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By Karen Alexander

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most invasive terrestrial mammals worldwide. They are native to Eurasia and parts of North Africa. Spread of wild pigs has been primarily through human introduction; they are also expanding through natural dispersal. 

Wild pigs have a broad geographic range and can easily adapt and survive in new environments due to their high fecundity (large number of offspring produced), early sexual maturity, varied diet, long lifespans, and highly adaptive nature. They are one of the most damaging invasive species in the United States and are becoming an alarming concern for Canadian provinces, especially in the Prairies.  

Wild pigs were first introduced to Canada from Europe beginning in the 1980’s as exotic livestock for meat. Due to human introductions, wild pigs have been expanding globally with populations present on all continents except Antarctica. In Canada, wild pigs have spread throughout the country since the late 1980’s. 

The presence of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is an emerging issue for Ontario as wild pigs have already caused widespread problems in Canada’s prairie provinces and many American states.  The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) Invading Species Awareness Program has launched a Wild Pig Surveillance Program (WPSP), an innovative citizen science tool that enables volunteers to deploy, bait, and monitor trail cameras with the goal of increasing the level of wild pig surveillance in Ontario.    

This new tool equips volunteers with the knowledge, equipment, and protocols required to detect wild pigs to better understand their current distribution in Ontario and inform potential management strategies.    

In 2021, the WPSP was implemented in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 49 and 50, as well as a small pilot project in Lanark County. In March, OFAH worked to recruit volunteers for the WPSP through a digital call to action on social media and an e-blast to OFAH members.  Interested volunteers completed a survey and watched a pre-recorded training webinar to enroll in the program.  Based on the survey responses, OFAH-owned trail cameras were provided to volunteers in the designated surveillance areas for a fixed period from March – August 2021. 

The early detection of any free-ranging pigs is vital to preventing the establishment of this invasive species.They are a threat to Ontario’s landscapes, negatively impacting the environment and affecting recreational, ecological, and economic values.   

If you think you’ve see a wild pig, take a photograph, mark your location, and contact the Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711 or .  The Invasive Species Awareness Program is a partnership between the OFAH and the NDMNRF to address the increasing threats posed by invasive species in Ontario.

Learn more about wild pigs here: Wild Pigs – Invasive Species Centre

By Karen Alexander

Native Phragmites is an important component of a healthy wetland ecosystem.  It grows amongst other macrophytes in marshes and unlike the invasive Phragmites, does not typically develop into dense monocultures or degrade habitat quality.  

Across the Great Lakes region, native Phragmites has disappeared from wetlands because of the more competitive invasive Phragmites and there is a concern that the native population is being removed from wetlands due to well-meaning control measures targeting invasive plants.  

Fortunately, variation does exist between the native and invasive Phragmites, but even the available diagnostic keys are not leading to clear determinations of native or invasive Phragmites. When confusion remains, a DNA analysis is needed.

In Ontario, an increasing number of land managers are admitting confusion when attempting to identify native or invasive Phragmites in the field. To protect native Phragmites and ensure efficient use of resources to control invasive Phragmites, the Green Shovels Collaborative is offering free access to a DNA Screening Service for the 2022-23 fiscal year.  

The DNA Screening method being used for the program is from D. Wendell et al. (2021).  This simple screen test can differentiate between native Phragmites and invasive Phragmites. The test will also detect hybridization. 

For more information and to enroll in the program, please visit: DNA Screening Program  – Green Shovels.

By Karen Alexander

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thank you to all Club members who have renewed their membership for 2022! We are grateful for your continued loyalty, commitment, and support, especially while our normal club activities have been postponed or offered only virtually.  Membership renewals are due April 1, 2022.

This year we have many exciting plans for the Club:

• We intend to get back to in-person Speaker Series at the Ojibway Nature Centre as soon as we are able to. Meanwhile, our Speaker Series will continue online.
• We will keep hosting “Pop-up” events throughout the County – thank you to all who join these events, it is lovely to see members coming together again! The last event at Jack Miners on March 6 brought together 17 members for about 3 hours. Members enjoyed a lovely day with observations of 13 bird species! Hello Spring!
• Our Junior Egrets Club is getting 20 backpacks stuffed with nature guides, activities, and a schedule of events!  Thanks to the TD Friends of the Environment, we are able to offer a new program called “Connecting Youth to Local Nature”.  Stay tuned for more information or contact Kory Renaud, Chair of the Junior Egrets Committee.
• We have a number of new volunteer opportunities and we recently completed a new Organizational Chart (see photo below)  that provides a visual breakdown of all the volunteer roles and Committees we have – we really do quite a lot for a volunteer Club and I am proud of our Membership.
• We are currently seeking current or new members to fill a few roles:
  • Speaker Series Coordinator
  • Communications Coordinator
  • Volunteer Manager
  • iNaturalist Coordinator
  • Members for the Heritage Committee, the Phragmites Committee, and the Junior Egrets Committee

The Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club is a volunteer-driven Club that could not run without Members stepping into roles and stepping up to help us spread excitement and gratitude for local natural heritage.  If we don’t do this important work to provide the opportunity for people to become acquainted with and to better understand the natural environment in Essex County, who will?

I very much look forward to meeting more of our Membership this year and can’t wait to get back to in-person meetings, events, and projects!

Sincerely,

Karen Alexander, President