Protecting a threatened species, the Western Chorus Frog, in Quebec

LONGUEUIL, QC, May 31, 2024 /CNW/ - Protecting nature is an effective solution for offsetting biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change.

Today, a few days before Canadian Environment Week 2024, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced that an investment of $8.2 million in Nature-Action Québec and its partners, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and Ducks Unlimited Canada, allowed these organizations to carry out activities to protect and restore the critical habitat of the Western Chorus Frog in Montérégie and the Outaouais.

In 2024, Nature-Action Québec used part of the investment to acquire over 13 hectares of natural areas in Boucherville, La Prairie and Longueuil. These areas are protected in perpetuity and will improve the ecological connectivity of the critical habitat of the Western Chorus Frog, a threatened species in Canada. Restoration, communication, and municipal engagement projects were completed, and measures aimed at combating invasive alien species were also carried out. In 2023, the financial support enabled Ducks Unlimited Canada to protect a property of over 10 hectares in the Outaouais that is home to many different species, including the Western Chorus Frog. Since the launch of the project in 2022, over 42 hectares have been protected in the Outaouais and over 39 in Montérégie.

Quotes

"Collaboration is key to conservation, and we must work together if we want to ensure the protection and recovery of species at risk like the Western Chorus Frog. Our government is committed to halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and putting nature on the path to recovery by 2050. We will continue to work with organizations from across the country to reach these goals."
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"Nature-Action Québec can rely on an exceptional partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada to accelerate conservation and restoration measures to promote the recovery of the Western Chorus Frog. We have been actively committed to the protection of this threatened species since 2007, and we are able to carry out these promising projects thanks to the support of our valuable partners: the Government of Canada, the Government of Québec, the Montréal Metropolitan Community, the Western Chorus Frog Recovery Team in Quebec, cities, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Ciel et Terre, the Conseil régional de l'environnement de la Montérégie, the Quebec Environmental Law Centre, and many researchers and experts."
– Pascal Bigras, Executive Director, Nature-Action Québec

"The Ducks Unlimited Canada team is proud to have helped save critical habitat patches for the Western Chorus Frog. Because everything is connected in the world of conservation, every action counts. This is why we need to join forces to protect species at risk. This project is the perfect example of a successful partnership and shows that, as a team, we can protect natural areas that are vitally important for this species."
– Mélanie Deslongchamps, Manager of Provincial Operations in Quebec, Ducks Unlimited Canada

"The Nature Conservancy of Canada is extremely pleased with the progress made in the conservation of habitats for the Western Chorus Frog and would like to express its gratitude to the financial supporters who make this work possible. The protection of 30 percent of the territory includes the preservation of natural areas with high ecological value, like those found in the Montréal Metropolitan Community. The Nature Conservancy of Canada is proud to contribute to these significant gains in protecting species at risk."
– Claire Ducharme, Regional Vice-President, Quebec Region, Nature Conservancy of Canada

Quick facts

• This investment is provided by Canada's Nature Fund and was awarded to Nature-Action Québec and its partners for 2022–2023 and 2023–2024.
• The Western Chorus Frog, Great Lakes / St. Lawrence and Canadian Shield population, is a small amphibian that lives and reproduces in wetlands. In Quebec, the Western Chorus Frog is found in Montérégie and the Outaouais.
• The principal threat facing this species is the loss of its habitat caused by urban development and agricultural intensification. Over the past few decades, the species has lost 90 percent of its range in Montérégie and 30 percent in the Outaouais.
• Despite its tiny size, the Western Chorus Frog plays an important role in the ecosystem. It is an indicator of the pressures placed on biodiversity, because it shares similar needs with a number of other species.
• Protecting the habitat of the Western Chorus Frog ensures the protection of several other species that share its habitat and maintains the benefits provided by wetlands, including the filtration and conservation of water resources and carbon capture.

Associated links

• Nature-Action Québec est fier d'annoncer l'acquisition de plus de 13 hectares en Montérégie pour la protection de la rainette faux-grillon de l'Ouest (Available in French only) 
  
  
• Species at risk public registry: Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata), Great Lakes / St. Lawrence – Canadian Shield population
  
  
• Recovery Strategy for the Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata), Great Lakes / St. Lawrence – Canadian Shield population, in Canada

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Kaitlin Power, Senior Press Secretary and Communications Advisor, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 819-230-1557, [email protected]; Media Relations, Environment and Climate Chante Canada, 819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free), [email protected]