You could even win a prize while you’re at it!

The Canadian Grassland Coalition is hosting a giveaway! During the month of August, simply enter the contest through the Canadian Wildlife Federation website and join the Canadian Grasslands Project on iNaturalist for a chance to win.

Want an extra entry? Make an observation within the Canadian Grasslands Project locations and you’ll earn one more entry into the contest.

Here is a list you can use as inspiration for your bonus entry.

Prairie Provinces: Top Species to Spot

Rubber Rabbitbrush

Rubber Rabbitbrush is native to Alberta and Saskatchewan and blooms from late summer into fall, creating a vibrant yellow display against the landscape. Tip: Rubber Rabbitbrush can be easily confused with Broom Snakeweed, another native late-season bloomer that contributes to the golden hues of the prairies in August. Use iNaturalist’s identification tools to help you distinguish the two!

Hunt’s Bumblebee

Hunt’s Bumblebee is an efficient, hardworking pollinator that inhabits prairies and meadows, helping native plants thrive.

Tip: Hunt’s Bumblebees love visiting the flowers of Rubber Rabbitbrush. Spot one, and you may find the other nearby!

Swainson’s Hawk

Swainson’s Hawk is a true grasslands icon that loves wild prairies, hayfields, and pastures that allow for successful hunting of small mammals.

Tip: Swainson’s Hawks often return to areas where they grew up, so try revisiting places where you’ve seen them in the past (or where they’ve been observed on iNaturalist) to spot them again.

Up for a Challenge?

Orange-crowned Warbler

Within the Canadian Grasslands Project locations, the Orange-crowned Warbler has only been observed nine times. Can you be the 10^th? Keep an eye out for this small yellow-olive songbird.

Tip: Despite being its namesake, the orange crown of the Orange-crowned Warbler is often hidden, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t see it.

East of the Prairies

Grasslands aren’t just a western Canadian story. There are plenty of grassland-loving species to discover in Ontario and beyond.

Queen Anne’s Lace

Queen Anne’s Lace, or Wild Carrot, is an introduced plant species and the most observed plant in the eastern regions of the Canadian Grasslands Project. While not considered invasive, native members of the carrot family, like Blunt Sweet Cicely, are often better choices for supporting local biodiversity.

Tip: Queen Anne’s Lace, common in Ontario and Quebec, is often found in disturbed areas like roadsides and old fields.

Monarch Butterfly

It’s not surprising that the Monarch Butterfly, with its recognizable orange and black wings, is one of the most frequently observed insects as it feeds on the grass and forb flowers in grasslands and meadows.

Tip: In August, Monarch Butterflies are packing on as much fat as possible before their long-distance migration to Mexico. Keep an eye out for their colourful fluttering wings in areas with late-season blooms.

Be the first to record a Bobolink!

Though not yet observed in the Canadian Grasslands Project, the Bobolink is found in agricultural lands, tall grasslands, meadows and prairies throughout Southern Canada and the US. Their songs are recognizable and often described as sounding metallic, bubbly and rambling.

Tip: Listen for them during their breeding season from late April to August and be the first to add them to the project!

They recycle nutrients into the soil; they open the forest canopy and allow for new growth; and some species, like Jack Pine and Lodgepole Pine, need fire to open their cones and release their seeds. Wildfires can even be a source of woody debris in aquatic systems that provide both cover and a food source for insects and fish. However, we also know that wildfires can negatively impact air quality and terrestrial habitats. Learn more about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Wildfires in Canada.

How Do Wildfires Affect Lakes?

It turns out lakes don’t always go unscathed. The impacts of wildfires can affect both the quality and quantity of freshwater environments, not just during the wildfire but possibly for many years afterwards.

For starters, wildfires can burn the vegetation around lakes, vegetation that was helping to hold soil in place as well as reduce the amount of runoff entering the lake. With the vegetation gone, rain can cause large amounts of nutrients, sediment, ash and other contaminants to be flushed into the lake, increasing the potential for erosion, flooding and even possible algal blooms. Soil can become hydrophobic after a wildfire which means they repel water resulting in even more erosion and runoff, increasing the potential for more flooding and allowing even more contaminants to enter the lake.

