Prepared by Robert Willson and Glenn M. Cunnington

Formerly found in extreme southwestern Ontario, the Blue Racer (Coluber constrictor foxii) is a snake that is now confined to Pelee Island. The Blue Racer is listed as endangered under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA). The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) declared the Blue Racer endangered in 1991 and this status was retained in status updates in 2002 and 2012. The Blue Racer is also identified as endangered under Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

The Blue Racer is one of Ontario’s largest snakes. Relative to the other snake species that occur on Pelee Island the Blue Racer is uncommon. The primary threats to survival and recovery of the species on Pelee Island are habitat loss and degradation, vehicular mortality and intentional persecution.

The recovery goal for the Blue Racer in Ontario is (1) to maintain, or if necessary increase population abundance to ensure long-term population persistence; (2) increase habitat quantity, quality and connectivity on Pelee Island; and (3) continue to assess the feasibility of repatriating the species to portions of its former range on the southern Ontario mainland. The protection or recovery objectives are as follows.

  1. Protect habitat and connections, and where possible, increase the quantity and quality of available habitat for Blue Racer on Pelee Island.
  2. Promote protection of the species and its habitat through legislation, policies, stewardship initiatives and land use plans.
  3. Reduce mortality by minimizing threats.
  4. Address knowledge gaps and monitor Blue Racer population.
  5. Continue to assess the feasibility of repatriating Blue Racers to a location on the southern Ontario mainland.

The three most important types of habitat for the Blue Racer, in order of importance, are (1) hibernation habitats, (2) nesting habitats and (3) shelter habitats. Although these three habitats are the most important for maintaining a viable population, other habitats used for foraging, mating and movement are necessary for population persistence. All of these types of habitat are necessary for individuals of the species to complete their life cycle and thus should be prescribed in a habitat regulation for Blue Racer.

Given the importance and sensitivity to disturbance of hibernation and nesting habitats, it is recommended that these features be recognized as having a high sensitivity to alteration. Additionally, shelter habitats that are used by two or more Blue Racers (i.e., are communal) should be recognized as having a high sensitivity to alteration. Blue Racers show fidelity to all of these types of habitat, particularly areas used for hibernation.

Additional recommendations pertaining to hibernation habitat to be considered in a habitat regulation are as follows.

  • Hibernation habitat should be protected until it is demonstrated that the feature can no longer function in this capacity.
  • The area within 120 m of an identified hibernation feature (single site or complex) should be regulated as habitat and recognized as having a high sensitivity to alteration.

Additional recommendations pertaining to nesting and shelter habitat to be considered in a habitat regulation are as follows.

  • A naturally occurring nesting habitat or communal shelter habitat (i.e., used by two or more Blue Racers) that has been used at any time in the previous three years should be protected.
  • A non-naturally occurring nesting habitat or communal shelter habitat (i.e., used by two or more Blue Racers) should be protected from the time its use was documented until the following November 30.
  • The area within 30 m of the boundary of the nesting feature should be regulated as habitat and recognized as having a high sensitivity to alteration.

Foraging and mating habitats should be recognized as having a moderate sensitivity to alteration. Relative to hibernation, nesting and shelter habitats, the spatial extent of foraging, mating and movement habitats is considerably larger. Foraging and mating habitats are best defined at the level of ecological community (e.g., savanna, woodland) and these areas will be several hectares in size.

It is recommended that the following ecological community types on Pelee Island be regulated as foraging and mating habitats when they occur within 2,300 m of a reliable Blue Racer observation:

  • alvars (treed, shrub and open types);
  • thicket;
  • savanna;
  • woodland; and
  • edge (includes hedgerows and riparian vegetation strips bordering canals).

It is evident that there are not well-defined movement corridors for Blue Racer. Given the considerable spatial extent of the areas that would be regulated as hibernation, nesting, shelter, foraging and mating habitat as per the recommendations above, it is recommended that no additional areas be regulated as movement habitat.