Hello darkness, my old friend/ I've come to talk with you again.
Sounds like a song that the Northern Leopard Frog might sing to him/herself while getting ready to bed down for the winter in the lovely muck of Rattray Marsh.
Except that the common frog, which is often simply referred to as the grass frog or meadow frog, isn't nearly as common around Rattray as it used to be.
Which has Bob Morris, the biologist at Credit Valley Conservation, a little concerned.
That's why he and the CVC folks, who just happen to include Chair Pat Mullin who represents Ward 2 where the marsh is located, have hired a consultant and are taking action to clean up the marsh. If they can get the support of the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources and the feds, they hope to carefully clean out a foot to a foot-and-a-half of the muck (or is it guck) to get down to the rich organic layer that will allow some of the fading plant life to be rehabilitated.
They also plan to clean up Sheridan Creek, which feeds the marsh, which will be half the battl, or more, in returning the marsh to sound health.
Consultant Glenn Harrington told a public meeting a couple of weeks ago that the chorus of nature's voices that should be present in a marsh the size of Rattray isn't nearly as loud as it should be. Most of the birds and amphibians are still there, "but not nearly in the numbers we would expect."
So the CVC held a press conference at the marsh last week to take the macro picture — the marsh is in trouble and needs our help — and make it micro — by telling citizens what they can do to help the Northern Leopard Frog.
To wit: don't use pesticides on your lawn, leave grass cuttings on your lawn to feed it rather than pumping it full of artificial fertilizers, avoid using rock salt on your driveway, and use an environmentally-friendly de-icing alternative instead. One of the suggestions was particularly apropos when you consider the glam neighbourhoods in the area — some of which were built on what was originally part of the marsh – don't drain your pool water into the street culverts which take it out to the Lake and the marsh.
"It may seem obvious," says the information brochure CVC has produced, "but frogs and chlorine don’t mix." Instead, let the pool water sit for three days so the chemical content is low enough it won't affect your lawn, then dump your water there. The natural filtration system will minimize the damage to the marsh and watercourses.
Here's someone to thank you for your assistance in person:
http://allaboutfrogs.org/files/sounds/nleapard.au
Believe that tune he's singing is It's (Still) Not Easy Being Green.
Comments (1)
Too little & too late - there is a reason why a whole class of animals - amphibians - are endangered, they are not politically correct and neither are those who try and protect them. Save the Leopard Frog what a joke from experience I know how it really works. For years I was trying to save amphibian life in the Cawthra Bush - toads to be exact and failed as the City of Mississauga did what ever it could to see them DEAD! Trying to save toads in a Provincial Wetlands and our “caring” local government could not do it. Toads are much easier to “save” then frogs as they do not need a wet environment all the time, people even raise them in their backyards. However, the City took the oh well they are dying out nothing we can do as local politicians didn’t care - they see no gain in it and their interest is all too often short lived at the best of times. What happened in the Cawthra Bush is a text book case of the classic way government kills off what is important and claiming it was like an accident, could happen to anyone. The main breeding ground was behind the Cawthra arena in a drainage ditch and one day as I happened by saw a large digger removing all the reeds. I came back to photo it and discovered that the ditch, or what remained was full of tadpoles that were now fully exposed to the sun and soon died. I did rescued some but with that ditch gone the toad’s days were numbered. What proves this was not like an “accident”, is that the City environmental committee of the day had told City staff to save some of the reeds as they were special, of course it was not done. That later on City staff was very happy to keep reporting it is so sad that the toads are dying but never to even suggest to politicians that not only can something be done but that it should.
Because amphibians and politics don’t mix what we see is a great dog & pony show of token efforts that will not accomplish the changes that need to be done even City wide (like committing to the idea that in the land of sprawl the environment really is a priority not a photo-op) and what little it may do in a very small area will always be endanger of being forgotten if the public fails to keep beating a path to City hall or the CVC about what is or not happening to that project and how much they will praise the local politicians for doing what should be done without requiring such personal service.
The CVC put out a notice asking for people to help in environmental studies and I submitted my name - no response. Shows who or what rules the roost at the CVC, get black-listed by politicians and the CVC has no time for you.
Posted by Don Barber | December 8, 2007 11:27 AM
Posted on December 8, 2007 11:27