Georgian Bay Islands National Park / Beausoleil Island National Historic Site

Midland, ON

Nest protection | Egg incubation | SARA habitat surveys | Education and Outreach

33 species of reptiles and amphibians have been found in Georgian Bay Islands National Park, which is the most in any national park in Canada. Beausoleil Island, the main island of the park, has been recognized as an Important Amphibian and Reptile Area (IMPARA) by the Canadian Herpetological Society (CHS). Although Georgian Bay Islands National Park is an island-based park without the presence of cars, local herptile populations may be at additional risk from road mortality due to increased road traffic leading to the park. Recognizing this, park staff are working to understand and reduce road mortalities in the area.

Conservation efforts include:

• Road mortality surveys (completed outside the national park boundaries to gain data on future mitigation strategies)
• Habitat protection (nest protector programs within parks, and with volunteers and local landowners)
• Habitat restoration (rehabilitating park spaces, creating artificial nesting mounds and monitoring sites)
• Turtle nest incubation and hatchling release (completed with partners, visitor release events)
• Large-scale public engagement initiatives (citizen science/volunteer programs, virtual outreach)
• Partnership development and engagement to assist in conservation outside national park boundaries