April 18, 2023

For Immediate Release

 

Contact: Scott Gillingwater, Species at Risk Biologist

Upper Thames River Conservation Authority

[email protected] 

519-495-0400

 

30 Years of Work Protecting Ontario’s Endangered Turtles and Snakes in Jeopardy – Make this Earth Day Count 

A Spiny Softshell Turtle held in a person's hand next to a waterbody.

One of Canada’s longest-running, most successful reptile research and protection programs is at risk in the face of an ongoing funding shortfall.

The Southern Ontario At Risk Reptiles (SOARR) program has been working with endangered turtles and snakes for nearly 30 years, but needs the financial help of community members and businesses to continue.

“One of the biggest issues in wildlife research and protection is the lack of consistent funding,” explained Scott Gillingwater, Species At Risk Biologist with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA).

Gillingwater has been with SOARR since its inception in 1994, studying and protecting some of Ontario’s rarest wildlife species. From working with some of the largest remaining endangered turtle and snake populations known in Canada, to training and mentoring countless early-career biologists, Gillingwater and the SOARR program have made a tremendous impact locally, provincially, and nationally.

The SOARR turtle egg incubation program is the largest in Canada and one of the largest in North America, releasing 5,000 to 7,000 endangered hatchling turtles each year, along with many thousands of hatchlings of other at risk reptile species. These efforts have actually halted the rapid decline of the endangered Spiny Softshell Turtle in the Thames River watershed.

This Earth Day, Gillingwater urges community members and businesses to support SOARR.

“People ask me how they can help protect wildlife. By donating to SOARR, you are making an immediate impact by supporting on the ground work to prevent reptile extinctions and help local populations survive and thrive.”

Donations are tax-deductible and can be made online at www.thamesriverdonations.ca/species-at-risk

“We need people and businesses to step up and support this conservation work, or we will lose many local threatened and endangered turtles and snakes,” Gillingwater said. The provincial government does not provide financial support for Species at Risk programs associated with conservation authorities, even grassroots programs such as SOARR.

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