3 October 2018 Re: Comments…

3 October 2018

Re: Comments on the proposed Government Response Statement to the Recovery Strategy for the Massasauga (Carolinian and Great Lakes – St. Lawrence populations) in Ontario (EBR posting 013-3605)

Thank you for providing an opportunity to review this Government Response Statement (GRS) on the Massasauga. These comments represent the official submission of Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC). WPC is a not-for-profit charity that has been conducting direct, hands-on recovery work targeting Canadian Species at Risk since 1985. In particular, WPC has been contributing toward the recovery of the Carolinian population of Massasaugas since 2013 by conducting a feasibility assessment on population recovery, mitigating threats, enhancing habitat, educating the public, and monitoring population status.

The Massasauga (Carolinian population) faces significant threats and is currently represented by only two small sub-populations (totaling ~ 80 adults). The Ojibway Prairie sub-population is in a very precarious state; our most recent monitoring data suggests a population size of only 12 individuals occupying an area of 11 ha (Choquette 2017). We agree with the GRS that the Carolinian population “…is unlikely to persist in the long-term without the collective implementation of substantial recovery actions.”, and we fully support the GRS statement that recovery “…will require population management techniques (e.g., population augmentation), supported by the establishment of a captive population”.

WPC is generally supportive of the proposed recovery goal for the Carolinian population: “The government’s goal for the recovery of Massasauga (Carolinian population) is to increase the likelihood of maintaining the current regional distribution of the species in southern Ontario. The government supports the continued investigation, evaluation and if appropriate, implementation of population management actions at the Ojibway Prairie Complex and the Wainfleet Bog subpopulations.”

We argue, however, that contrary to the above-state goal, it is now perfectly clear that “population management actions” for the Carolinian sub-populations (e.g., captive-breeding, head-starting and conservation translocations) are appropriate. For example, 1) the need for such interventions has already been discussed and investigated at length over the last 20 years (Prior 1999; Seburn and Seburn 2000; Pither 2003; Austin 2004; Brennan 2004; Ontario Parks 2005; COSEWIC 2012; Choquette et. al. 2015; Parks Canada Agency 2015; OMNRF 2016), 2) The Ojibway Prairie population has continued to experience a dramatic decline in the last two decades and is now on the brink of local extinction (Choquette 2017), 3) Conservation practitioners in Ontario, with the support of the Ministry, have already begun to investigate and implement population management actions (e.g., Harvey et al. 2014; Yagi and Tattersall 2018), and 4) a number of partners have been collaborating for the last 3 years toward the implementation of a long-term population management program at Ojibway Prairie (i.e., City of Windsor, Town of LaSalle, Essex Region Conservation Authority, Ontario Parks, ReNewZoo, Laurentian University, University of Windsor, Scales Nature Park, Toronto Zoo, Henvey Inlet First Nation, Savanta, and WPC.). Furthermore, in order to properly evaluate population management actions, those actions must first be implemented. Rigorous evaluations are the cornerstone of an adaptive management approach and provide the guidance necessary to alter management actions as necessary.

We therefore recommend that the Ministry update the wording in the last sentence of Ontario’s recovery goal for the Carolinian population of Massasaugas to the following “…The government supports the continued investigation, implementation and evaluation of population management actions at the Ojibway Prairie Complex and the Wainfleet Bog subpopulation.”

By formally acknowledging that population management actions are appropriate and necessary for the recovery of Massasaugas in the Carolinian Zone the Ministry will be playing an important role in conservation of these populations while at the same time providing leadership for advancement of the science and practice of reintroduction biology in Ontario.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Choquette, B.Sc., MLA
Lead Biologist – Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery
Wildlife Preservation Canada
PO Box 221 Stn. A., Windsor, ON
N9A 6K1

Lance Woolaver, PhD
Executive Director
Wildlife Preservation Canada
5420 Highway 6 North, Guelph, ON
N1H 6J2