Making roads safer for reptiles and amphibians in Eastern and Central Ontario

Parks Canada's report on conservation from 2018 to 2023

Conservation priority: Restoration and recovery
Location: Bruce Peninsula National Park, Thousand Islands National Park and Georgian Bay Islands National Park, Ontario

Parks Canada and regional partners are collaborating to make roads safer for wildlife, improve the recovery of reptiles and amphibians, and increase public awareness of road mortality issues.

Anchored in lessons learned from previous successful projects, Parks Canada, regional partners, First Nations communities, and citizen science volunteers are advancing the recovery of reptiles and amphibians across the region.

Project highlights

7800+ animals documented using 5 eco-passages in Bruce Peninsula National Park
Over 7000 turtle eggs incubated, and hatchlings released in collaboration with partners since 2020
718 nest boxes installed in cooperation with volunteers

A tiny turtle hatchling with a dark shell and bright yellow markings is gently held between the thumb and forefinger of a human hand. — A hatchling Blanding's turtle, an Endangered species, is rescued by a Parks Canada team member from a roadway adjacent to Georgian Bay Islands National Park. Photo: Parks Canada

Making roads safer

Many reptiles and amphibians in Eastern and Central Ontario are facing population decline due to the impact of roads that divide the landscape. Roads disrupt natural movements, increase the risk of road mortality, and increase access to roadside nests by predators.

A grey metal grate bisects a dirt road flanked by grasses and wildflowers. — Eco-passages in Bruce Peninsula National Park reconnect fragmented habitats for reptiles and amphibians. Photo: Parks Canada

A snake slithers along the gravel floor of a narrow, concrete passage, towards a square of light and vegetation at its end. — An Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake uses a newly built eco-passage to safely cross a road in Bruce Peninsula National Park. Photo: Parks Canada

Construction of eco-passages to allow wildlife to pass under roads in Bruce Peninsula National Park is proving to be successful. Data collected at road mortality hotspots, before and after the installation of eco-passages, demonstrates this infrastructure has reduced road mortality and is helping to reconnect the fragmented habitats of reptiles and amphibians.

From 2020 to 2023, Parks Canada, in collaboration with regional partners, mapped key road mortality hotspots across all three parks. This mapping supports mitigation efforts, like exclusion fencing and signage, and the identification of potential future eco-passage sites.

Monitoring populations

Understanding reptile and amphibian populations is important in planning for further species protection. In Thousand Islands National Park, researchers successfully found Gray Ratsnake dens using sensors to track and transmit locations of the snakes. Thousand Islands and Georgian Bay Islands national parks mapped and collected data on vernal pools (seasonal bodies of standing water) which are key to supporting various life stages for at-risk reptiles and amphibians. Bruce Peninsula and Georgian Bay Islands national parks surveyed Massasauga Rattlesnake range and gestational sites important to reproduction.

Recovery actions for turtles

Two tiny turtle hatchlings with dark shells and long tails are gently cradled in a person's hands. — Two Common Snapping Turtle hatchlings. This species at risk is classified as Special Concern, threatened by habitat fragmentation and road mortality. Photo: Parks Canada

Several actions have been implemented across the three parks to improve the survival of turtle hatchlings. Special boxes were used to protect nests from predation. As turtle nests near roads are especially vulnerable to predators, eggs from these nests were collected and incubated. Healthy turtle hatchlings were then released into their natural habitat. Nest mounds were built to encourage nesting in safe areas. As of 2023, these actions are all ongoing, and are increasing the survival rate of young turtles by giving hatchlings a head start in life.

