From Toronto to Thunder Bay, Ontario Nature staff have been travelling across the province in search of snakes, salamanders and other creeping, crawling and slithering wildlife. As part of the Ontario Reptile and Amphibian Atlas project, conservation staff have conducted workshops, presentations and field surveys to increase awareness of and gather data about this unique group of creatures. The goal is to learn more about where reptiles and amphibians can be found and their population sizes, largely through observations that members of the public submit.

You do not need to travel far and wide to find these animals. Sometimes the best places to find snakes, salamanders, turtles and frogs are where you would least expect. On a walk around a small pond in downtown Thunder Bay this summer, I noticed something poking out of the vegetation. I thought it was a stick until “the stick” dropped below the surface of the water. Ten minutes and a metre or so of swampy muck later, I found myself face to face with a beautiful western painted turtle. I spotted four turtles swimming around the small pond and coming up for air. These adaptable reptiles can live in ponds on golf courses and in backyards, and even in large ditches in cities – in addition to more natural settings such as swamps, bogs and lakes.

The atlas project is now wrapping up its third season of fieldwork and outreach. In 2011 alone, a thousand people have attended Ontario Nature presentations and guided hikes at more than 20 different outreach events across the province. The atlas now has more than 550 registered participants keeping an eye out for this secretive group of critters. Nevertheless, more participants are always welcome! Ontario Nature’s database now contains more than 162,000 records. Despite being launched only in 2009, the Ontario Nature atlas project tally already matches the number of records the Natural Heritage Information Centre holds.

Please keep your eyes and ears open for snakes, turtles, frogs, salamanders and lizards. Report your sightings online at www.ontarionature.org/atlas. The information submitted will be used to influence conservation efforts across the province. Questions? E-mail jamesp@ontarionature.org for answers.

After nearly a decade of destruction due to a voracious, invasive insect, a glimmer of hope is stealing into Ontario’s gloomy ash forests.

The emerald ash borer has already destroyed most of its host trees in southwestern Ontario, specifically Essex County where this creature entered the province nine years ago. On its own, and with help from humans moving firewood and other wood products, the brilliantly coloured beetle has expanded its range eastward past Toronto. Also infested are Sault Ste. Marie; the Ottawa area; Gatineau, Quebec; and, this year, Montreal. The pest is also widespread in Michigan, its North American entry point in the early 1990s, and has been recorded in 14 other states.

Bans on transporting wood from infested areas have had little impact. “Populations are about to explode,” says Taylor Scarr, forest entomologist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Still, researchers are making progress on two fronts – earlier detection and containment. “We now have the tools we didn’t have a couple of years ago,” explains Scarr.

“We’re hoping there will be an equilibrium level achieved,” says Brian Hamilton, a regional manager with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which leads the control effort. “People will lose a lot of ash trees, but they won’t lose all of them.”

The borer, notable for its jewel-like green wings, crossed the Pacific Ocean in wooden packaging from China. In the absence of predators, the beetle thrived in Ontario’s forests, woodlots and gardens. It lays eggs on bark, and the resulting larvae burrow into the tree and, tunnelling in a serpentine pattern, eat the cells between bark and sapwood. The tunnels girdle the trunk, cutting the flow of nutrients, and the tree dies.

Until recently, researchers could detect infestations only by evidence such as the Dshaped holes the emerging adults left in the bark. By then, the borers were well established and the tree doomed, along with those nearby.

However, two new methods promise improved and quicker detection: One is a prism-shaped lure that traps borers on a sticky surface. The second, developed by Canadian scientist Krista Ryall, involves looking for borers beneath the bark of treetop branches – the pests’ usual attack point. This might allow them to be spotted before they infest the entire tree.

Early detection should improve containment, says Scarr. Borer-free trees in urban areas could be inoculated with the protective agent TreeAzin. Infested trees could be burned, nipping outbreaks in the bud and buying time for larger-scale controls.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is experimenting with predator wasps imported from Asia while Canadian scientists focus on native species of wasps. The predator wasp lays eggs on borer larvae, which its own larvae devour. The native wasp hunts and paralyzes adult borers, then carries them to its nest where it lays eggs on them. Hatching larvae consume the borers.

Researchers are also investigating whether a fungus found on several dead borers can be disseminated, Scarr says. It is hoped that the males will pick up the material from traps, then infect the many females they mate with in the few days before the fungus kills them.

