Re-establishing a Lost Ecosystem of Southern Ontario

Recovery of Kirtland’s Warbler

NOVEMBER 14, 2018

Photo By: Lev Frid

2018 LATORNELL CONSERVATION SYMPOSIUM

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Restoration for a single species is more meaningful when it is completed at the

community level.

DATE

History and Habitat of the Kirtland’s WarblerWhy are they considered one of the most endangered birds in Canada, and what contributed to their decline?

• Ontario is composed of 4 major life zones

• Also part of Great Lakes Basin shared with 8 US states

• Tremendous diversity in Great Lakes Basin; endemism

• Shoreline meadows to upland forest to fens to talus slopes

• Many rare habitats are associated with GL shorelines

Project Landscape / Context

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Sand Barrens or Pine-Oak Savanna?

OCTOBER 12, 2017

• Recognized as G2, a globally threatened community type

• Dominated by sandy soils

• Patchy to closed tree cover <60%

• Pine species (Jack, Red or White) and Oak (Red, White, Black) dominate

• ground cover represented by various tallgrass and meadow species

• Fire-based system

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How common was the community?

OCTOBER 12, 2017

John Goldie , 1819: Toronto Sand Plain, Pine Barrens

Catherine Traill, 1832; Rice Lake Plain

Samuel Thompson, 1833; Nottawasaga Pine Plain

Kathleen Lizars , 1913; Humber Plain

From Riley (2013) The Once and Future Great Lakes

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Where is the potential area where it occurred?

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Floristic Indicators

• Over 100 species representing the pine-oak savanna community

• Many rely on disturbance (fire, gaps, human-caused)

• Persist on sandy sites, often with multiple members present

• Bird community assemblages also can be helpful

What do former barrens currently

have on them?

• Agriculture eg. Potatoes, Xmas tree farms

• Urbanization eg. parts of Toronto and GTA

• Erosion stabilization Plantations

Conifer Plantations

• Ongoing study by Savanta on landscape potential

• Monocultures

• Many composed of non-native species

• Often plagued with problems like poor productivity, invasive species, disease

• Potential source of revenue and funding to help restore

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Why don’t we (intentionally) manage for early succession?

Benefits of restoring Pine-Oak Savanna

• Replacing virtually disappeared habitat• Effective means vs. invasive/alien

problems• Increase rare/uncommon species• Improve conditions for forestry• Aesthetics• Recreational/Tourism

Species Biology ContextKirtland’s Warbler

Pine-Oak Savanna or Barrens specialist

• Barrens of Great Lakes ecosystem.

• Fire important. Only uses stands <25 years old.

• Species was widespread.• Structure more important than

one tree species (Jack vs. Red Pine)

Management saved species from extinction

• Listed by US as Endangered in 1973

• Population never high; hovered around 300-500.

• Management provided habitat on State and Federal lands.

• Mimic fire through forestry and prescribed burns to create habitat.

Removal from Endangered Species List 2015

• Population has recovered to over 5000

• Expansion of habitat preference and to new (former?) areas

• Utilizing species compositions different from Michigan (same structure)

• Two known Ontario breeding sites since 2006.

Species Recovery in Canada

• S1 G1 ranked COSEWIC, COSSARO• Recovery Strategy 2006, Search Protocol

2012, Action Plan 2014• Recovery Goal: manage habitat at select

habitats in Canada to encourage recovery of the species (Environment Canada 2006)

• Critical Habitat ???• Population and Distribution objectives ???

So, what’s next?

• Thinking outside the box about species range

• Pilot project ? – outreach

• Simcoe County 2015

• Coordination of Pilot Project beginning in 2017

Re-establishment and RestorationLet’s look at the criteria and the steps to get there.

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Support of Action Plan for the Re-establishment of the Kirtland’s

Warbler in Simcoe County.

Recovery Plan: Determining suitable areas where habitat could be created through collaborative stewardship efforts.

