Help a toad or two cross a road at Summit Lake this week
By Nelson Daily Staff
The question of why the toadlet crosses the road is simple biology — to get to their home on the other side — but the question of why so many have to die each year isn’t.
Tens of thousands of western toadlets, each not more than the size of a dime, get squashed as they attempt the treacherous migration from the shoreline of Summit Lake to upland habitat across Highway 6, about 90 minutes north of Nelson.
Starting this Monday and going to Friday, the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP), together with B.C. Parks and the Ministry Transportation and Infrastructure (MOT), is inviting the public to learn more about western toads, and help some toadlets cross the highway.
“We did this for the first time last year and the community interest was huge,” said program manager Patrice Rother for the FWCP, a partnership between BC Hydro, the Province of B.C. and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “As a result we are having four separate sessions this year, providing both a better educational experience for the public, and to help more toadlets.
“Last year we moved approximately 20,000 toadlets across the road.”
The toad events run from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and again from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day on Monday, Aug. 22, and Thursday, Aug. 25. The public is requested to arrive at the start of one of these four sessions to receive a short orientation from a biologist.
The events are free and containers for carrying the toadlets across the road will be provided. Parking is limited and carpooling is encouraged.
Traffic control will be in place during the event and drivers can expect very minor delays. “The traffic on this road moves extremely fast and we do not want anyone moving the toadlets outside of these organized events. Safety of the public is our main concern,” added Rother.
“We know that Summit Lake is one of the key breeding areas for western toads in the Kootenay region, if not the province,” said Dave Heagy, BC Parks senior ranger for the Arrow region. “Therefore we are extremely pleased that we can invite the public to both help the toads and help celebrate our 100-year centennial.
“This idea of bringing the “kidlets” to help the toadlets provides a great opportunity for the family to both learn about, and help, nature.”
Toads face habitat loss, road mortality
Western toads are listed federally as a species of concern and are blue listed in the province. Once widespread throughout North America, in recent decades their distribution has diminished considerably especially in the United States and south coast B.C. where local extinctions have been observed.
Habitat loss and road mortality are thought to be among the leading causes for the decline.
Adult western toads descend from upland habitat in the spring, laying their eggs on the shoreline of Summit Lake. The juvenile toads start emerging from the lake around mid-August and make their way back to upland areas where they forage until they reach adulthood, returning then to Summit Lake to breed, completing the migration circle.
Unfortunately for them, Highway 6 bisects their migration path.
Fences have been installed to direct toads into “toad tunnels”, but the movement of the toadlets is so spread out – over several kilometres – that many continue to perish. In just a two-day period in 2009, an estimated 90,000 dead toadlets were found on a one-kilometre stretch of the road.
Note
- While camping spaces at Summit Lake cannot be reserved, the Summit Lake Provincial Park Facility Operator indicates that there is a good chance of spots being available at that time of the season.
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