“Everything that is a potential [control], scientists are trying to figure out if it can be used,” Hamilton says. “We have all the biology we need. The next step is figuring out what kills this beetle.”

Many in the environmental community found that the recent provincial election was as notable for what was not discussed as it was for the points of contention. Absent from most debates was any discussion of conservation in an era of climate change. While candidates crossed swords over, for example, the applicability of the HST to the price of gasoline, no one considered the near future impacts of global warming on the enormous, yet fragile, northern ecosystems.

To offer an opportunity to discuss important environmental issues, Ontario Nature’s Northern Connections program hosted the Green Economy Forum for Northern Ontario last September in Thunder Bay. Michael Gravelle, then the minister of northern development, mines and forestry, Steve Mantis of the NDP, Scot Kyle of the Green Party and Anthony Leblanc, running for the Conservatives at the time, participated in one of the featured panel discussions. The then-candidates were asked to consider a number of questions, ranging from whether Ontario could become a post-carbon economy to how to ensure that a robust economy can accommodate habitat protection for endangered species such as woodland caribou.

The goal of the forum was to push our political leadership and engage local citizens in thinking beyond the election cycle of the next four years. Moreover, the forum aimed to develop a long-term vision for a sustainable economy – one that looks after the needs of people while respecting the real limits of the natural world.

Fifty-three participants from across Ontario discussed ways to support community based renewable energy projects, restructure our forest industries to get more value per unit of wood, create markets for ecosystem services, reduce food insecurity in remote communities and create communities that can withstand economic and environmental transformation.

The Green Economy Forum helped kickstart a longer conversation we need to have as we struggle to find ways to balance our own needs with those of future generations and the earth’s other species. As one of the participants at the forum said, it is important to be able to hear from your MPP, but it is much more important that your MPP hears from you.

This summer, the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation took a bold stance to protect the Big Trout Lake watershed by ratifying a watershed declaration and consultation protocol aimed at preserving 1.3 million hectares of boreal lakes, rivers, forests and wetlands that form the spiritual, as well as physical, centre of the community.

The watershed is within KI territory, which lies some 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. The declaration is a strong example of a First Nations community taking a proactive lead in determining what, if any, industrial activity is permitted on its territories.

KI has run up against unwanted industrial projects in the past, most recently when Platinex, a mineral speculation company, began exploring the lands upriver of Big Trout Lake without the community’s permission or knowledge. Subsequent legal battles, along with active assertion of KI’s rights and protests to keep Platinex off KI lands, led to the temporary imprisonment of the chief, Donny Morris, and five other KI community members in November 2007. The community’s refusal to back down and its acts of civil disobedience pushed Platinex eventually to surrender its mining claim in December 2009 – a decision Morris saw as a major victory. Even so, he determined that there is more work to be done to ensure the conservation of the watershed.

Nearly two years later, the people of KI rallied around the watershed declaration and consultation protocol to ensure that “all waters that flow into and out of Big Trout Lake …[are] completely protected.” The declaration goes on to state that “no industrial uses, or other uses which disrupt, poison, or otherwise harm our relationship to these lands and waters will be permitted.”

The declaration sets a potentially game-changing precedent demonstrating the potential of First Nations-led land-use planning and serving as a model for northern communities that struggle to find a balance between industrial development and land stewardship. Earthroots campaigner David Sone, who works closely with KI, notes that “far too many First Nations communities are forced to suffer from industrially contaminated water sources.” The declaration represents a written manifestation of KI’s traditional Aboriginal law. As well as demanding complete watershed protection, the community is calling on all stakeholders to consult directly with KI before undertaking any development on its land; moreover, industrial activity of any kind will require KI’s prior consent.

Ontario Nature supports the KI watershed declaration and consultation protocol. Learn more about KI’s efforts at http://KILands.org.

Most of us have known for years that trees are good for the environment, particularly because of their ability to sequester greenhouse gases spewed by cars and the other conveniences of our lives. Yet, until recently, no one knew precisely just how much carbon forests could store. But a detailed analysis published in the August 19, 2011, issue of the journal Science has cleared the air on how significant a factor forest-carbon capture is.

