Toronto Star reports on Endangered Species currently at risk in Ontario

Hanging On - Endangered Species in Ontario

TheStar.com - GTA - Hanging on

The province has identified the Jefferson salamander as a "threatened" species. The vulnerable Jefferson salamander just one of several species threatened by exemptions in protection act

July 04, 2008
Nick Kyonka, The Star.com
Staff Reporter

The Jefferson salamander is one species caught between the good and the bad of the new Endangered Species Act.

The first act in North America to protect both endangered species and their surrounding habitats, the act, which came into effect Monday, allows temporary exemptions from its guidelines for resource-driven industries.

The Jefferson salamander has been identified by the province as a "threatened" species, as opposed to "endangered." Under the old legislation, it would not have received full protection, but it is now one of 10 "fast-tracked" species to be fully protected as of next June.

In the meantime, however, the tiny amphibian is considered one of the species most vulnerable to the act's exemptions. The forestry industry has a one-year exemption, and there are three-year exemptions in place for the pits, and quarries and development industries. All threaten to destroy the salamander's woodland habitat across the province, environment groups say.

"It's been a bit of a poster child for development versus species protection," notes Caroline Schultz, executive director of the group Ontario Nature.

While the Jefferson salamander used to feature prominently in the GTA and across the province, years of development have stripped the species of much of its habitat. Pollution and predators have also slowly picked away at its numbers, and it now exists only in isolated pockets across the province.

Other species are in similar predicaments.

Yesterday we looked at seven endangered species that no longer can be found in the GTA. Today, we examine the GTA's nine currently endangered species.

AMERICAN COLOMBO

NATURAL HABITAT: Dry soil in deciduous forests, forest edges and thickets

HOW MANY LEFT IN THE GTA: One known population remaining

WHY THEY ARE AT RISK: The plant's sweet roots and vulnerability to invasive plants threatens its survival. Its roots can also be manipulated to resemble those of the popular American Ginseng, giving them value on the black market.
AMERICAN EEL

NATURAL HABITAT: North American freshwater lakes connected to major waterways

HOW MANY LEFT IN THE GTA: Unknown but dwindling population in Lake Ontario and its tributaries

WHY THEY ARE AT RISK: Much of the GTA's American eel population has been killed in large hydro turbines while travelling to and from the Atlantic Ocean to breed. Once a thriving species, as much as 99 per cent of its population has disappeared. For the first time ever, the American eel is listed as endangered across the province under the new act. ACADIAN FLYCATCHER

NATURAL HABITAT: Deciduous woodlands near creeks or wetlands

HOW MANY LEFT IN THE GTA: Fewer than five pairs

WHY THEY ARE AT RISK: Deforestation and fragmentation of woodlands have stripped the birds of their breeding grounds. Once a flourishing species in Ontario, an estimated half of the province’s remaining Acadian Flycatchers now live in protected areas, like provincial and national parks. AMERICAN GINSENG

NATURAL HABITAT: Large, moist deciduous forests

HOW MANY LEFT IN THE GTA: Several hundred plants in scattered forests across Durham, Halton and Peel regions

WHY THEY ARE AT RISK: Human consumption has been the biggest killer of American Ginseng in Ontario for generations as its roots are used in homemade medicinal tonics. Experts fear that if the few remaining patches of the plants are discovered, they will likely be wiped out quickly. KING RAIL

NATURAL HABITAT: Shallow freshwater marshes

HOW MANY LEFT IN THE GTA: Reported in three separate GTA wetlands

WHY THEY ARE AT RISK: The King Rail has paid a high price for development in the GTA, as construction from urban sprawl has wiped out the birds' habitat. For generations, the marshes they call home have been drained to make room for people. Pesticides are also suspected to have played a role. RED MULBERRY

NATURAL HABITAT: Moist, deciduous forest in the Carolinian forest zone

HOW MANY LEFT IN THE GTA: Five trees in the Niagara Escarpment in Burlington

WHY THEY ARE AT RISK: Natural and conventional destruction of habitat has all but eliminated the red mulberry in Ontario. The increased presence of the white mulberry — found naturally in Asia — has played a significant role in the tree’s gradual decline, as hybrid mulberries take over anywhere both trees are found. PURPLE TWAYBLADE

NATURAL HABITAT: Oak savannahs, woodland openings

HOW MANY LEFT IN THE GTA: One small cluster population in King Township

WHY THEY ARE AT RISK: Due to their vibrant purple tips, these orchids are popular garden items and are often dug out in clumps by collectors. Urban development has also depleted their stocks, as has the orchid's inability to grow in shade. AMERICAN CHESTNUT

NATURAL HABITAT: Deciduous forests

HOW MANY LEFT IN THE GTA: One known population remaining

WHY THEY ARE AT RISK: Ontario's American Chestnut population never recovered after an outbreak of the Chestnut Blight fungus in the 1970s. Though nearly 99 per cent have been wiped out by the fungus over the past 30 years, the trees remaining are believed to be resistant, giving rise to the hope of a future partial recovery. BUTTERNUT

NATURAL HABITAT: Deciduous forests

HOW MANY LEFT IN THE GTA: Hundreds of trees in scattered populations all across the GTA, but not for much longer

WHY THEY ARE AT RISK: Most of Ontario's butternuts are slowly dying due to a fungal infection called butternut canker, which spreads spores across the tree and attacks the tree from the inside out. An efficient killer of the species in the U.S. for decades, the fungus first reached Ontario in the early 1990s. A provincial exemption under the new ESA allows for the removal of the dying infected trees.



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