Description:

This hearty perennial produces tall (the entire plant can reach heights over 2 meters), distinctive spikes of flowers that are green-yellow with purple specks. It grows in a wide range of conditions but prefers partly shaded slopes in deciduous forests. The American Columbo works hard at establishing its roots for up to seven years before it produces it flower spike (some have been known to take 15!) and then dies off.  

Status:  Endangered

Important Dates:

June 30, 2008: Species listed At Risk

November 22, 2013: Recovery Strategy Prepared

June 30, 2013: Species Granted Habitat Protection

Range:

In Canada, the American Columbo is only found in the Carolinian forest region of southern Ontario. Based on field surveys performed in 2004 and 2005, 13 populations are currently believed to exist.

Habitat:

• American Columbo lives in dry upland areas, rocky woods and to a lesser extent along open forest edges and dense shrub thickets in Ontario
• This species ranges from deciduous forest regions in southern Ontario, through southern Michigan, northern Indiana, southern Illinois, southern Missouri, southeast Oklahoma, southwestern Arkansas and northern Louisiana

Threats:

• Habitat loss and encroachment from invasive plants such as the Common Buckthorn, Japanese Barberry, White Sweet Clover and Tatarian Honeysuckle are the greatest threats to the American Columbo.

Protection:

• The American Columbo receives species and habitat protection under the Ontario’s Endangered Species Act and the federal Species at Risk Act

What You Can Do to Help:

• Invasive species seriously threaten many of Ontario’s species at risk. To learn what you can do to help reduce the threat of invasive species, visit http://ontario.ca/invasivespecies, http://www.invadingspecies.com/, http://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/, or http://www.invasivespecies.gc.ca/
• Pollinators, such as bees, are in a steep decline across the globe and they play a key role in the survival of many of Ontario’s rare plants. For more information on this subject, visit http://www.seeds.ca/proj/poll or http://www.niagarabeeway.com/
• Volunteer with your local nature club or provincial park to participate in surveys or stewardship work focused on species at risk
• The Carolinian forests of southern Ontario support an amazing diversity of plants and wildlife, including many species at risk. Carolinian Canada is working to help recover species at risk and their habitats. For more information, visit: http://www.carolinian.org/SpeciesHabitats.htm

FUN FACTS:

• It was a common belief in the early 19^th century that the root of the plant might be externally used for gangrene. It was also claimed to be useful in treating jaundice, scurvy, gout and rabies;
• Two new populations were discovered in Ontario during 2005;
• The Cherokee Nation used the American Columbo as a tonic, antidiarrheal, antiemetic and a disinfectant; and
• Populations of American Columbo tend to flower synchronously, with individuals producing a single flower stem 2-3 meters tall

Description:

The American Chestnut is a tall deciduous tree that formerly reached about 30 metres in height; however, trees in Ontario are now typically only 5-10 metres tall. Chestnut trees have both male and female flowers but cannot self-pollinate. The fruit is a spiny bur-like husk enclosing one to five edible nuts. The nuts develop through late summer, with the burrs opening and falling to the ground near the first fall frost. Don’t be confused, the following trees are commonly mistaken with the American Chestnut:

1) The Horse Chestnut;

2) Chestnut Oak & Chinkapin Oak ; and

3) Beech

Status: Endangered Provincially and Nationally

Important Dates:

June 30, 2008: Species Listed as Endangered

June 30, 2013: Species Granted Habitat Protection

Range:

• Was widespread in eastern North America, but now primarily restricted to southwestern Ontario;
• Based on data dated 2004, it was estimated that there was 120 to 150 mature trees and 1,000 young trees in the province

Habitat:

• Prefers dryer upland deciduous forests with sandy, acidic to neutral soils;
• In Ontario, it is only found in the Carolinian Zone between Lake Erie and Lake Huron;
• Will grow alongside the Red Oak, Black Cherry, Sugar Maple and American Beech trees

Threats:

• The epidemic called chestnut blight, has and continues to have a drastic impact on the American Chestnut population

o   Chestnut Blight: a fungus accidentally introduced to North America from Asia in the early 1900s killing 99% of the American Chestnut trees within 30 years;

• Habitat loss due to forest clearing and damage to trees during logging operations;

Protection:

• A recovery team was formed in 1988 to conduct research to identify blight-resistant (some remaining trees have shown resistance) species. The key to recovery may be the successful propagation and planting of a disease resistant stock;
• Protected under the Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007

What Can You Do to Help:

• The Canadian Chestnut Council is a scientific and charitable organization dedicated to the protection and recovery of American Chestnut in southern Ontario. Find out more here

FUN FACTS:

• Aboriginal people used the American Chestnut for treating numerous ailments (coughs, dermatitis and heart trouble), as a staple food, to build shelters, for firewood and a source of dye; and
• The American Chestnut has been referred as the “bread tree” because their nuts are so high in starch that they can be milled into flour; they can also be roasted, boiled, dried or candied; and
• About 2,500 chestnut trees are growing on 60 acres near West Salem, Wisconsin – this is the world’s largest remaining stand of American chestnut

The David Suzuki Foundation is calling for a ban of “Neonic” Pesticides. Read more about it and add your voice to this initiative at http://action2.davidsuzuki.org/neonics

Check out Heart FM’s great story on our Smith Pond Park project which takes place on Wednesday, June 24.

Smith’s Pond Park in Ingersoll will soon have a Butterfly/Pollination Garden thanks to some local students.

http://www.1047.ca/news/local-news/butterfly-garden/

Description:

The Round Pigtoe is one of Canada’s 54 freshwater mussel species, it is a medium to large-sized freshwater mussel that may reach 13 centimetres in length. Adults have a thick, solid, mahogany-coloured shell with dark bands. Juvenile shells are tan with green lines. This species develops growth rings as it ages, which resemble those of a tree stump.