The study, which analyzed forest inventory figures from countries around the globe and grouped them according to temperate, tropical and boreal regions, estimates that forests cumulatively sequester approximately 2.4 billion tonnes of carbon every year. That means that trees capture nearly one-third of the estimated 8.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted annually.

“This study clearly indicates the important role that forests play in absorbing carbon and regulating the climate,” says Anne

Bell, Ontario Nature’s director of conservation and education. “The science is complex, and there are many uncertainties, but of note is the finding that, globally, the net forest carbon sink is mainly in the temperate and boreal forests.”

That is in part because the carbon released from the ongoing deforestation in the tropics almost entirely negated the amount sequestered in patches of undisturbed tropical forest. One saving grace for the region was the surprisingly high level of carbon capture – 1.6 billion tonnes – of forest regrowth following logging and slashand- burn operations.

Closer to home, the researchers also came to some troubling conclusions. Over the course of the two time periods studied,

1990 to 1999 and 2000 to 2007, the biomass of Canadian forests actually decreased by half, primarily as a result of losses to forest fires and damage from invasive species.

Freeman Boyd I was raised on a farm in southwestern Ontario, which my family sold when I was 10. Later, during the back-to-the-land movement in the 1970s, I bought a piece of land in Grey County, which I converted into a farm and then worked for 25 years. I pursued the PhD because I was interested in the theory of farming along with the practice. While I taught philosophy of the environment at the University of Guelph for 10 years, it was something I did only during the winter semester. I’m a farmer at heart and don’t want to live in the city.

JH As past president of the Owen Sound Field Naturalists, what do you feel is the role of local nature groups in combating global environmental issues?

FB All global issues need to be addressed at the local level. That’s where we can make a difference. Ontario Nature’s role is to work on policy issues at the provincial level; the Nature Network addresses those issues on the ground. With the Owen Sound Field Naturalists, we were initially reluctant to engage in advocacy, preferring to stick to education for fear of being perceived as a local interest group. Over the years, we have advocated more in response to the drastic increase in the rate of development. But we remain aware that you need to pick your issues, especially in rural communities where nature groups risk alienating people.

JH You now work for Foodlink Grey & Bruce – Local Food Project. What does the group do?

FB Foodlink is a joint project to improve the economic viability of farming by promoting the consumption of local foods and building the local food system. This is a win for everyone: food tastes better, farmers do better and local food is more environmentally friendly. Increased interest in local food has created an opportunity for the counties to help improve the bottom line for farmers – especially small ones. Our 30-year experiment with processed food led to obesity and diabetes, so consumers are now paying closer attention to what they eat.

JH How can urban people support the local food network?

FB The simplest way is to eat locally and put money into the local food network. More broadly, people need to learn more about what they eat, rather than treating food like the fuel we put in our cars. A class of foodies is growing, and the food available in schools is improving, but it’s still early days. Educating ourselves and changing habits take time.

JH As a field naturalist, where do you like to explore natural history in Ontario?

FB I live on the Bruce Trail between Owen Sound and Collingwood. Nearby, Marshall Woods has the best variety and quantity of mushrooms of anywhere I know of in southern Ontario. Owned by the local conservation authority, it is coming through a period of having lots of big trees on the forest floor. But anywhere on the Bruce Peninsula is incredible for botany. For flora, this is where north, south, west and east meet.

JH How best can environmental groups like Ontario Nature work with farmers to balance sustainable livelihoods and environmental protection?

FB Ontario Nature is coming to understand that to be effective in rural and especially southern Ontario, we need to work with private landowners. I am pleased to see the progress Ontario Nature has made working with the farm community over the past few years. A good example is Ontario Nature’s support for the Alternative Land Use Services Program. This voluntary program provides incentives to reward good stewardship practices among farmers compensating them for the ecological goods and services they provide to society. We simply cannot do everything with public lands and nature reserves. Conservation requires buy-in from farmers.

If a sasquatch were suddenly to walk out of the forest, you should try to squeeze off a few pictures, jokes nature photographer Robert McCaw. More typically, though, the best images are a result of planning, patience and a solid understanding of the habits of the animal you are trying to photograph.

“I go out to photograph – not photograph while I’m out,” says McCaw, whose images often appear on the pages of ON Nature. “Knowing an animal’s habits is really important. If I’m looking for red fox pups, I know almost to the week when to look. In southern Ontario, that’s around the last two weeks of May.”

