Critical Ontario wildlife corridor gets national recognition

The Frontenac Arch Biosphere (FAB) Region, home to one of Canada’s busiest and most important wildlife corridors, has received further recognition of its national importance for nature, with Thousand Islands having been officially identified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA).

This remarkable hotspot for biodiversity and cultural heritage, located at the intersection of the Frontenac Arch and the St. Lawrence River Valley, serves as a critical land bridge over the river and around the Great Lakes for animal and bird migration. The area is also a nationally designated Important Area for Reptiles and Amphibians (IMPARA).

The Thousand Islands are home to numerous rare and at-risk species, including the Gray Ratsnake, Blanding's Turtle, and Pitch Pine. The area holds almost the entire Canadian population of Deerberry, a close relation of cranberries and blueberries that is considered at-risk in Canada, and holds over 10% of Canada’s Pugnose Shiner, a threatened native minnow. Iconic bird species, such as the Chimney Swift, Golden-winged Warbler, and Whip-poor-will, further underscore the region’s ecological significance.

Alongside their ecological importance, the Thousand Islands are steeped in human history. The Region is situated on the homelands of the Haudenosaunee (Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) and Anishinaabe (Algonquin) people who have both historic and ongoing relationships with this land.

The area is a popular destination for recreation, with Thousand Islands National Park seeing over 100,000 visitors a year.

“This network of protected areas administered by Parks Canada conserves biodiversity, protects ecosystems, connects landscapes, builds knowledge and understanding, and inspires people. Thousand Islands National Park has some of the highest diversity of reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates of any national park in Canada.

"This Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) highlights a continentally significant wildlife movement corridor, within which Parks Canada, in collaboration with Indigenous partners and regional conservation organizations, protects forests, wetlands, and freshwater ecosystems.” - Sheldon Lambert, Manager of Resource Conservation, Thousand Islands National Park

“One of the current collaborative stewardship efforts in the Thousand Islands is led by the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne’s Environmental Program, focusing on monitoring culturally and biologically important species such as teiokién:taron (Lake Sturgeon) which are Ontario's largest freshwater fish. This recent KBA designation will help support these ongoing conservation efforts.” - Christine Grossutti, Conservation Project Manager at the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network

“Canada’s globally important KBA program highlights sites that are vital in maintaining our planet’s precious biodiversity. Earning this designation is no small feat – sites are required to meet strict scientific criteria.

"The presence of multiple KBAs within the Frontenac Arch Biosphere is an indicator of just how remarkable this area is. We hope the recent recognition of the Thousand Islands will boost already thriving efforts to protect this critical landscape.” - Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne, Director of Key Biodiversity Areas, WCS Canada

The Thousand Islands joins Charleston Lake KBA and Frontenac Forests KBA as the third KBA to be identified within the FAB Region. Napanee Limestone Plain, another well-recognized exceptional natural area in Ontario, also partially overlaps the Region and is in the process of being proposed as a KBA. The KBAs here speak to the importance of the larger Biosphere Region in connecting critical sites for wildlife across this landscape.

Photos and map can be downloaded here.