Thank you for providing an…

Thank you for providing an opportunity to review this Government Response Statement (GRS). These comments represent the official submission of our organization, a collection of amphibian and reptile biologists, and conservation professionals. This response statement is well written and addresses the major threats that the Massasauga faces in Ontario.

In particular, the Massasauga (Carolinian population) faces significant threats. The recovery strategy estimates the population is down to 80 adults at two locations. 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.”

As such we fully support 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 agree that more than just habitat protection is required and fully support the GRS statement that recovery “will require population management techniques (e.g., population augmentation), supported by the establishment of a captive population”.

We look forward to seeing the final version of this GRS which maintains this strong support for recovery of this endangered population.