Get Involved
The preservation of species and protection of their habitats first requires a collective recognition and awareness of their existence and importance.
Obtaining a balance between economic development and nature conservation requires democratic action. With every single person’s involvement on the municipal, provincial and federal level, communities can take action to ensure the consideration of natural environments in spatial planning. Open dialogue between different social actors, such as citizens and elected officials, is required to guarantee these issues are considered in the creation of sustainable communities.
Chorus frogs are on the verge of extinction. Urban and agricultural pressures have already wiped out several populations. These frogs are fragile and need healthy wetlands in order to reproduce.
How Can I Help?
Are you concerned with the fate of this species? Get involved! Talk to your elected officials and your community about the importance of maintaining the habitats they need to survive by creating protected areas or conservation measures. The fact remains that protecting the chorus frog is profitable, as it contributes to the well-being of us all.
Do you own or manage a site with a chorus frog habitat?
A few changes to your maintenance practice can make a big difference in preserving and even restoring certain populations or metapopulations.
Here are 9 important rules to follow.
After August 1,use chainsaws, bow saws, blade or string trimmers, or shears to carry out routine maintenance.
BREEDING POND:
Wetland (ditch, marsh, flooded field, or temporary pond) where the western chorus frog reproduces between April and August.
Starting after this date timeline avoids disturbances disturbing during the sensitive sensitive growth period of juvenile western chorus frogs.
Clean all equipment and machinery after working in areas contaminated by invasive plant species. Plan work activities logically, beginning in non- contaminated areas, to prevent the introduction or spread of these plants.
INVASIVE PLANTS: Introduced species that spread aggressively, threatening local biodiversity or human health or cause economic impacts.
Starting after this date timeline avoids disturbances disturbing during the sensitive sensitive growth period of juvenile western chorus frogs.
Limit activity to the smallest possible area and use existing routes or surrounding dry land to access the work site.
Using lower-risk means of access reduces the danger of crushing western chorus frogs and the vegetation they use for shelter.
Complete heavier work when the ground is frozen (from the end of fall to the beginning of March).
Once cold temperatures arrive (below 10°C), the western chorus frog shelters under leaf litter and begins hibernation.
At this time of the year, the frozen ground better supports the weight of vehicles, which ensures that hibernating western chorus frogs are not harmed by soil compaction.
Use a vehicle that is in good working order and equipped with tracks (to prevent soil compaction and ruts) and that ideally runs on biodegradable, plant-based fuel. An emergency response kit must be available in case of an accidental spill.
RUTS : Marks dug by tires, where water accumulates in temporary puddles and attracts the western chorus frog during their egg-laying period. This results in mass mortality This results in mass mortality of tadpoles if these shallow puddles dry up before their developmentis complete
At this time of the year, the frozen ground better supports the weight of vehicles, which ensures that hibernating western chorus frogs are not harmed by soil compaction.
Always preserve the natural characteristics of the water in wetlands.
The water’s dynamic and natural characteristics such as depth, chemical composition, and temperature are all parameters that define a wetland.
Draining or drawing water or
dumping snow or chemical contaminants affects the wetland and has consequences for the survival of the western chorus frog and for preservation of its population.
Carry out light vegetation control and habitat clean-up in late autumn. Be sure to remove any debris from breeding ponds.
DRY-LAND HABITAT : Dry land within 250 metres of a breeding pond .
From this point on, vegetation goes dormant and the western chorus frog enters hibernation.
Avoid construction activities and vehicle usein wetland habitats and around temporary or permanent natural water systems like streams or ponds.
WETLAND HABITAT : A site that is is permanently or seasonally under water.
The goals are to prevent change to these sensitive areas and to maintain natural water flow.
Maintain natural vegetation cover, or re-create itsoon after disturbance, either by reusing the existing soil and plants (unless contaminated by invasive species) or by sowinga native herbaceous-plant seed mixture.
NATIVE HERBACEOUS PLANTS : Plants, such as grasses, that originate locally and are neither trees nor shrubs.
Invasive plants will rapidly colonize disturbed western
chorus frog habitats and alter soil and ecological conditions.
