The Jefferson salamanders will be on the move this month, which means the stretch of King Road between Waterdown and Burlington will be closed to traffic.
According to Aldershot councillor Kelvin Galbraith's newsletter, the rural road will be temporarily closed between North Service Road and Mountain Brow Road starting March 12 for the annual passage of the endangered Jefferson salamanders during their breeding migration. King Road will reopen April 9, once the salamanders are expected to have finished their annual crossing.
Local traffic will be maintained for all properties between the North Service Road and the escarpment.
Since 2012, the City of Burlington has closed this section of road so the salamanders can cross safely. The Jefferson salamander has been classified as an endangered species in Ontario since 2011, and throughout Canada it is a threatened species.
About the Jefferson salamander
In Canada, the Jefferson salamander is found in Southern Ontario in select areas of deciduous forest, mostly along the Niagara Escarpment.
Jefferson salamanders spend most of their lives underground. As the weather warms up and the spring rain starts, the salamanders surface and begin their voyage to breed in temporary ponds formed by run-off. They lay their eggs in clumps attached to underwater vegetation. Adults leave the ponds after breeding. By late summer, the larvae lose their gills, become air-breathing juveniles and leave the pond to head into nearby forests.
Adult salamanders migrate to their breeding ponds during wet rainy nights. They are drawn to the pond where they hatched and can be very determined to reach it, sometimes crossing busy roads to get back to their birthplace.
