The Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) allocates funds to projects that conserve and protect species at risk and their habitats and to help preserve biodiversity in Ontario. These funds promote the participation of local communities to help with the recovery of species at risk and prevent other species from becoming a conservation concern.
TgO obtained a 3 year funding commitment (2013-15) to contact landowners and undertake prairie and savanna management on critical sites for the recovery of species at risk. This project focused on remnant and created prairie and savanna communities in southern Ontario, with emphasis placed within three physiographic regions St. Clair Plains (portions of Essex, Kent and Lambton), the Iroquois Plans (portions of Hamilton and Toronto) and the Norfolk Sand Plain (portions of Norfolk, Brant and Hamilton). Over 40 landowners received service from this grant over a 3 year period. The Tallgrass communities in these three regional priority areas support the presence of numerous species at risk including Mississauga Rattlesnake, Eastern Foxsnake, Butler’s Gartersnake, Henslow’s Sparrow, American Badger, Dense Blazing Star, and Hoary Mountain Mint.
This three year project addressed the threat of habitat loss through the absence of management. Prairies and savannas require some form of management (disturbance) on a routine basis to prevent succession into shrub thicket. In the past prairies and savannas on private land were primarily managed with the support of Stewardship Councils. This project will bridge the gap in services left by the disappearance of Stewardship Councils or by the decreased capacity of those Stewardship Councils that are continuing.
Completed stewardship activities include prescribed burning, invasive species removal, control of competing native vegetation, enlargement of remnant tallgrass areas, mowing of sites where prescribedburning is not possible and other management activities.