Blanding's Turtle Tunnel TCV1 - Kanata, Ontario
Posted by: 
elyob
N 45° 19.644 W 075° 57.046
18T E 425493 N 5019761
Posted co-ordinates are for the westernmost tunnel skylight.
Waymark Code: WMZ2Q6
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 09/01/2018
Views: 12
Set yourself up at the skylight above this shallow tunnel. Bring a comfortable seat and watch the animals below: raccoons, frogs, rabbits, porcupines, mice, squirrels, groundhogs, weasels, fox, skunks, chipmunks, rats, and the fisher. In the report cited below (page 11), a fisher posed for a photograph in this tunnel. Of all the animal crossings under Terry Fox Drive, this is the tunnel of choice for the fisher and for the rabbit.
This is an animal-only terrestrial tunnel. The culvert carries no water feature. The culvert was placed here to match one of the routes used by the Blanding's turtles before the road was built. This tunnel has a gravel bottom. The east entrance is at N 45° 19.628 W 075° 57.015.
During the environmental studies which took place before the extension of Terry Fox Drive was built, it was discovered that harm would be done to the environment of a species at risk, the Blanding's turtles. One hundred Blanding's turtles were counted in the South March Highlands and the Kizell drainage areas. The movements of the turtles were tracked. Ten crossings under Terry Fox Drive were designed and constructed.
As part of a Wildlife Guide System (WSG), ten long box culverts were built under the four lane road. Three skylights were created in each culvert tunnel, allowing sunshine and improved airflow to warm up the concrete walls and cobblestone-and-gravel-and-soil floors for the cold-blooded animals. Stone walls and animal fencing were built between the tunnels, directing the animals to the crossings. This was likely the first time in Ontario that a WSG was developed before a road was built.
After the extension to Terry Fox Drive was opened to traffic in 2010, the Dillon Consulting group spent three years monitoring the animal traffic through the animal crossings and the reduction in road kills on Terry Fox Drive. Dillon Consulting's Wildlife Guide System Monitoring Study (2014) is available on line.