Objectives: To create a habitat that has become rare on the landscape, to facilitate research and act as a reference ecosystem for new Kirtland’s Warbler recovery initiatives.

Opportunities: Additional habitat creation efforts.

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WARBLER

• New breeding evidence discovered on a third site in southern Ontario

• Survey efforts focused in on early successional habitats (> 15 ha)

Finding the Habitat: Simcoe County Museum

Restoration Timeline

2015: Discussions Began

2016: Ground Truthing & Project Coordination

2017: Beginning of Seed Collection Efforts

2018: Site Preparation & Continued Seed Collection

2019: Seeding, Planting & Site Management

The Stakeholders:

The Project was started through discussions between:

Simcoe County Forester, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Canadian Wildlife Services who partnered with Savanta Inc.

The Funders:Habitat Stewardship Program &

American Forests

Grants and other Funding Opportunities

SAR Stewardship Fund (OMNRF),US Fish and Wildlife &

American Bird Conservancy

Introduction to the Restoration Site and Restoration Team

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Springwater Provincial

Park 433C B&S10

211A, 211B210A, 210B

MNRF Owned 38.7 ha Pr plantations

¯ 0 100 Meters

Path: S:\9169 - SAV 8070 Simcoe County Museum\gis\mxd\2018 03 20 report figures\Figure 1 Simcoe Museum Site.mxd Date Saved: April 4, 2018

Figure 1 Simcoe Museum Site

Air photo:Google Earth July 2016

Participating LandMNRFSimcoe CountySpringwater Provincial Park

Project AreaPit AreaPlateau AreaWindrows

Midhurst Museum KIWA Project

Sources: Esri, HERE,DeLorme, Intermap,increment P Corp., GEBCO,USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN,GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL,Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan,

Restoration SiteHabitat types comparable to those in Michigan's breeding grounds.

• Aprox. 50 ha of Simcoe County Museum managed lands proposed for restoration efforts.

• Land was once a CNR railway bed, with re-established characteristics

• Invasive species were/are characterizing feature of the site.

• Site contains indictor species of the Pine-Oak habitat that was once present.

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Restoration TeamSimcoe County Canadian Wildlife ServiceSavanta

Mary Gartshore

This restoration effort is largely based on the volunteer efforts from interested people in the environmental sector.

Seed Collection is Based On:• Reference Ecosystems

• The species list built from reference ecosystems

Seed Cleaning and Processing:

Seed Collection EffortsThe location and species present on the landscape, means we won’t be

starting from scratch!

To date:

• Over 75 native species have been collected.

• A transplant of Sweet Fern was just implemented on the site.

• 90% of our target seed amounts have been collected.

Seed GuidelinesSeeding Goals:

• 50-100 Vegetation Species• Large Seeds sowed at 1 kg/ha

• Fruit Seeds sowed at 0.8-1.0 kg/ha• Wildflower Seeds sowed at 0.7-1.0 kg/ha• Grass Seeds sowed at 1.0-2.0 kg/ha

• Mix of White Millet with smaller seeds at sowing

Diversity > Quantity

Fighting Against Invasive Species

Restoration Sites are highly susceptible to invasive species.

Methods being employed:• Prescribed Burn

(increase Carbon in the soil). • Herbicide Spraying• Cover Crops (Millet)• Natural Diversity

Prescribed Burn (September 2018)

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Pre Harvest and Before Burn:

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During:

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After:

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“It is estimated that the site will be suitable for occupancy by Kirtland’s Warbler by May of 2023. However, many other species, including various

species at risk, will potentially be attracted back to the site before then.”

RESTORATION TIMELINE

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Ways to connect with the project:Facebook Group: Habitat Restoration for

Kirtland’s Warbler in OntarioSimcoe County Website

Announcements

Thank you

Peter BurkeSAVANTA, SENIOR ECOLOGIST

PETERBURKE@SAVANTA.CA

Laura Williamson

LAURAWILLIAMSON@SAVANTA.CASAVANTA, JUNIOR ECOLOGIST

Thank You!