wes_von_papineäu
Our Roving Correspondent
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- Wes von Papineäu
THE RECORD (Kitchener, Ontario) 26 June 08 'Rare' salamanders plentiful enough to stall proposed road extension
Kitchener: A new study has confirmed there are lots of rare, protected salamanders in the way of a proposed road.
Yesterday's confirmation of Jefferson salamanders in Hidden Valley forces another year-long delay in a plan to extend River Road from King Street East to Bleams Road, in south Kitchener.
The threatened road, now on hold, is to be reviewed again after Ontario approves new regulations to protect threatened species. These regulations are not expected before next June.
Neil Taylor wants the road cancelled. He's calling on taxpayers to buy vacant Hidden Valley lands instead to preserve salamanders and other natural features.
"I would be inviting the region to do the right thing," said Taylor, a former president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists.
At Taylor's urging, the region, with help from the Ministry of Natural Resources and a University of Guelph salamander expert, went into Hidden Valley to look for salamanders during their breeding season in March and April.
Jefferson salamanders live in the soil or in leaf litter on forest floors. They are classified as a threatened species. It is illegal to kill, harass or capture them.
Regional government confirmed yesterday a "significant population" was found in the surveys this spring.
Taylor has yet to see one of the salamanders, himself.
"I don't think we can afford to lose any species from the planet," he said.
The long-planned regional road, estimated to cost $57 million, would provide another east-west route in south Kitchener. This is to help ease traffic congestion on Fairway Road.
Steve van De Keere, head of transportation expansion, couldn't say if the proposed road can still be built around the salamanders. "It's another challenge," he said.
The favoured route, meant to have the least impact on natural features, would still impact the salamanders, the study found.
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/373629
Kitchener: A new study has confirmed there are lots of rare, protected salamanders in the way of a proposed road.
Yesterday's confirmation of Jefferson salamanders in Hidden Valley forces another year-long delay in a plan to extend River Road from King Street East to Bleams Road, in south Kitchener.
The threatened road, now on hold, is to be reviewed again after Ontario approves new regulations to protect threatened species. These regulations are not expected before next June.
Neil Taylor wants the road cancelled. He's calling on taxpayers to buy vacant Hidden Valley lands instead to preserve salamanders and other natural features.
"I would be inviting the region to do the right thing," said Taylor, a former president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists.
At Taylor's urging, the region, with help from the Ministry of Natural Resources and a University of Guelph salamander expert, went into Hidden Valley to look for salamanders during their breeding season in March and April.
Jefferson salamanders live in the soil or in leaf litter on forest floors. They are classified as a threatened species. It is illegal to kill, harass or capture them.
Regional government confirmed yesterday a "significant population" was found in the surveys this spring.
Taylor has yet to see one of the salamanders, himself.
"I don't think we can afford to lose any species from the planet," he said.
The long-planned regional road, estimated to cost $57 million, would provide another east-west route in south Kitchener. This is to help ease traffic congestion on Fairway Road.
Steve van De Keere, head of transportation expansion, couldn't say if the proposed road can still be built around the salamanders. "It's another challenge," he said.
The favoured route, meant to have the least impact on natural features, would still impact the salamanders, the study found.
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/373629