It’s no surprise that this can harm water quality and degrade habitats. To what degree different species are affected depends on a number of factors including their dispersal abilities and life cycles. Short-lived and fast-colonizing species can do quite well following a fire.

On the other hand, wildfires can cause heavy silt to collect on lake beds, impact insects and result in a loss of fish species – especially if water temperatures get too high. The size of the fire, the amount of rain post-fire and whether there are cumulative fires all play a role in how lakes and the species that call them home fare.

Learn more about how you can help your lake at LoveYourLake.ca.

Even if you’ve never heard of this term, chances are you’ve felt it: the crushing feeling of doom and despair for the future of our planet.

I’ve found that especially among young people, eco-anxiety can be paralyzing to a generation the rest of the world is counting on. The common issue with eco-anxiety is thinking: “It’s too late to save the planet, so why bother trying?” This thought is dangerous because it works against climate action and convinces capable and passionate people that their efforts are unimportant.

As a university student entering the green sector, and being passionate about wildlife and conservation, I often feel the effects of eco-anxiety.  But I’ve found that the best medicine for eco-anxiety isn’t forcing optimism — it’s engaging in activities and connecting with communities that give you the opportunity to act.

This is what makes the programs offered by the Canadian Wildlife Federation so beneficial. By participating in CWF-led conservation programs such as WILD Generations, WILD Outside and the Canadian Conservation Corps (CCC), you can contribute to the fight against climate change and eco-anxiety one step at a time. These programs are especially helpful for young people, marginalized communities and green workers carrying the burden of eco-anxiety without the proper outlets.

For example, this summer, CCC Ottawa participated in an activity to get the gardens ready for summer. This activity leveraged the WILD Generations program, which connects youth and seniors to nature and encourages appreciation for wildlife. These small, local acts are what stops the thoughts of “it’s too late.” Instead, it replaces feelings of despair with feelings of accomplishment.

Every action matters and spreads a message to the world that we care about environmental conservation. By working together, we can keep eco-anxiety at bay and work to restore the Earth’s natural environment.

Get involved! Check out CWF’s Nature-based education programs.

Author:

Mira James,
Non-formal education intern
CWF

It looked very similar to the Northern Map Turtle but there were enough discrepancies that we flagged it as something to investigate and moved on. We later realized that this was one of the first observations of the non-native False Map Turtle in Canada. The False Map Turtle is native to the Missouri and Mississippi river systems of the U.S.. Five years later there are now more than 100 observations in Canada. Furthermore, the Ouachita Map Turtle, another invader from the south, now has more than 20 observations on iNaturalist in Canada. To date, the non-native map turtles have been observed in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

We’ve covered the issues of non-native turtles before, but how do we differentiate between the three species of map turtles – the native Northern Map Turtle and the non-native False Map Turtle and Ouachita Map Turtle? Why is this important? I mentioned at the beginning that we were initially confused by a photo of a False Map Turtle posted to iNaturalist, because it was misidentified as a Northern Map Turtle. Unfortunately tracking non-native species is hard to do unless they are correctly identified.

How do you tell the difference between these three species of turtles?

This is a bit of a difficult process as it requires a very clear photo of the turtle’s head in profile, detailing the patterning.

Northern Map Turtle

The native Northern Map Turtle has a round or triangular shaped blotch behind the eye. There is some variation between individuals, so this mark may sometimes be rather indistinct, but it is usually about the same size as the turtle’s eyes. The typical habitat of this species is large rivers and lakes but it can sometimes be found in smaller water bodies that connect to the typical habitat. This turtle is native to Central and Southern Ontario as well as a small portion of Southwestern Quebec. This is not to say this range only contains Northern Map Turtles as non-native species can appear anywhere. Map turtles found in Canada, outside of this area, were released by humans and thus non-native. Be mindful as well that a map turtle in an unusual habitat, such as an urban pond, was likely placed there and non-native.

False Map Turtle

The False Map Turtle has two subspecies, with different patterns on the head. The Northern False Map Turtle has a thick line in an “L” shape behind the eye, colloquially referred to as a hockey stick or eyebrows. These lines are not fully visible unless photographed from above but are often distinctive enough in a profile photo to identify. In the second subspecies, the Mississippi Map Turtle, this mark is extended to curl around the eye towards the nose and mouth.