Kayley Kirk in chest waders, stands knee deep in a wetland, placing a tiny turtle from a clear container into the lily-pad filled water. — Kayley Kirk, Resource Management Technician, releases healthy turtle hatchlings back into their natural habitat in Georgian Bay Islands National Park. Photo: Parks Canada

Volunteers

Mathieu Lecompte in uniform, and a child wearing safety glasses, smile directly at the camera as they staple wire mesh to a wooden frame. — Mathieu Lecompte, Resource Management Officer, engages a youth during a community nest box workshop at Thousand Islands National Park. Photo: Parks Canada

A tiny turtle hatchling sits gently in a person's hand which rests on a shallow wooden box, filled with small plants and rocky soil. — Special boxes shield turtle eggs from predators, increasing hatchling survival rates. Photo: Parks Canada

Volunteers have been essential to the work, through a citizen science program. At Bruce Peninsula National Park, the volunteer Turtle Trackers engaged multiple communities in helping to protect and monitor turtle nests and release hatchlings. Volunteers and community stewards are working in areas outside all three park boundaries to monitor turtle nests and install protective nest boxes.

Laura Burnside in uniform, and a volunteer, use a hammer and two spikes to secure a wooden frame with a wire mesh top, onto rocky soil. — A volunteer with the Turtle Trackers (left) and Laura Burnside, Public Outreach and Education Officer, install a nest box to help protect turtle populations in Bruce Peninsula National Park. Photo: Willy Waterton/Parks Canada

Working together

Working with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere, Brockville Aquatarium and other partners, Parks Canada is sharing best management practices and lessons learned across the region. Collaboration has led to the establishment of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Network, which works alongside the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre to share turtle conservation work and link organisations for greater learning. With a diverse and robust outreach program that includes the production of videos, educational exhibits, presentations, virtual learning programs, camps, and festivals, momentum is growing for protection of reptiles and amphibians in Eastern and Central Ontario.

“It's not every day that you witness the positive impacts your actions can have, but it's something I encounter regularly while working on this project. Conducting road mortality surveys is crucial for understanding the impacts of roads on wildlife. Sometimes, amidst the challenges, there are moments of happiness, like assisting Blanding’s Turtle hatchlings, an Endangered species in Ontario, cross a road. Being there at that precise moment and knowing that our team's presence changed the outcome for these vulnerable individuals is one of my favourite memories from the project.”

—Kayley Kirk, Resource Management Technician, Parks Canada

Video

Watch how Parks Canada is taking action to make roads safer for reptiles and amphibians at Bruce Peninsula National Park.

Transcript

From the day they're born

Turtles are on the move

Turtles travel across a range of different habitats to mate nests and find food and water

When roads are developed in an area it can cause habitat fragmentation

This means that turtles and other animals must cross over roads to get from one habitat to another

Many animals are hit and killed by cars while trying to move between habitats which is known as road mortality

Roads are one of the leading causes of decline of reptile and amphibian populations worldwide

Today seven out of Ontario's eight turtle species and ten out of Ontario's 16 snake species are classified as at-risk

The Bruce Peninsula is a thriving natural area that extends between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay Bruce

Peninsula National Park protects the largest section of green space in southern Ontario and is rich in biodiversity

the park is home to 26 different species of reptiles and

Amphibians at our park were taking action to protect our reptiles and amphibians through the on the road to recovery project

This project includes a special focus on species at risk

Such as the common snapping turtle

massasauga rattlesnake

eastern ribbon snake and eastern moat snake

We're making our roads safer for wildlife by installing eco passages and eco fencing at Road

Mortality hotspot locations the Eco fencing acts as a barrier guiding turtles snakes frogs and other small animals

Towards the Eco passages allowing them to cross underneath roads safely

We're also creating artificial turtle nesting sites near known turtle habitats

This way female turtles can lay eggs without even crossing the road

You can help protect reptiles and amphibians to watch for wildlife on the road

especially

when driving through natural spaces

if you see a turtle on the road pull your car over where it's safe and help the turtle across in the direction it was

Going if it's a snapping turtle. You can use a stick shovel or paddle to move it across

Don't forget to record your turtle sightings and location on the Ontario reptile and amphibian Atlas app

You can also use this app to report snake frog or salamander sightings

Get involved Bruce Peninsula National Park has a citizen science volunteer program to help monitor and protect Turtles

You can help contribute important data on turtle activity and give hatchling turtles a better chance at survival go to Parks Canada

dot GC dot CA forward slash Bruce dash recovery for more information and help us make the world a little safer for turtles

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