Project Details
Project Title: Saving Turtles at Risk Today (START) and Conservation Action, Research and Education about Snakes (CARES) Projects for the Eastern Georgian Bay Region
Funding Recipient: Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Canada (ARCC)
Funding Awarded: $150,000 over 3 years, ($50,000 in 2024, $50,000 in 2025, and $50,000 in 2026)
Project Partner: Scales Nature Park
Targeted Species at Risk:
Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), Eastern Foxsnake (Pantherophis gloydi), Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos), Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata), Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus)
Project Status: Ongoing (2024-2026)

Project Description
The project aims to build upon previous field work conducted by the Saving Turtles at Risk Today (START) and Conservation, Action, Research and Education about Snakes (CARES) projects. Focusing on the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, Blanding’s turtle, Spotted turtle, Eastern Foxsnake, and Eastern Hog-nosed snake, the initiative will address knowledge gaps, mitigate physical threats like road mortality, and monitor critical locations such as hibernation, gestation, and nesting sites. Surveys will be conducted to protect habitats under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act and identify road crossing and mortality hotspots. Intensive monitoring will target known and potential hibernation and gestation sites, historic locations lacking recent observations, and new populations. The project also involves responding to priority calls, expanding partnerships for long-term studies, supporting ongoing research efforts, and contributing to conservation goals for various species in the region. Overall, the project extends the landscape-scale work initiated by START and CARES, offering direct benefits to target species and contributing to the broader conservation efforts in the area.
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Canada was awarded $50,000 in funding for 2024.
Further Details
For more information about the ‘Monitoring a new population of Kirtland’s Warbler in the Parry Sound 033 Fire Footprint’, please visit the links below.