Ontario Nature’s Watch List
By John Hassell
Last June, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources released an updated version of its Species at Risk in Ontario List, and the numbers are disquieting. Forty-seven species are listed as being of special concern, 53 are threatened, 94 are endangered and 13 are locally extinct. Three species are of particular concern to Ontario Nature. The status of both the Jefferson salamander and Butler’s gartersnake changed from threatened to endangered. The cerulean warbler is now designated as threatened, whereas previously it was listed as being of special concern.
Ontario Nature’s fall birding hot spots
By John Hassell
You can learn a lot about the culture of an office by its internal memos. This past June, Ontario Nature’s executive director, Caroline Schultz circulated an all-staff memo alerting us that several chimney swifts – listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada as a threatened species – were flying above our building. At most workplaces, this announcement would not be a typical one. But at Ontario Nature, where birding is a common pastime about which many are passionate, no one was terribly surprised by it. Here, our most avid birders reveal their favourite fall birding spots, a surprising number of which are found either within or very near urban centres. Caroline’s pick? Along the south shore of Prince Edward County, near Belleville, which on average attracts a remarkable 220 bird species a year.
Wetlands in trouble
By Joshua Wise
Ontario Nature, working in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Earthroots, are publishing two reports, one focused on the level of protection afforded fragile wetlands in the Greenbelt, the other on the rich diversity of species and ecosystems within the Greenbelt.
Animal farm
By Andrea McDowell
“Farming,” says Henry Bakker of Field Sparrow Farms, “is about good land management,” thus explaining his participation in Trent University’s innovative two-year research project on alternative approaches to hay harvesting that can help protect important bobolink habitat.
Vote for the environment
By Peter Gorrie
It often seems that specific issues count for little during elections. Instead, voters are subjected to general images of each party, encapsulated in brief, usually negative sound bites. Campaigning for the October 6 Ontario election, the Official Opposition Conservatives simply distil Premier Dalton McGuinty and his eight-year Liberal administration into one word: “Taxman.” The Liberals, in turn, portray Conservative leader Tim Hudak as scary and irresponsible. Read the full article…
Out of the woods
By Sharon Oosthoek
The woodlands of London, Ontario, have been saved from the axe. Legal battles over stronger protection for the city’s wooded areas finally ended in May, when local developers lost a bid to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada. Read the full article…
Meet our board: Peter Gilchrist, Past President
John Hassell What initially got you interested in nature?
Peter Gilchrist I grew up as an outdoor boy in Ottawa when the city was just developing, so there were farms and streams to explore in the immediate area. It was fun to be outdoors, but it wasn’t until my mid to late twenties when I spent time with someone tuned into environmental issues that, by osmosis, I developed a true naturalist attitude. Read the full article…