Renowned for his stunning images of hundreds of bird species, McCaw goes out in May and June to photograph birds in full breeding plumage. Tip: songbirds are best shot in the early morning, when they are most active and the light is good. Later in the day, when the sun is high, it casts shadows that can obscure the subject.

If you are after raptors in flight, get up high so you can shoot them at eye level. “Hawk Cliff on Lake Erie is ideal because they go right past you,” he says.

Photographer Ethan Meleg, who also takes photographs for ON Nature, says anticipating an animal’s movements is important. “Warblers are especially tricky, because they’re always on the move, hopping about on branches. Figure out the direction they’re going in and try to get ahead of them instead of chasing them.”

Meleg and McCaw, along with nature photographer Dave Taylor, recommend shooting birds and turtles – both skittish creatures in the wild – from behind blinds. A blind camouflages the photographer, allowing the person to get closer to the subjects and observe them acting naturally.

Many professional photographers use a “bag blind,” which is simply a large piece of fabric – camouflage-coloured for spring, summer and fall, and white for winter – that fits over their bodies like a bag. A sleeve sewn into the fabric accommodates the camera lens.

Using a blind to photograph mammals is less effective than it is for birds and turtles, because mammals can pick up your scent. Larger animals are best shot in parks where they are somewhat used to humans, the photographers say, and usually at dawn or dusk when most animals are active and the light is ideal.

All three photographers prefer using digital cameras, arguing that the images they capture are as good as or better than those taken using film – and using a digital camera saves having to pay for film. “Once you’ve made the investment in digital, you’re way ahead of the game, so you can afford to buy better equipment,” says Taylor.

So what about equipment? Most of us don’t have $3,000 to drop on a lens, much less a camera. But if you’re going to splurge on something, go for a camera with a focus point, which looks like a rolling square in the viewfinder. Such cameras are not cheap – $1,500 to $2,000 at the low end – but they let you adjust the focus point by using a dial or thumb pad that moves the square around the viewfinder. Whatever is inside the square will be most sharply focused.

“What part of the animal should you be able to see with the greatest clarity?” asks McCaw. “The face and eyes – particularly the eyes. If the eyes are not in focus, the picture doesn’t have life.” Most nature photography requires at least two lenses, McCaw adds: a wider one – say 17 to 40 millimetres – for landscapes and a 70- to 300-millimetre telephoto one. But it’s not all about the gear, cautions Meleg. “Most people think gear is their limitation. It’s not. It’s all about perseverance. I always say my most important accessory as a nature photographer is an alarm clock.”

It’s confirmed. Nesting peregrine falcons are living on what will soon be Ontario Nature’s newest nature reserve, Malcolm Bluff Shores. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) recently verified that a pair of peregrine falcons, which Ontario Nature staff discovered by accident, is nesting in the Midhurst area, the only documented nest in a natural setting in that area. The falcons – designated as threatened on the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List – use various parts of the cliff in the reserve for perching and hunting, so the whole cliff face is considered to be critical habitat.

Ontario Nature and the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC), working together, planned to create a “go-down” path on the reserve to connect the Bruce Trail that runs along the upper ridge of the Niagara Escarpment to the shoreline below. The go-down would make the reserve easier for people to navigate, allowing hikers to explore the upper section of the property and the Georgian Bay coastline.

While marking out some trails, however, Ontario Nature’s conservation science manager, Mark Carabetta, and his team noticed agitated peregrine falcons flying overhead, behaviour that suggests a nest must be in the vicinity. After confirming the presence of the birds, MNR recommended that no additional structures or trails be created at Malcolm Bluff Shores.

Although plans for the go-down were halted, staff were far from disappointed. “We’re completely okay with MNR’s decision.

It’s a win for nature!” says Carabetta, who is now focusing on completing the ecological mapping of the property and improving the existing trails.

Beth Kummling, executive director of BTC, agrees. “Our aim is to protect the wildlife habitat of Malcolm Bluff Shores and the Niagara Escarpment,” she says. “While we want to make it accessible to the public via our trails, we don’t want those trails to negatively impact habitat.”

Nearly 80 percent of the 423-hectare property is protected. Ontario Nature is now raising funds to buy the remaining 77 hectares by March 2012. To learn more about the nature reserve and how you can support our efforts, visit http://protectyourshare.ca.