Road mitigation solutions for turtles and large animals in Ontario

Traffic mortality is widely known to be a significant threat to many species of freshwater turtles in Ontario. Of the eight species of turtles in Ontario, seven are listed as Species at Risk, and road mortality is a leading threat for five of these species.  Successful mitigation of road-kill requires knowing where mortality is greatest. Road surveys for freshwater turtles were conducted along approximately 100 km of road on highways 7 and 41 in eastern Ontario in 2012 to inform locations of Species at Risk (SAR) hotspots, and temporary fencing was installed at four of these hotspots along the surveyed route and monitored to assess effectiveness in 2013. In addition, there is an increased awareness for road mitigation solutions with larger animals such as moose and black bears where these animals pose a significant threat to motorist safety and animal welfare. Camera and snow tracking monitoring was initiated on highway 69 for three years and the results will be presented.

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