contain a higher density of dead trees, which they commonly use for nesting and perching. It is an omnivorous species, feeding on insects in the summer and nuts in the winter.

19. Monarch Butterfly • Special Concern Provincially and Nationally • Declines in the Ontario populations of Monarchs are due to factors on the wintering grounds and in Ontario. The main causes of decline are logging and disturbance of the overwintering sites in Mexico, and the widespread use of pesticides and herbicides in Ontario. • The Monarch Butterfly can be found in Ontario wherever there are milkweed plants for its caterpillars and wildflowers for a nectar source. Monarchs are often found on abandoned farmland and roadsides, but also in city gardens and parks. The eastern North American population migrates to Mexico each fall to overwinter at 12 sites in the central mountains.

20. References • http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php?doc_type=fact&id=68 • http://www.castlebluff.com/bffscience/species_at_risk.html