Ouachita Map Turtle

Finally, we have the Ouachita Map Turtle. This species probably has the most variance in patterning and can look similar to either False Map Turtle subspecies. The mark behind the eye on this species is typically rectangular in shape and is much larger than the turtle’s eye.  The definitive feature of this species is actually a spot on the lower jaw almost directly below the eye. On the Ouachita Map Turtle this spot will be at least as wide as the turtle’s eye.

This is a lot of information. Even for the turtle experts at the Canadian Wildlife Federation, identifying map turtles is a challenging undertaking. When you are uploading observations to iNaturalist Canada,  if you think it is a non-native species but not certain, take your best guess. While it can be confusing to properly identify map turtle species, it is more important that the observation is flagged as non-native than for the identification to be perfect.

The next time see a map turtle in the wild, pause for a moment and double check the head patterns. You may have just spotted a stealthy invader.

When you stop and think about that number, it is almost hard to absorb. Twenty per cent is not a reserve or a comfortable margin. It is what remains after most of a natural landscape has already disappeared.

If only a fraction of a place, a home, a future remained, every decision would carry more weight. That is the state that Canada’s native grasslands are in now. One of the great natural landscapes across Canada has been reduced to a fraction of what it once was.

If you had the chance to save it — would you?

Raising our Voices

The Canadian Wildlife Federation has created an opportunity for us to help speak for the last native grasslands Canada still has — and for the grassland species like Burrowing Owls, pollinators, Swift Foxes and other grassland-dependent wildlife that rely on these places to survive.

From a distance, grasslands can look quiet or ordinary, but up close they are bustling and buzzing with wildlife. This is where species find cover, raise their young and follow the seasonal rhythms their survival depends on. Wildlife is left with fewer places to go, and no replacement habitat waiting beyond the fence line.

The future of grassland wildlife will not be shaped by concern alone. It will be shaped by people who choose to act while there is still time to make a difference.

Working With the Workers

Grasslands are often working lands, too, where people grow our food and make a living from the land. Conservation solutions have to meet the realities on the ground including rangeland conversion, roads, fences, development and other land-use decisions — with science, collaboration and practical action.

Much of what remains is managed by local producers, working the land, conserving biodiversity as they earn a living for their families. Local stewards bring important knowledge, but they too are facing external pressures threatening their livelihoods. They need support, resources and practical conservation tools to help keep their lands as grasslands, supporting their livelihoods and wildlife.

What You Can Do

We believe that action can still shape what happens next for wildlife and their habitats. Let’s support this work before the opportunity becomes even smaller.

>>Raise your hand — tell us you care about our native grasslands!<<

The strength of this response will come from Canadians willing to stand together and act before the need becomes impossible to answer. Grasslands and the wildlife that depend on them cannot speak for themselves — but your voice, joined with many others, can help ensure Canada’s last 20 per cent is not lost in silence. Your support helps bring science, conservation leadership and practical action to the places where wildlife still has a chance. This is not work that happens from a distance. It requires field knowledge, credible partnerships and a clear understanding of what’s threatening Canada’s native grasslands today.

Think of the action you’ll take today as a means of seeding change. Learn more at CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca/20percent

That’s a pretty basic idea. To protect a forest bird, we need to protect the forest – and not just the tree where she builds her nest. And to protect a Blanding’s Turtle, we need to protect the wetlands she depends upon – not just a log that she basks on.

Unfortunately, the Ontario government has decided to reduce habitat protection for threatened and endangered species in Ontario. Under the Endangered Species Act, one well documented observation of a Blanding’s Turtle would protect wetlands up to two kilometers from where the turtle was observed. Earlier this year the Ontario government repealed the Endangered Species Act and replaced it with the much weaker Species Conservation Act. The new act will protect the “dwelling place” of threatened and endangered species. What is a dwelling place? Based on the draft guidelines, it appears that for a Blanding’s Turtle a dwelling place will be no more than a single wetland.

