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The provincial government’s Ontario’s Living Legacy Land Use Strategy, covering 45 percent of the province, outlines the intended strategic direction for the management of Crown Lands and waters. A main objective of this strategy was the completion of Ontario’s system of parks and protected areas. Once completed, 12 percent of the land and water base will belong to a park or conservation reserve. Contact your local Ministry of Natural Resources office for more details.
 


 
 

Road construction to service development
in the Eastern Georgian Bay region.

THREATS

Remote areas with ideal massasauga habitat, and limited disturbance, still exist and harbour rattlesnake populations that are presumably healthy. However, the natural beauty of the Georgian Bay region has led to intense development in some areas. Massasaugas in this region are affected by:

  • Habitat destruction and fragmentation: Eastern Georgian Bay is the heart of southern Ontario’s cottage country and a prime area for cottages, recreation, and residential development. As development progresses into previously undisturbed areas, the chance of these activities impacting on the massasauga populations and other wildlife increases.
     

  • Construction and expansion of roads are required to service development and may account for snake deaths during and after
    construction. Activities that are part of road building, such as rock
    quarries, blasting, clearing of vegetation and soils, and filling of
    lowland areas may impact on massasaugas. Deaths may occur
    directly or indirectly by the destruction of significant habitats.
     

  • Collection of snakes for the pet trade occurs, though it is illegal and potentially dangerous.

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