NCC Magazine - Spring 2020

Valérie René, NCC project coordinator in
Quebec, is working to reestablish habitat for
the spiny softshell turtle, a threatened species
in Canada. The turtles, with leathery
shells and a long snout, were formerly common
in the Ottawa, St. Lawrence and Richelieu
rivers. In Quebec, they are now found
almost exclusively in Lake Champlain.
“Over the last few decades, we have
observed a reduction in the population
and distribution that is quite worrying,”
René describes.
That makes restoring habitat a priority
for the species’ survival. After researchers
identified nesting grounds in a collaboration
between NCC and the Ministère des Forêts,
de la Faune et des Parcs, a pond close to
Lake Champlain was protected and restored.
It’s now an environment that warms quickly
after the snow melts and provides turtles with
plenty of food, but even that is not enough to
ensure their survival, explains René.
One problem is predation of their nests
by raccoons. So, over the last dozen years,
NCC has developed a project with the Zoo
de Granby to collect turtle eggs and send
them to the zoo.
The zoo keeps the eggs in an incubator
for two months, then the tiny hatchlings are
returned to the place where they were taken
from, which avoids raccoons eating them.
“We have seen the same females coming
back year after year...And we hope to witness,
in the next years, the turtles that were released
10 or 12 years ago returning to lay
eggs,” René adds.
A second pond is now being created.
With further protection of shorelines and
the protection of new nesting sites by the
local volunteers, the aim is to reclaim lost
turtle habitats and allow the turtle population
to thrive again, says René.
was formerly a crop field and is now filled
with weeds that are choking out newly
planted trees.
Ceh notes that the goat crews are working
well on the Spruce Grove site and improvements
are being observed.
“I expected 400 goats on a property to be
more chaotic than it is,” laughs Ceh. “But the
goats are focused on eating the weeds, and
the shepherds have a systematic approach
when they are working with the animals on
a property. It’s really neat to watch.”
People power
Kraus believes volunteers play a critical
role in restoration projects, and restoration
can transform our relationship with nature.
“Instead of just working to stop nature
slipping away, there is the hope of making
things better.”
“We often think of people as destroyers of
nature, but now there are examples of where
we can be restorers of nature. Our presence
on the landscape can even increase biodiversity,”
he reflects.
That hope is demonstrated in the United
Nations’ decision to declare 2021–2030 as the
Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
The aim is to “massively scale up the
restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems
as a proven measure to fight the
climate crisis and enhance food security,
water supply and biodiversity,” according
to a UN statement.
Shortly after the UN announcement,
57 countries, subnational governments and
private organizations committed to work on
restoring more than 170 million hectares
(420 million acres) around the world.
“The decline of nature has to stop, or at
some point there will be nothing left. This decade
acknowledges that maybe we can be the
generation to not only halt the loss of nature,
but to actually turn things around,” says Kraus.
Often, the way forward is clear, such as
removing invasive reed canarygrass in Chase
Woods. However, in the evolving science of
restoration ecology, there is also recognition
that climate change and development are altering
the world and, sometimes, it may not
be either possible or desirable to restore the
original ecosystem. Kraus points to “novel
ecosystems” that didn’t exist before human
interference, such as new vegetation communities
in cities where native and non-native
species are providing habitat for wildlife and
ecosystem services, as one example.
“I think more and more, restoration ecologists
aren’t thinking of recreating the world
exactly as it used to be. We need to think about
creating the world we need in the future, for
both nature and people to thrive.”2
Top: Spiny softshell turtle hatchling.
Bottom: Invasive species-eating goats at work
to restore habitat at Spruce Grove, Alberta.
GOATS: NCC. INSET: NCC.
Four-legged help
Katelyn Ceh, NCC director of conservation
parkland and grasslands in Alberta, is working
with four-legged helpers to restore ecosystems.
Ceh is supervising two goat trials happening
in Alberta, one in southern parts of the
province in the Crowsnest Pass and one in
the Edmonton region near Spruce Grove.
The goats, which are moved around the
site by shepherds and working dogs, are
trained to eat invasive species such as common
tansy, and keep them from spreading
into adjacent areas.
“We are using them where we can’t do
other kinds of weed control because of
difficult access,” says Ceh.
In Spruce Grove, the contractor brings
about 400 goats at a time to a site that
natureconservancy.ca
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