On the Move

Isn’t that good enough? Isn’t protecting wetlands two kilometres from where a Blanding’s Turtle was seen unreasonable? Surely Blanding’s Turtles don’t wander that far. In fact, Blanding’s Turtles are very mobile and they make use of a variety of habitats over the course of the spring and summer. One study from Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario found that some turtles tracked using radio transmitters moved more than two kilometres and one female moved six kilometres! Another study in Massachusetts tracked a Blanding’s Turtle that moved over three kilometres and many others moved over one kilometre. I have radio-tracked Blanding’s Turtles and have seen these kinds of movements for myself. One adult female I tracked moved further than one and a half kilometres.

Blanding’s Turtles don’t just move for fun, they need to move. A shallow wetland in spring might warm up faster and be good for feeding. If that wetland dries up, they may move to a deeper wetland. As the summer progresses they may move from one wetland to another like a diner at a buffet restaurant sampling the different food areas. And come late fall, the turtles will move to another wetland to spend the winter. One wetland is not enough! A study in Maine found that a Blanding’s Turtle could make use of up to 20 different wetlands over the course of the active season!

Much Less Protection for Ontario’s At-risk Turtles

Given that amount of movement and the number of wetlands that can be used, protecting one wetland is not enough. How does this play out on the ground? Since 2017, the CWF turtle team has been surveying for Blanding’s Turtles to find them in previously undocumented areas. We knew that each point on the map could protect numerous wetlands for Blanding’s Turtles and all the other species that depend upon those waterbodies. Now that protection is greatly reduced.

Look at the aerial image in this blog. The yellow point represents where we observed a Blanding’s Turtle in a wetland. The blue patches are wetlands as defined by the Ontario government. Under the old Endangered Species Act all of the wetlands in the image would be protected by that one observation of the Blanding’s Turtle. In fact, even more wetlands would be protected as the image just shows wetlands roughly 1 km from the Blanding’s Turtle observation. Under the new Species Conservation Act only the small blue patch where we saw the turtle would be protected. We would have to find and document a Blanding’s Turtle in each of the other wetlands to protect them as well.

How You Can Help

What can we do about the lack of habitat protection for our threatened and endangered species? Write your Member of Provincial Parliament. Tell them we need more habitat protection for these species. And if you see a Blanding’s Turtle please take a clear photo of it and post it to iNaturalist.ca. It may protect another wetland.

With a standard smartphone, you’ve got access to a digital camera and a GPS — add an internet connection and a can-do attitude and you’ve got all the tools you need to contribute to community science!

Why You Should Participate in Community Science

But why is it important to be part of community science? One of the biggest issues in conservation is that scientists can’t be everywhere at once. We simply don’t have the resources to confirm exactly which sites are being used by species at risk throughout their range. This is a major problem when you consider that legal protection of habitat is only granted to places where a species at risk has been confirmed to occur.

It’s more vital than ever that species at risk are documented in Ontario. Recently, the Ontario Government replaced the Endangered Species Act, 2007 with the Species Conservation Act, 2025. It is significantly more conservative with the legal protections it grants for documented species at risk.

Take the Blanding’s Turtle for example. Under the previous act, an observation of a single individual triggered protection for wetlands up to two kilometres away from where the individual was found. Under the new act, the current draft guidelines (at the time of writing this article) propose only the protection of the nearest wetland, and in many instances not even the entire wetland.

We are going from a system where a single observation could easily protect four or five wetlands, to one where at least one observation is required in each of these wetlands to protect the same area. This is not based on new information or a better understanding of how Blanding’s Turtles use their habitat. If anything, these new guidelines (Species Conservation Act, 2025) do not take into account the well-established fact that this species typically uses multiple wetlands at different times of the year and frequently travels overland to reach them, regardless of what we humans deem “convenient”.

How You Can Help the Blanding’s Turtle

It is more important than ever to document all instances of species at risk. Even deceased individuals that didn’t make it across the road are important observations. If you do snap pics on the road, be mindful of traffic and make sure that it is safe to leave your car before photographing.

One of the easiest ways to submit these observations is through iNaturalist.ca. This app collects the photo, location, date and any notes you wish to submit together into a single record. Some projects, such as the Canadian Amphibians & Reptiles on Roads project, will even provide recommended data to submit so that scientists can make the most of your observation!

