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Authored by Lenore Fahrig, on November 10, 2022  Blanding's Turtle, photo by Jennifer Angoh Unlike large wetlands, most of Ontario's small wetlands currently have no protection, and Bill 23 would remove what little protection they do have. This is a big problem for Ontario's biodiversity. When a small wetland is drained or filled to build a home, a few plants, turtles, frogs, birds, and other wildlife lose their homes. When another small wetland is drained or filled to build another home, a few more plants, turtles, frogs, birds, and other wildlife lose their homes. While each lost small wetland by itself might not seem like a big deal, altogether the accumulated loss of small wetlands is a huge deal for Ontario's biodiversity. It's like this. Say someone steals $10,000 from you by removing $1,000 from your savings account every day for 10 days. The impact of that theft on your life would be just as big as if they stole the whole $10,000 all at once. It's the same, and worse, for wetland loss. Ten small wetlands together actually hold more biodiversity than a single large wetland that is the same size as the ten small ones put together. This means that the destruction of the ten small wetlands, one at a time, has an even bigger impact on wetland biodiversity than the destruction of the large one. In southern Ontario, we have already lost about three-quarters of the total wetland area that was here before European colonization. So, we have already lost three-quarters of the potential homes for wetland wildlife in southern Ontario. This is why in Ontario we have many threatened and endangered wetland species. And this is also why every remaining bit of wetland in Ontario, whether big or small, is precious to Ontario's wetland biodiversity. We can accommodate our growing human population by increasing housing density within the already-developed areas of towns and cities. However, the same option is not available to wetland species. In southern Ontario, to provide homes for wetland wildlife and prevent their extinction, we need to protect all remaining wetland areas. Despite this, Ontario law allows the destruction of most small wetlands, simply because they are small. The one category of small wetlands that can be protected under Ontario law is the small wetlands that form part of a larger group or "complex" of wetlands. But Bill 23 would remove even this protection for small wetlands in Ontario. This would place at even greater risk the plants, turtles, frogs, birds, and other wildlife who call these wetlands home. Want to know more about changes that would erase small wetlands? Read this blog
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