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Report Turtle and Snake Sightings Online! There is a new, quick way to report sightings of turtles and snakes in southwestern Ontario. Just submit a form online and it will go directly to Scott Gillingwater, Species at Risk Biologist with the ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ (UTRCA). Visit the UTRCA Turtle Reporting Form to report: turtle nest with eggs turtle nest without visible eggs injured turtles, and other concerns [...]

Events all summer at Conservation Areas  ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ (UTRCA) staff are very excited for the events they have planned at Fanshawe, Pittock and Wildwood Conservation Areas (CAs). See below for details including where pre-registration is required. Please note: A valid park permit is required for all events.  Fanshawe Conservation Area  Saturday, July 22: Wild Ontario   4:00 pm, Recreation Shelter  Visit with some of Ontario’s native birds! [...]

Buffers along Water Courses Protect and Improve Water Quality  What are buffer strips?  Buffer strips are permanently vegetated areas adjacent to open watercourses and wetlands, such as drainage channels, streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. They are designed to help separate natural ecosystems from agriculture and developed areas to reduce the risk of contaminated runoff entering surface water. They may include trees, shrubs, grasses or wildflowers and can range from [...]

Landowners Discuss Stewardship Projects in Two New Videos UTRCA Stewardship Services have released two new videos showcasing the various benefits of constructed wetlands and field windbreaks across the agricultural landscape. Constructed Wetlands as Green Infrastructure UTRCA partnered with Ducks Unlimited Canada and the landowner to promote the creation of more constructed wetlands. This video highlights two constructed wetland designs in the Upper Thames River watershed and the role of [...]

Huron University College Scotia Bank Scholars ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ (UTRCA) Community Education staff partnered for a second year with Huron’s Scotia Bank Scholars. It offers an intensive high school English credit to exceptional students from across the watershed who have been identified as facing barriers to post-secondary education. The theme for this year’s program was water. On the first day of the course, students visited Fanshawe Conservation [...]

Surveyors Hit the Ground Running  Kenny Tomljenovic, July 2023 Flood modelling begins with the essential job of watercourse surveying.   Each year, a team of Field Survey Assistants joins the ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ (UTRCA) from June to November to collect information about the shape of watercourses all over the Upper Thames River watershed. While waterbodies look flat from above, the ground beneath can be far from [...]

Patrolling London's ESAs ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ (UTRCA) staff designated as Provincial Offences Officers have been focusing their patrols on the City of London's Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs), enforcing rules and municipal by-laws as well as answering trail users’ questions and concerns.   Over the last few years, UTRCA staff have noticed a large increase in trail users which has also meant an increase in by-law infractions.   Common infractions include:   dogs being off leash,  biking on [...]