Not certain what you’re photographing? The app and community will help you. Try to take multiple clear photos from different angles to try to capture any key features of your subject – most turtle species in Ontario have very distinctive heads. The Blanding’s Turtle in particular can be identified from relatively far away thanks to its bright yellow throat.

We’ve mentioned the Blanding’s Turtle in this article because it has been a focus of our efforts here at the Canadian Wildlife Federation. As a globally endangered species, it is in the same category as the Blue Whale and Asian Elephant. However, it is relatively common in eastern Ontario, meaning that many of you can help it regain much of the previously protected habitat by reporting sightings.

So, the next time you head outdoors, take a close look at what’s in and around your local wetland. Your observation may help protect the home of a species at risk.

Learn more about our work with Freshwater Turtles.

In Atlantic Canada, there is a particular focus on North Atlantic Right Whales — a critically endangered species with a population of approximately 384 individuals. North Atlantic Right Whales are a migratory species found primarily along the Northeastern coast of Canada and the United States.

Entanglement in the vertical ropes, called buoylines, used in fixed-gear fisheries such as crab and lobster have been identified as the main cause of death and injury to North Atlantic Right Whales. One of the measures implemented by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to mitigate entanglement in these fisheries are time-area fishery closures. Time-area closures are activated when a North Atlantic Right Whale is detected, and no fishing gear is allowed in a defined area around the detected whale.

Although time-area closures are an effective way of preventing entanglement, fishing area closures can have serious financial implications for fish harvesters and coastal communities. On-demand fishing gear provides harvesters with the opportunity to continue fishing operations in the presence of North Atlantic Right Whales.

How On-demand Fishing Gear Helps Marine Wildlife

Also referred to as ‘ropeless’ or ‘pop-up gear’, on-demand fishing gear is an innovative technology that removes the persistent buoyline from the water column by keeping the buoyline at the seafloor. When a harvester is ready to haul their gear and collect their catch, an acoustic signal triggers the on-demand fishing gear system to release the buoyline, where the harvester can retrieve their gear as normal. As there aren’t persistent buoylines, on-demand fishing gear allows harvesters to fish in areas closed to traditional gear with buoylines to protect North Atlantic Right Whales.

Based in Halifax, N.S., the CanFISH Gear Lending Program is the first and largest lending program for adaptive fishing gear in Canada. CanFISH is equipped with over 175 on-demand fishing gear systems and a team of trained and skilled technicians that provide on-demand fishing gear and training for crab and lobster harvesters throughout the Maritimes. The program aims to support harvesters experiencing fisheries closures and reduce barriers to accessing on-demand fishing gear.

There are two types of on-demand fishing gear systems available through CanFISH:

1. A lift-bag system, where compressed air inflates a bag, bringing the buoyline to the surface.
2. A rope containment system, where the buoyline is held at depth in a bag, cage or on a spool. When the system is released, the rope uncoils and is brought to the surface by attached buoys.

The continuous efforts of the CanFISH Gear Lending Program demonstrate both the need and interest for on-demand fishing technology as an available and affordable tool when faced with North Atlantic Right Whale closures. Through years of engagement, the Canadian Wildlife Federation team has established strong collaboration with harvester partners and fishing associations that continue to inform and guide our program and expose the commercial fishing industry to alternatives to traditional gear.

Earlier this year, Fisheries and Oceans Canada released Canada’s Whale Safe Fishing Gear Strategy, which details how on-demand fishing gear will be used as a tool to support sustainable fishing practices. Gear lending programs such as CanFISH are important in this development, as they alleviate the barriers of access to on-demand fishing gear by providing the gear, training and knowledge to use it effectively during a closure, all across the Maritimes.

As long as large whales such as North Atlantic Right Whales frequent Atlantic Canadian waters and fishery closures continue to occur, harvesters should have the opportunity to utilize on-demand fishing gear to co-exist with whales.

Learn more about how the Canadian Wildlife Federation is helping marine species and wildlife.

