Tag: Endangered Species Act

Finding a place in the sun for the Pitcher’s Thistle

In today’s post, former Chief Park Naturalist Angela Gunn reflects on the at-risk Pitcher’s Thistle.

Almost 20 years have passed since we mindfully took notice of the Pitcher’s Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) and added it to our provincial species-at-risk list.

Standing up to a metre tall, the Pitcher’s Thistle casts its slender silvery profile against dune and shoreline backdrops.

It humbly asks for its own space to grow in nutrient poor, unstable sands.

What does this plant offer me?

What will the world lose if this species does not linger into the future?

Who would love such a scraggly beast of a plant?

Continue reading Finding a place in the sun for the Pitcher’s Thistle

From the abundant to the rare, parks protect them all

Today’s post comes from Natural Heritage Education Supervisor Alistair MacKenzie at Pinery Provincial Park.

The landscape of Ontario Parks is renowned for being strongholds for myriad species, both common and rare.

A primary objective of Ontario Parks is the maintenance and restoration of ecological integrity, and the strengths of our protected areas are evident in the diversity of life found within.

Together, all of the native species found in Ontario make up the province’s biodiversity. Ontario’s biodiversity consists of species that are abundant and widespread across the province as well as others that are very rare and found only in isolated populations.

It is key to keep all of the species that we have to ensure healthy natural communities continue to thrive and provide ecological services to humans.

Continue reading From the abundant to the rare, parks protect them all