TILLSONBURG NEWS (Ontario) 30 August 10 Motorists getting the message (Monte Sonnenberg)
Port Rowan (QMI Agency): The message appears to be sinking in.
The number of snakes, turtles and frogs killed on the Long Point Causeway this year appears to be way down.
That's encouraging news for supporters of the Long Point Causeway Improvement Project. They have made it their mission to stop the carnage, much of which affects endangered species.
"The numbers are notably down from previous years, especially for species at risk," Rick Levick, co-ordinator of the improvement project, said at the Naturefest event at the Port Rowan Community Centre Sunday. "We have to attribute that to some of the fencing we put in, but also to people taking greater care. We are seeing positive results. We want to keep that going."
The 2.7-kilometre causeway is a primary killing ground because it serves as a dividing line between the Big Creek Marsh and Long Point Bay. Both are teeming with reptiles. The species' that make up the majority of roadkill have numerous reasons for travelling between the ecosystems.
The reptile preservation message isn't just confined to the Port Rowan area these days. Representatives of Scales Nature Park in Orillia have been spreading the word between Windsor and Norfolk County over the past three weeks. The final stop of the campaign was this weekend's Naturefest.
Scales representatives brought with them examples of endangered reptiles native to Norfolk County. Local species included an eastern fox snake, a Blanding's turtle and a black rat snake. At more than two metres long, the latter is Canada's biggest snake.
As far as snakes are concerned, spokesman Jeff Hathaway says the key is getting people to leave them alone. Only one species of snake in Ontario — the massassauga rattler — is poisonous. It has a very limited range, being confined to shoreline areas of Windsor, Wainfleet, Georgian Bay and the Bruce peninsula. The rest are harmless to humans and actually do a lot of good.
"Leave the snakes alone," Hathaway said. "Don't hurt them. Don't kill them. There are no dangerous snakes around here. They eat rats and mice. If you live in an agricultural area, you understand how important it is to keep rats and mice under control. Farmers seem to understand that."
Dave Reid, co-ordinator of the Norfolk Land Stewardship Council, says the ability of southern Ontario to support endangered species is a measure of how well humans are managing the environment. When species begin to disappear, that means people are harming the ecosystem in a way that could come back to haunt us.
"It's about biodiversity," Reid said. "Snakes and turtles are part of the puzzle. If you start losing them, that means something is broken. A lot of these reptiles are listed as endangered. It's important that we keep them. They play a role in the environment. They play roles that we don't even understand yet. We live in ecosystems that we have altered. We have to be proactive if we want to keep these species around."
Motorists getting the message