Laura’s Clubtail Government Response Statement
This document outlines the actions the government intends to take or support to help recover Laura’s Clubtail.
Photo: Lois Stacey
Laura’s Clubtail is a member of the dragonfly family Gomphidae. The species has green eyes and a brownish-black body with yellow or green stripes. Laura’s Clubtail requires a high-quality aquatic environment and a vegetated area, preferably consisting of mature forests, bordering along streams. Adults are short-lived, with breeding and egg-laying occurring within weeks of adult emergence.
Protecting and recovering species at risk in Ontario
Species at risk recovery is a key part of protecting Ontario’s biodiversity. Biodiversity – the variety of living organisms on Earth – provides us with clean air and water, food, fibre, medicine and other resources that we need to survive.
The Endangered Species Act, 2007 ( ESA) is the Government of Ontario’s legislative commitment to protecting and recovering species at risk and their habitats. As soon as a species is listed as extirpated, endangered or threatened under the ESA, it is automatically protected from harm or harassment. Also, immediately upon listing, the habitats of endangered and threatened species are protected from damage or destruction.
Under the ESA, the Ministry of Natural Resources (the Ministry) must ensure that a recovery strategy is prepared for each species that is listed as endangered or threatened. A recovery strategy provides science-based advice to government on what is required to achieve recovery of a species.
Government response statements
Within nine months after a recovery strategy is prepared, the ESA requires the Ministry to publish a statement summarizing the government’s intended actions and priorities in response to the recovery strategy. The recovery strategy for Laura’s Clubtail was published on December 7, 2011.
The response statement is the government’s policy response to the scientific advice provided in the recovery strategy. In addition to the strategy, the response statement is based on input from stakeholders, other jurisdictions, Aboriginal communities and members of the public. It reflects the best available traditional, local and scientific knowledge at this time and may be adapted if new information becomes available. In implementing the actions in the response statement, the ESA allows the Ministry to determine what is feasible, taking into account social and economic factors.
Laura’s Clubtail is a member of the dragonfly family Gomphidae. The species has green eyes and a brownish-black body with yellow or green stripes. Laura’s Clubtail requires a high-quality aquatic environment and a vegetated area, preferably consisting of mature forests, bordering along streams. Adults are short-lived, with breeding and egg-laying occurring within weeks of adult emergence.
Moving forward to protect and recover Laura’s Clubtail
Laura’s Clubtail is listed as an endangered species under the ESA, which protects both the animal and its habitat. The ESA prohibits harm or harassment of the species and damage or destruction of its habitat without authorization. Such authorization would require that conditions established by the Ministry be met.
Currently there are only two known populations of Laura’s Clubtail in Ontario, located southeast of London near Lake Erie, in the vicinity of Tillsonburg and Long Point. The main threats to Laura’s Clubtail include habitat degradation and alteration to both the aquatic and terrestrial habitat. Aquatic habitat threats include changes to water flow rate, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, nutrient load, pollution, dam construction and changes to water quality. Terrestrial habitat threats include shoreline alteration and loss of vegetated habitat bordering along streams. Invasive species and road mortalities are also thought to negatively impact Laura’s Clubtail.
The government’s goal for the recovery of Laura’s Clubtail is to ensure the long-term survival of a self-sustaining population within its current range in Ontario.
Protecting and recovering species at risk is a shared responsibility. No single agency or organization has the knowledge, authority or financial resources to protect and recover all of Ontario’s species at risk. Successful recovery requires inter-governmental co-operation and the involvement of many individuals, organizations and communities.
In developing the government response statement, the Ministry considered what actions are feasible for the government to lead directly and what actions are feasible for the government to support its conservation partners to undertake.
Government-led actions
To help protect and recover Laura’s Clubtail, the government will directly undertake the following actions:
- Develop a survey protocol to be used by proponents and partners to detect the presence or absence of Laura’s Clubtail.
- Educate other agencies and authorities involved in planning and environmental assessment processes on the protection requirements under the ESA.
- Encourage the submission of Laura’s Clubtail data to the Ministry’s central repository at the Natural Heritage Information Centre.
- Undertake communications and outreach to increase public awareness of species at risk in Ontario.
- Protect Laura’s Clubtail and its habitat through the ESA. Develop and enforce a regulation identifying the specific habitat of the species.
- Support conservation, agency, municipal and industry partners and Aboriginal communities to undertake activities to protect and recover Laura’s Clubtail. Support will be provided where appropriate through funding, agreements, permits (including conditions) and advisory services.
- Establish and communicate annual priority actions for government support in order to encourage collaboration and reduce duplication of efforts.
Government-supported actions
The government endorses the following actions as being necessary for the protection and recovery of Laura’s Clubtail. Actions identified as "high" will be given priority consideration for funding or for authorizations under the ESA. The government will focus its support on these high-priority actions over the next five years.
Focus area: Inventory and monitoring
Objective: Determine the distribution, abundance, and habitat needs of Laura’s Clubtail.
Actions:
- (High) Develop and implement a standardized survey and monitoring program to determine the water quality of habitat, identify potential habitat, and track Laura’s Clubtail distribution and abundance.
- Integrate searches for Laura’s Clubtail into ongoing benthic inventory programs in streams across Ontario.
Focus area: Research
Objective: Improve knowledge of Laura’s Clubtail threats, biology and habitat.
Actions:
- (High) Determine the impacts of threats such as decreased water quality, invasive species, and road mortality on populations of Laura’s Clubtail.
- Determine why Laura’s Clubtail appears to occur naturally in only a few of the apparently suitable rivers in Ontario.
- Undertake research on the basic biology of Laura’s Clubtail to address knowledge gaps (e.g., determine microhabitat characteristics).
Focus area: Protection and management
Objective: Protect, maintain and enhance the quantity and quality of existing Laura’s Clubtail habitat.
Actions:
- Develop and promote approaches to mitigate impacts and restore aquatic habitat and natural vegetation bordering along occupied reaches of streams; distribute to the public, landowners and land managers.
- Conduct surveys for aquatic invasive species (e.g., Round Goby, Zebra Mussel and Common Carp). Where appropriate, remove these invasive species from within and adjacent to Laura’s Clubtail habitat.
Implementing actions
Financial support for the implementation of actions may be available through the Species at Risk Stewardship Fund, Species at Risk Farm Incentive Program or Community Fisheries and Wildlife Involvement Program. Conservation partners are encouraged to discuss project proposals related to the actions in this response statement with the Ministry. The Ministry can also advise if any authorizations under the ESA or other legislation may be required to undertake the project.
Implementation of the actions may be subject to changing priorities across the multitude of species at risk, available resources and the capacity of partners to undertake recovery activities. Where appropriate, the implementation of actions for multiple species will be co-ordinated across government response statements.
Reviewing progress
The ESA requires the Ministry to conduct a review of progress towards protecting and recovering a species not later than five years from the publication of this response statement. The review will help identify if adjustments are needed to achieve the protection and recovery of Laura’s Clubtail.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank all those who participated in the development of the "Recovery Strategy for Laura’s Clubtail in Ontario" for their dedication to protecting and recovering species at risk.