What is the Fraserburg Road Project?
Officially called “Project #300-5-A-21MR14”, the Fraserburg Road Project plans to pave 1,000 feet of riverbank and road shoulder along the South Muskoka River.
Currently, the sandy road shoulder alongside the thick vegetation makes this spot an idyllic turtle nursery. But if this project moves forward the habitat will be decimated and precious turtle eggs destroyed.
Additionally, this project will ruin the natural infrastructure that currently protects the road from flooding and prevents polluted water rushing straight into the river.
The current, natural river bank
versus
an example of a concrete embankment
Did you know?
All eight species of Ontario turtles are designated “Species at Risk”? A major contributing factor to Ontario’s turtle loss is habitat destruction – just like the destruction proposed for the Fraserburg Road Project.
Nesting sites mapped onto the project area. All of these sites will be destroyed by the proposed plan.
Did you know?
It is very difficult for turtle populations to recover. The life of a turtle hatchling is fraught with hazards - predators such as raccoons, skunks, opossums, coyotes, foxes, birds, snakes and even dogs are a threat from the moment the mother turtle lays her egg until the hatchling becomes an adult. In fact, less than 1% of turtle hatchlings survive.
Bob Dyment, a Muskoka cottager since 1958, has been identifying turtle nesting sites in this area for more than a decade. This year alone, he has identified a dozen turtle nesting sites that would be destroyed by the proposed construction, resulting in critical damage to the long-term health of the species.
Because turtles return to the same nesting site each year, when a nest is destroyed it not only ruins that year’s clutch of eggs but has serious implications for future eggs laid by the mother turtle. Furthermore, the mother turtle winds up confused and disoriented - often on the road where she soon becomes roadkill.
We cannot allow this project to go forward.
Stand up for the Fraserburg Road Turtles
Help us save the Fraserburg Road turtles by opposing plans to remove 1,000 feet of natural, sandy riverbank terrain and replace it with concrete matting.
This environmentally destructive proposal will eliminate a major habitat for three types of Ontario turtles: Snapping Turtles, Painted Turtles and endangered Blanding’s Turtles. All three species nest along this riverbank and the habitat is critical for their hatchlings.