Its scientific name, Monarda fistulosa, honours the 16th century Spanish physician botanist Nicolas Bautista Monardes, who never travelled to the Americas yet became one of its most enthusiastic chroniclers. Fascinated by the plants arriving off cargo ships from the New World, he studied dozens of species for their medicinal properties. The species name “fistulosa” comes from the Latin word for “tubular” — a reference to the plant’s pipe-like petals. Known most commonly as Wild Bergamot, it also goes by Bee Balm and Horsemint.

Wild Bergamot grows wild in grasslands, woodland edges and thickets, along roadsides and in wet meadows. It can be found growing across an array of provinces from British Columbia to Quebec. It is a hardy plant, tolerating a variety of soil both moist and dry be it clay, sandy or lime, and flourishes in full sun.

In the summer, lavender-pink tubular flowers burst open like small pompoms, standing atop stems approximately a metre tall. The leaves are typically smooth on top and hairy underneath — if you brush against them, you’ll catch a minty scent.

Beyond its beauty, Wild Bergamot plays an important ecological role. Its bloom period, stretching from midsummer to September, provides a sustained food source for pollinators. Long-tongued bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and hummingbird moths are drawn to its nectar, as are predatory wasps that help keep garden pests in check. It is a valuable nectar source for the Monarch Butterfly, an endangered pollinator that is at risk in part due to the loss of sources of nectar across its range, making this native bloom even more important. Come fall and winter, American Goldfinches flock to the dried seedheads, picking them clean of seeds.

Gardeners prize Wild Bergamot for its hardiness and like that it is a manageable addition to the garden, spreading slowly, unlike some of its more aggressive cousins. Its aromatic leaves can also be steeped to make a lovely tea!

Before you plant Wild Bergamot in your garden, one small caveat: Wild Bergamot can develop powdery mildew on its leaves. While the mildew won’t harm the flower, you can keep it in check by ensuring there’s enough space around it for proper air circulation, watering at the base of the plant rather than on its leaves and planting in full sun.

Author: Mary Whittaker, Canadian Wildlife magazine, July/August 2026

One of the perks of my work is that I get to help choose the wild species we are talking about! We try to show a wide variety of living things from all over Canada. So when my team and I decided we hadn’t been to film in British Columbia’s coastal rainforest is such a long time, I was stoked! One thing about me is I tend to like the weirdest creatures, including the ones most find “unappealing”, let’s say. And given that we had never talked about a gastropod at HWW, this was my chance! You see, gastropods are among the few groups of animals to have become successful in all three major habitats: the ocean, freshwater systems, and land. They’re all really neat!

This year, we will get to meet the Banana Slug! We launched our latest video and fact sheet on this slimy critter on June 6, 2026. But why the Banana Slug? For one, I’m always a fan of animals who look like fruit. Who wouldn’t be?!? But seriously, gastropods are fascinating! They are part of the phylum (or group) Molluska, like octopus and oysters. These guys are boneless animals which often have a hard shell they produce to protect themselves. Slugs and snails make up the class Gastropoda, a group of mollusks, which means “foot stomach”. It’s a fact that they only have one massive foot on their bodies, that are mainly comprised of a stomach. While snails have this cool shell to hide in, slugs do not, which means they need to find some other means of protection. And if you are a soft, slow, almost toothless creature, that’s not easy! Many slugs rely on their mucus, the slimy stuff they produce to help them move around, give them a foul taste or become so sticky that they’re not easily swallowed. Some are even toxic!

The Banana Slug, our yellowish, gastropod, is no different. It produces a mucus that numbs the mouth of birds or mammals that try to eat it! Some reptilian predators even get their mouths stuck shut because of the thick slime! Still, if you end up in a predator’s mouth, it’s not ideal, so the Banana Slug is good at hiding on the dense rainforest’s floor to prevent this. Even if it’s Canada’s longest slug, and some of the largest terrestrial slugs on Earth, it’s definitely hard to find in the shady, humid areas below the massive trees of that habitat.

This summer, HWW will be talking about some of the rainforest’s most charismatic species, including the Banana Slug. Want to find out more about it? If you’re visiting the rainforest this summer, get out, watch where you lay your feet as you walk (you wouldn’t want to step on one) and look around on the forest floor! You might find one of these important creatures sliding around! And don’t forget to check out the HWW social media and website, at www.hww.ca, to get more information about the Banana Slug!