wes_von_papineäu
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THE RECORD (Kitchener, Ontario) 18 October 07 New salamander find may delay second development (Jeff Outhit)
Kitchener: More protected salamanders have been found in south Kitchener, startling environmentalists and complicating plans to build nearby homes.
This time, rare Jefferson salamanders have been located in the woods near a proposed subdivision in the Doon South area, north of New Dundee Road.
"We know they're there," said Barbara Steiner, senior environmental planner for Kitchener.
"We're reviewing how development in the lands surrounding the significant species habitat can, or should be, developed."
Jefferson salamanders are classified as a threatened, but not endangered, species. Ontario law makes it illegal to kill, harass or capture them.
The same species was recently discovered in the Hidden Valley area of Kitchener, almost three kilometres away. Their presence there has delayed a long-proposed road.
Environmentalists contend housing plans must be significantly altered to protect the salamanders.
"We need to be at least a kilometre away from their habitat, to ensure their viability," said Yvonne Fernandes, who sits on an environmental advisory committee in Kitchener.
"The plans that I've seen suggest (homes) in very close proximity."
Louisette Lanteigne, a Waterloo environmentalist, contends housing plans must also include ways to protect coyotes that prey on raccoons. Otherwise, raccoons will multiply and prey on salamanders.
"You have to maintain the entire ecosystem," she said. "It's extremely complicated."
Steiner contends homes can still be built in the area if subdivisions are designed to protect the habitat.
"There's no fixed distance," she said. "We're looking at issues in terms of how close we can get."
Developer Larry Masseo is also confident the salamanders can be protected with appropriate measures.
"I'm confident from a scientific and a fact-based planning process," said Masseo, a vice-president of Activa, a local development firm.
"From an environmental, activist perspective, they're probably out there planting salamanders as we speak."
Planning issues under review include guarding the habitat, sizing the buffer, keeping people and trails away and preventing water runoff from affecting the habitat.
Ecologists hired by developers found the threatened salamanders on Activa-owned land in 2004.
However, the "absolutely bamboozled" members of an environmental committee were not told about their presence until last month.
"We were blindsided by that," Fernandes said. "I don't understand why we weren't kept in the loop."
Steiner said city hall learned about protected salamanders early this year, in a planning application that's not within the mandate of the environmental advisory committee.
"It certainly wasn't secret," she said.
Neil Taylor contends secrecy about Jefferson salamanders is meant to help governments and landowners "go full steam ahead" with development.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has said salamander findings in Hidden Valley should be kept secret to protect the creatures.
"They're trying to say, 'Oh, we're doing it in the public interest of the salamanders,'" said Taylor, former president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists. "Well, I think it's only in their self-interest."
Activa hopes to start building homes as early as next year, pending the resolution of planning issues.
It's not known how many protected salamanders are on Activa land.
"I think the best we can do is confirm presence," said ecologist Jeff Gross of Ecoplans Ltd., which found the species. "Typically, they're a very small proportion of the total salamander population."
Research by Ecoplans suggests the salamanders are sticking close to the woods and pond where they breed. "They're not moving around a whole lot," Gross said.
Threatened Species:
Jefferson salamanders are amphibians 11 to 18 cms long, with slender bodies, long snouts and long toes.
They have been reported in 13 U.S. states, from New England south to Maryland, and west to Illinois. In Canada they live only in Ontario, where they were discovered in 1976.
They live in the soil or in the leaf litter on forest floors. In March, they migrate to breeding ponds.
It's not known how many are in Ontario but "it is likely the species is declining," Environment Canada says. They are threatened because "the habitat that does remain is very fragmented and under pressure from urban expansion."
It's estimated Ontario populations are "small, isolated pockets numbering a few hundred individuals."
Environment Canada, Species at Risk, Ontario's Biodiversity: Species at Risk
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/257692
Kitchener: More protected salamanders have been found in south Kitchener, startling environmentalists and complicating plans to build nearby homes.
This time, rare Jefferson salamanders have been located in the woods near a proposed subdivision in the Doon South area, north of New Dundee Road.
"We know they're there," said Barbara Steiner, senior environmental planner for Kitchener.
"We're reviewing how development in the lands surrounding the significant species habitat can, or should be, developed."
Jefferson salamanders are classified as a threatened, but not endangered, species. Ontario law makes it illegal to kill, harass or capture them.
The same species was recently discovered in the Hidden Valley area of Kitchener, almost three kilometres away. Their presence there has delayed a long-proposed road.
Environmentalists contend housing plans must be significantly altered to protect the salamanders.
"We need to be at least a kilometre away from their habitat, to ensure their viability," said Yvonne Fernandes, who sits on an environmental advisory committee in Kitchener.
"The plans that I've seen suggest (homes) in very close proximity."
Louisette Lanteigne, a Waterloo environmentalist, contends housing plans must also include ways to protect coyotes that prey on raccoons. Otherwise, raccoons will multiply and prey on salamanders.
"You have to maintain the entire ecosystem," she said. "It's extremely complicated."
Steiner contends homes can still be built in the area if subdivisions are designed to protect the habitat.
"There's no fixed distance," she said. "We're looking at issues in terms of how close we can get."
Developer Larry Masseo is also confident the salamanders can be protected with appropriate measures.
"I'm confident from a scientific and a fact-based planning process," said Masseo, a vice-president of Activa, a local development firm.
"From an environmental, activist perspective, they're probably out there planting salamanders as we speak."
Planning issues under review include guarding the habitat, sizing the buffer, keeping people and trails away and preventing water runoff from affecting the habitat.
Ecologists hired by developers found the threatened salamanders on Activa-owned land in 2004.
However, the "absolutely bamboozled" members of an environmental committee were not told about their presence until last month.
"We were blindsided by that," Fernandes said. "I don't understand why we weren't kept in the loop."
Steiner said city hall learned about protected salamanders early this year, in a planning application that's not within the mandate of the environmental advisory committee.
"It certainly wasn't secret," she said.
Neil Taylor contends secrecy about Jefferson salamanders is meant to help governments and landowners "go full steam ahead" with development.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has said salamander findings in Hidden Valley should be kept secret to protect the creatures.
"They're trying to say, 'Oh, we're doing it in the public interest of the salamanders,'" said Taylor, former president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists. "Well, I think it's only in their self-interest."
Activa hopes to start building homes as early as next year, pending the resolution of planning issues.
It's not known how many protected salamanders are on Activa land.
"I think the best we can do is confirm presence," said ecologist Jeff Gross of Ecoplans Ltd., which found the species. "Typically, they're a very small proportion of the total salamander population."
Research by Ecoplans suggests the salamanders are sticking close to the woods and pond where they breed. "They're not moving around a whole lot," Gross said.
Threatened Species:
Jefferson salamanders are amphibians 11 to 18 cms long, with slender bodies, long snouts and long toes.
They have been reported in 13 U.S. states, from New England south to Maryland, and west to Illinois. In Canada they live only in Ontario, where they were discovered in 1976.
They live in the soil or in the leaf litter on forest floors. In March, they migrate to breeding ponds.
It's not known how many are in Ontario but "it is likely the species is declining," Environment Canada says. They are threatened because "the habitat that does remain is very fragmented and under pressure from urban expansion."
It's estimated Ontario populations are "small, isolated pockets numbering a few hundred individuals."
Environment Canada, Species at Risk, Ontario's Biodiversity: Species at Risk
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/257692