Status: Endangered Provincially and Nationally

Important Dates:

June 30, 2008: Species listed at Risk

June 30, 2013: Species granted Habitat Protection

Range:

• In Ontario, it is found in the Grand, Thames and Sydenham rivers, found around Walpole Island in Lake St. Clair, and shallow areas along the shorelines of Lake Erie.

Habitat:

• Lives in a wide range of habitats, from small rivers in area of moderate flow with gravel, cobble and boulder bottoms, to larger rivers in mud, sand and gravel at varying depths;
• Its breeding season lasts from early May to late July and the larvae are released before winter;
• Like all freshwater mussels, this species feeds on algae and bacteria that it filters out of the water;
• Mussel larvae are parasitic (an animal or plant that lives in or on another (the host) from which it obtains nourishment) and must attach to a fish host – some known hosts are Bluegill, Spotfin Shiner and Bluntnose Minnow

Threats:

• Introduction and spread of the Zebra Mussel throughout the Great Lakes severely reduced or eliminated the Round Pigtoe in Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie and the Detroit and Niagara rivers;
• Decreased water quality from pollution continue to threaten the round pigtoe

Protection:

• Under the Ontario Endangered Species Act, the Round Pigtoe is protected against threat of being killed, collected, possessed, sold or traded;
• Under SARA (Species at Risk Act), a recovery strategy and an action plan have been developed to prevent the loss and maintain/return healthy self-sustaining populations of the Round Pigtoe

What You Can Do To Help:

• Help improve mussel habitat by maintaining natural vegetation next to creeks and rivers. The roots of the plants reduce erosion and can stop soil from washing into the river;
• Fence off streamside areas to keep cattle (and their manure) out of the water;
• Volunteer with your local nature club or provincial park to participate in surveys or stewardship work focused on species at risk

FUN FACTS:

• Round Pigtoe eggs hatch inside a special pouch in the mother’s gills called a marsupium, where the larvae are supported before being ejected into the water;
• Mussel larvae have a very low survival rate, so mussels will produce a lot of larvae – often over a million;
• Mussels rely on a lot of good luck in order to reproduce. Males release sperm into the water, and if there happens to be a female nearby, she will capture the sperm as she filters water for food;
• Mussels are indicators of environmental health. Since they have a complex life cycle, are long-lived species (some can live up to 100 years!), and eat by filtering water and its pollutants, mussels can provide a snapshot of how healthy our waterways are.

Don’t forget, you can do your part for your community this Saturday (June 7) from 9:00 am-12:00 noon by joining us at the Lawson Nature Reserve at 363685 McBeth Road, Salford, Ontario.

Ingersoll District Nature Club members will continue their stewardship at the Lawson Nature Reserve with trail maintenance. All ages are welcome to join us and remember – a day spent helping nature is so worthwhile.

For more information, contact Sheila at 519-485-2645.

This Week’s Endangered Species In Focus: Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus afinis)

Description:

The Rusty-patched bumble bee is a medium to large bee, ranging from about one to two centimetres long with queens being at the higher end of this range. Like most bumble bees, it is yellow and black, but males and workers have a distinctive rusty-coloured patch on their abdomen.

Important Dates:

Sept. 28, 2010: listed as endangered

Jan. 1, 2014: granted habitat protection

Range:

• Once widespread and common in eastern North America, found from southern Ontario south to Georgia and west to the Dakotas;
• Suffering rapid decline since 1970’s, only a handful have been collected in Ontario in recent years. The only sightings of this bee in Canada since 2002 have been at the Pinery Provincial Park on Lake Huron.

Habitat:

• Like other bumble bees, they can be found in open habitat such as mixed farmland, urban setting, savannah, open woods and sand dunes;
• Found in variety of flowering plants in bloom from April to October, with the peak population in July – September;
• During winter hibernation the bumble bee will be found in underground rodent burrows or fallen deadwood;

Threats:

• Suspected causes include pesticide use and the spread of disease from bumble bees used to pollinate greenhouse vegetable crops;

What You Can Do to Help:

• Pollinators, such as bees, are in steep decline across the globe and they play a key role in the survival of many of Ontario’s rare plants. For more information on how you can help scientists track pollinator pollinations visit: www.seeds.ca/proj/poll
• To provide nectar and pollen for bumble bees, plant a variety of native flowering plants in your garden. Bees tend to prefer pink, purple and yellow flowers;
• Visit the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee Project on Facebook here ;
• Attend our free community event titled “Decline of the Honey Bee” scheduled for June 10, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the UNIFOR Hall on Victoria Street (further details here)

Fun Facts:

• Only 3 specimens of the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee have been found in Southern Ontario over the last 6 years;
• This type of bumble bee gets it nectar from “nectar-robbing” (biting a hole in the outside of flowers and sucking the nectar up through its tongue), this technique leaves marks in the flower allowing experts to detect their presence;
• Bumble bees perform “buzz pollination”, in which the bee grabs the pollen-producing plant in its jaws and vibrates its wings causing vibrations that dislodge pollen that would have been trapped otherwise. Some plants, including tomatoes, peppers, cranberries and onion seed require “buzz pollination”;
• Bumble bees carry ‘pollen baskets’ on their hind legs;
• The female bumble bee is naturally docile and will only sting when its colony is disturbed or they are concerned;
• Check out the Guide to Distinguishing a Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee here